Putin says Russia is curbing economic growth to control inflation, recession 'far away'

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is deliberately slowing its economic growth in order to suppress inflation. "As for the decline from more than 4% GDP growth: this is not a decline, it is a deliberate action. It is a slowdown in growth in exchange for curbing inflation and maintaining macroeconomic stability," Putin said during a televised meeting with top lawmakers. A graph published in Russian central bank's report earlier in September showed two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product (GDP) decline in quarter-on-quarter terms, aligning with the common definition of a technical recession.