Sobyanin linked Moscow's economic growth to a "mysterious Russian soul"

The Moscow economy is growing despite all the difficulties it has had to face. And this is "a big mystery for analysts," said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin in an interview with RIA Novosti.

He recalled that over the past five years there has been "a story with covid, when the economy was falling into negative territory, the beginning of the crisis was quite alarming, and the increasing volume of sanctions imposed by almost most OECD countries." In such a situation, the capital should have at least slowed down its growth rate. However, "when all the adversities of the world hit us, we began to grow at an average rate of 4.7% over the course of all five years," Sobyanin stressed.

The mayor suggested that the explanation may be related to the "mysterious Russian soul." The higher the pressure, "the stronger we become," the mayor noted.

Sobyanin added that for five years until 2020, the growth rate of the Moscow economy was 1-2% per year.