President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
Following the tradition, we hold a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects at the end of each year to assess progress of a major joint effort to achieve national development goals. All levels of government, business and academic communities, development institutions, civil society organisations, and of course, individuals are part of his effort. It is precisely in this way by consolidating our efforts and working together we strive to move forward and to shape the country’s future.
National projects are key instruments for achieving national goals. A comprehensive regulatory framework has been created to launch them across the board. Sources of financing have been designated, and digital monitoring of the results has been put in place which relies on assessments from citizens, businesses, and professional communities, as well as on quarterly opinion polls.
Nineteen national projects have been launched and are, overall, successful. A list of 121 indicators has been compiled as part of the work to achieve national development goals. Of these, unfortunately, seven carry a high risk of not being accomplished. Still, most of the benchmarks set for this year have been met.
Plans for relocating people from dilapidated housing have been fulfilled. Agricultural output is growing, and the share of creative industries is increasing. Progress has been achieved in developing domestic technologies in the fuel and energy sector and in the field of peaceful atom. The waste management industry and the creation of a circular economy are developing at a good pace.
I believe that today’s report by the Russian Popular Front will focus on analysing people’s opinions regarding the status of the implementation of the national projects.
Citizens’ assessments in the opinion polls have improved in areas such as the condition of roads, conditions for domestic tourism, and the quality of secondary vocational and higher education, as well as the provision of government e-services.
The assessment of urban improvement levels is up as well. In the outgoing year, 42 percent of residents of major and small cities noted improvements in urban environment, which is five percent higher than a year earlier.
At the same time, people think that changes in the housing and utilities sector and in the creation of a barrier-free environment have not been as noticeable. Therefore, I ask the Government, together with the regions, to accelerate the development of a Comprehensive Programme for the Development of Core Population Centres and to approve it as soon as possible.
We will, of course, hear more about the current results of the national projects in the reports by Mikhail Mishustin and our other colleagues, other participants of the meeting.
Notably, problem areas have been identified during the implementation of the national projects. I will discuss certain issues separately in order to articulate system-wide goals for the future.
I will begin with the demographics. The goal was to overcome negative demographic trends and to boost birth rates.
The Government has approved a long-term Action Strategy on this matter and launched a new national project Family. Starting this year, the birth rate figures have been included in the performance evaluations of heads of the regions.
New support measures for families with children, including a family allowance, have been planned. Beginning in 2026, low-income families raising two or more children will be eligible for this allowance.
A corporate demographic standard was introduced this year. It allows for expanding the participation of businesses in achieving demographic goals. Thus, from January 1, 2026, the amount that an employer can pay an employee upon the birth of a baby without being subject to personal income tax or insurance premiums will grow to up to one million rubles. Previously, this payment amounted to up to 50,000 rubles.
I encourage the companies to make wider use of these opportunities and to be guided by principles of social responsibility. We will discuss this separately during our traditional year-end meeting with the business community.
Here is what I would I like to say. The already adopted demographic development measures are apparently not sufficient. Unfortunately, the negative trend persists, and the birth rate continues to decline. Clearly, there are objective reasons for that, including global demographic trends, and the recurring impact of negative demographic waves of the mid- and late 20th century, which are once again making themselves felt. External challenges are affecting the demographics as well.
At the same time, importantly, our long-term historical goal is to preserve and to multiply our people. Despite the current situation and the objective difficulties, we must stay the course. Higher birth rates, support for families with children, and longer and healthy lives represent key areas of our joint efforts.
As I mentioned earlier, all national projects must directly or indirectly help resolve demographic development issues, be aimed at creating new opportunities for people of all ages, and at improving the well-being of families with children. The demographic aspects have been taken into account in the national projects. We will see how these decisions work in real life.
To reverse the downward birth rate trend across the country, we must reinforce the existing measures at all levels. A number of constituent entities of the Federation are showing how this task can be successfully handled. For reference, I can inform you that as of November 1, 18 regions of the Russian Federation were at or above the planned levels. Eleven regions were above the planned levels in terms of the third and more children in the family.
Interestingly, the sociological indicator reflecting people’s willingness to have children has improved nationwide, particularly, in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, and in the republics of Mordovia, Altai, and Kabardino-Balkaria.
I will say an obvious thing: the child and childbirth support system must be based on the people’s requests and needs so that parents know what kind of state assistance and support they can count on when having their first, second, or third child. The more, the better, as the saying goes. The birth of each subsequent child must make this support more substantial and more tangible.
The family relies on mutual respect and both parents participating in raising children; therefore, along with supporting motherhood, we must also think about measures to support what is known as engaged and responsible fatherhood. Essentially, this means encouraging men to be deeper involved in family responsibilities, in making decisions about having children, to devote more time to raising them, to lead a healthy lifestyle, and to preserve their reproductive health for as long as possible. Notably, such a role for men in the family is part of the traditions of practically all the peoples of our country.
I believe it is important to analyse the demographic support measures currently in place in the regions, to choose the best ones and, without delay, to replicate them nationwide. I ask the Government and our colleagues in the constituent entities of the Federation to update regional programmes aimed at birth rate improvement efforts.
I ask the Government to prepare comprehensive solutions to reverse the negative demographic trend. This is the first system-wide task facing the Government and the regions for 2026 as part of the implementation of national projects and the state policy in general. In June of next year, we will convene a Council meeting to discuss possible additional measures.
Next, we must improve the well-being of Russian families and ensure higher individual incomes. The state of the economy and its long-term stable growth is what matters most in this regard. This year, the growth rates of the Russian economy have slowed which was expected. Inflation decreased, and so did GDP growth rates. By the end of the year, they will amount to around one percent, but inflation will be around or even below six percent. Overall, we are on track to achieve this goal.
I believe the proper environment and the opportunities are in place to begin gradually build up economic dynamics, while maintaining low unemployment and, of course, moderate inflation rates, which, according to the Central Bank, should remain within four to five percent next year.
As agreed, the Government has drafted a plan for structural changes in the economy to create modern, well-paid jobs in high-tech sectors and in industries manufacturing products with high added value, and to increase consumption of the domestically manufactured goods.
The plan runs until 2030. Please start implementing it immediately, so that by the end of next year we could have a platform for achieving growth rates of the national economy that are not inferior to the global average. This is the second system-wide task for the Government and the regional teams for 2026.
Let me emphasise, the economic growth must be comprehensive and encompass all constituent entities of the Federation. In this regard, I ask to reinforce the regional component in the economic national projects and have them focus particularly on closing the gap in the economic potentials of the regions.
Next. The structure of Russia’s foreign trade must become more technologically advanced. Much has been done recently to remove bottlenecks in logistics, insurance, and payment infrastructure for exporters and importers. We are developing our own solutions in this area, including together with our BRICS partners, and are actively using national currencies in mutual payments. All of that has allowed businesses to cut the costs of cross-border payments many times over.
We need to orient our foreign economic relations towards increasing exports of technologically advanced products. In imports, it is important to shift the focus towards high-tech products that cannot be replaced by Russian analogues, or towards basic goods that require large inputs of low-skilled labour. We, on the contrary, must expand and encourage more highly qualified jobs here in Russia.
Changing the foreign trade structure is the third system-wide task for the Government in the coming year. The development and deepening of the supply-side economy are directly linked to improving the business climate.
The Government has approved and launched a national model of target conditions for doing business. It includes measures in areas such as access to infrastructure, dispute-resolution mechanisms, and so on.
I ask our colleagues at the federal and regional levels to pay special attention to the implementation of this model. It is important that it produce actual results to increase investment, to launch and advance investment projects in various industries and across all regions of the Russian Federation.
The fourth system-wide task that I want to set for the Government and the regions in the coming year is the formalisation of the national economy that is developing a transparent and competitive business environment. The Government has prepared a corresponding plan. This is important and we have discussed it many times. With higher VAT rate, we must make sure that nothing gets hidden in the shadow, everything operates legally, and the revenue goes to the budget.
As I mentioned earlier, the point is to eliminate illegal circulation of goods in wholesale and retail markets, and in the digital space. We definitely do not need any of those sweeping raids like the ones we had in the past. But it is essential to bring things up to code on wholesale and retail markets, and to drastically reduce illegal employment that violates the rights of Russian citizens, and to strengthen oversight over circulation of cash funds.
It is important to act competently and to not create obstacles to economic growth. Honest entrepreneurs and companies must obtain new opportunities for growth and direct and tangible benefits from the formalisation of the market. In turn, for the state and for society at large, the effect should include an increase in revenue to budgets of various levels.
Next, the most important factor influencing economic dynamics is labour productivity. The higher it is, the more sustainable our companies and enterprises are, the stronger their market position and competitiveness, and, consequently, the greater the state’s opportunities, the larger the budget revenue base, and, most importantly, the higher the incomes of workers and their families.
By 2030, labour productivity improvement projects should cover at least 40 percent of medium and large enterprises in key non-resource sectors, as well as all social sector organisations, where significant improvements in operational efficiency are also needed, and not at the expense of additional workloads for employees, but primarily by reducing time spent on paperwork, plans, unnecessary reports, and other red tape tasks not directly related to the education of schoolchildren and college students, the examination and treatment of patients, and so on.
Thousands of enterprises and organisations are already participating in labor productivity improvement projects, and overall labor productivity in Russia is growing. However, in some sectors the situation is, to put it mildly, stagnant. For example, from 2021 to 2024, low or even negative labour productivity dynamics were observed in: trade (minus 1.1 percent); housing and utilities (minus 0.2 percent); and transportation and storage (minus 0.1 percent). Overall, these negative figures are modest, but the average level of labour productivity growth is also modest. From 2021 to 2024, labour productivity grew at an average annual rate of 0.7 percent.
I would also note that the industry-specific competence centres at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Digital Development, and the Ministry of Energy have not yet been launched. This must be done as quickly as possible. I instruct the Government to more actively involve in productivity improvement projects those companies from sectors where employment is high and where labour productivity has significant potential for growth. These include, as I have already mentioned, trade, construction, certain manufacturing sectors, agriculture, transportation, and tourism. And, of course, productivity improvement projects must be expanded to all state and municipal social sector organisations without exception. This is the fifth systemic objective facing the Government for 2026.
I should further remark that increased efficiency directly depends on the implementation of advanced technologies, automation tools, industrial robots, and the use of digital solutions, including electronic platforms and artificial intelligence mechanisms.
We can say that in today’s environment, it is these tools that make a decisive contribution to the development of a supply-side economy and the adoption of a new technological paradigm.
This year, we have laid the foundations for a new technology policy and taken significant regulatory decisions, for example, in the field of unmanned aircraft. National projects to ensure technological leadership have been launched. Next year, another project will be added: in the bioeconomy.
At our Council’s previous meeting in June, I asked my colleagues to carry out a comprehensive assessment of Russia’s level of technological sovereignty in priority sectors and to refine the metrics and indicators for technological leadership in each specific area. These instructions have not yet been followed out.
I am aware that technological leadership projects are complex and unconventional; they require solutions to a range of issues related to resource and scientific support, as well as industrial cooperation to be established. Nevertheless, we need to move more quickly from the assembly and packaging of projects, so to speak, to head-on work. The pace of their implementation must increase significantly.
Given the analysis of the situation, it is important for the Government to fine-tune the technology policy management system. Particular attention must be paid to creating incentives for both developers of new solutions and their consumers. And, of course, we must ensure funding for such national projects, including through extra-budgetary sources. This is a matter not only for the relevant agencies but also, naturally, for the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the development of the financial market.
National technological leadership projects must not simply result in import substitution, as we have discussed with my colleagues many times, but in the creation of original domestic solutions that are globally competitive. This is precisely what we must strive for. I would like to emphasise that technological leadership projects do not exist in isolation; they have systemic significance for all spheres of life. Their results are essential for the successful implementation of our initiatives and development programmes in all areas, based on cutting-edge technology.
To reiterate, it is critically important for domestic innovations, including AI-based technology, autonomous systems, and digital platforms, to be widely used in all spheres of life, including economic and social sectors, and public administration. The introduction of these capabilities must be part of an uninterrupted effort. Additional effective incentives must be created to this end. This is the sixth system-wide task facing the Government next year.
We have agreed that this work will be overseen at the level of deputy prime ministers and ministers. However, technological leadership and innovative development projects are not the responsibility of individual specialised agencies, but a nationwide task. All levels of government, research organisations and universities, small and medium-sized businesses, and development institutions must participate in implementing them. I will ask Mr Shuvalov to report separately on the role of the development institutions.
Overall, there is no longer division between conventional and innovation-driven sectors. The logic of continuous technological renewal must be common to all.
Colleagues,
I expect all speakers will focus on practical solutions to the above issues today. I ask the Government and regional teams to concentrate on them.
At the same time, I will stress once again that all national projects, their goals and objectives, must have a clear dimension that people can understand. Please keep monitoring the results of sociological research nationwide and in individual regions. The role and the importance of the regional teams, and their initiatives, are extremely important for the implementation of the national projects.
I would like to ask Mr Sobyanin to report on this and include assessments and proposals from the State Council working groups.
The situation in the constituent entities of the Federation where, according to opinion polls, the pace of change is still slow needs special attention. First of all, I mean that in each area of national project implementation, ten regions are identified which showed lower results than the rest of the country. Clearly, more substantial input is needed from all participants in the national projects. I ask our colleagues from the Government not to shift the load of doing everything on regional teams, but, on the contrary, to join efforts with them and to help them find solutions.
Overall, the issues and the system-wide tasks that are part of the work to achieve national goals require laser-sharp focus and full engagement from the Government, the ministries and agencies, as well as our colleagues in the regions.
Let us get to work. Mr Mishustin, please, you have the floor.
In their reports, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Moscow Mayor and Chairman of the State Council Commission on State and Municipal Administration Sergei Sobyanin, and Chairman of the VEB.RF State Development Corporation Igor Shuvalov discussed various aspects of work to implement national projects. A report by Head of the Russian Popular Front Executive Committee Mikhail Kuznetsov focused on analysing people’s views on the implementation of national projects.
To be continued.
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Vladimir Putin: In fact, the colleagues did the work diligently, with their reports focusing on the most important areas of our efforts.
What would I like to say in conclusion? My very great plea is that our events of this kind, events that are rather infrequent, should not be formalistic. We proceed from the premise that the issues we are handling today – the Government, agencies and regions have handled during the whole of this year – must be constantly in the focus of our attention, for otherwise there will be no result. It is also important not to forget about priorities. I said this twice and thrice as did our colleagues in their remarks. Priorities must not be forgotten – the principal ones are in the economic sphere, of course – so, that we address social issues based on our economic achievements. They do exist. I want to thank you, we will go back to this at our meetings before the New Year. They do exist. The Government has worked rhythmically throughout the year, as have the regions. But let us not forget things that are important. If they are addressed in passing or superficially, we will not achieve the results we need. I will not return to these now.
We have drafted a list of instructions. I would ask you, Mr Mishustin, to join the work on this list, so that the Government is not heaped over from above, as they say. On the contrary, all the points outlined here, points that have been elaborated, should constitute a real plan of our joint work for 2026.
Thank you very much. All the best!