Agenda: An experimental regulatory regime for the use of unmanned aerial systems along the Northern Sea Route and in the Arctic; the Strategy for Countering Illicit Trade in Industrial Goods up to 2030 and its implementation plan; road infrastructure measures for 2026–2031.
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks
Marat Khusnullin’s report on road infrastructure measures in 2026–2031
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Good morning, colleagues,
Meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Denis Manturov at meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Marat Khusnullin at a meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
I would like to begin by commenting on a decision designed to enhance the safety of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. The President has identified the development of this transport corridor as one of the country’s strategic priorities.
It is essential to ensure effective icebreaker escort for cargo vessels along these routes, even in the most challenging weather conditions. To that end, we will actively deploy digital innovations, including radar and optical-electronic ice reconnaissance systems. These monitoring systems are mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles, enabling rapid surveying of maritime areas and the capture of high-quality imagery.
To allow for the temporary use of such technology, the Government will introduce an experimental regulatory framework. This regime will be in place for three years and will apply across the Arctic zone.
We expect that, during this period, all aspects of operating unmanned systems will be thoroughly tested. In the longer term, they should become an integral part of a comprehensive system supporting year-round navigation in northern latitudes.
The next item concerns a systemic objective set by the President: fostering a transparent and competitive business environment.
In recent years, significant progress has been made in combatting counterfeit goods. Close inter-agency coordination has been established. Modern tools are widely used, including digital solutions and platforms. Monitoring systems have been introduced across many sectors to track goods at all stages – from the manufacturer to the end consumer.
To further strengthen these efforts, the Government has developed a new Strategy for Countering Illicit Trade in Industrial Goods for the next five years. A comprehensive implementation plan has also been approved.
Mr Manturov, I would like to ask you to elaborate on how this work will be organised.
Denis Manturov: Mr Mishustin, colleagues,
Denis Manturov at meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Before outlining the key provisions of the new Strategy, I would like to summarise the results achieved over the previous five-year period.
Despite the fact that we have allowed parallel imports and reorganised the logistics chains, we have succeeded in significantly reducing the volume of counterfeit and falsified goods. The average share of illicit trade in mass consumer goods has declined over the past five years from 17 percent to below 10 percent.
Considerable work has been done to refine the legal and oversight framework for tackling the shadow market. This includes tightening administrative and criminal liability for illicit trade, simplifying the seizure of unsafe products, and expanding the use of risk-based approaches in oversight activities.
The product labelling system has seen strong development and now covers 34 categories of goods, with a further 15 undergoing pilot testing.
The system is continually expanding in functionality. Notably, it now enables the automatic blocking of illegal products at the point of sale. In the near future, a similar approach will help prevent the supply of unsafe products to social institutions.
These are only some of the measures implemented during the previous programme cycle. The updated Strategy, extending to 2030, will ensure continuity of approaches with a focus on product categories most vulnerable to illicit trade.
A particular priority is to prevent substandard children’s goods and food products from entering the market. Among the Strategy’s systemic areas, I would highlight measures to improve the framework for conformity assessment of industrial products and their supervision. For certain categories of goods, there are plans to resume state oversight.
In addition, we must finalise regulatory solutions to prevent the sale of counterfeit and falsified goods through online trading channels.
A key strategic objective is the further harmonisation of legislation in the field of illicit trade among the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. Alongside the development of product labelling and improved information exchange between national operators, this will be essential to increasing the transparency of cross-border goods flows.
In total, 45 specific measures have been planned to achieve the objectives of the new Strategy. Their implementation is expected to strengthen the system for countering illicit trade in industrial products. Reducing its share across specific product groups is reflected in concrete target indicators, the achievement of which serves the interests of bona fide producers and consumers.
Mr Mishustin, I would like to thank everyone involved in drafting the Strategy. Within the framework of the specialised government commission you mentioned, we will monitor its implementation on an ongoing basis.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Mr Manturov.
We must ensure robust protection for our citizens against substandard goods, while, as the President has emphasised, avoiding unnecessary constraints on economic growth. Entrepreneurs and companies that operate in good faith should be given additional opportunities for development.
Let us turn to another topic: the expansion of the road network and the construction of related infrastructure. As the President has stressed, the importance of this work is obvious: it will deliver more efficient logistics, open up new opportunities for business, strengthen links between constituent entities, and boost the country’s export potential.
The Government has approved an updated six-year Road Development Plan, which provides for the implementation of hundreds of projects at the federal, regional and local levels. These include the continuation of the M-12 Vostok motorway – from Yekaterinburg to Tyumen – as well as measures to develop the core road network, tourist routes, and the urban street and road network. The plan also covers the construction of bypasses around Orenburg and Orel, and the reconstruction of several major motorways.
Mr Khusnullin, you have been overseeing this work in a systematic manner. Please tell us more about the new plan. Which projects will be completed this year?
Marat Khusnullin at a meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Marat Khusnullin: Mr Mishustin, colleagues,
The approval of the six-year Road Development Plan will make it possible to achieve the targets set by the President under the Infrastructure for Life national project, to build high-quality federal and regional roads as well as roads in urban agglomerations, to improve transport connectivity, and to enhance the quality of the living environment, including in 2,160 core communities.
The six-year plan is a unified document bringing together all sources of funding for road development, including federal and regional budgets, as well as extra-budgetary sources. It is also aligned with regional and municipal road development programmes.
All planned targets relating to road quality, repair and standard maintenance are being met.
At the same time, the sector faces new challenges. In recent years, car ownership has increased by 12 percent, while traffic intensity has grown by 60 percent. Improved road quality has contributed to an 11 percent increase in freight volumes along international transport corridors, even as overall shipments by rail and water have declined.
Maintaining roads in a standard condition is a key factor in reducing accidents and improving road safety.
Under the plan, we will continue efforts to eliminate bottlenecks in the core network and ensure seamless logistics, so that as many citizens and businesses as possible can benefit from high-quality roads.
The backbone of the core network is formed by the international transport corridors West-East (from St
Petersburg to Vladivostok, with a branch towards China – this is the Europe-Western China route) and North – South (from St Petersburg to the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea).
As part of the West-East Corridor development, this year we will complete construction as far as Tyumen and begin work on the Tyumen bypass. Design and estimate documentation is already in place, with funding secured from non-budgetary sources. The Novosibirsk bypass is nearing substantial completion. The northern bypass of Omsk is being delivered under a regional concession, while expressways and bypasses around several towns on the approach to Vladivostok are under construction.
Along the entire length, we are carrying out local widening to four lanes on sections with daily traffic exceeding 10,000 vehicles.
We continue to widen the section east of Samara, are planning a bypass of Orenburg, and are undertaking several other local improvements along the Europe-Western China route. Work is also progressing on approaches to border crossings.
For our citizens, the North-South Corridor is the main route to the coast – to the resorts of Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory. For businesses, it provides reliable links to ports on the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.
As part of the development of the North-South Corridor, bypasses are being built around Derbent and Khasavyurt. The Khasavyurt bypass in Dagestan will be completed this year, while design work for the bypasses around Makhachkala and Astrakhan is nearing completion.
A large-scale reconstruction of the M-4 Don road in the Rostov Region is in progress. Nearly 100 kilometres will be widened to six lanes, with the main work due to be completed this year. Construction has also begun on the M-4 section from Dzhubga to Gelendzhik, and work is continuing on the Adler bypass, which is scheduled for completion in 2027.
I would like to highlight several other large-scale road projects that are creating a new level of infrastructure and providing a significant boost for the development of surrounding areas.
First is the Azov Ring – a route around the sea. Work is already underway in the Rostov Region, from Taganrog to the DPR, and will be completed this year.
A bypass around Mariupol is also under construction. The main route will be finished this year, with full completion expected in the next.
Widening is planned for sections from Simferopol to Dzhankoi in Crimea, and from Mariupol to Berdyansk in the Zaporozhye Region. At present, the land corridor to Crimea via the reunified regions is the main route for cargo deliveries to the peninsula.
Design and construction work is continuing on the high-speed bypass around St Petersburg (KAD-2). This new ring road will create new growth areas, while the existing federal ring road is also being expanded.
Work is progressing on the Primorye Ring Road in the Kaliningrad Region. Completed sections already connect the regional capital with the airport and the resorts of Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk. By 2030, we will have completed the ring road and provided key tourist destinations with direct motorway access. This year, we will finish several sections.
It is also worth mentioning the projects already under way under the six-year plan, which are playing a significant role in the development of individual regions. These include the southern bypass of Saratov, the bypass of Oryol, the southern bypass of Ryazan, access to the Manzherok resort in the Altai Republic, and the widening of the Chuysky Trakt motorway in the Novosibirsk Region, which provides access to China.
Road construction projects are also planned as part of the master plans for cities in the Far Eastern Federal District and the Arctic zone.
We continue to work on the development of tourism.
Measures to ensure transport accessibility to resorts have been included as part of the Five Seas project. We are also continuing to restore roads in the reunified regions and carrying out major repairs to bridges and overpasses.
This is a large-scale, system-wide effort by the Government and the regions to develop the country’s road network, improve territorial connectivity, and enhance the quality of life for citizens.
Mr Mishustin, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued attention to the road sector. I also thank the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, Rosavtodor, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the State Duma, which actively participated in drafting the budget, for their work on the six-year plan.
This work is a key part of our efforts under the Infrastructure for Life national project.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Mr Khusnullin.
The road construction industry delivers outstanding results year on year. Developing a high-quality and, above all, safe road network creates a solid foundation for economic growth and for meeting social challenges effectively.
I would like to thank you and Vitaly Savelyev for the coordinated efforts of the construction and transport sectors. I ask that you continue to monitor progress closely as this work moves forward.
