The Prime Minister gave a lecture titled “Creating the future today” at the lecture hall of the Russian Znaniye Society as part of the Russia International Exhibition and Forum’s educational programme. Mikhail Mishustin also visited an exhibition of projects designed to promote the self-fulfillment of children and youth.
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin’s lecture “Creating the future today” at Znaniye’s lecture hall
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, friends.
I am glad to welcome all of you to a lecture offered by the Russian Znaniye Society.
Before we begin, I would like to present our high-level guest, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Japarov. He is currently on a working visit to Moscow and was willing to join us at this event. I would like to thank him for his presence.
This time, the Znaniye Society is presenting its project as part of the Russia International Exhibition and Forum. It shows the country’s most important and spectacular achievements that we pride ourselves in, which can be credited to our talented researchers, inventors, engineers, cultural figures and artists. In this lecture, we will discuss how these people contribute to developing our country. Of course, we will also talk about the future. You, the young generation of Russians, are the ones who will shape this future.
The world is rapidly changing forcing us to rethink all the rules and practices we have grown used to. As our President has been saying, a new, multipolar world order with better justice for all is about to replace the older unipolar system. This is the main trend today.
There is a real effort underway to dismantle international law, which has been underpinning the global order since the end of World War II. It was at that time that the United Nations was created, and then, for decades to come, it defined the boundaries for state action. Back then, the goal was quite straightforward and consisted of preventing the tragic events of the early and mid-20th century from ever occurring again. However, we can see today that the norms set forth at the time no longer work.
There were many reasons for that.
A loss of trust among international actors is the first such factor. This is primarily attributable to some countries seeking to rewrite the rules of the game in order to reinforce their leadership at the expense of others.
Another important factor was the arrival of new, emerging economies aspiring to regional and global leadership.
There was also the onset of Industry 4.0 – the Fourth Industrial Revolution – with joint manufacturing giving way to new economic practices rooted in innovation and digital technology. The latter now serve as the main growth drivers for national economies and entire sectors. The sharing economy provided a major impetus for introducing artificial intelligence. Only countries capable of creating and introducing cutting-edge solutions can succeed in this environment.
All these developments have heightened political, social and economic issues, bringing into question the inviolable nature of property and free trade.
Today, some are trying to prevent us from accessing technology. This goes far beyond state-of-the-art solutions, for example, in space exploration or hydrogen engines. It concerns even simple things such as communications, medicine, getting information and basic research.
At the G20 summit, our President noted that the colossal stress currently experienced by the global economy is a direct consequence of the ill-considered macroeconomic policy of certain countries. The justification given for these actions was the need to combat the pandemic, among other things. By injecting trillions of dollars and euros into the economy and the banking system, they triggered a surge in global inflation, food and energy price hikes.
What is happening now? If we take the eurozone, according to the European Commission, GDP is expected to grow by around 0.6 percent this year, which is almost five times less than in Russia. In fact, GDP is expected to go below zero in Germany, Ireland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, and the Baltic states.
Meanwhile, the sanctions churned out by the collective West have not crushed our economy as they predicted. Of course, there were tangible challenges, mainly in the second quarter of 2022, but we have seen a steady recovery since then. Many industries have already surpassed their figures for early 2022. For the most part, we have overcome the biggest difficulties.
Russia’s GDP growth is currently around 5 percent per annum, it was 3.2 percent over the past ten months. We expect around 3 percent as of the end of the year. The dynamic for real disposable income is also rather good. Even our opponents have been talking about our success, openly admitting that the sanctions are not working.
Generally, our production industry has responded to the external pressure rather well and is gradually recovering. The growth of the processing industries continued to speed up in October at a very good pace of 9.5 percent year-on-year.
The unemployment rate has dropped to a new historic low. If we compare it with the eurozone, their unemployment rate is more than twice as high as Russia’s and even goes beyond that in certain countries. For example, the unemployment rate in Spain is 12–13 percent.
Experts state that the Russian economy has reacted commendably to all the challenges. We should thank our people for this. As the President noted, Russia will withstand any challenges because we are one country and one big and united nation.
It is too early to relax though. We should not expect that the Western powers will pull themselves together and change their anti-Russia course.
Many have been asking, will we be able to handle this pressure?
Yes, I am confident of that. Fyodor Tyutchev, the remarkable Russian author and diplomat who, due to the nature of his work, witnessed the West’s ambitions to deter our country, once wrote: “It was Russia’s arch enemies that most successfully ensured its mightiness.” He said it more than 170 years ago but these words remain relevant even today.
We have the full potential to achieve successes and ensure continuing growth in the economy.
For this purpose, this country, primarily Soviet scientists and innovators, established a solid foundation, and they accounted for most breakthrough discoveries in the mid-20th century.
At that time, a special approach towards educating specialists became the foundation of development in all disciplines. Incidentally, the Soviet education model remains a recognisable global brand, so to say.
Bauman Moscow State Higher Technical University still uses the Russian method for educating modern engineers that was created by Alexander Yershov. Many major technical universities in many countries, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, copied this approach. It is based on the simultaneous mastering of both the theoretical and practical aspects, combining fundamental university-level and basic applied education. This approach was rated as the best and spread all over the world.
Pyotr Kapitsa introduced yet another method, specifically, the Phystech System that included researchers in the educational process, and that largely facilitated a national breakthrough in fundamental research.
As for medicine, this country introduced the Semashko model in 1920 to merge all medical organisations into one centralised network. The old-time Zemstvo (district-council) level medicine was transformed into the state-funded primary medical treatment system under the district principle. All citizens started receiving free medical care. By the way, many countries, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Italy and many others, eventually used this experience.
The Soviet Union developed vaccines, serums and antibiotics that made it possible to protect people’s health and lives and to defeat some lethal diseases. The entire world saw the country’s cardiology, traumatology, genetics, neurology, transplantology, pharmacology, surgery and many other specialties as advanced.
The primary industry, the foundation of high-tech sectors, was established virtually from scratch in the 20th century. The power grid was also created. The geological prospecting and mining sectors made considerable headway. All this facilitated the development of such sectors as metallurgy, the oil and gas and chemical sphere, and the construction industry.
New areas were also established, including supersonic, long-range and unique transport aircraft, the civilian space programme, satellites, and the civil nuclear power industry.
The fully automatic and reusable unmanned Buran spacecraft was created in the 1980s.
Why am I mentioning this? It is extremely important to remember the history of your country and your people. Outstanding aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev once said: “We must remember our history and those who created it with loving care.” This is true, but I would like to add that we must also remember our teachers and mentors. I am sure that many of us get inspiration from their work and their remarkable achievements, especially the achievements of our forefathers.
Many people think that the Soviet Union’s disintegration was a major geopolitical tragedy. It disrupted technological links and cut short research projects, which Russia was economically unable to finance during the 1990s reforms. Our achievements became obsolete, and many engineering, technological and design solutions lost their competitiveness. It was a very difficult time for our scientific school. But today we are doing everything possible to make up for that regress.
It is crucially important that we have talented people, who can think outside the box, work for their country and find new and much-needed solutions.
Russia continues to strengthen its technological sovereignty. We have the fundamental conditions for regaining the status of a great scientific and technological power. We have almost unlimited access to high-quality food and clean water. It is these factors that will determine national development to a large degree.
We must relaunch modern high-tech industries such as electronics, machine tool engineering, engine building and the manufacture of aircraft and all types of drones, transport engineering and critical chemistry. We must create new medicines and medical goods. All this is very important.
Our President has laid out our national goals through this decade. They are directly connected to the breakthrough scientific and technological development of our country.
All the Government’s decisions in all spheres are focused on the interests of our people. The President emphasised the importance of creating conditions for people’s self-fulfilment. We must keep our place among the top 10 countries with the best general education in the world. We must also become one of the top 10 countries by the volume of research projects. We must identify talented children and young people and create conditions for their further development.
I think that all of you are very talented and can reach success. But first you must choose the area you want to work in and where your talents are needed most.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of Russian space research and rocketry, said something wonderful: “First, inevitably, the idea, the fantasy, the fairy tale. Then, scientific calculation. Ultimately, fulfilment crowns the dream.”
I know that many of you dream of major breakthrough achievements, that you are looking for their place in the world and that you are looking into the future.
Today, I would like to discuss several areas that I consider crucial and promising for our country and, without exaggeration, engaging. These areas form the bedrock of our sovereignty and primarily include the advanced agricultural sector which ensures everyone’s access to high-quality foods. Clean water is the next most important commodity that everyone needs, followed by affordable healthcare that helps patients overcome diseases and stay healthy well into old age. Furthermore, these areas include efficient energy systems that serve households and businesses, along with the dynamic construction of comfortable blocks of flats and roads. Reliable communications and convenient mass transit are also integral and indispensable.
All of these sectors have brought positive results, and we can further enhance them.
Let's begin with food security which is a cornerstone for lasting sovereignty.
Russia is rightfully considered a global grain superpower and is a dependable grain supplier, exporting to both developed and developing economies. We currently lead the world in wheat exports, contributing nearly one-sixth of global exports. I am certain you are aware of the fact that that several decades ago, in the 1990s, we had to import wheat.
The current achievements owe much to the efforts of our agrarian workers, researchers, and innovators.
Cutting-edge technologies for agricultural production are being developed, including the reproduction of new plant varieties with unique properties that are sought after by the food, processing, and pharmaceutical industries. These efforts focus on developing plants with resistance to viruses and bacteria and were spearheaded by the Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology’s relatively young team which is passionate about what it’s doing.
Technologies pioneered at the Dokuchaev Institute for cultivating spring wheat play a crucial role in achieving consistent yields even in the face of climate change.
Opportunities abound for those who are interested in contributing to environmental protection.
Our country boasts a strategic resource in the form of clean fresh water, and is second only to Brazil globally. Lake Baikal stands out as Eurasia’s largest freshwater lake.
Considering the ongoing global warming trends, Russia's natural resources will become more valuable in the coming years. Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water, and this deficit is expected to affect around one-third of the global population in the next five to ten years.
Water shortages are just part of the problem; ensuring water quality is equally crucial. Considering this, key, promising technologies revolve around water treatment, wastewater treatment, geological prospecting, and assessment of underground water reserves.
Continuous subsoil monitoring efforts are
underway led by the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use, which uses modern and original Russian solutions. Automated telemetry systems enable the real-time
measurement of the condition of our ground waters, and transmit the data
through cellular or satellite communication channels.
These devices have been installed in over 200 monitoring wells in the Baikal nature territory, in the Caucasus, in hard-to-reach parts of Russia’s Far East and Siberia, and in the areas bordering Belarus. They help predict changes and prevent deterioration.
The Government is implementing a range of measures to preserve our natural resources. These include federal projects to improve the Volga River and preserve Lake Baikal. We are rebuilding and building new treatment facilities to reduce the volume of polluted water discharged into rivers and lakes across all Russian regions. We are keeping this under close review.
The next promising area – which concerns each of us, without exaggeration – is medicine. This is a highly significant field; medical professionals are always in demand and enjoy predictable respect.
Over the past 20 years, we have made good progress in this regard. Russia made a huge leap in increasing the availability of high-tech medical services. The improvement of primary care also continues.
We are proud of our doctors and nurses. These are people who have chosen to save people's lives and health as their vocation. They are true heroes who are dedicated to caring for others. They give hope to patients even in the most challenging and difficult cases.
Russian pharmaceutical scientists are working on new drugs. Today, Russia is one of the leading biotechnological powers. During the coronavirus pandemic, as many as four vaccines were registered, and went into production in Russia and abroad. They were also exported to more than 60 countries. In general, the countries that can resolve problems of such complexity can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Russian geneticists have succeeded in deciphering the genome. This year, Russia released an industrial series of its first whole-genome DNA sequencer. This equipment is crucial for genetic research. The obtained data are used in the diagnosis of rare genetic conditions and other pathologies. Next year, ten more devices like this are planned.
One world-class Russian project is a drug for Bechterew disease (ankylosing spondylitis), the first in its class. The new drug’s effectiveness has been proven; it will give many people a chance to stay healthy.
Our young scientists have had unique achievements in endoprosthetics, the creation of artificial corneas and collagen membranes, and high-precision methods for diagnosing the early stages of cancer.
Of course, there is still a lot to be done including medical research, improving access to healthcare, the quality of treatment and care. And this is also in your hands. Many future achievements will belong to the next generation of specialists.
Friends,
Clean energy, including the peaceful use of the atom, is a guarantee of long-term sustainable development. At present, the goal is to cardinally transform the entire energy sector, ensuring an expedited transition to more effective, flexible and sustainable energy for people and businesses.
We are implementing ambitious projects in this area in both the technical parameters and in scope. RusHydro is building hydroelectric power stations in the Amur Region. In addition to generating energy, the dams will protect this region from floods that do enormous damage to its economy every year.
Three geothermal stations in Kamchatka generate almost a quarter of all electricity in this region. There are plans to build new ones as well.
We also have unique technology in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Russia is second in Europe in total power generated with this method. Russia is also second in the world in uranium production and first in enrichment.
We account for 85 percent of the world market in exporting nuclear power plant construction technology. In addition to scaling existing solutions, we are at the forefront of nuclear science.
We are developing a fast neutron reactor that converts depleted uranium and spent nuclear fuel into new fuel resources for stations, thereby forming a closed cycle.
It was Russia that developed Tokamak-15 for research in controlled thermonuclear synthesis.
Russia also has small nuclear power generating plants that are in demand in many diverse areas, from icebreakers to advanced projects with small power stations.
I would like to tell you about yet another new area – hydrogen energy. Russia must carry out projects on developing new technology for hydrogen production and infrastructure construction. These are initiatives for storing, transporting, and generating energy and for building hydrogen stations.
The capacity of the hydrogen market is tremendous. This chemical element is used as a source of fuel and is the most common in space. Most importantly, it can be produced from renewable sources. Hydrogen makes it possible to substantially reduce harmful emissions in the air.
I would like to make one more point – gas turbines. Due to the sanctions, imports to Russia have been reduced. They thought they would harm us, but this didn’t happen. Even now our companies are developing and manufacturing a range of turbines including for electric power plants. The most powerful ones have a capacity of up to 170 MW. So, this is yet another technological niche that we are filling independently, thereby restoring the country’s lost industrial potential.
Why am I talking in such detail about this? According to some forecasts by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s energy consumption will increase by at least 30 percent in 17 years. We must be ready to face this challenge, especially since we possess so many competitive advantages.
Our immediate plans include the construction of new gas liquefaction and processing facilities and petrochemical plants, as well as the construction and modernisation of port and pipeline infrastructure for redirecting our exports from the west to the east. There is a great deal to do in this sphere, and it will be interesting work.
As for the construction industry, this is one of the main drivers of modern technology development.
Over the past few years, we have shown that we can build not only unprecedented volumes of modern housing to create a new quality of life for our citizens, but also major road and industrial facilities without delays.
The further development of this industry closely depends on the substitution of foreign resources and technologies, automation, robotics and the implementation of national solutions in lifecycle solutions in property development.
This year, we plan to build over 100 million square metres of housing, which is a record high figure. We will build about 51 million square metres of multi-family housing more than ever in Russia’s history. Over 3.5 million families improve their living conditions every year.
The President has instructed us to build 120 million square metres of housing a year for at least 5 million families by the end of this decade. We are working to fulfil this task so that more people can live in comfortable modern flats.
We will continue to develop transport accessibility. In the next four years, we will modernise 150,000 kilometres of motorways, not only urban and rural roads but also federal routes, including as part of the Russia and North-South international transport corridors.
We are designing several sections of high-speed railway lines, where trains will speed along at between 200 and 400 km/h. These routes will run from north to south and from west to east, ensuring quick transportation between outlying locations. For example, it will take only slightly more than two hours from Moscow to St Petersburg.
Now that our foreign trade is being redirected towards the east, we are increasing the throughput capacity of the railway infrastructure in Siberia and the Far East. We are not only expanding the infrastructure there but also streamlining freight transport prices.
We need new unique technologies for the implementation of these ambitious plans, first, to accelerate the construction of roads and to use composite and other materials, such as high modulus asphalt concrete. We need new solutions to monitor air quality and to assess emissions in populated areas. Our experts are working to create these solutions, and you can contribute to this.
The ICT industry is another niche that has a strong need for competent professionals, and we often have discussions about this.
The sanctions on Russia include a ban on supplying the latest telecom equipment to our country.
As I mentioned earlier, a significant portion of electronic equipment in Russia, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and base stations, used to be of foreign provenance. We were not global leaders in this area, so there is a substantial gap to fill.
Competing with global industry leaders is, without a doubt, challenging, and involves not only intellectual capacity but also the presence of reliable markets to justify the investment.
Considering this, Russia must be at the forefront of the countries developing in-demand services for its citizens and companies, making a transition to a data-driven economy. This entails basing decision-making, including economic decisions, on reliable data rather than expert opinion, forecasts, or assessments.
Achieving this goal necessitates building a modern and secure telecommunications infrastructure using domestic solutions. This includes upgrading the satellite communication group, which is crucial for the more efficient development of territories and the launch of transport and logistics corridors.
Additionally, special attention should be directed towards developing proprietary software in order to, as instructed by the President, attain independence from foreign solutions. Notably, there have been significant achievements in this area, with 18,000 Russian software products already included in the register.
Foreign programmes in the business segment across various industries such as engineering, transport, healthcare, education, agriculture, and trade are being replaced with the domestic ones. The emphasis is on automated design and product lifecycle management systems, technological and manufacturing processes, and platforms for distributing company resources.
Russia boasts its own search engine, email services, and social media, which many of you, if not all, are using. Moreover, domestic operating systems for mobile devices are rapidly expanding.
The software and telecom sectors are picking up the pace rapidly, making it an opportune time for those aspiring to become developers.
Radioelectronics is another promising sector impacting numerous related fields from medicine to space exploration.
The situation in industry has significantly improved compared to a decade ago. In the past year alone, computer and electronic equipment production has increased by approximately 30 percent. Russia has made significant progress in radiation-resistant and microwave electronics, successfully delving into the creation of state-of-the-art integrated circuits. The production of microelectronics, electronic modules, printers, computers, and peripheral devices is underway as well.
However, there still remains work to be done. It is essential to be able to create components and localise the production chain within Russia. To address this, the industry development programme has been updated, with a focus on establishing domestic electronic engineering. Future endeavours include mastering the production of maskless laser and electron-beam lithography equipment, ion implantation technology, and more.
It is more important for Russia like never before to ensure the development of a specific line of deeply localised products in many industries. This is why the Government has decided to launch major projects focused on technological sovereignty, or as we call them megaprojects.
One of the projects concerns developing the machine-tool manufacturing industry. Russia has competencies to produce a substantial part of modern metal-processing equipment, including with computer-aided design. We will continue to expand the share of domestic products in the country.
We are focusing on other fields as well. I will talk about them in more detail, as well as about the groundwork we have already done.
Machine engineering plays a special role in the world of the future, especially passenger and commercial transport, trains and rolling stock, vessels and aircraft.
But first, auto manufacturing. Unfortunately, we have lagged behind in this area for a long time. People often preferred imported cars. Also, the industry was seriously hurt by the sanctions.
Imports from the United States, Japan, Germany, France and other countries have been suspended, making Japanese, Korean and European brands discontinue auto production in Russia. Those brands made up a significant share of the Russian market, and many were used to them. Therefore, our priority is to re-launch the production facilities of the foreign companies that left. We will ensure that within three to four years, the production of Russian cars will increase to over 1.3 million vehicles per year. Domestic brands must account for over 70 percent of sales in Russia.
According to the Automobile Industry Development Strategy, one of our goals is to increase domestic content by improving research and engineering competencies and, as a result, competitive production of automotive components. It is important to work with industrial partners – but not just those interested in assembly plants here, but those who are willing to build components for vehicles with high domestic content.
The flagship brands of our auto industry are KamAZ and AvtoVAZ. Their products, assembled mostly from Russian parts, have the highest degree of localisation across the industry.
Another vector is developing electric transport. We do see good prospects for the Russian auto industry here. Electric vehicles help keep the air in cities cleaner. Our companies plan to build around 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in the next three years.
We have the Atom electric car based on a proprietary platform and a Russian IT system. The design is finished and we will soon launch production.
Modern electric buses are becoming popular. Large urban models are seeing the highest demand. They are being sent to the regions so users can have convenient transportation, and we are building infrastructure for them, including charging stations.
Technologically, the Russian car industry will be developing towards higher sustainability and efficiency. I am talking first about developing vehicles with alternative types of power units – hybrids, full electrics, and hydrogen-powered vehicles. We also need autonomation and autonomous systems for vehicles, as well as telematic and smart security and control platforms.
There are also promising projects in railway engineering. Essential foreign components for rolling stock have been replaced recently. A diesel locomotive with a Russian diesel engine has been developed and put into production for pulling heavy trains weighing up to 7,100 tonnes in the Eastern Operating Domain. Now we will focus on upgrading, re-equipping and updating the rolling stock of all types of rail transport: both passenger and freight, primarily using domestic equipment.
We will also develop the market for key high-tech components. By the end of the decade, we need to ensure that the open-top freight cars in the Eastern Operating Domain are completely replaced with innovative models with increased load capacity. And of course, we need to establish production of a domestic diesel engine. Our companies are already working on this.
As for ship building, we are to take a large step towards the future. Development speed like this has not been seen since the Soviet era. The civilian segment of the industry includes research vessels, equipment for oil fields, fishing fleets, cargo, passenger, and cruise fleets. And of course, diesel and nuclear icebreakers are our flagships. By the way, only Russia is still able to build the latter. Russia is the only country that has these high-tech ships.
Last year, the order portfolio for civilian ships was 300 units. Today it is already 985 ships until 2035. Just a few years ago this would have been difficult to imagine.
Let me list our best projects for vessels that are under construction at our shipyards for you to better understand the scale of the changes.
We have four classes of icebreakers, one of which is the most powerful in the world.
Another example is large fishing boats, large (80–100 metres) freezer trawlers, and unique crab fishing boats. They have the most up-to-date equipment with maximum processing automation and waste-free production. They remain reliable in the harsh conditions of the Arctic and Far East.
Passenger vessels include the iconic high-speed Comet and Meteor hydrofoils. Their range is about 400–600 km.
We have large tankers and gas carriers, which allows Russia to ensure its independence in sea shipments of energy carriers.
And, finally, the aircraft industry. This is an essential industry for Russia, especially considering the size of our territory. In the early 2000s, we only purchased civilian aircraft from abroad. But even then, the President made a historical decision: Russia must build its own aircraft again. It was necessary to restart the industry and develop competitive airliners that, in open market conditions, would become more attractive to carriers, that is, consume less fuel, be more comfortable and reliable, and cost less than competitors’ aircraft.
In the first stage, we used Soviet resources to solve this problem. Our foreign partners were also involved in cooperating as much as possible.
Why couldn’t we just use the USSR’s designs? It’s simple: our aircraft did not meet the standards that would have allowed us to fly to other countries due to noise and emission levels. In the time since the Soviet Union, the planes became outdated, including their fuel consumption.
So, we called in the Americans, French, Japanese, Italians, Germans and specialists from other countries. And we did the most difficult thing: we launched production of the aircraft and the hundreds of thousands of components in Russia. We certified the Superjet more than ten years ago. But now, it is very important to eliminate the imported parts in the production of the components and technologies, which our engineers are successfully doing. Last year, the PD-14 engine and a wing made of Russian composites for the MS-21 plane were certified. Next year we will continue to localise these components and increase our production volumes.
As a result of the sanctions, we were prohibited from importing most foreign parts in this area. But no matter how hard they tried, the restrictions only expedited the revival of Russian aircraft manufacturing, including the production of domestic chassis, engines, avionics, electrical equipment, composite parts and materials, and other components.
Of course, it is challenging. There are still issues regarding substitution of the foreign components. But we can handle all of it; our engineers and designers are working hard on this. I am sure that you can make a contribution as well.
While under the sanctions, we are also putting into production the upgraded Ilyushin Il-96 and Il-114. They are equipped with advanced on-board systems. Cutting-edge engines have been developed for them, meeting all of today’s requirements.
By the way, as for engines, initially, Russian-French and Canadian units were installed on the Sukhoi Superjet and Irkut MS-21. The French refused to service them, supply parts, or extend their service contracts. And the Canadians will not supply the engine itself. In these conditions, we expedited the development of our own engines: the PD-8, PD-14 and PD-35. They completely cover our needs in the turbofan engine sector. And most importantly, they provide reliability. The government sets these goals for the industry. Only this kind of engines can be used in civil aviation.
Today we are designing a full range of planes that the country needs, and they will gradually see production. These are short- and medium-haul aircraft: the new Sukhoi Superjet and Irkut MS-21, and the Ilyushin Il-114 and Ladoga regional planes, as well as the Baikal aircraft for local airlines, which is being developed to replace the legendary Antonov An-2. And finally, the long-range Ilyushin Il-96.
Future goals and priorities for the industry were laid out by another famous Soviet aircraft designer Oleg Antonov, creator of the An series of airliners. He said: “It is not enough to make airplanes based on world standards. We need to be ahead.” And so, we must strive for this.
The most promising areas are not only traditional planes, but also unmanned systems, supersonic civil and even electric aircraft, as well as tiltrotors and airliners for local airlines capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
I think that the creation of high technologies for up-to-date systems of on-board and ground equipment and hybrid powertrains must be the main goals for our engineers.
In the years to come, we plan to develop and test a cryogenic hybrid electric propulsion demonstrator using liquid hydrogen. It will be possible to increase the power of the electrical components by almost 10 times while maintaining mass-dimensional specifications thanks to low temperatures.
The government will continue to work on all the issues of the aircraft industry under the current state programme in order to launch production of a range of wide-body models. This is necessary to replace the Boeings and Airbuses, to improve the routes within the country for people’s convenience and encourage the regional aviation that is to connect remote areas, which is very important. The President always talks about this.
We are also restoring the domestic civilian helicopter industry. The market, of course, is much smaller, and the requirements are narrower, too: to ensure transport accessibility in remote settlements and the needs of our industry, including in the Arctic; and also to carry out sanitary and protective measures. And now, based on a Soviet foundation, we are in the process of creating the most advanced equipment for various purposes.
These include the multi-purpose light Ansats, medium Mi-38, heavy Mi-171, and a series of specialised Ka-32s.
Further success awaits.
Friends,
Whatever career you choose, our country will always offer you opportunities to succeed. Outstanding Russia scientist Dmitri Mendeleev said that “the future of Russia depends largely, if not entirely, on the state of education.” And that is why we take education issues very seriously at the state level.
The federal project Professionalism is underway. This is basically a reset of the secondary vocational education system. Education and manufacturing centres are being launched that tie colleges and real-economy companies together. There are 900 colleges. By the end of next year, they will have educated 150,000 professional workers – machine operators, mechanics, fitters, operators, adjusters, agronomists, electricians and more.
These specialists and others are needed at all times, especially today. They are gaining increasing respect in society. They receive proper salaries, and the future of companies and technologies depends on them.
Private companies have joined the project. They compile curricula, upgrade material and technical bases for their students to practice and get the knowledge they will need in their work. So, young people with high potential are trained there within a fairly short time span. Importantly, a young person can fully immerse himself in the process and see if it fits him or her.
Under the President’s instruction we are also developing a network of world-class campuses for those who plan to earn a university degree. There will be 25 of them by the end of the decade. At present, 17 projects are ongoing in different parts of the country. Mr Falkov, Mr Chernyshenko, and we all work on this every day under the President’s guidance.
The cities include Moscow, Kaliningrad, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Novosibirsk and many others.
In the first stage in designing these campuses we identified the range of technologies and products the region’s economy would need. After identifying them, we endorsed standards for modern equipment. There will be 62,000 residences for students and teaching staff, 414 laboratories, over 2 million square metres of comfortable classrooms and research, residential and athletic facilities. And this means absolutely new opportunities for studying and developing.
Today, the technical specialties are in high demand. We have created 30 advanced engineering schools based at the leading universities. The head of state talked about this several years ago. There are ten more in our plans. They will help provide highly qualified staff for hi-tech and science-intensive industries. We will be able to more actively produce our innovative designs and products.
To support those who are interested in starting their own business, we launched the Platform for University Technological Entrepreneurship two years ago. Over 90,000 students have completed these programmes and start-up studios. The Student Start-up competition is a flagship competition for potential entrepreneurs at universities. For example, as many as 2,000 young people will get one million rouble grants next year.
If you already have a serious business, welcome to the Russian Government’s programme “Takeoff – From Start-up to IPO.” The programme offers a combination of financial and non-financial support from the presentation of a promising idea up to a company’s listing on the stock market. Over 140 high-tech companies from 34 regions have used assistance totalling around 30 billion roubles. These are soft loans for the development of their business with a 3 percent annual interest rate. These loans have enjoyed the greatest demand from software designers for research, and machine and equipment manufacturing, and in bio technology and pharmaceuticals. This means we will see new breakthrough solutions in these industries soon.
Friends, I expect that you will find the most interesting and useful opportunities among the variety of the programmes and proposals.
Friends, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Russia is a country unlike any other. We have everything we need to assume a leading position in the emerging multipolar world, to remain a centre of attraction for trade, manufacturing, and financial ties, all while respecting our partners. People around the world will always need quality food and clean water. Everyone wants to be healthy, to have access to good modern medical care, live in comfortable lighted and heated homes, use the internet and other means of communication, drive reliable cars, and fly in good airplanes.
The technologies we discussed today are the main drivers of the country's development, and the keys to our export efforts. We can make our agriculture a basis for development and a customer for high-tech solutions. This also applies to our healthcare. We are capable of achieving technological sovereignty in all industries, including solutions for the independent and sustainable development of our manufacturing and infrastructure, and for establishing safe and seamless logistics on key overland transport corridors in Eurasia.
All the projects and plans I mentioned today are your future achievements. Many of you will start your professional careers in a few years, and many have already done so. There will be new lofty goals ahead of you. I am confident that you will be up to the challenge.
Albert Einstein is attributed with a good saying, “Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you’ll ever have is your mind and what you put into it.”
I sincerely hope that you will keep improving your skills and strive for more. Believe in yourselves, in your country, and in our amazing people. Work hard and keep learning. I’m sure this is the key to the future success of our country, because with knowledge, you can build a great Russia using your intelligence and talents.
I hope that the achievements you will see at the exhibition will inspire you to make new discoveries. And what you see will strengthen your faith and pride in our great Motherland, Russia.
Thank you for your time.
