Last year, Russia set a goal to quicken its economic expansion — to grow faster than the world as a whole — as a way to secure the country’s position as a dominant global power. So far, the plan is off to a sputtering start. President Vladimir V. Putin’s proposal, which struck some economists as a throwback to the command economy of the Soviet period, called for state spending of $400 billion over six years in specific areas. Among the items were 900 pianos for music schools and 40 covered ice rinks, along with money for roads and airports.
But this month, the government reported Russia’s gross domestic product grew only 1.3 percent in 2019, down from 2.5 percent the previous year. Bureaucratic delays in spending the money were blamed. In contrast, the global average for growth last year was 2.9 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund. A goal of lifting growth above the global average by next year now appears untenable.