Putin criticizes privatization of 1990s but opposed to reviewing its results
MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin finds the privatization of the 1990s unfair but rules out the possibility of reviewing its results.
"There is much talk in the public that the privatization of the 1990s, including loans-for-shares auctions, was unfair. And I fully agree with that," he wrote in his article published in Vedomosti on Monday.
"However, the confiscation of property now, as some people suggest, would simply lead to a standstill in the economy, a paralysis of enterprises and an upsurge in unemployment," Putin thinks.
Besides, "many current owners of these assets are formally innocent buyers," the article says.
"They did not break the laws that were adopted then. Many of them are modernizing their enterprises, creating new jobs and are effective proprietors. Their behavior during the 2009-2010 crisis showed that the social responsibility of business had grown noticeably," Putin writes.
Currently, privatization "is not fiscal but structural which means that we are selling not just to get additional budget revenues but primarily to increase the level of competition in the economy and clear the field for private initiative," he wrote.