Agenda: Partial write-off of budget loan debt and measures to ensure balanced regional budgets, funding for the renewal of public transport in the Kaliningrad Region, support for participants in the special military operation, and the execution of the federal budget for the first six months of the year.
Government meeting
Government meeting
Government meeting
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks:
Good afternoon, colleagues.
Before we move on to the Government meeting agenda, I would like to highlight several recent decisions.
Supporting the regions remains our priority. At the President’s direction, a special mechanism has been implemented that, as I would remind you, makes it possible to write off two-thirds of budget loan debt for territories that have undertaken infrastructure modernisation and financed other important initiatives.
We will now extend this measure to loans from nine additional entities, amounting to roughly 25.5 billion roubles. These include the Astrakhan, Kostroma, Penza, Saratov, and Tomsk regions, as well as the republics of Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, Ingushetia, and Khakassia.
Previously, these funds were directed towards the implementation of national projects, the development of key settlements, the replacement of elevator equipment in residential buildings, improvements to housing and utilities infrastructure, the renewal of urban transport, and the resettlement of citizens from unsafe housing. This decision will ease the debt burden on the regional budget systems and, importantly, contribute to improving the quality of life for people living there.
I would also like to address the issue of support for the Kaliningrad Region.
The President places particular emphasis on the development of our country’s westernmost region, given its unique geography and logistical conditions. Creating a comfortable living environment for residents is, without question, one of the priorities requiring well-coordinated support measures. To modernise public transport in the Kaliningrad Region, the Government will allocate 500 million roubles to co-finance the purchase of new, modern trolleybuses. These vehicles will be acquired through financial leasing from a domestic manufacturer.
Our domestic industry produces modern, reliable, and high-quality equipment in this field. It is environmentally friendly, low-noise, and designed to carry a large number of passengers. We recently reviewed such models at the Innoprom exhibition. Equally important is ensuring convenient access for parents with children and strollers – a task the President has specifically instructed us to prioritise.
All of the vehicles are scheduled to be delivered to the Kaliningrad Region within this year. This will help expand the transport network, making it more convenient for both residents and tourists.
Today, our agenda includes a broad set of regional issues. The President gives the highest priority to the development of Russia’s regions, and the Government consistently provides support, focusing above all on addressing the challenges faced by citizens and businesses.
We regularly discuss these matters during working trips across the country, most recently during trips to the Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts.
Let us now turn to the matter of additional support for the budgets of the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Altai Republic in the amount of approximately 3 billion roubles. These funds will be directed towards priority socially important expenditures, enabling the regions to adopt the most flexible approach in making operational decisions.
Mr Siluanov, I would like to ask you to ensure that these resources are transferred to the recipients without delay. The effectiveness of the measures we agreed upon during our working trips depends on this.
Now, regarding support for participants in the special military operation.
The President has stressed that the status of combat veterans must be granted to all those serving there. In line with his instructions, the Government has prepared the necessary amendments to federal legislation so that those who entered into contracts with the Ministry of Defence between October 2022 and September 2023 are also provided with the corresponding social guarantees. These servicemen carried out critical tasks, displaying courage and heroism in defence of our country. Each of them will now be able to obtain veteran or disabled combatant status and receive the full range of benefits to which they are entitled.
The State Duma begins its work next week, and we expect deputies and then senators to adopt this bill promptly, allowing our defenders to access the necessary assistance without delay.
Let us now move to another topic.
Today we will review budget execution for the first half of the year. This year, the Government has focused its efforts on two systemic objectives: returning the economy to the trajectory of balanced growth and reducing inflation.
Despite existing challenges, GDP dynamics remained positive, with growth recorded at 1.2 percent.
Budget revenues exceeded 17.5 trillion roubles, surpassing both last year’s figure and the forecast.
The revenue structure continues to evolve: non-oil and gas revenues already account for about 73 percent of the total, which is an important indicator of the growing role of high value-added sectors compared with the extraction of raw materials.
Expenditures increased by 1.4 trillion roubles, with additional resources directed towards key areas affecting citizens’ lives: education, culture, healthcare, housing and utilities, as well as towards supporting industry, innovation, energy, transport, and agriculture.
Financial discipline has been reinforced: execution rates are the highest in the last five years.
Taking into account revenue transfers, the budget deficit in the first half of the year amounted to 3.4 percent of GDP.
