The Press Secretary to the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, addressed questions about the economy agenda discussed at Putin’s April 11 meeting. He clarified that the session did not include consideration of proposals put forward by Andrey Kostin, the former head of VTB Bank, who had urged a renewed privatization drive alongside other policy measures intended to spur economic growth. Peskov’s remarks were offered in response to inquiries about whether Kostin’s privatization plan had been raised during the closed portion of the talks, and he stated clearly that it had not been discussed, signaling a separation between Kostin’s ideas and the official briefing of the session’s outcomes.
The context surrounding Kostin’s proposal centers on a strategy that would push privatization of state assets forward as a mechanism to fund priority projects and to rechannel capital into initiatives where market mechanisms alone may falter. Kostin contends that restarting privatization processes could provide not only a replenishment of the budget but also a catalyst for developments in areas that require rapid, non-standard decision making and entrepreneurial initiative where the state presently has a monopoly or where government speed and flexibility are constrained. In his view, reviving selective privatizations would allow capable private and quasi-private actors to participate in asset transfers, potentially accelerating modernization and diversification within the economy while maintaining essential safeguards and regulatory oversight.
Within this framework, some observers have suggested that shifting assets through state-backed vessels could become a viable option in a climate where foreign participation is changing and investment patterns are shifting. Economist Anton Tabakh proposed that, given the withdrawal of some foreign investors, financial structures with state participation, including institutions like VTB, might emerge as buyers of assets, thereby sustaining liquidity and ensuring that strategic sectors receive continued investment. The dialogue around privatization, whether pursued openly or debated behind closed doors, reflects a broader question about how Russia can balance the immediate needs of the budget, the long-term goals of industrial modernization, and the jurisdictional concerns that accompany any significant reallocation of state-held resources. In this sense, Kostin’s propositions are part of a larger conversation about which instruments best align public priorities with private capital, what role the state should play in directing economic reform, and how to preserve stability while pursuing growth across diverse sectors.