Stability trumps growth for government as Russians prepare to vote -economists

FILE PHOTO: A truck drives past a campaign poster of the United Russia political party ahead of the Russian parliamentary and regional election outside Ulan-Ude, Buryatia republic, Russia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Low wages and rising prices are crucial issues for Russians at parliamentary elections this week, but maintaining financial stability matters more to the Kremlin than driving growth, economists say, with inflation a lingering concern.

The Sept. 17-19 election, the last major vote before a presidential poll in 2024, comes as Russia is recovering from its worst economic downturn in more than a decade, the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and low prices for oil, its major export.