Russia's GDP growth in 2025 slows to 1%, slowdown was 'man-made' - Putin

MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) - Russia's GDP grew 1% in 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on economic issues on Tuesday.

"This is lower than the dynamics that were observed earlier, we know this well: in 2023, 2024 - 4.1% growth, 4.3% growth. But we also know that this slowdown was not just expected - it could even be said to have been man-made: it is caused by targeted actions to reduce inflation. If in 2024 the price hike amounted to 9.5%, then by the end of last year this figure was lowered to 5.6%," Putin said.

"And you and I understand how important moderate, predictable price dynamics are for the well-being of Russian families, for the work of enterprises and organizations, for public finance and for the investment process, for investment plans," he said.

Analysts interviewed by Interfax at the end of December predicted 0.9% GDP growth in 2025, which is slightly lower than the Economic Development Ministry's September forecast (1.0%) and closer to the upper limit of the new October forecast of the Central Bank (0.5%-1.0%).