Russia becomes Europe’s first economy despite "pressure from all sides," Putin says

Russia has become Europe’s first economy and the world’s fifth in terms of purchasing power parity, President Vladimir Putin said.

"It seems that we are being strangled and pressured from every side, but still, we are the largest economy in Europe. We left Germany behind and climbed to fifth in the world [in terms of GDP at purchasing power parity]: China, the US, India, Japan and Russia. We are number one in Europe," the president said at a meeting with entrepreneurs active in Russia’s Far East, TASS reports.

"We have left all of Europe behind in terms of purchasing power parity but as for the per capita indicator, we need to work harder. There is still work to be done," the head of state added.

Putin did not agree with Business Russia Chairman Alexey Repik’s remark that Japan’s economy could be written off. "Like many European economies, Japan is a high-tech economy," the Russian leader pointed out.