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Russia sheds 'gas station' label, embraces economic complexity — Putin

"Now, how could anyone dare to say that Russia is a gas station, a label they tried to give us not so long ago," the Russian leader noted

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. No one will be able to call Russia "a gas station" ever again, President Vladimir Putin said with confidence.

"The share of so-called basic non-primary industries in Russia’s economic growth pattern is rising. These include manufacturing industries, the transportation, logistics, construction, information and communication sectors, as well as housing and utilities services. In particular, they accounted for over half - 54% - of the country’s economic growth in the second quarter of the year. Another 44% were so-called supporting industries, including trade, food service and other professional services. Mining operations stood at just 2%," the president said, addressing VTB Bank’s "Russia Calling!" forum.

"Now, how could anyone dare to say that Russia is a gas station, a label they tried to give us not so long ago," Putin noted.

However, the Russian head of state emphasized that a number of economic sectors had not yet fully recovered or adapted to new realities. "One of these is wood processing; there are certain reasons for this as it largely depended on European markets. Still, the situation is changing for the better in the wood processing industry," Putin said. "There is also the automotive industry, which fell on hard times due to our heavy dependence on component supplies so this is one of the industries that has suffered the most but it is also slowly emerging from crisis," he added.