Soviet Inflation Hits All Time Low

Consumer price inflation in Russia hit a historic post-Soviet period low of 6.1 percent in 2011, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported on Tuesday, citing final data.

“The consumer price index was 100.4 percent in December (2011) and 106.1 percent for the full year, the lowest figure since 1991,” Rosstat said in a statement.

The Russian government has been struggling for years to achieve low-digit inflation, in order to create a favorable investment climate and lure foreign investment.

In 2010, annual inflation in Russia hit 8.8 percent due to the summer drought, exceeding forecasts and equaling the figure for 2009, the year of the global financial meltdown.

Low inflation was Russia’s major economic achievement in 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in his state of the nation address in December.

“For the first time in Russia’s (modern) history, we have achieved an unprecedented low level of inflation at slightly over six percent,” he said.