Putin hails Russia's strong 2024 economic growth

Russia reported strong economic growth for 2024 on Friday. The economy expanded by 4.1 percent in 2024, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting, citing data from the Rosstat statistics agency.

That was the same as the pace of growth in 2023, Mishustin said -- revising up the previous figure of a 3.6 percent expansion for that year. Putin hailed the economic performance, but ordered Mishustin to get a grip on rising prices. Putin said last year that Moscow is spending almost nine percent of its GDP on defence and security.