Understandably, however, this is not enough for the government. It is vital to diversify the economy if the upswing is to be shielded from falling energy prices. And finally the broadmass of the population should also benefit from the economic upswing which has not been the case so far. In spite of rising real incomes and falling unemployment, the earnings gap is widening. Seventeen years since the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union, income in Russia is less evenly distributed today than in most western European countries.

For this reason, Putin - while still president - initiated the so-called Agenda 20201. Having pursued an austerity drive for many years, the agenda now makes provisions for the government to use the income from the commodities sector and invest it above all in the country‘s infrastructure, education, research and development. In addition, tax cuts are aimed at improving the economy‘s competitiveness and higher welfare benefits at lifting the standard of living of the population, above all in the rural areas. Naturally, political will and actual implementation do not necessarily go hand in hand, least of all when dealing with a plan with such a long-term horizon. A positive point, however, is that the current political constellation with Medvedev as president and Putin as prime minister ensures a degree of continuity.