„Apparently someone was counting on some sort of collapse,“ Putin told lawmakers. „No collapse happened. The Russian economy is easily overcoming these artificial barriers … The peak of (debt) payments has passed. If someone counted on causing some kind of collapse, nothing came of it.“

Putin and his government have become increasingly upbeat about the economy, lauding a recovery of the rouble which, after falling by around 40 percent last year on weak oil prices and sanctions, has firmed by about 15 percent this year.