NOVO-OGAREVO, January 21. /TASS/. The economic downturn in Russia on the back of the coronavirus pandemic was smaller than in many developed and developing economies and a range of macro indicators returned to the pre-crisis level by the end of the last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday when opening the meeting on economic issues.

The recession depth in the country in 2020 turned out to be "smaller than in many developed and developing economies," the head of state said. "A range of macro indicators even returned at the end of the year to values before the epidemic," he added.

Specifically, this refers to railway transportation of goods, electricity consumption and certain other indicators, Putin said.