Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin before the meeting
Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin before the meeting
Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin before the meeting
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma
Annual Government report on its performance to the State Duma. Tatyana Golikova, Dmitry Grigorenko and Denis Manturov
Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin before the meeting
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Volodin, Ms Matviyenko, State Duma deputies, colleagues.
In accordance with the Constitution, the Government annually submits to the State Duma a report on the results of its work. Today, I will provide a detailed account of what has been accomplished, what we have achieved in 2025, as well as outline our priorities for the near future.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, esteemed members of parliament, for the support you have provided to the Government’s efforts to develop our country, and for your constructive criticism.
Together, we have passed through extremely challenging stages. We overcame the consequences of the global pandemic and the impact of sanctions. We helped citizens and the economy adapt to new conditions and move forward. We greatly value the contribution made by the State Duma to this work.
Russia continues to develop despite all external attempts to hinder this progress, including mounting sanctions pressure, tariff wars and numerous other challenges that increase imbalances in trade and economic development. The Government is addressing its tasks with due regard to these factors and a careful assessment of risks.
We have concentrated our resources on the priorities defined by the President. We ensured a rapid launch of new national projects, a significant proportion of which are focused on achieving technological leadership.
As a result, despite an extremely difficult environment, positive economic momentum has been maintained. Last year, Russia’s GDP grew by 1 per cent. Over the past three years, cumulative growth has exceeded 10 per cent, matching and even surpassing the global average. This has been achieved amid intensifying external challenges, of which you are well aware.
The new tasks before us are more complex. They require greater effort, the launch of projects with long investment and industrial cycles, the expansion of infrastructure, the search for partners, suppliers and markets, as well as the strengthening of our own technological capabilities.
The system of public administration is also being improved. Taking advantage of modern tools, we are able to identify problem areas more promptly and make the required adjustments.
Allow me to cite one example. Following the results of the year, even the World Bank included Russia among the leaders in the digitalisation of public technologies. This index assesses the level of implementation of various digital instruments.
One such instrument in our case is the unified plan, which incorporates all measures linked to the objectives set out in the presidential executive order on achieving national development goals. We also have a risk management system, covering everything from operational to strategic risks. Naturally, this takes into account feedback from citizens and businesses, in facilitating which the State Duma – and you, esteemed deputies – play an important role.
This has enabled us to achieve the first results in implementing the new national projects and to create new opportunities for citizens, for the economy, for competitiveness, and for the country’s defence capability and security.
Following the President’s direction, our flagship national projects have focused on improving the quality of life for families with children and boosting the birth rate.
Working alongside you, distinguished members of the parliament, we have continued to strengthen the social protection system, ensuring that citizens have support in all kinds of life situations.
We are providing targeted assistance to low-income families. This includes a flat-rate benefit, and we have doubled the standard tax deductions for second and subsequent children. Maternity capital and other social benefits are indexed regularly.
I want to thank parliament for its collaborative work last year in expanding family support and backing government proposals in this area.
New laws are now in force, establishing additional rights and benefits for women awarded the title Mother Heroine. Maternity benefits for full-time students at universities, colleges, and research institutions have been increased. All periods of childcare up to the age of one and a half are now counted towards the insurance period. As a result, pensions for 400,000 mothers have been recalculated and increased under the new system.
We are also actively bringing employers on board to support families. Following the President’s instruction, from 1 January, we increased the maximum payment an employer can give an employee at the birth of a child, free of tax and insurance contributions – from 50,000 roubles to 1 million. Companies themselves decide the amount of these corporate payments.
In my last report, I announced that from this year, we are introducing the annual family benefit for working parents with two or more children whose income is below one and a half times the regional subsistence minimum. We have now prepared everything needed to roll out this mechanism, which should benefit over 4 million families. Applications will open this June.
Our aim is to make state support simple, fast, and easy to understand. Right now, 70 federal support programmes are delivered automatically or through a single application, based on the social treasury model.
The social contract works the same way. This has become a fine example of how people can overcome financial difficulty through hard work, with a helping hand from the state. Most of those who signed a social contract last year improved their family’s financial situation. We will certainly continue to develop this approach.
We are steadily raising the minimum wage. Here’s why it matters: employers cannot pay below this level. In 2025, it went up by over 16.5 percent. This year, it is increased by another fifth, reaching 27,000 roubles, a change affecting more than 4.5 million people.
The labour market is stable. Unemployment remains low, at just 2.2 percent. And for anyone wanting to learn a new skill and boost their earnings, we are here to help.
Last year, nearly 120,000 people retrained with government support, and most of them have now found employment.
We are keeping a close eye on incomes for older people. Following the President’s instruction, insurance pensions were increased in two stages, in line with inflation at 9.5 percent. Indexation for working pensioners has also been reinstated.
Every area of government policy is built around the interests of Russian families. This well-developed support system means people never have to face life’s challenges alone.
It is also vital for parents to give their children a good education – one that makes them want to go to school. Following the head of state’s direction, modern schools are being built all over the country. Last year, that meant new schools in the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Irkutsk, Kirov, Novgorod and Orenburg regions, and many others. In total, 80 new schools opened. That is another 67,000 pupils learning in properly equipped classrooms. It is worth noting that a good number of these new schools are in rural areas.
During our visit to the Kaluga Region, I spoke at length with teachers about how this will help children in the countryside get an education every bit as good as their peers in the big cities. And with new, domestically produced school buses – over 3,000 of them purchased last year – getting to class from neighbouring communities will be quicker and easier.
Children should have the chance to try their hand at sport, to broaden their horizons through theatre, cinema and the work of great artists. They need opportunities for recreation and leisure, including family activities. And we are creating conditions for this. Colleagues, almost 13 million people already take advantage of the Pushkin Card that allows young people to visit more and more cultural events and watch Russian films. To show you just one figure, more than 100 million tickets have been purchased over five years. Cinemas have been able to boost their box office sales, exceeding 50 billion roubles last year.
We are also modernising museums, theatres, art schools, libraries and sport infrastructure. We are helping those who want to relocate to rural areas and work in these organisations as part of rural development programmes. This type of programmes are now available not only to medical workers and teachers but also to cultural workers and sport coaches.
We are also extensively upgrading public transportation fleets to ensure these social facilities are easily accessible. The regions have purchased some 5,000 buses, trams and other types of transportation, with federal support.
Another important issue that concerns all generations is the accessibility of healthcare.
We continue to take extensive efforts to modernise primary medical care, at the President’s instruction. More than 3,000 facilities were built or renovated, mainly in rural areas and towns. Primary care facilities received tens of thousands of medical equipment units last year.
Residents of the towns, villages and cities affected by this change already can benefit from more technologically advanced and accessible medical care.
We are also building new admission units. Allow me to cite one example: last July we visited a hospital in Gorno-Altaisk that had been built with federal support. The Republic of Altai received assistance with diagnostic equipment. Local residents no longer need to travel to other regions for medical examinations.
Similar admission units are under construction in Dagestan, Komi, the Stavropol Territory, the Sverdlovsk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, Penza and many other regions.
We consistently improve children’s and maternal healthcare. The network of maternity clinics is expanding. We are modernising perinatal centres. Seventy-five centres were provided with advanced equipment. For example, in the Trans-Baikal Territory, which we also visited last summer. It is a great help for doctors and proper care for children and their mothers.
Implementation of cutting-edge medical solutions continues. Almost 1.5 million patients with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other chronic conditions are provided with remote monitoring devices. It is important that doctors can adjust treatment remotely before acute conditions develop.
Modern technologies are opening up greater opportunity across a wide range of sectors. One clear example is public services: their digital transformation has significantly accelerated many processes, making them more accessible to citizens. Last year alone, 36 new comprehensive life-situation services were added to the Gosuslugi web portal, bringing the total to 70. Today, people can apply for college admission, plan for the birth of a child, request tax deductions, and resolve many other important matters online. All of this can now be done promptly and conveniently, without the need to collect extensive paperwork.
At the same time, while bringing obvious advantages, digital technologies also create new risks. Fraudsters actively exploit these tools to deceive citizens for financial gain. Protecting people from cybercrime is therefore a priority.
I would like to thank Mr Volodin, Ms Matviyenko and my colleagues for supporting government initiatives aimed at combating cyber fraud. A second package of legislative amendments has been submitted to the State Duma. Among other measures, it grants telecom operators the right to use advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, in order to detect suspicious calls.
We expect these measures to be adopted promptly and to provide stronger safeguards for citizens.
For most families, housing remains the most pressing issue, particularly after having kids. That is why we continue large-scale housing construction. Last year, 108 million square metres of new housing were built.
In order to improve their living conditions, citizens are actively using mortgage programmes. Over 960,000 people obtained housing loans last year, largely through family mortgage programmes. Far Eastern and Arctic mortgage programmes are in demand as well.
By the President’s instruction, these programmes have also been extended to the secondary housing market in cities and towns where new housing developments remain limited.
We are also making consistent efforts to renovate the existing housing stock across all regions. Nearly 100,000 more people have moved from dilapidated and unsafe housing into modern, comfortable homes.
At the same time, public spaces and residential areas are being upgraded. Over the past year, approximately 7,500 such spaces have been renovated.
Importantly, residents themselves actively engage in shaping these improvements: millions of citizens took part in the nationwide vote to determine priority projects.
It is inspiring to see how small towns and localities are transforming. During my travels across the country, I am always pleased to witness these positive changes.
Last year, we expanded the geography of the National Competition for the Best Projects to Create a Comfortable Urban Environment, launched at the President’s initiative, enabling even more communities to participate. A total of 25 billion roubles was allocated in grants to the winners. These funds have already supported the implementation of more than 1,100 projects.
The number of renovated streets and neighbourhoods continues to grow, modernising urban infrastructure and creating new areas for economic development. This is how it was in Rybinsk, Staraya Russa and Boguchar. Similar progress is being made in rural communities, with over 1,000 additional projects completed last year.
All of these efforts are improving living standards across Russia’s regions. Sustainable economic growth in every region remains a key priority, and special attention is being given to spatial development of territories.
At the President’s instructions, treasury infrastructure loans were introduced to provide financial support. Last year, nearly all regions applied for these preferential loans. The funds have already been invested in the construction of roads, kindergartens, schools, hospitals, and utility infrastructure.
Additionally, more than half of the regions took advantage of the opportunity to write off two-thirds of their budget loan debt. The released funds were directed toward upgrading utility networks and public transportation systems.
A portion of these funds, alongside tens of billions from other sources, has been allocated towards the implementation of master plans for 25 cities in the Far East. These financial resources aim to establish comfortable living conditions for millions of residents. Furthermore, the residents themselves determine what requires modernisation or construction.
There are already tangible outcomes. I witnessed them first-hand during my working visit to Blagoveshchensk, where public spaces have been revitalised. It is truly a sight to behold when comparing the Chinese side of the river with ours. To be absolutely candid: we found our own, the Russian side, more appealing, and for objective reasons. Construction is proceeding at a rapid pace there, as well as in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Nakhodka, Ussuriysk, Yakutsk, and Magadan. In many of these cities, modern educational, cultural, and sports facilities have opened.
Our businesses are also actively investing in the Far East, having already contributed over a trillion roubles. This has created tens of thousands of jobs, particularly in the chemical, aviation, energy, and transport sectors.
We have continued to implement socioeconomic development programmes to support priority geostrategic territories. In Crimea and Sevastopol, new schools and kindergartens have been built, coastal areas reinforced, and urban streets repaired. The peninsula is becoming increasingly attractive. Last year, it welcomed millions of visitors.
To stimulate investment in the tourism sector, we extended the zero-rate value-added tax for hotels. Consequently, their numbers have grown nationwide, including in the North Caucasus, where hotels, ski lifts, and slopes have been constructed. Over the past year, its resorts have already hosted millions of holidaymakers.
In the Kaliningrad Region, thanks to special economic conditions, the country’s first lithium-ion battery plant has been launched, a facility that is essential for electric vehicles and energy. Additionally, residents and visitors now have access to the newly opened World Ocean Museum.
We have also continued to assist regions through new special individual development programmes. These were developed following the President’s instruction for the Republics of Altai, Tuva, Adygea, Mari El, Kalmykia, Khakassia, and Chuvashia, as well as the Altai Territory, Pskov Region, and Kurgan Region. As a result, nearly 30 billion in private investment has flowed into the industrial, agricultural, and tourism sectors of these constituent entities in just one year.
In the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions, we are, of course, providing targeted assistance to the people. We are also supporting businesses to preserve production and skilled workers.
In the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, we continue to restore road and utility infrastructure, mobile communications, and housing, while upgrading power grids. Thousands of facilities have been refurbished, including the regional vascular centre in Donetsk, where new departments have been added. Outpatient clinics in Lugansk have been equipped with modern diagnostic tools. Let me reiterate: this means people can receive qualified treatment without having to travel to other regions.
High-quality comfortable roads are among the key development factors in the regions. Last year, 15 percent more roads or, more precisely, over 28,000 kilometres of roads have been built and renovated.
Reaching towns and other settlements has become simpler, and trips have become more comfortable and, which is more important, safer for our people.
The high-speed M-12 Vostok motorway to Yekaterinburg has been extended by nearly 300 kilometres. The first phase of the bypass road near Khasavyurt in Dagestan and the eastern bypass road near Novosibirsk has been completed. The southern section of the Surgut ring road with a bridge across the Ob River, motorways in the Leningrad, Moscow, Kaluga and Chelyabinsk regions, and in the Primorye Territory and Yakutia, as well as roads between Donetsk to the Sea of Azov and to Kerch in the Kherson Region have opened to transport.
Overall, over 2,500 kilometres of roads have been renovated in the new regions, and many facilities in demand among local residents have opened throughout the country.
The largest infrastructure project in Russia in the next few years will be the construction of a network of high-speed railway lines. Construction is underway on the pilot high-speed railway line between Moscow and St Petersburg.
Other major projects are being implemented to enhance transport connectivity.
They include airport modernisation projects. Modern terminals have opened in Novokuznetsk, Tyumen, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Khabarovsk, Izhevsk and Murmansk. I have visited the new terminal in Mineralnye Vody, a very beautiful and modern structure, when I went to the Stavropol Territory for a meeting on this subject. I also inspected the construction site in Blagoveshchensk. It is notable that the construction of all these facilities has been financed by our businesses without budgetary investments.
There are plans to build over ten passenger terminals with co-financing by VEB.RF, including in the Arctic and the Far East.
The public-private partnership model has been applied to airport renovation projects. The first concession agreement has already been signed to overhaul the runway in Gorno-Altaisk. We are considering about 30 other joint initiatives, including for Kemerovo, Perm, Naryan-Mar and Izhevsk.
We have been working consistently to improve our railway and maritime infrastructure. We have launched the third modernisation stage at the Eastern Operating Domain. The total port capacity has increased by 25 million tonnes last year.
The Baltic Shipyard has started building the seventh nuclear icebreaker, which has been named Stalingrad. The Zvezda Shipyard in the Primorye Territory has completed the construction of Russia’s first ice-class gas carrier Alexei Kosygin.
There are many more examples of infrastructure projects and the strengthening of our technological sovereignty.
We continued to help businesses restructure supply chains and integrate their deliveries into global transport corridors in Africa and Latin America, primarily via our sea ports. Restructuring export flows is a key element of stimulating national economic development.
In the future, our entrepreneurs will be able to locate their production facilities in the key sectors of the Russian part of international routes so as to reduce our dependence on the transit points controlled by unfriendly states, as well as to cut risks and costs.
We have also taken further steps to develop the country’s foreign trade. We have expanded our circle of friendly nations and deepened our trade and economic cooperation with them. And we have worked hard to move away from raw materials exports towards goods with higher added value.
Despite extremely aggressive attempts to block trade with Russia, our non-resource, non-energy exports grew by almost 9.5 percent by the end of the year, reaching nearly 13 trillion roubles. And the share going to friendly countries now stands at almost 86 percent.
We are strengthening ties with nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are also active in multilateral formats, first and foremost the Union State. Tomorrow, I will be meeting with Alexander Lukashenko. President Putin will host a meeting of the Union State’s Supreme State Council. And we are working just as actively within the Eurasian Economic Union, the CIS, BRICS and the SCO.
We are making full use of our free trade agreements. Just last year, similar documents were signed with Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
Today, a fifth of all Russian foreign trade takes place under preferential terms.
We are also strengthening competition, both within Russia and across the Eurasian Economic Union. We are countering restrictive measures imposed by foreign countries. More than 40 barriers to Russian exports have now been eliminated. The economic benefit is estimated at nearly 130 billion roubles.
Inflation, of course, has remained a serious challenge. But thanks to coordinated action by the Bank of Russia and the Government, and to the development of a supply-side economy, it had fallen to 5.6 percent by the end of 2025. And we continue to work on this actively.
I consider the adoption of a complex budget to be a significant achievement. We all remember what it took to get there. These were difficult decisions, including changes to the tax system. But they were necessary to guarantee the country’s defence and security, to sustain social policy, and to support our regions.
To strengthen technological cooperation and the wider economy, we have improved conditions, reduced the administrative burden on business, and made Russia a more attractive destination for developing major industrial initiatives.
As a result, investor interest in our country remains strong. The flow of capital into fixed assets stayed at roughly the same level as the previous year.
One of the most popular instruments right now is the project finance factory, run by VEB.RF. By the end of last year, five projects with a total value of over 2 trillion roubles had been included. And we are seeing more money flowing in, thanks to agreements on the protection and promotion of capital investment.
Support for small and medium-sized businesses remains firmly in place. That includes a preferential lending programme, umbrella guarantees, help from regional guarantee organisations, and several other measures.
Thanks to these mechanisms, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises grew by almost 4 percent last year, exceeding 6.84 million. That’s the highest figure since the register of such businesses was first established.
The national model for target business conditions adopted at the end of last year is designed to remove barriers, shorten investment cycles, and simplify procedures for entrepreneurs.
We also see significant potential in increasing labour productivity. Last year, the share of companies in core non-resource sectors of the economy participating in such projects reached one quarter. This growth is primarily driven by the accelerated introduction of cutting-edge technologies, such as solutions based on artificial intelligence and robotics. Expanding this practice will undoubtedly contribute to the creation of high-tech jobs.
In order to clearly understand the extent of the personnel shortage, a forecast of labour force demand across industries was developed at the President’s instruction.
However, this is a complex task, because the use of artificial intelligence is now reshaping workforce needs almost every quarter. We are actively monitoring this. Our forecast provides a foundation for taking the necessary measures to balance the labour market and better coordinate student training in colleges, technical schools, and universities.
We will increase the number of state-funded places in the most in-demand fields, primarily those required to ensure technological and industrial sovereignty and leadership. Today, more than half of these places are allocated to technical specialities.
We also continue fine-tuning the secondary vocational education system. At the head of state’s instruction, we are working to upgrade this area, which may be more accurately described as specialised vocational training, as this better reflects its objectives and the level of personnel preparation.
We are also updating both the colleges’ infrastructure and curricula to ensure that students acquire relevant knowledge and practical skills aligned as closely as possible with the real needs of enterprises – in other words, the competencies they will require upon entering the workforce.
Of course, we are developing the Professionalitet programme, almost across the entire country. The first 350,000 specialists have already graduated from clusters created as part of this important initiative. Their training was carried out with the direct participation of the companies where they will subsequently be employed.
The same model of closely coordinated work between educational institutions and employers is also being implemented at universities. Hundreds of the largest high-tech companies are involved in leading engineering schools, contributing both their financial resources and expertise, which is also important.
Universities have developed several dozen training programmes in the most in-demand fields.
There are specific examples. At the Moscow Aviation Institute, in cooperation with business partners, prototype unmanned aerial systems have been created for monitoring and aerial agricultural applications. At Don State Technical University, a bionic glove with a neural interface has been developed for post-stroke rehabilitation, which also represents a highly advanced, modern solution. The project is now being prepared for deployment in medical centres. There are many such innovations and examples across the country.
Universities participating in the Priority-2030 programme are also working closely with corporate partners.
The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has proposed technologies for an integrated network of unmanned aerial systems, as well as for satellite and mobile communication networks.
The Southern Federal University has developed a comprehensive platform and AI servers to forecast and monitor soil condition.
The Bashkortostan Medical University has developed a biological material for regenerative surgery and modern therapeutic applications and launched its serial production.
The construction of world-class university campuses is also progressing at pace. These will serve as research and education centres and innovation clusters. Dozens of their facilities are already operational, including academic buildings, lecture halls and libraries.
And, of course, a few words should be said about student accommodation – comfortable and modern. This is a significant support for students who come from other regions to study.
Quite recently, such facilities were opened at campuses in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
I would like to thank you, Ms Matvienko, and you, Mr Volodin, for our joint efforts to improve the quality of professional education and to develop new approaches to training the specialists needed by the economy, key industries and the country as a whole.
The mechanism you proposed, which has now become law, will help to address imbalances that have emerged in the labour market.
Together, we will continue to train specialists in nearly 300 fields aligned with the country’s scientific and technological development priorities. This represents a substantial contribution to strengthening the Russian economy.
Despite the complicated international environment, we have created new opportunities for improving Russia’s competitive ability and for meeting the needs of the Russian market and our citizens with domestically produced goods.
Even facing the challenges caused by sanctions, Russian industrial production has grown by 1.3 percent. What has contributed to that? Primarily manufacturing industries that grew by 3.6 percent last year, exceeding initial forecasts.
The pharmaceutical and medical industries are among the fastest-growing. Production of medications has grown by almost 15.5 percent and medical devices by 10 percent.
There are achievements in the other sectors that directly impact people’s well-being and, consequently, the country’s progress.
Transport machine engineering has demonstrated dynamic growth, by almost one-third. I will mention some examples and results.
We continue to restore our capacity in aviation engineering. Aircraft built using advanced Russian solutions and materials were extensively tested throughout the year. The Tupolev Tu-214 medium-haul airliner completed its certification in December. Now we are launching production.
The other key projects include Yakovlev MC-21, an upgraded Superjet, and the regional Ilyushin Il-114 airliner. Many may have seen in the media that the Baikal lightweight multi-purpose jet with a Russian engine completed its maiden flight.
At the same time, we continued to develop unmanned aerial systems. The testing and advancement infrastructure for UAVs already exists in one-third of the Russian regions.
Our water routes are becoming increasingly popular for city commute, inland tourism, logistics, and other operations, driving up shipyard workloads. More than 100 civilian ships, including seagoing vessels, were built last year.
Machine tool manufacturing is a crucial and essential sector for many production facilities. We are highly focused on this sector’s automation. High-capacity industrial robotics centres for the development and implementation of automated machine engineering solutions have recently opened in the Moscow Region, Tatarstan, the Perm Territory, the Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Chelyabinsk and Tomsk regions.
As a result, according to expert estimates, the number of robots in our country has grown by more than 50 percent, while the share of Russian-made machine tools and instruments has reached one-third of their total quantity.
More to be posted soon…
