In a critical report on the Russian economy, the OECD also said that the Kremlin’s expansion into key economic areas was a “disturbing trend” that “bodes ill” for the country’s growth. Instead of concentrating on market reforms, the government had been increasingly focused on tightening the state’s grip on what it deemed to be strategic sectors, which include aviation, media and finance, as well as energy.

Le redressement intervenu depuis la crise de 1998 est, en effet, spectaculaire. De 1999 à 2005, la croissance moyenne de la Russie s'est élevée à + 6,7 % par an. Les auteurs du rapport ne sont pas avares de satisfecit. (...) La Russie n'a pas succombé à la "maladie hollandaise", qui consiste en une déstructuration des secteurs non pétroliers sous l'effet de l'afflux de recettes en provenance des hydrocarbures et d'une forte appréciation de la monnaie nationale.

Since 1998, the economic renewal of Russia is spectacular. Between 1999 and 2005, average annual growth was 6.7%. The report makes many laudatory comments.(...) The country did not fall prey to "Dutch disease", the weakening of non-oil sectors under the impact of massive income flows from the commodity sector accompanied by currency appreciation.

It was particularly concerned by Gazprom’s “seemingly insatiable appetite for asset acquisition, often at the expense of a focus on its core business”. The report follows a chorus of international and domestic criticism of Gazprom’s business strategy. The OECD’s criticism comes at a time of growing concern about Russia’s ability to sustain and increase its gas production.

L'insuffisance des investissements, notamment dans le domaine du pétrole et du gaz, fait craindre un plafonnement de la production industrielle et énergétique, et donc des exportations. Le regain d'interventionnisme de l'Etat actionnaire dans les secteurs stratégiques comme l'énergie, l'aéronautique, l'automobile et la finance ne semble pas un gage d'efficacité accrue, bien au contraire.

The weakness of investment, in particular in the oil & gas sector, is flagged, as it creates worries that industrial production could hit a ceiling - and thus that energy exports could be curtailed. The increasing interventionism of the State, as shareholder in strategic sectors like energy, aerospace, car manufacture and finance does not appear to be a good thing for the overall efficiency of the economy.

The lesson: don't trust just one source for your information