in. he took the oath in the kremlin's grounds and andrews hall putin can point to a number of positive economic developments during his time in power inflation has been kept low national debt to all the while the standard of living has increased but he says there's more to be done. to avoid structural problems and make sure our economy grows faster we need new sources of growth. production needs to become more efficient businesses need modernizing. we need to employ new technology in manufacturing new technologies are almost exclusively employed in russia's oil and gas industry the energy sector is enormously important for the country's economy accounting for almost sixty percent of exports in other areas though it struggles to compete globally. for a long time in the past the government focused mainly on promoting major industries some would say to the neglect of small and medium sized enterprises where the