Putin Pushes New Investment Cycle as Russian Economy Shows Modest Growth

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a new investment cycle across industry, agriculture, services, and housing, framing it as a key priority for the national economy. The appeal came during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on Wednesday.

Putin noted that many of Russia's export-oriented megaprojects in chemicals, metallurgy, mining, and petrochemicals have already passed their peak investment phase. This, he said, has contributed to a slowdown in capital investment growth.

"The overall economic dynamics are modest but positive," Putin said, citing GDP growth of about 1 percent. He added that first-half growth stood at 0.6 percent, with the second quarter reaching 1.3 percent.

While acknowledging that Ukrainian attacks had not caused serious damage, Putin said logistics and storage infrastructure still require restoration, potentially with government participation.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the meeting that Russia's real GDP has risen by more than 10 percent over the past three years despite international sanctions. He noted a structural shift in the economy, with net exports' share falling nearly threefold as activity pivots toward the domestic market.

Investment accounted for 23.3 percent of GDP in 2025, the highest level in 15 years. Novak also highlighted sectoral changes: manufacturing's share climbed from 13 percent to nearly 15 percent, and for the first time, manufacturing output consistently exceeded extractive-industry output by more than 1.5 times. The share of high-value-added industries grew from 15 percent to 18.4 percent.