MOSCOW, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russia"s gross domestic product increased 4.6% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2021, putting the economy on track to meet the expectations of Russian officials and the World Bank, the statistics service said on Wednesday. After shrinking by 3% in 2020, its sharpest contraction in 11 years, Russia"s economy is on track to expand by more than 4% in 2021, according to President Vladimir Putin, the central bank and economy ministry. They have predicted growth of between 4.0% and 4.7% this year. The World Bank said on Wednesday the Russian economy was set to grow by 4.3% this year. read more That would be the strongest since 2008, when Russia"s gross domestic product grew by 5.2% before falling by 7.8% the next year.