President Vladimir Putin has praised Russia’s economic outlook, saying it has managed to curb inflation and ease its reliance on energy exports.

Russia's economy must under no circumstances slide into recession, President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum on Friday, in a clear instruction to assembled government ministers and central bankers.

Russia's Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting said in a statement this week: "It seems that an 'an economy of stagnation' has formed." What Happens Next. T