Posted 12 мая 2020,, 14:44

Published 12 мая 2020,, 14:44

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

The Russian Internet economy continued to grow even in times of crisis

The Russian Internet economy continued to grow even in times of crisis

12 мая 2020, 14:44
Фото: Медиахолдинг 1Mi
Last year, Runet earned almost 6.5 trillion rubles, which amounted to more than 5% of Russia's GDP. A serious increase in these numbers was expected this year, but the crisis associated with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic made the adjustments.

At the same time, experts note, there will still be no recession in the Internet industry.

According to the head of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC), uniting major players in the domestic Internet industry, Sergei Plugotarenko, the growth of the Russian Internet economy in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic significantly reduced, but still will be from 6 to 10%. In conditions of a fall, or even a real collapse in other sectors, such figures may seem gigantic - they are even higher than the growth rates of the entire Russian economy in the best years. But for the Internet industry, such values are still extremely low.

“Unfortunately, we are forced to report that one of the crisis scenarios will happen before the end of the year. Previously, the Internet economy grew by tens of percent per year”, - Interfax quoted the words of Sergei Plugotarenko as saying.

“But still, you see, the Internet is growing”, - added the head of the association. “Even in these crisis conditions, when virtual space is strongly connected with offline, we continue to grow.” The impact of the pandemic on consumer characteristics on the Internet is manifested in the growing number of sites, video conferencing, e-commerce services, corporate and personal communications.

The head of the Accounts Chamber and former finance minister Alexei Kudrin shared his predictions about the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the Russian economy. In his opinion, the Russian budget this year may require an additional four trillion rubles, and unemployment will grow three times to eight million people.

Last day, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to write off debts on interest-free loans that are given to sectors of the economy affected by coronavirus for employees' salaries. Loans will be granted to enterprises from the sectors most affected by coronavirus if they retain at least 90% of their employees.

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