Economist: The oligarchs who export do not have Russia's best interests at heart
The cheap ruble advocated by oligarch-exporters is not beneficial for Russia.
Economist Valentin Katasonov stated this at the Delib book center, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Exporters need a weak ruble, and importers need a strong one. What's more important? Foreign trade begins with imports, not exports. With imports, we meet the needs of the national economy ... And then exports are tailored to that. We need foreign currency earnings to pay for imports," Katasonov explained.
He complained that exports are primary in the Russian economy.
"Our exports far exceed our imports because a significant portion of our foreign currency earnings never returns to Russia. We're robbed 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Between 100 and 200 billion dollars annually," Katasonov said.
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Economist : The oligarchs' export interests are not in Russia's best interests.