Putin's new economic cheerleader touts Russia's future dominance

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the Russian economy has faced international isolation, increasingly lagging behind global leaders. Its current growth is largely fueled by inflated military expenditures.

However, Russia continues to assure its citizens that its prosperity is growing and that Western sanctions are benefiting it. According to the Kremlin, Russia is even capable of catching up with and surpassing the German economy and is already "breathing down Japan's neck."

The author of these ideas and optimistic forecasts is Maksym Oreshkin, a former economic adviser to the President who recently assumed the position of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration.

Independent portal Meduza reported how an ideological economist turned into an official who deliberately embellished reality to please Vladimir Putin.

Oreshkin quickly gave up any presidential ambitions. At the beginning of his tenure as minister, he was called Putin's successor. Over time, he became an important figure in Russian propaganda.

Oreshkin combined his master's studies at the Higher School of Economics with junior positions at the Central Bank. After graduating in 2004, he worked at the Central Bank for two years before moving to the private sector. The young specialist sought higher earnings and faster career advancement.

After the switch, my salary immediately doubled. Even now I remember: in 2006, I was receiving around 45,000 rubles a month with bonuses from the Central Bank. I moved to Rosbank, where they immediately started paying 90,000 rubles. And six months later, the salary was increased to 180,000 rubles a month - Oreshkin told reporters from TASS in 2019.

In 2012, Oreshkin became the chief economist for the state-controlled VTB Capital for a year. This investment arm of the state bank VTB is a significant source of personnel for the Kremlin's financial and economic bloc, including two current deputy finance ministers, among others.

At the Ministry of Finance, one of the key tasks of Oreshkin's department was to prepare a budget forecast extending to 2034. Although the forecasts were usually gloomy, Oreshkin presented them in a way that pleased Vladimir Putin.

During his tenure at the Ministry of Energy, Oreshkin promoted several important initiatives, such as advocating for Russian state-owned companies and state-owned banks, some of which are listed on the stock exchange, to pay higher dividends. As a result, increased dividends from state-owned companies became one of the main growth factors of the Russian stock exchange.

At the beginning of 2020, he received another promotion and became the president's economic adviser.