A Russian ruble coin is pictured with U.S. dollar bills and a one dollar coin in Moscow, on August 23, 2018. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.7 percent year on year in January-October, the Russian Economic Development Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said in its monthly review that it estimated GDP growth in October at 2.5 percent compared with a year ago, up from 1.1 percent in September.

The growth hike in October was primarily due to an increase of 11.9 percent in agricultural production, compared with drops in previous months, it said.

The ministry expects Russia's GDP to expand 1.8 percent this year, down from a previous projection of 2.1 percent but still up from 1.5 percent in 2017.

The Russian economy has been recovering from years of recession as the prices of energy Moscow heavily relies on are on a trend of rebounding.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that he believed the country's economy was on the rise along with expanding industrial production.