Russia might be in a recession but it has plenty of money but it just manages money badly, a high-ranking Russian government official has said according to news agencies.

Andrei Makarov, the head of the Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, told a convention of Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party Monday that Russia was bad at handling money.

"The main thing we need to understand is that we are filthy rich, but we do not always manage that money effectively," he said, the Moscow Times reported quoting the RBC news agency.

Makarov was speaking at a party forum in which high-ranking officials spoke on a range of subjects including improving the economy, corruption and improving Russia's taxation measures, including the adoption of "anti-offshore legislation," United Russia's website stated.