Medvedev alarmed that unemployment is rising

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was deeply alarmed that unemployment was rising far faster than officials had forecast.

The Russian economy, worth $1.7 trillion a year, is heading into recession and employers are slashing jobs as the economic crisis bites after a decade of explosive growth.

Medvedev, speaking to members of a think-tank that advises him on policies, said Russia had 2.2 million people officially registered as unemployed.

"We are deeply alarmed by the number of registered unemployed, which has already reached levels which we counted on reaching by year end," he said at a meeting with leading analysts of the Moscow-based Institute of Contemporary Development.

Medvedev is chairman of the board of trustees at the institute, some of whose researchers have criticized hardliners close to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. - Have you voted in the poll Dmitry Medvedev ? -

The Kremlin has said it will protect the middle class from the crisis as they are the natural supporters of Medvedev and Putin.

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by Oleg Shchedrov

See Reuters