October 29, 2014. Sverdlovsk Region Economics Ministry came up with a provision on the forecast for the area’s socioeconomic development in 2015-2017, acting Economics Minister Anna Uskova said at Sverdlovsk Region Government meeting.

According to Uskova, there are currently two possible scenarios for the economic development of Sverdlovsk Region: a moderately optimistic one and the basic one.

Under the optimistic scenario, the constituency’s gross regional product would grow by an average of 3.9% a year, with industry going up by 3.5%, agriculture going up by 8%, retail trade turnover going up by 4.5%, the housing construction output going up by 11.5%, and the median monthly pay going up by 9%.

Now this scenario could only become a reality if sanctions against Russia are lifted, the economic situation in the country improves, and prices on global raw stuffs market rise. Experts do not think this likely.

The basic scenario would mean the gross regional product would increase by an average of 2.1% a year, with +1.3% for industry, +1.3% for agriculture, +2.5% for retail trade, +3% for housing construction, and +7.8% for median monthly pay.

Government officials believe this latter scenario is more probable and rests on the premise that all the current economic hardships are going to hold. Anna Uskova says this scenario is not the one in which President Putin’s May Decrees could be implemented in full or in which a radical reconstruction of the area’s economy is possible.