Russian Pm Outlines Draft Anti-Crisis Plan

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has outlined a draft of a program to deal with Russia's financial crisis.



His presentation to the Russian cabinet of the anti-crisis package, published on the government's official website on Thursday, comes as Russia continues to struggle with U.S.-led sanctions, a sharp fall in oil prices and the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.



Medvedev said the new anti-crisis plan would focus on "three basic areas". 



He said: "First, stimulate economic growth and support bedrock companies and small and medium-sized businesses."



"Second, provide support to specific industries and, in case of need, individual enterprises. Third, ensure social stability."



Medvedev added: "The bulk of allocations will come from the federal budget and the National Wealth Fund and in the form of government guarantees."



The prime minister also outlined other projects to deal with the economic crisis, including the improvement of air and railway transport, affordable housing, and the boosting of manufacturing capacity.



Full-fledged crisis



His comments came a day after Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said $21 billion was needed to finance the plan to support the Russian economy, which has been experiencing a full-fledged crisis since December of last year.



Medvedev added:  "We must understand we have to pay prices for the decisions we made."



More than $151 billion of capital left the Russian economy in 2014, according to the country's central bank, while the regulator has predicted another $120 billion will leave in 2015.



International sanctions have also denied some of Russia's most prominent companies and banks access to Western financial markets.



The heavy global fall in oil prices has dramatically undermined the state's budget and value of the ruble, which plummeted to a low on 16 December not seen since the government default of 1998.



The World Bank and IMF have predicted the country's GDP growth will contract by three percent in 2015. 



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