Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation with his traditional annual message.

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, dear colleagues! Dear members of the Federation Council! Dear deputies State Duma! Citizens of Russia!

Today, as usual in Messages, we will talk about our tasks in the economy, social sphere, domestic and foreign policy. This time we will pay more attention to the economy, social issues and domestic politics.

We have to solve all these problems in difficult, extraordinary conditions, as has happened more than once in history. And the people of Russia have once again convincingly proven that they are capable of responding to difficult challenges, defending and defending national interests, sovereignty and the country’s independent course.

But here is what I would like to say, dear colleagues, in this regard. I’ve already said this publicly several times, but I’d like to repeat it today.

Citizens have united - and we see this, we must say thanks to our citizens for this - around patriotic values, not because they are happy with everything, that everything suits them. No, there are enough difficulties and problems now. But there is an understanding of their reasons, and most importantly, confidence that together we will definitely overcome them. Willingness to work for Russia, heartfelt, sincere concern for it - this is what underlies this unification.

At the same time, people expect that they will be provided with broad and equal opportunities for self-realization, for the implementation of entrepreneurial, creative, civil initiatives, they count on respect for themselves, for their rights, freedoms, for their work.

The principles of fairness, respect and trust are universal. We firmly defend them - and, as we see, not without results - in the international arena. But to the same extent we are obliged to guarantee their implementation within the country, in relation to each person and the entire society.

Any injustice or untruth is perceived very sharply. This is generally a feature of our culture. Society decisively rejects arrogance, rudeness, arrogance and selfishness, no matter who all this comes from, and increasingly values ​​such qualities as responsibility, high morality, concern for public interests, willingness to hear others and respect their opinions.

This year's election campaign also showed this. You know that the initiative to return to the mixed model of elections of State Duma deputies was supported in the 2012 Address. This was a fundamental step towards public opinion.

I believe that the course for development political system, institutions of direct democracy, to increase the competitiveness of elections is absolutely justified, and we will certainly continue it.

The role of the State Duma as a representative body has grown. In general, the authority of the legislative branch has strengthened. It must be supported and confirmed by deeds. This applies to all political forces represented in parliament.

But, of course, the United Russia party, which, by the way, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary today, has a special responsibility. The party has a constitutional majority in the State Duma and is the main support of the Government in parliament. And we need to organize our joint work in such a way that all promises and obligations made to citizens are fulfilled.

It was the citizens who determined the results election campaign, have chosen the path of creative development of the country, proved that we live in a healthy society, confident in its fair demands, in which immunity to populism and demagoguery is strengthened and the importance of mutual support, cohesion, and unity is highly valued.

We are not talking, of course, about some kind of dogma, about ostentatious, false unity, much less about coercion to a certain worldview - all this has happened in our history, as you well know, and we are not going to go back to the past.

But this does not mean that by juggling with beautiful words and hiding behind arguments about freedom, someone can offend the feelings of other people and national traditions.

You know, if someone considers themselves more advanced, more intelligent, even considers themselves smarter than someone else in something - if you are like that, but treat other people with respect, this is natural.

At the same time, of course, I consider a counter-aggressive reaction unacceptable, especially if it results in vandalism and violation of the law. The state will react harshly to such facts.

Tomorrow we have a meeting of the Council for Culture - we will definitely discuss issues that cause broad discussion, we will talk about the principles of mutual responsibility of representatives of civil society and artists.

But I want to especially emphasize: in culture, in politics, in the media and in public life, in polemics on economic issues, no one can prohibit free thinking and openly expressing one’s position.

I repeat, when we talk about solidarity and unity, we mean the conscious, natural consolidation of citizens for the sake of the successful development of Russia.

Is it possible to achieve meaningful strategic goals in a fragmented society? Is it possible to solve these problems with parliament, where instead of effective work there are competitions of ambitions and fruitless bickering?

Is it possible to develop with dignity on the shaky ground of a weak state and a weak-willed government controlled from the outside that has lost the trust of its citizens? The answer is obvious: of course not.

Recently we have seen many countries where such a situation opened the way to adventurers, coups and, ultimately, anarchy. Everywhere the result is the same: human tragedies and sacrifices, decline and ruin, disappointment.

It is also of concern that in the world, even in the seemingly most prosperous countries and stable regions, more and more new fault lines and conflicts are emerging on political, national, religious, and social grounds.

All this is superimposed on the acute migration crisis that, for example, European and other countries are facing. We know well the consequences of so-called great upheavals. Unfortunately, in our country in the last century there were many of them.

The coming year 2017 is the year of the centenary of the February and October revolutions. This is a good reason to once again turn to the causes and very nature of the revolution in Russia. Not only for historians and scientists - Russian society needs an objective, honest, in-depth analysis of these events.

This is our common history, and we need to treat it with respect. The outstanding Russian also wrote about this, Soviet philosopher Alexey Fedorovich Losev. "We know everything thorny path of our country,” he wrote, “we know the languid years of struggle, lack, suffering, but for the son of his Motherland, all this is his own, inalienable, dear.”

I am sure that the absolute majority of our citizens have exactly this feeling of the Motherland, and we need the lessons of history, first of all, for reconciliation, for strengthening the social, political, civil harmony that we have managed to achieve today.

It is unacceptable to drag splits, anger, grievances and bitterness of the past into our lives today, to speculate in our own political and other interests on the tragedies that affected almost every family in Russia, no matter which side of the barricades our ancestors found themselves on then. Let us remember: we are one people, we are one people, and we have one Russia.

Dear Colleagues!

The meaning of our entire policy is to save people, to increase human capital as the main wealth of Russia. Therefore, our efforts are aimed at supporting traditional values ​​and family, demographic programs, improving the environment, human health, and developing education and culture.

You know, I can’t help but say a few words about what’s really happening, what we have here, what we’ve achieved. Natural population growth continues.

In 2013 – demographers have a concept called “fertility rate” – it was 1.7 in Russia, which is higher than in most European countries. For example, I will say: Portugal - 1.2, in Spain, Greece - 1.3, Austria, Germany, Italy - 1.4, in the Czech Republic - 1.5. This is data for 2013. In 2015, the total fertility rate in Russia will be even higher, slightly, but still higher – 1.78.

We will continue changes in the social sphere so that it becomes closer to people, to their needs, and is more modern and fair. Social sectors must attract qualified people, talented youth, so we are raising the salaries of specialists and improving their working conditions.

I would like to note that competition for medical and pedagogical universities – quite recently it was almost zero – is steadily growing. In 2016, it was 7.8 people for teaching specialties, and after admission in 2016, the total competition for budget-funded places in medical universities was already almost 28 people per place. May God grant health and success to all – young specialists – in their work in the future.

I remember well how at one time I discussed with my colleagues projects for the development of high-tech medical care, as well as a network of perinatal centers, which we did not have at all. Now, in 2018, there will already be 94 of them in Russia.

And today our doctors save newborns in the most difficult cases. And according to these indicators, we have also taken the position of the leading countries in the world.

At the end of 2015, infant mortality rates in Russia amounted to 6.5 per thousand live births, and in the European region World Organization healthcare indicator is 6.6, that is, ours was already a little better. Based on the results of 10 months of 2016, Russia reached the level of 5.9.

Over the past ten years, the volume of high-tech medical care has increased 15 times. Hundreds of thousands of complex operations are performed not only in leading federal centers, but also in regional clinics. If in 2005, when we started this program, 60 thousand people in Russia received high-tech medical care, in 2016 this will already be 900 thousand. We also need to move on. But still compare: 60 thousand and 900 - the difference is significant.

IN next year we need to put in place mechanisms for sustainable financing of high-tech care. This will make it possible to further increase its availability and reduce waiting times for operations.

In general, it must be said frankly that problems in healthcare remain in general; there are still a lot of them. And above all, they concern primary care. Its development must be given priority attention.

Citizens often encounter queues and a formal, indifferent attitude. Doctors are overloaded, it is difficult to get to the right specialist. There are often cases when clinics are equipped with the latest equipment, and medical workers There is simply not enough qualifications to use this equipment.

Starting next year, regular retraining of doctors will be organized at federal and regional medical centers and universities. At the same time, with the help of an educational certificate, a specialist will be able to choose where and how to improve his qualifications.

We will continue to increase the level of healthcare informatization in order to make it convenient and simple to make appointments and maintain documentation. We need to free doctors from routine, from filling out heaps of reports and certificates, and give them more time to direct work with the patient.

Also using information technologies The effectiveness of control over the market of vital drugs will be significantly increased. This will make it possible to get rid of fakes and counterfeits, and stop inflated prices when purchasing medicines for hospitals and clinics.

Over the next two years, I propose to connect all hospitals and clinics in our country to high-speed Internet. This will allow doctors, even in a remote city or village, to use the capabilities of telemedicine and quickly receive advice from colleagues from regional or federal clinics.

I would like to draw the attention of the Ministry of Communications to this. The Minister assured us that this task is absolutely realistic and achievable.

I just said this from the podium, the whole country will now watch this closely.

Taking into account its geography, huge, sometimes difficult to access territories, Russia also needs a well-equipped air ambulance service. Starting next year, the air ambulance development program will cover 34 regions of the country, which will receive funds from the federal budget.

First of all, this is Siberia, the North, the Far East. For these purposes (the deputies know about this, this was also your initiative) in 2017, 3.3 billion rubles will be allocated (this should pass in the second reading) for the purchase of aviation services as part of the air ambulance development project.

Dear Colleagues! Everywhere throughout our large country, children should study in convenient, comfortable, modern conditions, so we will continue the program of reconstruction and renovation of schools. We should not be left with school buildings that are in disrepair, dilapidated, and lack basic amenities.

It is finally necessary to solve the problem of third shifts, and then second shifts. And of course, additional efforts need to be directed toward improving the qualifications of teachers. You know that since 2016, a program to create new places in general education organizations has been implemented. This program is designed for 2016–2025, 25 billion rubles are provided.

By the way, you and I know well that this is primarily the responsibility of the regional level. But we decided to support the regions in this important area. In total, 187,998 new school places are planned to be created between 2016 and 2019.

At the same time, the most important thing that worries parents and teachers, the public, is, of course, the content of the educational process, how school education meets two basic tasks that Academician Likhachev spoke about: giving knowledge and educating moral person. He rightly believed that the moral basis is the main thing that determines the viability of society: economic, state, creative.

But only school hours from school curriculum here it will clearly not be enough - we need projects in the theater, cinema, television, museums, and on the Internet that will be of interest to young people, that will attract the attention of young people to Russian classical literature, culture, and history.

At school, it is necessary to actively develop creativity; schoolchildren must learn to think independently, work individually and in a team, and decide non-standard tasks, set goals and achieve them, so that in the future this will become the basis of their prosperous, interesting life.

There are a lot of experiments being carried out at school here, both abroad and here; We must, of course, be very careful with these experiments, but we certainly need to move forward.

It is important to cultivate a culture of research and engineering work. Over the next two years, the number of modern children's technology parks in Russia will increase to 40; they will serve as a support for the development of a network of technical clubs throughout the country. Business, universities, and research institutes must join this work so that the children have a clear understanding: they all have equal opportunities for a start in life, that their ideas and knowledge are in demand in Russia, and they will be able to prove themselves in domestic companies and laboratories.

As the educational center for talented children “Sirius” has already declared itself successful. I believe that we need a whole constellation of such platforms, and I would recommend that the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation think about creating centers for supporting gifted children in the regions on the basis of the best universities and schools.

But at the same time, what would I like to say here and what would I like to draw attention to? Our entire education system should be based on a fundamental principle: every child and teenager is gifted and capable of succeeding in science, creativity, sports, profession and life. Discovering his talents is our task, this is the success of Russia.

Dear Colleagues! I see in the younger generation a reliable, strong support for Russia in the turbulent, complex 21st century. I believe that this generation is capable of not only responding to the challenges of the time, but also participating on equal terms in shaping the intellectual, technological, and cultural agenda for global development.

It is no coincidence that many schoolchildren and students today participate in volunteer projects; they are actively developing in such important areas, such as caring for the sick, supporting the elderly, people with disabilities, education, sports, culture, local history, search movements, caring for nature and animals.

A special feature of our time is the widespread involvement of citizens in a variety of charity events. Calls to in social networks, the media to raise funds for the treatment of patients, to help children quickly receive a response, and people do it sincerely, unselfishly, as a response to the dictates of their hearts. Sometimes you’re even surprised how people with little income quickly respond to such internal need provide assistance to those who especially need it.

I ask the Public Chamber and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to substantively engage in supporting volunteer and charitable movements and non-profit organizations. The will and generosity of the citizens who participate in such projects create the atmosphere of common affairs that Russia needs so much, create colossal social potential, and it must be in demand.

It is necessary to remove all barriers to the development of volunteerism and provide comprehensive assistance to socially oriented non-profit organizations. The main decisions here have already been made. Starting next year, opportunities will open up for non-profit organizations with relevant experience to provide social services financed from the budget.

Now, dear colleagues, I would like to address many of you. I want both governors and municipal authorities to hear me. I ask you, as they say, not to be greedy, not to give out of habit, out of established preference, exclusively to government structures, but to involve social services and non-profit organizations to the maximum extent possible. Let's be honest, they haven't lost sight of it yet; a cordial attitude towards people is very important. And let's together keep these issues under special control.

We are all interested in ensuring that the active entry of NPOs into the social sphere leads to an improvement in its quality. I instruct the Government, together with legislators, to complete the formation of a clear legal framework for the activities of NPOs - performers of socially useful services, to establish requirements for their competence, and at the same time, of course, without adding additional bureaucratic barriers. It is necessary to appreciate the demanding, interested, active position of citizens.

Once again I want to appeal to many of you: do not hide in your offices, do not be afraid of dialogue with people - meet halfway, talk honestly and openly with people, support their initiatives, especially when it comes to issues such as the improvement of cities and towns, conservation historical appearance and creation of a modern living environment.

Unfortunately, sometimes these issues are resolved behind the scenes, and when this happens, you really want to ask: “Are you sure that what you are offering, based only on the ideas that arise in back offices, is the best offer? Isn’t it better to consult with people, ask them how they want to see the streets, their yards, parks and embankments, sports and playgrounds?”

Next year we will allocate 20 billion rubles to the regions for improvement programs, including single-industry towns, and it is a matter of principle that the residents themselves should participate in making decisions on the use of these resources and determine which improvement projects to implement first. I ask the All-Russian Popular Front to actively join in this work, and at the same time I draw attention to: it is necessary not only to organize effective control, but with its help to achieve the specific result that people are waiting for, and, of course, we need to support citizens who are ready to join improvement projects . It is important that civil society actively participates in solving such problems as improving environmental legislation, preserving rare species of animals and plants, and creating a humane system for treating stray animals.

Next year, 2017, has been declared the Year of Ecology. I instruct the Government to prepare programs for the conservation of unique natural symbols of Russia, such as the Volga, Baikal, and Altai.

Throughout the country, we need to start cleaning up contaminated areas, eliminating the landfills that the surroundings of many settlements have turned into. We recently spoke about this with activists of the All-Russian Popular Front. This is a problem not only in large cities, but also in villages and towns.

Further, large-scale programs to develop the modernization of the road network are already underway in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Starting next year we will begin such projects in other major cities, and urban agglomerations, where about 40 million people live. In two years, at least half of the roads here should be put in order. Now I will not dwell on this in more detail here, the decision has been made, the appropriate means have been outlined, we just need to work effectively.

We will pay the necessary attention to the most important federal highways and to the construction of a facility of national importance - the Crimean Bridge, its construction is on schedule.

Dear colleagues, two years ago we were faced with serious economic challenges, with unfavorable conditions on world markets, with sanctions that tried to force us to dance to someone else’s tune, as our people say, to neglect our fundamental national interests. However, I repeat, the main reasons for the economic slowdown lie, first of all, in our internal problems. First of all, this is a shortage of investment resources, modern technologies, professional personnel, insufficient development of competition, flaws in the business climate. Now the decline in the real sector has stopped, and there has even been a slight industrial growth. But you know that last year our GDP decline was about 3.7 percent, I think that this year it will be insignificant. Over the 10 months of 2016 it amounted to 0.3 percent, and I think that this will be approximately the case.

Programs to support a number of industries, as well as the housing market, played an important role. I will also talk about this now, because there has been an increase in industrial production, a small, but positive trend - of course, it will need to be maintained.

So, on the housing market. In 2015, more than 85 million square meters of housing were commissioned. This is a record figure in the entire history of the country.

It is very important here that this be implemented, of course, and we need to increase people’s purchasing power. I will also say this, keeping in mind our mortgage support programs.

We will continue to provide targeted assistance to those sectors of the economy that are still facing negative conditions. I have already said that there has been a certain, modest, but still growth in the field of industrial production.

In the automotive industry as a whole, we have a slight decrease, but for trucks there is an increase of 14.7 percent, for light commercial vehicles there is an increase of 2.9 percent, and for buses there is an increase of 35.1 percent. In railway engineering - an increase of 21.8, in freight cars - 26. Very good dynamics are demonstrated by the growth in the production of machinery and equipment for agriculture - 26.8 percent. There are also positive dynamics in light industry.

We have ensured macroeconomic stability, which is very important, and maintained financial reserves. The gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank did not decrease, but even increased. If on January 1, 2016 it was 368.39 billion dollars, now it is 389.4, almost 400 billion. The dynamics here are also positive.

We expect that by the end of this year, inflation will decrease significantly; it will be below 6 percent. Here I would also like to turn to numbers. If you remember, inflation in 2015 was 12.9 percent. I hope that this year it will not rise above six, it will be somewhere around 5.8. The dynamics are obviously positive and significantly positive.

Let me remind you that the lowest inflation was recorded in 2011. It was 6.1 percent. I repeat again, this year it may even be less. This means we can actually reach the 4 percent target next year. These are very good preconditions for achieving significant growth on the basis of a healthy economy.

However, I want to emphasize: stabilization does not mean an automatic transition to a sustainable rise. If we do not solve the basic problems of the Russian economy, if we do not fully unleash new growth factors, then we may be stuck near the zero mark for years, and that means we will have to constantly squeeze in, save, and postpone our development until later. We cannot afford this.

We have a different path, which involves clearly setting goals and gradually, systematically achieving them. It is this approach that has repeatedly given significant positive results, and in a fairly short time. Thus, at one time it seemed that problems in agriculture would exist almost forever. We know how they talked about this and how offended our agricultural producers were when they talked about agriculture as a kind of black hole, where no matter how much money you give, there is still no result. No, it turns out that everything can be arranged completely differently. We found proven solutions, adopted a state program, created a flexible system of supporting agricultural producers, and today the agricultural sector is a successful industry that feeds the country and conquers international markets.

But here, as our people say, every cloud has a silver lining, our so-called partners have introduced sanctions, which I mentioned, we are taking retaliatory measures. Well, we helped our agricultural producers in the domestic market. But they must not forget that this cannot and probably will not continue forever, and the consumer needs a competitive environment in the market, so this favorable situation that has developed today must, of course, be taken full advantage of.

The export of agricultural products, which I have already mentioned, gives us more today than the sale of weapons. Just recently, we probably couldn’t even imagine this. I have already spoken about this publicly, and I can repeat it again from this rostrum. By the way, we also maintain a fairly serious position in the field of arms exports: in 2015, $14.5 billion was sold in foreign market, and agricultural products - by more than 16 billion, 16.2. This year we expect even more, it will be 16.9, most likely very good. Let's thank agricultural workers for this.

In the development of agriculture, much depends on the regions. I believe that they need to be given more independence in determining the priorities for the use of federal subsidies to support the agro-industrial complex, and their volume itself should be linked to an increase in arable land, an increase in productivity, and other qualitative indicators of production efficiency, thereby creating an incentive for putting idle agricultural land into circulation and introducing advanced agricultural technologies.

Here I would like to emphasize: if we give more independence in the use of federal budget funds, federal support, then the regions should also be responsible for the results and effective investment of the resources received, for strengthening their own economic base, solving problems in the social sphere, in housing and communal services increase.

Further, in order for our farmers to have new opportunities to enter the market, it is necessary to pay special attention to supporting agricultural cooperation. I ask the Ministry of Agriculture, Rosselkhozbank, Rosagroleasing, as well as the Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises to take up this issue; next year we will replenish its capital by almost 13 billion rubles.

We carried out a deep modernization of defense-industrial enterprises and the defense-industrial complex. The result is an increase in production volumes and, most importantly, a significant increase in labor productivity. The defense industry is demonstrating very good performance and gives a good example. In 2016, the expected growth rate of defense industry production will be 10.1 percent, and the expected growth rate of labor productivity will be 9.8 percent.

And now it is necessary to focus the industry on the production of modern competitive civilian products for medicine, energy, aviation and shipbuilding, space, and other high-tech industries. In the next decade, its share should be at least a third of the total production in the defense-industrial complex.

I ask the Government to organize systematic work to solve this problem with the participation of development institutions, VEB, the Russian Export Center, and the Industrial Support Fund.

Dear colleagues, the IT industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in our country, which is very pleasing. The volume of exports of domestic companies has doubled over five years. I have just given figures for the volume of exports of the defense industry and agricultural products. The defense industry is 14.5 billion. More recently, IT technologies amounted to a figure that was close to zero, now it is 7 billion dollars.

Other indicators also increased: revenue, tax revenues. Such returns were provided, including benefits on insurance premiums. The Ministry of Finance asked me not to say that this was only due to benefits; I am saying that there were other, of course, tools to support the industry, but still we must admit that these benefits played a significant role in supporting IT companies. This measure allowed them to effectively realize their intellectual innovative potential. Look, at the beginning of their journey, in 2010, their tax contributions amounted to just over 28 billion rubles, and two years later – already 54 billion rubles. Can you imagine how tall it is? At the same time, the so-called lost income, taking into account benefits, is only 16 billion rubles. That is, real income even for the budget. To maintain this momentum, I propose to extend these benefits until 2023. I am sure that in the next decade there is every opportunity to make the IT industry one of the key export industries in Russia.

The examples mentioned above show that we are already purposefully changing the structure of the economy, updating existing industries and forming new ones, creating modern companies capable of operating in world markets. We need to continue to move in this direction systematically and aggressively. What is needed is not abstract scenarios in which little depends on us, but a professional, verified forecast of development. It is necessary to clearly define what contribution to economic growth will be made by improving the business climate, launching large investment projects, increasing non-resource exports, supporting small and medium-sized businesses, other measures, what will be the role of regions and individual industries.

I instruct the Government, with the participation of leading business associations, no later than May of next year, to develop a substantive action plan until 2025, the implementation of which will allow us to reach economic growth rates above world rates at the turn of 2019–2020, and therefore increase Russia’s position in the global economy.

Dear Colleagues! I repeat again, it is important that such a plan is supported and has the confidence of the business community, so that entrepreneurs are actively involved in its implementation. Today, it is obvious that people are growing in demand for expanded economic freedoms (we have talked about this more than once), for stable, sustainable, predictable rules for doing business, including the tax system. Let me remind you that in 2014 we decided to fix the current tax conditions for business for four years. They did not revise them, despite changes in the economic situation, and this certainly had a positive impact on the work of enterprises.

At the same time, we must orient our tax system so that it works for main goal: to stimulate business activity, to grow the economy and investment, to create competitive conditions for the development of our enterprises. It is necessary to streamline existing fiscal benefits, make them more targeted, and abandon ineffective instruments.

I propose that over the next year, we carefully and comprehensively consider proposals for setting up the tax system, and be sure to do this with the participation of business associations. Despite the internal political calendar, we still need to prepare and adopt all relevant amendments to legislation and the Tax Code in 2018, and put them into effect from January 1, 2019, fixing new stable rules for the long term.

At the same time, I ask the Government to work on improving the mechanisms for ensuring a sustainable budget and public finances, fulfilling all our obligations, regardless of external factors, including hydrocarbon prices.

Further. We have seriously updated the legal framework in the field of entrepreneurship. Now it is important to ensure effective law enforcement – ​​and above all on the ground. Please note that in every region of the country, basic services for business: construction permits, access to infrastructure, and so on and so forth – must fully comply with the requirements of federal legislation and best regional practices.

Dear Colleagues! Quite recently in Yaroslavl, I think, we gathered and talked about this topic. This is not a passing topic; it is an extremely important area of ​​our joint activities. We will closely monitor what is happening in the regions in these areas and determine the quality of work of regional teams largely based on these indicators. And this fundamental task must be solved next year. This will allow us to ensure not only a uniform, but also an equally high quality of business environment in all regions of Russia.

You and I have talked a lot about improving control and supervisory authorities; we have been talking about this for many years. Starting next year, their transparency will radically increase; data will be publicly available: who checks whom, how often, what results are obtained.

This will make it possible to quickly respond to abuses, to every fact of violation of the rights of entrepreneurs by controllers. Now I will not list all these decisions made, there are enough of them, it is only necessary that they be implemented. It is necessary to cancel instructions that do not in any way affect the quality of services or ensure the safety of citizens, but at the same time tie businesses hand and foot.

I would like to draw the attention of the Government: in the work of control and supervisory authorities, it is necessary to accelerate the introduction of an approach based on risk assessment, which will significantly reduce the number of inspections, but increase their effectiveness. I will add that supervisory authorities should be engaged not only in identifying violations, but also in prevention, not formally, but meaningfully, and - this is very important - provide advisory assistance to entrepreneurs, especially those who are just starting their own business.

I have already given a direct instruction to exclude the interpretation of the work of self-employed citizens as illegal entrepreneurial activity. There is no need to cling to them for far-fetched reasons. And so that there are no such reasons at all, I ask you to clearly define the legal status of self-employed citizens over the next year and give them the opportunity to work normally and calmly.

Everyone who works honestly in their business or as an employee should feel that the state and society are on their side. Justice is not about equalization, but about expanding freedom, creating conditions for work that brings respect, prosperity and success. And, on the contrary, everything that limits opportunities and violates people’s rights is unfair.

Last year's Address talked about pressure on business from some representatives of law enforcement agencies. As a result of such actions, successful companies often fall apart, and people's property is taken away. I would like to thank parliamentarians for their support of the bill, which significantly increases the criminal liability of law enforcement officers for fabricating cases, including with the aim of interfering with the work of entrepreneurs.

I will separately dwell on the topic of the fight against corruption. IN last years There have been many high-profile cases against officials at the municipal, regional, and federal levels. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that the vast majority of civil servants are honest, decent people working for the good of the country. But neither position, nor high connections, nor past merits can be a cover for dishonest government officials. However, and I would also like to draw attention to this, until a court decision, no one has the right to pronounce a verdict on a person’s guilt or innocence.

And further. Unfortunately, it has become our practice to raise information noise around so-called high-profile cases. And representatives of investigative and law enforcement agencies themselves often sin with this. Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to this and say that the fight against corruption is not a show, it requires professionalism, seriousness and responsibility, only then will it produce results and receive conscious, broad support from society.

Dear Colleagues! It is obvious that external restrictions and rising costs of domestic borrowing have reduced the availability of financial resources for enterprises and citizens. Nevertheless, the banking system managed to replace foreign lending to our companies and stabilize the situation, this is an obvious fact.

Now we must support business activity, the implementation of large economic projects, and affordable financing, especially since inflation is decreasing, I have already spoken about this, and this creates objective conditions for reducing the cost of bank loans. I repeat, the situation has indeed improved a little, but only in certain sectors. In general, lending to the economy is showing unstable dynamics.

As part of anti-crisis support in 2015–2016, we replenished our capital banking system by 827 billion rubles. According to estimates, this resource allowed banks to significantly increase lending to the real sector.

However, the volume of such loans has not increased this year, and even decreased slightly. I know about calculations in rubles, in foreign currency, but the decrease still occurred, even taking into account the exchange rate difference; I would like to draw the attention of those experts who believe that it is very important to pay attention to the exchange rate difference. Yes, everything is clear, the value of the ruble has changed against the dollar, against the euro, and this must be taken into account, but even with this circumstance taken into account, there is still a decrease in lending.

Of course, there is no doubt that we need to stimulate lending to the real sector. But the key question remains: what methods and means to do this? It is obvious that only stable banks with a solid capital reserve can develop lending.

This year, domestic banks have restored their profitability. The profit of this sector of the economy for 10 months of last year amounted to 193 billion rubles, and for the same period of this year already 714 billion rubles. Almost quadrupled in size.

In addition, thanks to the consistent and decisive work of the Central Bank, the banking system is cleared of offices that violate the law, the rights of clients, and conduct dubious financial transactions. Many of them, at least weak players, left the market. The banking sector has been rehabilitated and is being continued by the Central Bank. All this is a good basis for a rapid revival of the economy and for the development of lending to the real sector.

In general, a number of countries have created incentives for banks to lend specifically to this particular sector of the economy. At the same time, in some countries, restrictions on the ability of banks to invest raised funds in financial instruments are being discussed. I’m not saying that we need to blindly copy everything that is being done abroad, especially since the Russian economy and its structure differ significantly from other countries that apply such measures, but analyze all this practice, adopt everything that suits us , it is possible and necessary.

Thus, the non-banking financial sector operates successfully in many countries. It should be developed here too: this allows us to attract funds from investors and citizens into the economy through bonds and other mechanisms.

By the way, we have been discussing this topic for quite a long time. I hope that the Bank of Russia and the Government will jointly work out proposals for the development of the financial market. Everything should, of course, be aimed at the objectives of economic growth, while any changes should not lead to macroeconomic imbalances and the inflation of so-called “bubbles” in the economy.

It is very important to support lending to small businesses, which continues to decline. What can and should be done additionally for this? Representatives of financial authorities also believe that this is possible.

If the largest banks, due to the scale and complexity of their operations, are subject to strict requirements in accordance with international standards, and some experts believe that even for us they are too strict, but now we will not go into details.

In any case, small regional banks that perform the important function of lending to small businesses and households and, as a rule, carry out the simplest banking operations, could operate under significantly simplified requirements for regulating their activities.

Moreover, this, of course, cannot create any risks for the banking system as a whole, given their modest share in the entire banking system - only 1.5 percent of all banking assets. Such differentiated regulation of the banking system will allow clients to contact the bank that best suits their needs, and small businesses will not experience competition for credit resources with large companies.

Of course, the fundamental condition remains unchanged - each level of the banking system must be healthy and stable, so that both clients and depositors can be confident in the security of their funds.

Dear Colleagues! To reach a new level of development of the economy and social sectors, we need our own advanced developments and scientific solutions. It is necessary to focus on areas where the powerful technological potential of the future is accumulating, and these are digital and other so-called end-to-end technologies that today determine the appearance of all spheres of life.

Countries that can generate them will have a long-term advantage, the opportunity to receive enormous technological rent. Those who do not do this will find themselves in a dependent, vulnerable position. Cross-cutting ones are those that are used in all industries, these are digital, quantum, robotics, neurotechnology, and so on.

It is also necessary to take into account that in digital technologies, for example, there are risks, of course. It is necessary to strengthen protection against cyber threats, and the stability of all elements of infrastructure, the financial system, and public administration must be significantly increased.

I propose to launch a large-scale systemic program for the development of the economy of a new technological generation, the so-called digital economy. In its implementation, we will rely specifically on Russian companies, scientific, research and engineering centers of the country.

This is a question of national security and technological independence of Russia, in the full sense of the word - our future. It is necessary to take an inventory and remove all administrative, legal, and any other barriers that prevent businesses from entering both existing and emerging high-tech markets.

Provide such projects with financial resources, including targeting the work of the renewed VEB (Development Bank) towards these tasks. We will need qualified personnel, engineers, workers ready to perform tasks at a new level. Therefore, together with business, we are building a modern system of secondary vocational education, organizing the training of college and technical school teachers on the basis of advanced international standards.

We will increase the number budget places in engineering disciplines, IT specialties, and other key areas that determine economic development. Next year, centers of excellence will be created at leading universities, including regional ones, to provide intellectual and personnel support for projects related to the formation of new industries and markets.

Fundamental science should also serve as a powerful factor in the accumulation of scientific and technological resources necessary for economic growth and social development. Its task is twofold: to assess and predict future trends and to propose optimal solutions to meet the challenges we face.

And in the scientific field, as elsewhere, we will develop competition and support the strong, capable of producing practical results. This must be taken into account and Russian Academy sciences, all scientific organizations. We will continue to build a research infrastructure that will allow us to solve large-scale scientific problems.

Within the framework of the megagrant program, more than 200 laboratories have already been created, without any exaggeration, world-class, they are headed by scientists who determine global trends scientific development. By the way, many of them are our compatriots who previously left abroad.

I recently met with a group of such researchers. Already now, many of them spend most of their time working in Russian laboratories, working successfully and with pleasure. And they see that today in Russia interesting scientific problems are being set, a good research base is being created and material conditions are at a decent level.

But, of course, people have the right and must understand that they have a work horizon and a planning horizon; in this regard, I propose to ensure long-term funding for effective research projects, including through the resources of the Russian Science Foundation.

At the same time, it is fundamentally important to support our talented young Russian scientists, there are many of them, so that they create their own research teams and laboratories in Russia. A special line of grants will be launched for them, designed for a period of up to seven years. For these purposes, as well as for the development of scientific infrastructure and the opening of new laboratories, in 2017 alone, an additional 3.5 billion rubles will be allocated to the already declared resources for science.

And of course, the activities of research centers should be closely integrated with the education system, the economy, and high-tech companies. We need to turn research into successful commercial products, by the way, we have always suffered from this, from development to implementation a huge amount of time passes, and in general sometimes...

This applies not only to our time, and not even to the Soviet one, but in the Russian Empire everything was the same. We need to reverse this trend, we can do it. To solve this problem, two years ago we launched the National Technology Initiative; it is designed to ensure leadership positions for Russian companies and products in the most promising markets of the future.

Dear Colleagues! Everything I just talked about, all these priorities are included in the “Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of Russia”. The decree approving it was signed.

Everyone is well aware that in recent years we have faced attempts at external pressure. I’ve already talked about this twice and remembered it. Everything was put into play - from myths about Russian aggression, propaganda, interference in other people's elections to bullying of our athletes, including Paralympians.

By the way, as I said, every cloud has a silver lining, the so-called doping scandal, I am sure, will allow us to create in Russia the most advanced system to combat this evil. I assume that the national anti-doping program will be ready at the beginning of next year.

What would you like to say? Everyone is quite tired of custom-made information campaigns, the invention and planting of incriminating evidence, and mentoring teachings. If necessary, we ourselves can teach anyone.

But we understand the extent of our responsibility and are truly sincerely ready to take part in solving global and regional problems, of course, where our participation is appropriate, in demand and necessary.

We do not want confrontation with anyone, we do not need it: neither us, nor our partners, nor the international community. Unlike some foreign colleagues who see Russia as an enemy, we are not and have never been looking for enemies. We need friends. But we will not allow our interests to be infringed upon or neglected. We want and will be in control of our own destiny, to build the present and future without other people's prompts and unsolicited advice.

At the same time, we are committed to a friendly, equal dialogue, to establishing the principles of justice and mutual respect in international affairs. We are ready for a serious conversation about building a sustainable system of international relations in the 21st century. Unfortunately, in this regard, the decades that have passed since the end cold war, were wasted.

We are for security and the opportunity for development not for a select few, but for all countries and peoples, for respect for international law and the diversity of the world. Against any monopoly, whether we are talking about claims to exclusivity or attempts to customize the rules of international trade, limit freedom of speech, and actually introduce censorship in the global information space. They always reproached us for allegedly introducing censorship within countries, but now they themselves are practicing in this direction.

Russia is actively promoting a positive agenda in its work international organizations and informal associations such as the UN, G20, APEC. Together with our partners we are developing our formats: CSTO, BRICS, SCO. Priority foreign policy Russia has and continues to further deepen cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and interaction with other CIS countries.

The Russian idea of ​​​​forming a multi-level integration model in Eurasia - the Greater Eurasian Partnership - is also of serious interest. We have already begun substantive discussions on it at various international and regional levels. I am convinced that such a conversation is possible with the states of the European Union, in which today there is a growing demand for an independent subjective, political and economic course. We see this in the election results.

The enormous potential for Russia’s cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region was demonstrated by the Eastern Economic Forum held this year. I ask the Government to ensure the unconditional implementation of all previously adopted decisions on the development of the Russian Far East. And, let me emphasize again, Russia’s active eastern policy is not dictated by any current market considerations, not even by the cooling of relations with the United States of America or the European Union, but by long-term national interests and trends in global development.

In the current difficult conditions, one of the key factors in ensuring global and regional stability has become the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. It serves as an example of world order relations, built not on the idea of ​​dominance of one country, no matter how strong it may be, but on harmonious consideration of the interests of all states.

Today, China is emerging as the largest economy in the world, and it is very important that every year our mutually beneficial cooperation is replenished with new large-scale projects in various fields: trade, investment, energy, high technology.

The most important direction of Russian foreign policy is the development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India. The results of the Russian-Indian high-level negotiations held in October in Goa confirmed that our countries have enormous potential for deepening cooperation in a variety of areas.

We count on qualitative progress in relations with our eastern neighbor, Japan. We welcome the desire of the leadership of this country to develop economic ties with Russia and launch joint projects and programs.

We are ready to cooperate with the new American administration. It is important to normalize and begin to develop bilateral relations on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

Interaction between Russia and the United States in solving global and regional problems meets the interests of the whole world. We have a shared responsibility to ensure international security and stability, for strengthening non-proliferation regimes.

I would like to emphasize that attempts to break strategic parity are extremely dangerous and can lead to global catastrophe. You cannot forget about this for a single second.

And of course, I count on the United States joining forces in the fight against a real, not imaginary, threat - international terrorism. This is precisely the task our military personnel are solving in Syria. Terrorists have suffered significant damage, the Russian army and navy have convincingly proven that they are capable of working effectively far from permanent locations.

By the way, we see the work that employees of special services and units are doing inside the country to combat terrorism. We also have losses there. All this, of course, is in the field of our attention. We will continue this work. I would like to thank all our military personnel for their professionalism and nobility, courage and bravery, for the fact that you, soldiers of Russia, value your honor and the honor of Russia.

Dear Colleagues! When people feel they are right and act united, they confidently follow their chosen path. It has not been easy for us in recent years, but these trials have made us even stronger, truly stronger, and helped us better and more clearly identify the areas in which we need to act even more persistently and energetically.

By overcoming current difficulties, we created the basis for further movement forward and did not stop working on the development agenda, which is extremely important. That is, we did not delve into some of the details of the current day, we did not deal only with the problems of survival, we thought about the development agenda and ensured it. And today it is this agenda that is becoming the main one, coming to the fore.

The future of the country depends only on us, on the work and talent of all our citizens, on their responsibility and success. And we will definitely achieve the goals set before us and solve the problems of today and tomorrow.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Vladimir Putin began it by declaring a minute of silence in memory of the victims of terror and the Russian military personnel killed in Syria; the widows of the commander of the Su-24 bomber Oleg Peshkov and the marine Alexander Pozynich were present in the hall.

The head of state placed direct responsibility for the death of Russian servicemen on the Turkish leadership. Why Ankara, with which Moscow has always built partnerships, needed to shoot down our military aircraft - according to the president - is not clear. The head of state literally said the following: “Apparently, Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey, depriving it of reason and reason.”

Vladimir Putin promised: the Turkish leadership will regret what they did more than once, and Russia will definitely remind them of this. At the same time, there will be no nervous reaction from Moscow, designed for external effects, the President emphasized. Our actions will be based on responsibility to our country and people. We are not going to and will not rattle sabers, the head of state said.

Vladimir Putin also said: Russia is at the forefront of the fight against terror. It is necessary to destroy the bandits at distant approaches, otherwise they will kill and blow up on the territory of our country. Therefore, the decision was made to launch an air operation in Syria.

Vladimir Putin also stated that it is important to create one powerful fist to fight terrorism - a united anti-terrorist front - on the basis of international law and under the auspices of the UN. And every civilized state must make a contribution not through declarations, but through concrete actions. There should be no double standards.

The President made special mention of the country's defense capability. Modern Russian weapons have proven their effectiveness. The invaluable practice of its use in combat conditions, according to Vladimir Putin, will be analyzed and used for further development.

Regarding the economy, Vladimir Putin noted that last year our country faced a number of challenges. This includes a fall in oil prices and other export goods, and restrictions for our companies in international markets. The President emphasized: the situation is difficult, but not critical. There are already positive signals: there has been a decline in inflation, and capital outflow has slowed down. But this does not mean that you need to relax and leave everything as it is. The country must be prepared for the fact that the period of low oil prices will drag on; we must prevent the depletion of our reserves.

At the same time, it is necessary to use the emerging opportunities, first of all, to change the structure of the economy. This should lead to the creation of modern jobs and improved living standards for millions of Russians. According to the President, the number of successful companies should grow in all industries. Import substitution and personnel training programs are working to solve this problem. Secondly, it is necessary to create special programs that will support industries that are at risk, such as construction, automobile construction, and light industry. Vladimir Putin emphasized that there is money for this. Thirdly, it is necessary to provide assistance to the most vulnerable citizens, primarily people with disabilities. It is necessary to engage in their professional retraining and employment.

The fourth task is to achieve budget balance. This is a necessary condition for the financial stability and independence of the country. It is also necessary to tighten control over the expenditure of public funds. Another task is to create a unified mechanism for monitoring the payment of customs duties and taxes. This will eliminate the so-called gray schemes. And, of course, it is necessary to strengthen trust between government and business and improve the business climate. The President emphasized that the tax burden will not increase in the coming years. Freedom of enterprise, Vladimir Putin noted, is the most important issue. It is by expanding freedom that we must respond to all the restrictions that are trying to be created for the country from the outside.

Vladimir Putin also proposed allowing regions to reduce the profit tax rate to zero as part of the implementation of special investment projects, including as part of the implementation of import substitution programs. As for support for individual industries, the President emphasized that only competitive companies will receive it.

Another topic was the development of agriculture - the President set the country a task by 2020 - to provide itself with domestic food. At the same time, Putin noted that Russia has made a breakthrough in the agricultural sector - income from the export of products in this area has exceeded income from the sale of weapons. At the same time, Vladimir Putin said that unused agricultural land should be confiscated from unscrupulous owners and transferred to those who want and can cultivate it. The amendments, the President noted, should be adopted next year.

There was also talk about improving the judicial system. Vladimir Putin noted that the law should be harsh for those who deliberately violated it and lenient for those who retreated for the first time. The President asked the State Duma to support proposals to decriminalize a number of articles of the criminal code that relate to minor crimes.

At the same time, Vladimir Putin emphasized: a fundamental reservation must be made: repeated commission of a crime must lead to criminal liability. According to the President, it is necessary to maintain the openness of justice. To achieve this, it is necessary, among other things, to expand the number of offenses that juries can consider. At the same time, since it is not always easy to assemble a board of 12 people, the president suggested thinking about reducing the board to 5-7 assessors. But at the same time, autonomy and independence in decision-making must be preserved.

Separately, the head of state focused on the elections to the State Duma, which will be held in 2016. He emphasized that it is necessary to ensure public confidence in their results, competition must be fair and transparent. And the main thing is to ensure the cohesion of society.

The President expressed hope that the candidates in their election campaigns will pay attention to the fight against corruption. The President called this phenomenon an obstacle to the development of society.

The president named demographic issues among the main ones. Vladimir Putin proposed extending maternity capital for at least two years. The development of the healthcare system became another important topic. The President announced the need to finance high-tech operations using the funds of the compulsory medical insurance system, and demanded that the relevant laws be adopted during the spring session of the State Duma.

In conclusion, the President noted that only we ourselves can cope with the tasks facing the country. And he quoted the outstanding scientist Dmitry Mendeleev: “Divided ones will immediately destroy us, our strength is in unity.” At the same time, Russia, according to Vladimir Putin, remains part of the global world.

Citizens have united around patriotic values ​​not because they are happy with everything - there are plenty of difficulties and problems now. Russians are confident that they will be able to overcome them, they are ready to work for the good of the country.

Russian people strongly feel injustice and believe that they will be provided with equal opportunities, rights and freedoms—Russia defends these principles in its foreign policy, not without results. We are not talking about “compulsion to a worldview” or false unity - all this has already happened in the history of Russia, and it has not been forgotten.

Those who consider themselves more advanced, intelligent, “smarter” should treat other people and their opinions with respect, this is natural. Aggression is not justified, especially if it results in vandalism and violations of the law. The state will react harshly to such facts.

2. Mistakes of the past should remain in the past, speculation is unacceptable

The coming year is the year of the centenary of the revolution, this is another reason to deeply analyze the causes of any revolution. Russia has a thorny path, but Russians perceive it as something familiar. It is unacceptable to drag splits, anger and grievances of the past into today's life, to speculate on topics that affect almost every family.

3. Elections are competitive, the Duma is integral, the state is strong

The current election campaign was competitive. The authority of the legislative branch has strengthened and must be confirmed by deeds. All promises of United Russia, which has a constitutional majority, must be fulfilled. Society's immunity to populism and demagogy is strengthening. The country could not develop freely on the basis of a weak state, with a State Duma torn apart by squabbles. There are many countries where such a situation opened the way to adventurers, coups and, ultimately, anarchy.

4. Demographics are improving

The meaning of all social policy is to save people and increase human capital. Natural population growth continues. In 2013, Russia's fertility rate was 1.7 - higher than most European countries. In 2015, the total fertility rate in Russia will be even higher - 1.78

5. Medicine will become more prestigious, hospitals will be connected to the Internet, doctors will be offered professional retraining

The social sector must attract young people; in this regard, new jobs are created and wages increase. Competition for medical and pedagogical universities is growing steadily. There were no perinatal centers in Russia at all; now there will be 94 of them in 2018. Medical mortality has dropped to 5.9 per 1000 patients - this figure is also better than in many European countries.

In 2016, about 900 thousand patients are receiving high-tech care. The waiting time for operations is reduced. Problems persist, there are still many of them, they relate to primary care and patient reception. Next year a system of professional retraining for doctors will be organized. Work will continue to simplify document flow. According to the head of the Ministry of Communications, all hospitals and clinics can be connected to the Internet - now the whole country will follow this promise.

6. New school places, support for gifted children

The school refurbishment program will continue. In 2017, there should be no unsafe school buildings left; the problem of second and third shifts must be solved. School education must meet two basic objectives: to provide knowledge and to educate a moral person. We need projects in theaters, cinema, television, and the Internet. Many experiments are being carried out both in Russia and abroad, but they must be treated with caution. Purely modern children's technology parks will increase to forty next year. Regional authorities need to consider creating centers to support gifted children. Business should also get involved in this work. The Sirius center has already declared itself to be the most successful.

7. New grants for young scientists; science should create finished products

To reach a new level of the economy and social sphere, we need our own scientific developments and end-to-end technologies—those that are used in all industries. But digital technologies also come with risks; for example, you need to build protection against cyber threats. In 2017, the foundations of the “new digital economy” development program will be laid, with an emphasis on domestic companies.

The number of budget places in universities in technical and IT specialties will increase. In the scientific field, strong figures will be supported who are ready to give practical results - the Russian Academy of Sciences should pay attention to this. A special line of grants will be launched for young scientists for periods of up to 7 years. Russia needs to learn how to turn advanced developments into successful commercial products - this problem has been traced for a long time, dating back to the Russian Empire, but it can be overcome.

8. Laws on the activities of NPOs need to be finalized, and they themselves need to be allowed to receive state funding and social work

A special sign of the times is charity events. The government should start supporting charitable and social non-profit organizations. The social potential of people must be in demand. Next year, the opportunity will open for NPOs to provide social services at the expense of the Russian budget. Local authorities They should not be greedy, but should invite NGOs as much as possible to participate in social work, because they have not yet “become blind.” It is also necessary to complete the formation of the legislative framework for NPOs and clarify the requirements for their competencies.

9. Active citizen - in every city, single-industry towns, landscaping, landfills eliminated

Officials should not hide in their offices, but communicate with citizens. Very often, issues of improvement and preservation of the historical appearance of cities are often resolved behind the scenes, and the right decisions are not always made.

In 2017, the regions will be allocated 20 billion rubles for improvement, including in single-industry towns. It is important that residents take part in this - the ONF should help monitor this. Programs for saving unique natural symbols of Russia will also be prepared. It is necessary to eliminate landfills, both in large cities and in villages.

10. Record figures for new housing, the Kerch Bridge is being delivered on time

85 million sq. meters of housing commissioned - this is a record figure in the entire history of the country. It is important that all this housing is sold, and here the state will continue to provide targeted support for mortgages.

Also, within two years, at least half of all roads in large agglomerations must be put in order. Construction of the Kerch Bridge is on schedule.

11. Financial reserves have been preserved, inflation is low, banks have survived

This year the decline in GDP will be insignificant. Two years ago, Russia faced an unfavorable external climate. Sanctions were used to force people to dance to someone else’s tune, although the main reasons for the slowdown in the economy “remain within ourselves,” in the lack of competition, shortage of investment resources, etc.

In difficult conditions, macroeconomic stability was ensured, reserves were preserved, their total volume now amounts to $103.86 billion. The gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank have also increased. Inflation is expected to be below 6%. The lowest was in 2011, last year it was 12%, this year it will be 5.8%, and next year we can reach the target of 4%.

Domestic banks have restored their profitability, the sector’s profit this year is 714 billion rubles, last year it was 193 billion rubles. Thanks to the work of law enforcement officers and the Central Bank, the banking sector was restored and weak players left. The banking system managed to replace foreign lending to companies and stabilize the situation. A decrease in inflation should create conditions for lower lending rates, but the volume of real lending has not increased—it has only decreased, despite the opportunities. Lending to small businesses also continues to fall.

12. The growth of certain industries, especially IT companies, they need to be supported with benefits

There has been a slight increase in industrial production, a trend that must be maintained. In the automotive industry as a whole there was a slight decrease, but for trucks - an increase of 14%, for buses - an increase of 35.2%, railway production - 21.8%, for freight cars - 26%, production of agricultural equipment - 26%. It is necessary to carry out systematic work to solve the problem of supporting non-state industry in high-tech orders of the military-industrial complex, so that in 3 years their participation will be reduced to servicing half of all orders. The volume of exports of domestic IT companies has doubled over the past 5 years, with profits reaching $7 billion. Tax benefits for such enterprises have had their effect. It is proposed to extend IT benefits until 2023, and then the high-tech industry could become a key industry in the future.

13. Agriculture is growing, sanctions have helped, but they will not last forever

Previously, problems in agriculture were called a “black hole.” Today, the agricultural sector is a confident industry that is beginning to conquer international markets. The sanctions helped us, but this will not last forever; manufacturers need to take full advantage of this favorable situation. The export of agricultural products today gives us more than the sale of weapons - $14.5 billion versus $16.9 billion this year.

14. Regions - more independence in subsidies, local banks - simplified working conditions

Regions should be given more independence in agricultural subsidies, and their volume should be linked to an increase in arable land, an increase in productivity, creating an incentive to put idle agricultural land and advanced technologies into circulation. Regional banks could operate under much more simplified conditions than large federal players - this will not bring risks, they have only 1.5% of the market, and it will meet the needs of small businesses locally much better.

However, if the government gives more freedom, then the responsibility of the regions should also increase. It is necessary to support agricultural cooperation. Next year, the state will replenish the capital of the Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises by almost 13 billion rubles. The quality of work of regional management teams will be determined by the quality of the business environment, which should be equally high throughout the country. Starting next year, data from supervisory agencies will be publicly available: who is punishing whom, how and where.

15. The economy is being renewed

More and more trade barriers are being erected around the world, and one of the main problems is the growth of protectionism. Russia must fight more actively to enter international markets; competition will help strengthen domestic producers.

All the examples given already speak of economic renewal. However, no later than May, the government will develop a substantive plan of action in the economy until 2023, where the participation of all industries will be spelled out, and the goal will be to reach a level of economic development above the world one. In addition, it is necessary to achieve independence of state finances from external factors, including prices for hydrocarbon raw materials.

16. The tax system should be more transparent

Despite external economic factors, since 2014 the authorities have not revised benefits. Russians have a request for a more transparent tax system. It is necessary to streamline existing fiscal benefits, make them more targeted and abandon unnecessary ones. At the beginning of next year, the authorities will consider this issue together with business representatives in order to develop the necessary laws in 2018 and put them into effect in 2019.

17. Self-employed citizens will be legalized

The definition of self-employed citizens as conducting “illegal business activities” will be abolished. Next year, it is necessary to clearly define the legal status of self-employed citizens. Justice is not about equalizing, but about creating equal opportunities for success.

18. The fight against corruption is not a show

The majority of civil servants are honest, decent people. But neither position, nor high connections, nor past merits can be a cover for dishonest people. However, no one has the right to make verdicts before the trial. The noise is often created artificially. The fight against corruption is not a show.

There have been cases when successful companies collapsed as a result of illegal actions of law enforcement agencies. We must thank parliamentarians for working on a law that strengthens the criminal liability of law enforcement officers for fabricating cases.

19. Foreign policy: priority to China, progress with Japan, willingness to cooperate with the USA

Myths about Russian aggression, propaganda, accusations of interference in other people's elections, bullying of Russian athletes, including Paralympians - all this was part of the external pressure on Russia in the past year. The doping scandal, at the same time, will make it possible to create a national anti-doping program as early as 2017.

All the developments in international relations since the Cold War were in vain. Mentor teachings are already quite boring. If necessary, Russia itself can teach anyone. Russia does not want confrontation, does not and has never looked for enemies. The priority of Russian foreign policy has been and remains the further deepening of cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. The government must ensure that all promises for the development of the Far East are fulfilled. Mutually beneficial cooperation with China is a symbol of how countries can cooperate without domination and regardless of the military strength of each of them. Russia also hopes for progress in relations with Japan. The authorities are ready to cooperate with the new American administration. The development of Russian-American relations on an equal basis meets the interests of the whole world - we have a shared responsibility for the nonproliferation regime, and attempts to break nuclear parity are a global threat.

20. The fight against terrorism is not a mythical task

Terrorism is one of the real, not mythical, international threats. The Russian military in Syria has proven that they can carry out tasks far from their permanent locations. And the special services, not without losses, are successfully fighting terrorism within the country.

Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly with his annual Address. The announcement of the Message, according to tradition, took place in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin in the presence of over 1000 invitees.

V. Putin: Dear members of the Federation Council! Dear deputies of the State Duma! Citizens of Russia!

I would like to begin this year’s Message with words of gratitude to the Russian military personnel who are fighting international terrorism.

Today here, in the St. George Hall, the historical hall of Russian military glory, there are combat pilots and representatives of the Armed Forces - participants in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria.

Gelena Yuryevna Peshkova and Irina Vladimirovna Pozynich, who lost their husbands in the war on terror, found the strength to join us. Low bow to you and the parents of our heroes.

I ask you to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers who gave their lives while fulfilling their duty, and the memory of all Russian citizens who died at the hands of terrorists.

(Minute of silence.)

Dear Colleagues!

Russia has long been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. This is a fight for freedom, truth and justice. For the lives of people and the future of the entire civilization.

We know what the aggression of international terrorism is. Russia faced it in the mid-90s, and our country and its citizens experienced brutal terrorist attacks. We remember the hostage takings in Budennovsk, Beslan, Moscow, the merciless explosions of residential buildings, the crash of the Nevsky Express train, terrorist attacks in the capital's metro and at Domodedovo airport.

These tragedies claimed thousands of lives. This is a grief that is forever with us, with the country, with the relatives and friends of the innocent people who died.

It took almost ten years to break the back of the bandits. We have practically driven the terrorists out of Russia, but we are still waging an irreconcilable fight against the remnants of the underground gangs. But this evil still makes itself felt. Two years ago there were terrorist attacks in Volgograd. Just recently, a Russian civilian plane was blown up over the Sinai.

It is impossible to defeat international terrorism by the forces of only one country, especially in conditions when the borders in the world are actually open, and the world is also experiencing a new migration of peoples, when terrorists receive constant financial support.

The threat of terrorism is growing. The problem of Afghanistan has not yet been resolved. The situation in this country is alarming and does not inspire optimism, and recently stable, quite prosperous, by the way, countries of the Middle East and North Africa - Iraq, Libya, Syria - have turned into a zone of chaos and anarchy, from which a threat to the whole world emanates.

And we know why this happened. We know who wanted to remove unwanted regimes and roughly impose their own rules. As a result what? They started a mess, destroyed the statehood, pitted people against each other, and then simply, as we say in Russia, washed their hands of it, opening the way for radicals, extremists and terrorists.

A particular danger to us comes from militants who have concentrated in Syria. Among them there are many immigrants from Russia and CIS countries. They receive money, weapons, accumulate strength. And if they get stronger and win there, they will inevitably end up with us to sow fear and hatred, blow up, kill, and torture people. And we are obliged to meet them and destroy them at distant approaches.

This is why the decision was made to military operation on the basis of an official appeal from the legal, legitimate Syrian government. And in Syria, our Armed Forces are fighting primarily for Russia, defending the safety of our citizens.

The Russian army and navy have convincingly demonstrated their combat readiness and increased capabilities. Modern Russian weapons operate effectively, and the invaluable practice of their use in combat conditions is generalized and will be used to further improve our military equipment and weapons. Thanks to the engineers, workers - everyone who works at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex.

In the fight against terrorism, Russia has demonstrated utmost responsibility and leadership. These decisive actions are supported by Russian society. And in such an absolutely definite position of our citizens - a deep understanding of the total threat of terrorism, the manifestation of true patriotic feelings and high moral qualities, the conviction that national interests, our history, traditions, and our values ​​must be protected.

Lessons from the past full height stood before the world community. Historical parallels obvious.

In the twentieth century, the reluctance to timely unite efforts in the fight against Nazism was paid for with tens of millions of lives and the bloodiest world war.

Today we are again face to face with a destructive, barbaric ideology and we have no right to allow the newly emerged obscurantists to achieve their goals.

We need to put aside all disputes and differences, create one powerful fist, a united anti-terrorist front that will operate on the basis of international law and under the auspices of the United Nations.

Every civilized state is now obliged to contribute to the defeat of terrorists, to confirm its solidarity - and not with declarations, but with concrete actions.

This means no shelter for bandits. No double standards. No contact with any terrorist organizations. No attempts to use them for your own purposes. No criminal, bloody business with terrorists.

We know, for example, who in Turkey is lining their pockets and allowing terrorists to make money by selling oil stolen in Syria. It is with this money that the bandits recruit mercenaries, buy weapons, and organize inhumane terrorist attacks directed against our citizens, against the citizens of France, Lebanon, Mali, and other states. We also remember that it was in Turkey that the militants who operated in the North Caucasus in the 90s and 2000s took refuge and received moral and material support. And now we still notice them there.

Meanwhile, the Turkish people are kind, hardworking and talented. We have many long-time and reliable friends in Turkey. And I emphasize: they should know that we do not equate them with part of today’s ruling elite, which is directly responsible for the death of our military personnel in Syria.

We will not forget this complicity with terrorists. We have always considered and will continue to consider betrayal to be the most recent and shameful thing. Let those in Turkey know this who shot our pilots in the back, who are hypocritically trying to justify themselves, their actions and cover up the crimes of terrorists.

In general, dear colleagues, I don’t understand why they did this. Any questions, any problems, any contradictions that we did not even see could have been resolved in a completely different way. Moreover, we were willing to cooperate with Turkey on its most sensitive issues and were willing to go to lengths that their allies were unwilling to do. Only, probably, Allah knows why they did it. And, apparently, Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey, depriving it of reason and reason.

But they will not expect a nervous, hysterical reaction from us, dangerous for ourselves and for the whole world. A reaction designed for some external effects or even momentary domestic political consumption. It will not happen.

Our actions will be primarily based on responsibility to our country, to our people. We are not going to and will not rattle sabers. But if anyone thinks that having committed a vile war crime, the murder of our people, they will get off with tomatoes or some kind of restrictions in the construction and other industries, then they are deeply mistaken. We will remind you more than once of what they did. And they will regret what they did more than once. We know what needs to be done.

Now our Armed Forces, special services, and law enforcement agencies have been mobilized to repel the terrorist threat. But everyone must understand their responsibility: the authorities, political parties, civil society structures, media.

Russia's strength lies in free development of all peoples, in diversity, harmony of our cultures, languages, and traditions, in mutual respect, dialogue, both Orthodox and Muslim, followers of Judaism and Buddhism.

We are obliged to firmly counter any manifestations of extremism and xenophobia, and to preserve interethnic and interreligious harmony. This is the historical basis of our society and Russian statehood.

Elections to the State Duma will take place in 2016. And addressing the party leaders and participants in the future electoral process, all socio-political forces, I would like to quote the outstanding historian Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. This is what he wrote: “Whoever does not respect himself will, without a doubt, be respected by others. I’m not saying that love for the Fatherland should blind us and convince us that we are better than everyone and in everything. But a Russian must know his worth.”

Yes, we can argue about ways to solve certain problems. But we must maintain our unity and remember that the main thing for us is Russia.

Election competition must be fair and transparent, within the framework of the law, and with respect for voters. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure unconditional public trust in the election results and their strong legitimacy.

Dear Colleagues! I believe that the necessary attention in the programs of candidates for deputies will be given to issues of combating corruption. They, these questions, really concern society. Corruption is an obstacle to Russia's development.

Today, officials, judges, law enforcement officers, deputies of all levels are required to submit declarations on income and expenses, on the availability of real estate and assets, including foreign ones.

Now information about contracts and contracts that state and municipal employees plan to enter into with the companies of their relatives, friends and loved ones will also be subject to disclosure. A situation in which there are signs of personal interest or conflict of interest will instantly fall into the zone of increased attention of regulatory and law enforcement agencies. And of course, civil society.

Just the other day, participants in the All-Russian Popular Front project “For fair procurement“They told me about the facts of abuse they had identified, about outright violations. I beg General Prosecutor's Office, law enforcement agencies immediately respond to such information.

The law must be harsh towards those who deliberately committed a serious crime and caused damage to people’s lives and the interests of society and the state. And of course, the law must be humane towards those who have stumbled.

Today, almost every second criminal case that comes to court is related to petty, insignificant crimes, and people, including very young people, end up in prison.

Staying there and the criminal record itself usually have a negative impact on their future fate and often lead to subsequent crimes.

I ask the State Duma to support the proposals of the Supreme Court of Russia to decriminalize a number of articles of the Criminal Code and transfer crimes that do not pose a great public danger to the category of administrative offenses, but with a fundamental caveat: repeated commission of an offense should be qualified as a criminal act.

Independence and objectivity need to be increased trial. In this regard, I propose to strengthen the role of the institution of jurors and expand the number of crimes that they can consider. And taking into account the fact that it is not always easy to form a board of 12 people, I know the position of human rights organizations, they proceed from the fact that it should be exactly 12 assessors, but, I repeat, it is not easy to form this board, and it costs a lot, To be honest, you can think about reducing the number of jurors to five to seven people, but it is imperative to maintain full autonomy and independence of the jury in making decisions.

Dear Colleagues! Last year we faced serious economic challenges. Prices for oil and our other traditional export goods fell, and the access of Russian financial institutions and companies to global financial markets was limited.

I know that this is not easy for many people right now. Difficulties in the economy affect the incomes and, in general, the standard of living of our people. And I understand well that people are asking questions: when will we overcome difficulties and what will we do for this?

The situation is really complicated, but – I’ve already said this, I want to repeat – it’s not critical. Already today we see positive trends. Industrial production and the national currency exchange rate have generally stabilized, there has been a decline in inflation, and compared to 2014 we are recording a significant reduction in capital outflow.

But this does not mean that we should calm down and wait for everything to miraculously change, or just wait for oil prices to rise. This approach is fundamentally unacceptable.

We must be prepared for the fact that the period of low prices for raw materials, and, possibly, external restrictions, may drag on, and drag on for a long time. Without changing anything, we will simply burn through our reserves, and economic growth rates will fluctuate somewhere around zero.

But it's not only that. The main trends in global development cannot be overlooked behind current problems. The contours of the global economy are rapidly changing, new trade blocs are being formed, and radical changes are taking place in the field of technology.

It is now that the positions of countries in the global division of labor for decades to come are being determined, and we can and must take a place among the leaders.

Russia has no right to be vulnerable. We need to be strong in the economy, in technology, in professional competencies, to make full use of today's favorable opportunities, which may not exist tomorrow.

Of course, the authorities must hear people, explain the essence of emerging problems and the logic of their actions, and see civil society and business as equal partners.

What areas should be key for us?

First. Competitive production is still concentrated mainly in the raw materials and mining sectors. Only by changing the structure of the economy will we be able to solve large-scale problems in the field of security and social development, create modern jobs and improve the quality and standard of living of millions of our people.

It is important that we have successful enterprises in industry, agriculture, and small and medium-sized businesses. The goal is for the number of such companies to grow quickly and in all industries. Our programs for import substitution and export support, technological renewal of production and training of professional personnel should be aimed at achieving this goal.

Second. It must be taken into account that a number of industries are now at risk. This is primarily construction, automotive, light industry, and railway engineering. For them, the Government should offer special support programs. Financial resources are provided for this.

Third. It is necessary to support people with low incomes, the most vulnerable categories of citizens, and finally move to a fair principle of providing social assistance, when it is received by those who really need it. In particular, it is necessary to take into account the individual needs of people with disabilities, and pay special attention to their vocational training and employment of people with disabilities.

We have done a lot in demography, education, and healthcare. The main guidelines in these areas are outlined in the May 2012 decrees. Of course, life makes its own adjustments, and significant adjustments, but now, given the current difficulties, responsibility for the well-being of people is only increasing, and I ask you to take these decrees most seriously. We must strive to fulfill them.

Fourth. We need to achieve budget balance. This, of course, is not an end in itself, but the most important condition for macroeconomic stability and financial independence of the country. Let me remind you that based on the results of the execution of the 2016 federal budget, its deficit should not exceed three percent, even if our revenues turn out to be lower than expected. I draw your attention to this, dear colleagues, State Duma deputies and members of the Federal Assembly, and the Federation Council as a whole. This is an important question. I just said that the financial stability and independence of the country are absolutely interconnected. Please proceed from these key, basic considerations.

Budget planning, each budget cycle must begin with a clear fixation of priorities; it is necessary to return the decisive role of state programs in this process. Traffic control should be significantly tightened public funds, including federal and regional subsidies to industrial and agricultural enterprises. I believe that they should be transferred to the final recipient only through treasury accounts. State revenues should not go by the wayside, as they say. Due to “gray” schemes when paying customs duties, excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco and fuels and lubricants, the budget annually loses hundreds of billions of rubles. This is outright theft.

I propose to form a single, holistic mechanism for administering tax, customs and other fiscal payments. There are different options here, we have discussed them many times recently. I am waiting for specific proposals from the Government. At the same time, I want to emphasize again: in coming years tax conditions for business should not change.

This year we have generally completed the implementation of plans outlined within the framework of the national entrepreneurial initiative. The dynamics are good, but, of course, you can’t stop.

The government, together with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and leading business associations, must continue systematic work to improve business conditions and constantly monitor local law enforcement.

I consider freedom of enterprise to be the most important economic and socially significant issue. It is with this – freedom of enterprise, expansion of this freedom of enterprise – that we must respond to all the restrictions that they are trying to create for us.

That is why we have given such broad powers to the newly created Federal Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Businesses. I ask ministries and departments, governors, heads of all regions of the Russian Federation, state companies and banks to provide her with all the necessary assistance.

Surveys show that entrepreneurs do not yet see qualitative progress in the activities of control and supervisory agencies. All instructions in this regard have been given for a long time and more than once. For as long as we have been talking about this, we are reducing and reducing these powers. In some places we reduce them, in others they grow again. A whole army of controllers continues to interfere with the work of honest businesses. This does not mean that control is not necessary. Of course, we need to control it. But I ask the Government Commission on Administrative Reform, together with business associations, to submit, by July 1, 2016, specific proposals to eliminate redundant and duplicative functions of control and supervisory authorities.

I would also like to quote figures that were prepared by one of our business associations. In 2014, investigative authorities initiated almost 200 thousand criminal cases on so-called economic charges. 46 thousand out of 200 thousand reached the court, another 15 thousand cases fell apart in court. It turns out that if you consider that only 15 percent of cases ended in a verdict. At the same time, the absolute majority, about 80 percent, 83 percent of entrepreneurs against whom criminal cases were filed, lost their business completely or partially. That is, they were put under pressure, robbed and released. And this, of course, is not what we need in terms of the business climate. This is a direct destruction of the business climate. I ask the investigative authorities and the prosecutor's office to pay special attention to this.

Let me emphasize that the prosecutor’s office should make wider use of the tools available to it to monitor the quality of the investigation. I know that discussions on this matter have been going on for a long time, what additional information needs to be given to the prosecutor’s office. You know, at one time we separated the investigation from the prosecutor’s office in order to ensure the independence of the investigation; this was a conscious decision. Today, let me remind you, the prosecutor’s office has such tools as canceling the decision to initiate a criminal case, refusing to approve the indictment or even supporting the charges in court. We need to more actively use what is available, and only after that we will be able to analyze what is happening in practice.

In addition, I believe that during an investigation into economic crimes, placement in custody should be used as a last resort, and bail, recognizance not to leave, or house arrest should be used. Let me emphasize that the role of the law enforcement and judicial system is to protect the economy and citizens from fraud and criminals and to protect the rights, property, and dignity of everyone who follows the law and conducts their business honestly.

And one more topic. Last year, an amnesty was announced for capital returning to Russia. Meanwhile, business is not yet in a hurry to take advantage of this opportunity, which means that the proposed procedure is complex and there are not enough guarantees. I also follow the discussions that are going on in society now on this issue. They say that what we did and the decisions we made are a little better than similar decisions of past years, but this is definitely not enough today. I ask the Government to hold consultations, additional consultations with the business community, with Supreme Court, with law enforcement agencies and make the appropriate adjustments in a short time, and I propose to extend the amnesty itself for another six months.

Dear Colleagues! The state will provide all the necessary assistance to those who are ready to move forward and be a leader. We are building such a system in dialogue with business based on their requests and tasks facing our country.

Financial support for import substitution projects is already provided by the Industrial Development Fund. Its programs are in demand by entrepreneurs. I propose to recapitalize the Fund by another 20 billion rubles next year.

We also guarantee stable tax and other basic conditions for investors who are ready to invest in import substitution projects. This is provided for by such a mechanism as a special investment contract. I propose, within the framework of such contracts, to give the regions the right to reduce the profit tax rate to zero. Some executives explicitly ask for this so that investors can cover their capital costs for creating new production facilities.

But, of course, we are also aware of the concerns of regional leaders. And therefore, the subjects of the Federation must have incentives to strengthen their economic base. Therefore, the increase in regional income from the implementation of such projects should not entail a reduction in federal subsidies.

We are ready to guarantee demand for these programs and these projects. I propose to give the Government the right to purchase on a non-competitive basis up to 30 percent of products created within the framework of special investment projects and special investment contracts. But everything else should go to the free market, including the foreign market, so that companies do not lose motivation, monitor quality, and strive to reduce costs.

You know, when such programs were implemented in other countries, in order to receive support from the state, even more stringent conditions were set: a certain volume of products must be sold on the foreign market. For what? In order for the manufacturer to strive to produce quality products.

We say that we will guarantee our own market. Our conditions are a little different than in those countries that acted in such a stricter manner. But we must proceed from the fact that the products that will be produced must be of the highest international level. Let me emphasize again that we will support competitive domestic production. No one should have any illusions that, under the guise of import substitution, it is possible to slip the state and citizens surrogates or stale, and even exorbitantly expensive, goods. Russia needs companies that are not only able to provide the country with modern, high-quality products, but also conquer world markets. To assist those who are ready for such work, the Russian Export Center has been created.

In addition, I propose to make the growth of non-resource exports one of the key indicators of the activities of industry departments, and the Government as a whole.

I also think it is right to implement the initiative of the business community and create an agency for technological development, which will provide assistance to enterprises in acquiring domestic and foreign patents and licenses for engineering services. Entering foreign markets and expanding Russian products should become a natural strategy for the development of national business and the entire Russian economy. And of course, you need to break stereotypes and believe in your own capabilities. If you go forward, then the result will definitely come.

An example of this is our agriculture. Ten years ago, we imported almost half of our food products from abroad and were critically dependent on imports; now Russia is among the exporters. Last year, Russian exports of agricultural products amounted to almost $20 billion. This is a quarter more than revenue from arms sales, or about a third of revenue from gas exports. And our agriculture has made such a breakthrough in a short but fruitful period. Many thanks to the villagers.

I believe that it is necessary to set a national-level task and by 2020 completely supply the domestic market with domestic food. We can not only feed ourselves, taking into account our land and water resources, which is especially important. Russia is capable of becoming the world's largest supplier of healthy, environmentally friendly, high-quality food products, which have long been lost from some Western producers, especially since the demand on the global market for such products is steadily growing.

To solve such large-scale problems, it is necessary to concentrate resources on supporting, first of all, those farms that demonstrate high efficiency. It is on these principles that the development program for the agro-industrial complex should be built; I mean large, medium and small enterprises - all must be effective. I ask the Ministry of Agriculture to pay special attention to this.

It is necessary to put into circulation millions of hectares of arable land that are now idle, in the hands of large landowners, and many of them are in no hurry to engage in agriculture. Listen, how many years have we been talking about this? And nothing has changed. I propose to confiscate agricultural land that is not used for its intended purpose from unscrupulous owners and sell it at auction to those who want and can cultivate the land.

I ask the Government to prepare specific proposals, including draft regulations, by June 1, 2016, and I ask the State Duma deputies and all members of the Federal Assembly to amend the legislation over the next year and to adopt the relevant laws in the autumn session of next year.

We also need our own technologies for production, storage, processing of agricultural products, our own sowing and breeding fund. An extremely important task. We are still very vulnerable in these areas. I ask leading research institutes, the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as businesses that are already successfully implementing advanced developments to join in solving this problem.

In the last message, the launch of a national technology initiative was announced; its horizon is 15–20 years, but practical work is already underway. It showed that we have many strong teams capable of proposing and implementing innovative ideas. And in areas such as neurotechnology, unmanned technologies in aviation, and in transport in general, energy storage and distribution systems, Russia has every chance of being among the first to break into global markets, and in the near future, in the coming years.

Development institutions must be aimed at solving priority problems, primarily related to technological modernization. We have more than two dozen of them. Let's face it, many of them, unfortunately, have turned into a real dump for “bad” debts. It is necessary to clear them, and, of course, to optimize the structure and mechanisms of this work. I know that both the Government and the Central Bank are now actively working on this.

To renew the economy, we should more actively use the investment potential of domestic savings. I ask the Central Bank and the Government to submit proposals for the development of the corporate bond market, which we have also discussed several times. It is necessary to simplify the procedure for their release and acquisition. And to make it profitable for investors and citizens to invest in the development of the domestic real sector, I propose to exempt coupon income on these bonds from taxation, including from personal income tax.

In industry and agriculture, in transport and in housing construction, dozens of major projects. They should have a positive effect not only for individual industries, but also provide an incentive for the integrated development of entire territories. First of all, these are, of course, private projects.

In order for them to be implemented faster and more efficiently, it is necessary to make targeted changes to legislation, remove administrative barriers, and provide assistance with infrastructure development and promotion to foreign markets. Often these issues go beyond the boundaries of one department, so I propose to create a mechanism for supporting the most significant projects. This could be done by a special project office. I ask the Prime Minister, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, to submit proposals for the work of such a structure.

By the way, one of the projects could be the creation of large private Russian companies in the field of e-commerce, so that Russian goods are supplied via the Internet to all countries of the world. We have something to supply.

Dear Colleagues! We are interested in broad business cooperation with foreign partners, we welcome investors who are focused on long-term work in Russian market, even despite the current, not always simple circumstances. We highly appreciate their favorable attitude towards our country, towards the advantages that they see here for the development of their business. To open additional features To build up economic ties with Russia, our country is participating in integration processes.

We have already reached a qualitatively new level of interaction within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, a single space has been created with the free movement of capital, goods, work force. An agreement in principle was reached on linking Eurasian integration with the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. A free trade zone with Vietnam has been created. Next year we will hold the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi and, I am sure, we will be able to develop a joint mutually beneficial cooperation agenda.

I propose, together with my colleagues in the Eurasian Economic Union, to begin consultations with members of the SCO and ASEAN, as well as with states that are joining the SCO, on the formation of a possible economic partnership. Together our states make up almost a third of the world economy at parity purchasing power. Such a partnership at the initial stage could focus on issues of protecting investments, optimizing procedures for the movement of goods across borders, joint development of technical standards for products of the next technological generation, and mutual opening of access to the services and capital markets. Naturally, this partnership should be built on the principles of equality and consideration of mutual interests.

For Russia, such a partnership will create fundamentally new opportunities for increasing supplies of food, energy, engineering, educational, medical and tourism services to the Asia-Pacific region, will allow us to play a leading role in the formation of new technological markets, and also expand large global trade flows to Russia.

We will continue to modernize the transport infrastructure. We will develop powerful logistics centers, such as the Azov-Black Sea and Murmansk transport hubs, modern ports in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, strengthen the system of interregional air transportation, including in the northern and Arctic territories. At one of the upcoming meetings State Council We will consider in detail the state of inland waterways and river routes.

The Northern Sea Route should become a connecting link between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In order to increase its competitiveness, we intend to extend the preferential treatment of the free port of Vladivostok to the key harbors of the Far East, which is what entrepreneurs working in this strategically important region of Russia are asking us to do.

The socio-economic recovery of this region is the most important national priority. Investors are already showing serious practical interest in the new work mechanisms that we have proposed, including priority development areas.

I instruct the Government to speed up the adoption of a decision on equalizing energy tariffs for those Far Eastern regions in which they are significantly higher than the Russian average, and I ask the deputies to promptly consider the law on free provision of land to citizens in the Far East.

In recent years, significant resources have been invested in the development of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, and people see these changes. Komsomolsk-on-Amur should become another dynamic center of the Far East. This is a city with a legendary history, with a modern high-tech industry that produces popular civilian products and successfully works for the defense industry. But the urban and social infrastructure here is in a state of disrepair.

This applies to the general appearance of the city, and to sports facilities, culture, healthcare institutions, education - all this does not correspond to the potential of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which is also why it is difficult to attract young promising specialists, whom the region's enterprises are in dire need of. I believe that within the framework of existing programs it is necessary to concentrate resources and, without delay, direct them to solving the urban problems of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Of course, this cannot be done from today to tomorrow, but you need, in any case, to understand what to do, how, and at what pace.

Dear Colleagues! We have a long-term agenda that should not depend on election cycles or the current environment. And it is clear that saving the nation, raising children and discovering their talents is what determines the strength and future of any country, including ours.

I would like to start with demographics. For three years in a row, Russia has experienced natural population growth. Yes, it’s small for now, but it’s there. What do I want to emphasize? According to all forecasts, we should have already slipped into a new demographic hole; in a generation, the echo of the 90s would have sounded, as demographers told us and predicted, including at the level of the United Nations. But this doesn't happen. And first of all, because half of newborns today are second, third and subsequent children. Families want to raise children, believe in their future, believe in their country, and count on state support.

The maternity capital program expires next year. It has already covered more than six and a half million Russian families, including in Crimea and Sevastopol. But we understand that all these efforts are not yet enough to heal the demographic wound of the past that Russia suffered.

Of course, we understand how difficult this is for the budget; these are large, serious funds. And we said earlier that we will have to calculate whether we, as financiers say, can bear it, whether we can reliably guarantee and pay for all this. We can, no matter what the problems. I consider it necessary to extend the maternity capital program for at least another two years.

One of the most important demographic policy measures is the development of preschool education. Over the past three years, about 800 thousand additional places in kindergartens have been opened. In almost all regions of Russia, children from three to seven years old are provided with access to such institutions. I know that the Prime Minister paid special, personal attention to this. Thank you, Dmitry Anatolyevich.

But for now, specific families still continue to face, many in any case, the problems of placing their child in kindergarten. And as long as this exists, we cannot consider the issue closed. I ask both the Government and regional leaders to pay special attention to this.

Now about healthcare. The main result of our entire policy in this area is an increase in life expectancy. Over the decade, it has increased by more than five years and this year, according to preliminary estimates, will exceed 71 years. But, of course, there are still a lot of problems that we have to solve.

From next year Russian healthcare completely switches to insurance principles. It is the direct responsibility of insurance companies operating in the compulsory medical insurance system to defend the rights of patients, including in the event of unreasonable refusals to provide free medical care. If the insurance organization does not do this, it must bear responsibility, including a ban on working in the compulsory medical insurance system. I ask the Government to ensure the strictest control here.

Further. We have significantly increased the volume of high-tech medical care. Let me remind you that in 2005, 60 thousand high-tech operations were performed in Russia (60 thousand!), and in 2014 – 715 thousand. For the first time in the history of the country, a significant part of such operations began to be carried out without a queue, and this is truly an achievement.

But you need to understand that some operations are expensive - as a rule, they are performed in leading federal medical centers and clinics. To finance such operations, I propose creating compulsory health insurance in the system... We thought a lot about this topic - or give additional money to the general system. Here, deputies, government leaders, and governors know what is actually happening in practice. The compulsory medical insurance system is territorial, and first of all it supports territorial health care institutions. The heads of large federal clinics, where most high-tech operations are performed, are, of course, very concerned about underfunding. Therefore, to finance such centers and carry out such operations, I propose to create a special federal part in the compulsory health insurance system. I ask that the necessary amendments to the legislation be adopted in the spring session.

But this is not enough, because while you and I are making these decisions, people still should not suffer; we need to ensure uninterrupted funding for high-tech medical care, including, until this decision is made, directly from the federal budget.

You also know that as part of the national project “Health”, a significant re-equipment of the ambulance service was carried out. We purchased a large number of modern ambulances and other equipment. It is clear that time passes, and the vehicle fleet needs repairs and renewal. Ten years have already passed. This is the responsibility of the subjects of the Federation, and they are primarily obliged to ensure the solution to this problem and find reserves.

Listen, when we did this ten years ago, I remember well, we agreed: we would pour in federal money, and then the regions should pick it up and keep it at a certain level. But that did not happen. It's a pity. I understand that there are problems, but, as I have said many times, priorities must be set correctly. It was impossible to wait again: now everything will fall apart, and we will again be given money from the federal budget. Apparently, this will have to be done, of course. But this is not what we agreed on. In any case, I ask both the Government and the regions to return to this now and solve this problem together.

People complain that they sometimes do not understand why hospitals, schools, cultural and cultural institutions, for example, are closing or merging. social centers, institutions. We talk all the time about the need to restructure the network, in some cases oversized. Yes it is. But we need to act very carefully here and understand that in order to reach certain indicators, it is not at all the most the best way The solution to this problem is to close rural health centers. And, unfortunately, we also see this. And then people have to travel 100 kilometers to get medical care. This does not fit into any gates at all! I ask you to be very attentive to this. And I instruct the Government, by March 1, 2016, to prepare and approve a methodology for the optimal placement of social sector institutions. It should be mandatory for use in the regions. It is necessary to find a form, including a legally justified one, that would allow this to be done.

In issues such as assistance to the elderly and disabled, support for families and children, we need to place more trust in civil society and non-profit organizations. They often work more efficiently, with better quality, with sincere care for people, and there is less bureaucracy in their work.

Based on the results of the “Community” civil forum, which was held in November, I propose a number of specific solutions.

First. A special program will be launched presidential grants to support NGOs working in small towns and villages.

Second. For NPOs that have proven themselves to be impeccable partners of the state, the legal status of “non-profit organization – provider of public benefit services” will be established and a number of benefits and preferences will be provided. And finally, I think it would be right to gradually allocate up to 10 percent of the funds from regional and municipal social programs to non-profit organizations so that NPOs can participate in the provision of social services that are financed from budgets. We proceed from the fact that we know the current legislation well, we do not impose anything, but I ask the heads of regions and municipalities to take this into account in their work.

Dear Colleagues! This year, on September 1, as you know, a meeting was held with the children who gathered in Sochi at the Sirius support center for gifted children. We really have very interesting, purposeful children and youth. We must do everything so that today's schoolchildren receive an excellent education, can engage in creativity, choose a profession they like, realize themselves, so that no matter where they live, what income their parents have, the children themselves have equal opportunities for a successful start in life .

Every year our number of schoolchildren increases; over the next ten years there will be 3.5 million more. This is great, this is very good, but it is important that this growth does not affect the quality of education and learning conditions, so that the level achieved today continues to rise. Schools require extra seats. On my instructions, the Government, together with the regions, has prepared a specific action plan in this regard. It was decided to allocate up to 50 billion rubles for repairs, reconstruction and construction of new schools next year at the expense of federal funds.

But I propose to look at these issues more broadly. For a good education, only comfortable buildings are not enough. We need a professional, motivated teacher, breakthrough new teaching technologies and, of course, opportunities for creativity, sports, and additional education. And of course, we need to take all the best that was in the previous palaces of pioneers, circles of young technicians, and so on, and build work on, of course, a fundamentally new, modern basis, with the participation of both business and higher educational institutions and universities.

I would like to note such a positive fact as the growing interest of young people in engineering and blue-collar professions, in the professions of the future. Over the past two years, competition for admission to engineering universities has almost doubled. In 2019, the world championship in professional skills will take place in Kazan. By the way, Russia was the first in the world to start holding such competitions for children aged 10–17 years. It is important that these tournaments serve as a guide for schoolchildren, for those who are just choosing their profession. We must form a whole system of national competitions for workers. I propose to call this system “Young Professionals”. A very important direction.

In a word, Russian schools, additional and vocational education, and support for children’s creativity need to be adjusted to the future of the country, to the needs of both people, young people in this case, and to the needs of the economy, bearing in mind the prospects for its development. They, the guys, have to solve even more difficult problems, and they must be ready to become the first, to become not only successful in the profession, but also simply decent people with a strong spiritual and moral support.

Dear Colleagues! More than once we have been faced with a fundamental, fateful choice of the path of further development. And we passed another such milestone in 2014, when the reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia took place. Russia has loudly declared itself as a strong independent state with a thousand-year history and great traditions, as a nation that is consolidated by common values ​​and common goals.

We act with the same confidence now, when Russia is waging an open, and I want to emphasize this, an open, direct fight against international terrorism. We make decisions and implement them, knowing that only we ourselves can cope with the tasks facing us, but only together.

I will give one more quote, completely unexpected even for me, words said by a person far from politics. These are the words of Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, which were spoken 100 years ago. Here they are: “When we are scattered, we will be immediately destroyed. Our strength is in unity, in militancy, in complacent nepotism, which multiplies the growth of the people, and in the natural growth of our internal wealth and love of peace.” Wonderful words addressed directly to us today.

And at the same time, Russia is part of a global world that is rapidly changing. We understand well the complexity and scale of existing problems – both external and internal. There are always difficulties and obstacles on the path of any development. We will respond to all challenges, act creatively and effectively, work for the common good and for the sake of Russia. We will move forward together and together we will definitely achieve success.

(The Anthem of the Russian Federation plays.)

Publishes the full text of the Message.

Today, as usual in Messages, we will talk about our tasks in the economy, social sphere, domestic and foreign policy. This time we will pay more attention to the economy, social issues and domestic politics.

We have to solve all these problems in difficult, extraordinary conditions, as has happened more than once in history. And the people of Russia have once again convincingly proven that they are capable of responding to difficult challenges, defending and defending national interests, sovereignty and the country’s independent course.

But here is what I would like to say, dear colleagues, in this regard. I’ve already said this publicly several times, but I’d like to repeat it today.

Citizens have united - and we see this, we must say thanks to our citizens for this - around patriotic values, not because they are happy with everything, that everything suits them. No, there are enough difficulties and problems now. But there is an understanding of their reasons, and most importantly, confidence that together we will definitely overcome them. Willingness to work for Russia, heartfelt, sincere concern for it - this is what underlies this unification.

At the same time, people expect that they will be provided with ample and equal opportunities for self-realization, for implementing entrepreneurial, creative, and civic initiatives; they expect respect for themselves, for their rights, freedoms, and for their work.

The principles of fairness, respect and trust are universal. We firmly defend them - and, as we see, not without results - in the international arena. But to the same extent we are obliged to guarantee their implementation within the country, in relation to each person and the entire society.

Any injustice or untruth is perceived very sharply. This is generally a feature of our culture. Society decisively rejects arrogance, rudeness, arrogance and selfishness, no matter who all this comes from, and increasingly values ​​such qualities as responsibility, high morality, concern for public interests, willingness to hear others and respect their opinions.

This year's election campaign also showed this. You know that the initiative to return to the mixed model of elections of State Duma deputies was supported in the 2012 Address. This was a fundamental step towards public opinion.

I believe that the course towards developing the political system, institutions of direct democracy, and increasing the competitiveness of elections is absolutely justified, and we will certainly continue it.

The role of the State Duma as a representative body has grown. In general, the authority of the legislative branch has strengthened. It must be supported and confirmed by deeds. This applies to all political forces represented in parliament.

But, of course, the United Russia party, which, by the way, is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary today, has a special responsibility. The party has a constitutional majority in the State Duma and is the main support of the Government in parliament. And we need to organize our joint work in such a way that all promises and obligations made to citizens are fulfilled.

It was the citizens who determined the results of the election campaign, chose the path of creative development of the country, and proved that we live in a healthy society, confident in its fair demands, in which immunity to populism and demagoguery is strengthened and the importance of mutual support, cohesion, and unity is highly valued.

We are not talking, of course, about some kind of dogma, about ostentatious, false unity, much less about coercion to a certain worldview - all this, as you well know, happened in our history, and we are not going to go back to the past.

But this does not mean that by juggling with beautiful words and hiding behind arguments about freedom, someone can offend the feelings of other people and national traditions.

You know, if someone considers themselves more advanced, more intelligent, even considers themselves smarter than someone else in something - if you are like that, but treat other people with respect, this is natural.

At the same time, of course, I consider a counter-aggressive reaction unacceptable, especially if it results in vandalism and violation of the law. The state will react harshly to such facts.

Tomorrow we have a meeting of the Council for Culture - we will definitely discuss issues that cause broad discussion, we will talk about the principles of mutual responsibility of representatives of civil society and artists.

But I want to especially emphasize: in culture, in politics, in the media and in public life, in polemics on economic issues, no one can prohibit free thinking and openly expressing one’s position.

I repeat, when we talk about solidarity and unity, we mean the conscious, natural consolidation of citizens for the sake of the successful development of Russia.

Is it possible to achieve meaningful strategic goals in a fragmented society? Is it possible to solve these problems with parliament, where instead of effective work there are competitions of ambitions and fruitless bickering?

Is it possible to develop with dignity on the shaky ground of a weak state and a weak-willed government controlled from the outside that has lost the trust of its citizens? The answer is obvious: of course not.

Recently we have seen many countries where such a situation opened the way to adventurers, coups and, ultimately, anarchy. Everywhere the result is the same: human tragedies and sacrifices, decline and ruin, disappointment.

It is also of concern that in the world, and even in the most seemingly prosperous countries and stable regions, more and more new fault lines and conflicts are emerging on political, national, religious, and social grounds.

All this is superimposed on the acute migration crisis that, for example, European and other countries are facing. We know well the consequences of so-called great upheavals. Unfortunately, in our country in the last century there were many of them.

The coming year 2017 is the year of the centenary of the February and October revolutions. This is a good reason to once again turn to the causes and very nature of the revolution in Russia. Not only for historians and scientists - Russian society needs an objective, honest, in-depth analysis of these events.

This is our common history, and we need to treat it with respect. The outstanding Russian and Soviet philosopher Alexei Fedorovich Losev also wrote about this. “We know the whole thorny path of our country,” he wrote, “we know the languid years of struggle, lack, suffering, but for the son of his Motherland, all this is his own, integral, dear.”

I am sure that the absolute majority of our citizens have exactly this feeling of the Motherland, and we need the lessons of history, first of all, for reconciliation, for strengthening the social, political, civil harmony that we have managed to achieve today.

It is unacceptable to drag splits, anger, grievances and bitterness of the past into our lives today, to speculate in our own political and other interests on the tragedies that affected almost every family in Russia, no matter which side of the barricades our ancestors found themselves on then. Let us remember: we are one people, we are one people, and we have one Russia.

Dear Colleagues!

The meaning of our entire policy is to save people, to increase human capital as the main wealth of Russia. Therefore, our efforts are aimed at supporting traditional values ​​and family, demographic programs, improving the environment, human health, and developing education and culture.

You know, I can’t help but say a few words about what’s really happening, what we have here, what we’ve achieved. Natural population growth continues.

In 2013 – demographers have a concept called “fertility rate” – it was 1.7 in Russia, which is higher than in most European countries. For example, I will say: Portugal - 1.2, in Spain, Greece - 1.3, Austria, Germany, Italy - 1.4, in the Czech Republic - 1.5. This is data for 2013. In 2015, the total fertility rate in Russia will be even higher, slightly, but still higher – 1.78.

We will continue changes in the social sphere so that it becomes closer to people, to their needs, and is more modern and fair. Social sectors must attract qualified people, talented young people, so we are raising the salaries of specialists and improving their working conditions.

I would like to note that competition for medical and pedagogical universities – quite recently it was almost zero – is steadily growing. In 2016, there were 7.8 people for teaching specialties, and after admission in 2016, the total competition for budget places in medical universities was already almost 28 people per place. May God grant health and success to all – young specialists – in their work in the future.

I remember well how at one time I discussed with my colleagues projects for the development of high-tech medical care, as well as a network of perinatal centers, which we did not have at all. Now, in 2018, there will already be 94 of them in Russia.

And today our doctors save newborns in the most difficult cases. And according to these indicators, we have also taken the position of the leading countries in the world.

At the end of 2015, the infant mortality rate in Russia was 6.5 per thousand live births, and in the European region of the World Health Organization the figure was 6.6, that is, we were already a little better. Based on the results of 10 months of 2016, Russia reached the level of 5.9.

Over the past ten years, the volume of high-tech medical care has increased 15 times. Hundreds of thousands of complex operations are performed not only in leading federal centers, but also in regional clinics. If in 2005, when we started this program, 60 thousand people in Russia received high-tech medical care, in 2016 this will already be 900 thousand. We also need to move on. But still, compare: 60 thousand and 900 – the difference is significant.

Next year we need to put in place mechanisms for sustainable financing of high-tech care. This will make it possible to further increase its availability and reduce waiting times for operations.

In general, it must be said frankly that problems in healthcare remain in general; there are still a lot of them. And above all, they concern primary care. Its development must be given priority attention.

Citizens often encounter queues and a formal, indifferent attitude. Doctors are overloaded, it is difficult to get to the right specialist. There are often cases when clinics are equipped with the latest equipment, but medical workers simply do not have enough qualifications to use this equipment.

Starting next year, regular retraining of doctors will be organized at federal and regional medical centers and universities. At the same time, with the help of an educational certificate, a specialist will be able to choose where and how to improve his qualifications.

We will continue to increase the level of healthcare informatization in order to make it convenient and simple to make appointments and maintain documentation. It is necessary to free doctors from routine, from filling out heaps of reports and certificates, and give them more time to work directly with the patient.

Also, with the help of information technology, the efficiency of control over the market of vital drugs will be significantly increased. This will make it possible to get rid of fakes and counterfeits, and stop inflated prices when purchasing medicines for hospitals and clinics.

Over the next two years, I propose to connect all hospitals and clinics in our country to high-speed Internet. This will allow doctors, even in a remote city or village, to use the capabilities of telemedicine and quickly receive advice from colleagues from regional or federal clinics.

I would like to draw the attention of the Ministry of Communications to this. The Minister assured us that this task is absolutely realistic and achievable.

I just said this from the podium, the whole country will now watch this closely.

Taking into account its geography, huge, sometimes difficult to access territories, Russia also needs a well-equipped air ambulance service. Starting next year, the air ambulance development program will cover 34 regions of the country, which will receive funds from the federal budget.

First of all, this is Siberia, the North, the Far East. For these purposes (the deputies know about this, this was also your initiative) in 2017, 3.3 billion rubles will be allocated (this should pass in the second reading) for the purchase of aviation services as part of the air ambulance development project.

Dear Colleagues! Everywhere throughout our large country, children should study in convenient, comfortable, modern conditions, so we will continue the program of reconstruction and renovation of schools. We should not be left with school buildings that are in disrepair, dilapidated, and lack basic amenities.

It is finally necessary to solve the problem of third shifts, and then second shifts. And of course, additional efforts need to be directed toward improving the qualifications of teachers. You know that since 2016, a program to create new places in general education organizations has been implemented. This program is designed for 2016–2025, 25 billion rubles are provided.

By the way, you and I know well that this is primarily the responsibility of the regional level. But we decided to support the regions in this important area. In total, 187,998 new school places are planned to be created between 2016 and 2019.

At the same time, the most important thing that worries parents and teachers, the public, is, of course, the content of the educational process, the extent to which school education meets the two basic tasks that Academician Likhachev spoke about: providing knowledge and educating a moral person. He rightly believed that the moral basis is the main thing that determines the viability of society: economic, state, creative.

But teaching hours from the school curriculum alone will clearly not be enough here - we need projects in theatre, cinema, television, museums, and on the Internet that will be of interest to young people and will attract the attention of young people to Russian classical literature, culture, and history.

At school, it is necessary to actively develop creativity; schoolchildren must learn to think independently, work individually and in a team, solve non-standard problems, set goals for themselves and achieve them, so that in the future this will become the basis for their prosperous, interesting life.

There are a lot of experiments being carried out at school here, both abroad and here; We must, of course, be very careful with these experiments, but we certainly need to move forward.

It is important to cultivate a culture of research and engineering work. Over the next two years, the number of modern children's technology parks in Russia will increase to 40; they will serve as a support for the development of a network of technical clubs throughout the country. Business, universities, and research institutes must join this work so that the children have a clear understanding: they all have equal opportunities for a start in life, that their ideas and knowledge are in demand in Russia, and they will be able to prove themselves in domestic companies and laboratories.

As the educational center for talented children “Sirius” has already declared itself successful. I believe that we need a whole constellation of such platforms, and I would recommend that the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation think about creating centers for supporting gifted children in the regions on the basis of the best universities and schools.

But at the same time, what would I like to say here and what would I like to draw attention to? Our entire education system should be based on a fundamental principle: every child and teenager is gifted, capable of succeeding in science, creativity, sports, profession and life. Discovering his talents is our task, this is the success of Russia.

Dear Colleagues! I see in the younger generation a reliable, strong support for Russia in the turbulent, complex 21st century. I believe that this generation is capable of not only responding to the challenges of the time, but also participating on equal terms in shaping the intellectual, technological, and cultural agenda for global development.

It is no coincidence that many schoolchildren and students today participate in volunteer projects; they are actively developing in such important areas as caring for the sick, supporting the elderly, people with disabilities, education, sports, culture, local history, search movements, caring for nature and animals .

A special feature of our time is the widespread involvement of citizens in a variety of charitable events. Calls on social networks and the media to raise funds for the treatment of patients and to help children quickly receive a response, and people do this sincerely, unselfishly, as a response to the dictates of their hearts. Sometimes you are even surprised how people with little income quickly respond to their inner need to help those who especially need it.

I ask the Public Chamber and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to substantively engage in supporting volunteer and charitable movements and non-profit organizations. The will and generosity of the citizens who participate in such projects create the atmosphere of common affairs that Russia needs so much, create colossal social potential, and it must be in demand.

It is necessary to remove all barriers to the development of volunteerism and provide comprehensive assistance to socially oriented non-profit organizations. The main decisions here have already been made. Starting next year, opportunities will open up for non-profit organizations with relevant experience and access to the provision of social services that are financed from the budget.

Now, dear colleagues, I would like to address many of you. I want both governors and municipal authorities to hear me. I ask you, as they say, not to be greedy, not to give out of habit, out of established preference, exclusively to government structures, but to involve social services and non-profit organizations to the maximum extent possible. Let's be honest, they haven't lost sight of it yet; a cordial attitude towards people is very important. And let's together keep these issues under special control.

We are all interested in ensuring that the active entry of NPOs into the social sphere leads to an improvement in its quality. I instruct the Government, together with legislators, to complete the formation of a clear legal framework for the activities of NPOs - performers of socially useful services, to establish requirements for their competence, and at the same time, of course, without adding additional bureaucratic barriers. It is necessary to appreciate the demanding, interested, active position of citizens.

Once again I want to appeal to many of you: do not hide in your offices, do not be afraid of dialogue with people - meet halfway, talk honestly and openly with people, support their initiatives, especially when it comes to issues such as the improvement of cities and towns, conservation historical appearance and creation of a modern living environment.

Unfortunately, sometimes these issues are resolved behind the scenes, and when this happens, you really want to ask: “Are you sure that what you are offering, based only on the ideas that arise in back offices, is the best offer? Isn’t it better to consult with people, ask them how they want to see the streets, their yards, parks and embankments, sports and playgrounds?”

Next year we will allocate 20 billion rubles to the regions for improvement programs, including single-industry towns, and it is a matter of principle that the residents themselves should participate in making decisions on the use of these resources and determine which improvement projects to implement first. I ask the All-Russian Popular Front to actively join in this work, and at the same time I draw attention to: it is necessary not only to organize effective control, but with its help to achieve the specific result that people are waiting for, and, of course, we need to support citizens who are ready to join improvement projects . It is important that civil society actively participates in solving such problems as improving environmental legislation, preserving rare species of animals and plants, and creating a humane system for treating stray animals.

Next year, 2017, has been declared the Year of Ecology. I instruct the Government to prepare programs for the conservation of unique natural symbols of Russia, such as the Volga, Baikal, and Altai.

Throughout the country, we need to start cleaning up contaminated areas, eliminating the landfills that the surroundings of many populated areas have turned into. We recently talked about this with activists of the All-Russian Popular Front. This is a problem not only in large cities, but also in villages and towns.

Further, large-scale programs to develop the modernization of the road network are already underway in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Starting next year, we will begin such projects in other large cities and urban agglomerations, where about 40 million people live. In two years, at least half of the roads here should be put in order. Now I will not dwell on this in more detail here, the decision has been made, the appropriate means have been outlined, we just need to work effectively.

We will pay the necessary attention to the most important federal highways and to the construction of a facility of national importance – the Crimean Bridge; its construction is progressing according to schedule.

Dear colleagues, two years ago we were faced with serious economic challenges, with unfavorable conditions on world markets, with sanctions that tried to force us to dance to someone else’s tune, as our people say, to neglect our fundamental national interests. However, I repeat, the main reasons for the economic slowdown lie, first of all, in our internal problems. First of all, this is a shortage of investment resources, modern technologies, professional personnel, insufficient development of competition, and flaws in the business climate. Now the decline in the real sector has stopped, and there has even been a slight industrial growth. But you know that last year our GDP decline was about 3.7 percent, I think that this year it will be insignificant. Over the 10 months of 2016 it amounted to 0.3 percent, and I think that this will be approximately the case.

Programs to support a number of industries, as well as the housing market, played an important role. I will also talk about this now, because there has been an increase in industrial production, a small, but positive trend - of course, it will need to be maintained.

So, on the housing market. In 2015, more than 85 million square meters of housing were commissioned. This is a record figure in the entire history of the country.

It is very important here that this be implemented, of course, and we need to increase people’s purchasing power. I will also say this, keeping in mind our mortgage support programs.

We will continue to provide targeted assistance to those sectors of the economy that are still facing negative conditions. I have already said that there has been a definite, modest, but still growth in industrial production.

In the automotive industry as a whole, we have a slight decrease, but for trucks there is an increase of 14.7 percent, for light commercial vehicles there is an increase of 2.9 percent, and for buses there is an increase of 35.1 percent. In railway engineering - an increase of 21.8, in freight cars - 26. Very good dynamics are demonstrated by the growth in the production of machinery and equipment for agriculture - 26.8 percent. There are also positive dynamics in light industry.

We have ensured macroeconomic stability, which is very important, and maintained financial reserves. The gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank did not decrease, but even increased. If on January 1, 2016 it was 368.39 billion dollars, now it is 389.4, almost 400 billion. The dynamics here are also positive.

We expect that by the end of this year, inflation will decrease significantly; it will be below 6 percent. Here I would also like to turn to numbers. If you remember, inflation in 2015 was 12.9 percent. I hope that this year it will not rise above six, it will be somewhere around 5.8. The dynamics are obviously positive and significantly positive.

Let me remind you that the lowest inflation was recorded in 2011. It was 6.1 percent. I repeat again, this year it may even be less. This means we can actually reach the 4 percent target next year. These are very good preconditions for achieving significant growth on the basis of a healthy economy.

However, I want to emphasize: stabilization does not mean an automatic transition to a sustainable rise. If we do not solve the basic problems of the Russian economy, if we do not fully unleash new growth factors, then we may be stuck near the zero mark for years, and that means we will have to constantly squeeze in, save, and postpone our development until later. We cannot afford this.

We have a different path, which involves clearly setting goals and gradually, systematically achieving them. It is this approach that has repeatedly given significant positive results, and in a fairly short time. Thus, at one time it seemed that problems in agriculture would exist almost forever. We know how they talked about this and how offended our agricultural producers were when they talked about agriculture as a kind of black hole, where no matter how much money you give, there is still no result. No, it turns out that everything can be arranged completely differently. We found proven solutions, adopted a state program, created a flexible system of supporting agricultural producers, and today the agricultural sector is a successful industry that feeds the country and conquers international markets.

But here, as our people say, every cloud has a silver lining, our so-called partners have introduced sanctions, which I mentioned, we are taking retaliatory measures. Well, we helped our agricultural producers in the domestic market. But they must not forget that this cannot and probably will not continue forever, and the consumer needs a competitive environment in the market, so this favorable situation that has developed today must, of course, be taken full advantage of.

The export of agricultural products, which I have already mentioned, gives us more today than the sale of weapons. Just recently, we probably couldn’t even imagine this. I have already spoken about this publicly, and I can repeat it again from this rostrum. By the way, in the field of arms exports, we also maintain a fairly serious position: in 2015, $14.5 billion worth of exports were sold on the foreign market, and agricultural products worth more than 16 billion, 16.2 billion. This year we expect even more, it will be 16.9, most likely very good. Let's thank agricultural workers for this.

In the development of agriculture, much depends on the regions. I believe that they need to be given more independence in determining the priorities for the use of federal subsidies to support the agro-industrial complex, and their volume itself should be linked to an increase in arable land, an increase in productivity, and other qualitative indicators of production efficiency, thereby creating an incentive for putting idle agricultural land into circulation and introducing advanced agricultural technologies.

Here I would like to emphasize: if we give more independence in the use of federal budget funds, federal support, then the regions should also be responsible for the results and effective investment of the resources received, for strengthening their own economic base, solving problems in the social sphere, in housing and communal services increase.

Further, in order for our farmers to have new opportunities to enter the market, it is necessary to pay special attention to supporting agricultural cooperation. I ask the Ministry of Agriculture, Rosselkhozbank, Rosagroleasing, as well as the Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises to take up this issue; next year we will replenish its capital by almost 13 billion rubles.

We carried out a deep modernization of defense-industrial enterprises and the defense-industrial complex. The result is an increase in production volumes and, most importantly, a significant increase in labor productivity. The defense industry shows very good performance here and sets a good example. In 2016, the expected growth rate of defense industry production will be 10.1 percent, and the expected growth rate of labor productivity will be 9.8 percent.

And now it is necessary to focus the industry on the production of modern competitive civilian products for medicine, energy, aviation and shipbuilding, space, and other high-tech industries. In the next decade, its share should be at least a third of the total production in the defense-industrial complex.

I ask the Government to organize systematic work to solve this problem with the participation of development institutions, VEB, the Russian Export Center, and the Industrial Support Fund.

Dear colleagues, the IT industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in our country, which is very pleasing. The volume of exports of domestic companies has doubled over five years. I have just given figures for the volume of exports of the defense industry and agricultural products. The defense industry is 14.5 billion. More recently, IT technologies amounted to a figure that was close to zero, now it is 7 billion dollars.

Other indicators also increased: revenue, tax revenues. Such returns were provided, including benefits on insurance premiums. The Ministry of Finance asked me not to say that this was only due to benefits; I am saying that there were other, of course, tools to support the industry, but we still must admit that these benefits played a significant role in supporting IT companies. This measure allowed them to effectively realize their intellectual innovative potential. Look, at the beginning of their journey, in 2010, their tax contributions amounted to just over 28 billion rubles, and two years later – already 54 billion rubles. Can you imagine how tall it is? At the same time, the so-called lost income, taking into account benefits, is only 16 billion rubles. That is, real income even for the budget. To maintain this momentum, I propose to extend these benefits until 2023. I am sure that in the next decade there is every opportunity to make the IT industry one of the key export industries in Russia.

The examples mentioned above show that we are already purposefully changing the structure of the economy, updating existing industries and forming new ones, creating modern companies capable of operating in world markets. We need to continue to move in this direction systematically and aggressively. What is needed is not abstract scenarios in which little depends on us, but a professional, verified forecast of development. It is necessary to clearly define what contribution to economic growth will be made by improving the business climate, launching large investment projects, increasing non-resource exports, supporting small and medium-sized businesses, and other measures, and what the role of regions and individual industries will be.

I instruct the Government, with the participation of leading business associations, no later than May of next year, to develop a substantive action plan until 2025, the implementation of which will allow us to reach economic growth rates above world rates at the turn of 2019–2020, and therefore increase Russia’s position in the global economy.

Dear Colleagues! I repeat again, it is important that such a plan is supported and has the confidence of the business community, so that entrepreneurs are actively involved in its implementation. Today, it is obvious that people are growing in demand for expanded economic freedoms (we have talked about this more than once), for stable, sustainable, predictable rules for doing business, including the tax system. Let me remind you that in 2014 we decided to fix the current tax conditions for business for four years. They did not revise them, despite changes in the economic situation, and this certainly had a positive impact on the work of enterprises.

At the same time, we must orient our tax system so that it works for the main goal: to stimulate business activity, to grow the economy and investment, and to create competitive conditions for the development of our enterprises. It is necessary to streamline existing fiscal benefits, make them more targeted, and abandon ineffective instruments.

I propose that over the next year, we carefully and comprehensively consider proposals for setting up the tax system, and be sure to do this with the participation of business associations. Despite the internal political calendar, we still need to prepare and adopt all relevant amendments to legislation and the Tax Code in 2018, and put them into effect on January 1, 2019, fixing new stable rules for the long term.

At the same time, I ask the Government to work on improving the mechanisms for ensuring a sustainable budget and public finances, fulfilling all our obligations, regardless of external factors, including hydrocarbon prices.

Further. We have seriously updated the legal framework in the field of entrepreneurship. Now it is important to ensure effective law enforcement – ​​and above all on the ground. Please note that in every region of the country, basic services for business: construction permits, access to infrastructure, and so on and so forth – must fully comply with the requirements of federal legislation and best regional practices.

Dear Colleagues! Quite recently in Yaroslavl, I think, we met and talked about this topic. This is not just a passing topic; it is an extremely important area of ​​our joint activities. We will closely monitor what is happening in the regions in these areas and determine the quality of work of regional teams largely based on these indicators. And this fundamental task must be solved next year. This will allow us to ensure not only a uniform, but also an equally high quality of business environment in all regions of Russia.

You and I have talked a lot about improving control and supervisory authorities; we have been talking about this for many years. Starting next year, their transparency will radically increase; data will be publicly available: who checks whom, how often, what results are obtained.

This will make it possible to quickly respond to abuses, to every fact of violation of the rights of entrepreneurs by controllers. Now I will not list all these decisions made, there are enough of them, it is only necessary that they be implemented. It is necessary to cancel instructions that do not in any way affect the quality of services or ensure the safety of citizens, but at the same time tie businesses hand and foot.

I would like to draw the attention of the Government: in the work of control and supervisory authorities, it is necessary to accelerate the introduction of an approach based on risk assessment, which will significantly reduce the number of inspections, but increase their effectiveness. I will add that supervisory authorities should be engaged not only in identifying violations, but also in prevention, not formally, but meaningfully, and - this is very important - provide advisory assistance to entrepreneurs, especially those who are just starting their own business.

I have already given a direct instruction to exclude the interpretation of the work of self-employed citizens as illegal entrepreneurial activity. There is no need to cling to them for far-fetched reasons. And so that there are no such reasons at all, I ask that over the next year the legal status of self-employed citizens be clearly defined and given the opportunity to work normally and calmly.

Everyone who works honestly in their business or as an employee should feel that the state and society are on their side. Justice is not about equalization, but about expanding freedom, creating conditions for work that brings respect, prosperity and success. And, on the contrary, everything that limits opportunities and violates people’s rights is unfair.

Last year's Address talked about pressure on business from some representatives of law enforcement agencies. As a result of such actions, successful companies often fall apart, and people's property is taken away. I would like to thank parliamentarians for their support of the bill, which significantly increases the criminal liability of law enforcement officers for fabricating cases, including with the aim of interfering with the work of entrepreneurs.

I will separately dwell on the topic of the fight against corruption. In recent years, there have been many high-profile cases against officials at the municipal, regional, and federal levels. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that the vast majority of civil servants are honest, decent people working for the good of the country. But neither position, nor high connections, nor past merits can be a cover for dishonest government officials. However, and I would also like to draw attention to this, until a court decision, no one has the right to pronounce a verdict on a person’s guilt or innocence.

And further. Unfortunately, it has become our practice to raise information noise around so-called high-profile cases. And representatives of investigative and law enforcement agencies themselves often sin with this. Dear colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to this and say that the fight against corruption is not a show, it requires professionalism, seriousness and responsibility, only then will it produce results and receive conscious, broad support from society.

Dear Colleagues! It is obvious that external restrictions and rising costs of domestic borrowing have reduced the availability of financial resources for enterprises and citizens. Nevertheless, the banking system managed to replace foreign lending to our companies and stabilize the situation, this is an obvious fact.

Now we must support business activity, the implementation of large economic projects, and accessible financing, especially since inflation is decreasing, I have already spoken about this, and this creates objective conditions for reducing the cost of bank loans. I repeat, the situation has indeed improved a little, but only in certain sectors. In general, lending to the economy is showing unstable dynamics.

As part of anti-crisis support in 2015–2016, we replenished the capital of the banking system by 827 billion rubles. According to estimates, this resource allowed banks to significantly increase lending to the real sector.

However, the volume of such loans has not increased this year, and even decreased slightly. I know about the calculations in rubles, in foreign currencies, but the decrease still occurred, even taking into account the exchange rate difference; I would like to draw the attention of those experts who believe that it is very important to pay attention to the exchange rate difference. Yes, everything is clear, the value of the ruble has changed against the dollar, against the euro, and this must be taken into account, but even with this circumstance taken into account, there is still a decrease in lending.

Of course, there is no doubt that we need to stimulate lending to the real sector. But the key question remains: what methods and means to do this? It is obvious that only stable banks with a solid capital reserve can develop lending.

This year, domestic banks have restored their profitability. The profit of this sector of the economy for 10 months of last year amounted to 193 billion rubles, and for the same period of this year already 714 billion rubles. Almost quadrupled in size.

In addition, thanks to the consistent and decisive work of the Central Bank, the banking system is cleared of offices that violate the law, the rights of clients, and conduct dubious financial transactions. Many of them, at least weak players, left the market. The banking sector has been rehabilitated and is being continued by the Central Bank. All this is a good basis for quickly reviving the economy and developing lending to the real sector.

In general, a number of countries have created incentives for banks to lend specifically to this particular sector of the economy. At the same time, in some countries, restrictions are being discussed on the ability of banks to invest raised funds in financial instruments. I’m not saying that we need to blindly copy everything that is done abroad, especially since the Russian economy and its structure differ significantly from other countries that apply such measures, but analyze all this practice, adopt everything that suits us , it is possible and necessary.

Thus, the non-banking financial sector operates successfully in many countries. It should be developed here too: this allows us to attract funds from investors and citizens into the economy through bonds and other mechanisms.

By the way, we have been discussing this topic for quite a long time. I hope that the Bank of Russia and the Government will jointly work out proposals for the development of the financial market. Everything should, of course, be aimed at the objectives of economic growth, while any changes should not lead to macroeconomic imbalances and the inflation of so-called “bubbles” in the economy.

It is very important to support lending to small businesses, which continues to decline. What can and should be done additionally for this? Representatives of financial authorities also believe that this is possible.

If the largest banks, due to the scale and complexity of their operations, are subject to strict requirements in accordance with international standards, and some experts believe that even for us they are too strict, but now we will not go into details.

In any case, small regional banks that perform the important function of lending to small businesses and households and, as a rule, carry out the simplest banking operations, could operate under significantly simplified requirements for regulating their activities.

Moreover, this, of course, cannot create any risks for the banking system as a whole, given their modest share in the entire banking system - only 1.5 percent of all banking assets. Such differentiated regulation of the banking system will allow clients to contact the bank that best suits their needs, and small businesses will not experience competition for credit resources with large companies.

Of course, the fundamental condition remains unchanged - each level of the banking system must be healthy and stable, so that both clients and depositors can be confident in the security of their funds.

Dear Colleagues! To reach a new level of development of the economy and social sectors, we need our own advanced developments and scientific solutions. It is necessary to focus on areas where the powerful technological potential of the future is accumulating, and these are digital and other so-called end-to-end technologies that today determine the appearance of all spheres of life.

Countries that can generate them will have a long-term advantage, the opportunity to receive enormous technological rent. Those who do not do this will find themselves in a dependent, vulnerable position. Cross-cutting ones are those that are used in all industries, these are digital, quantum, robotics, neurotechnology, and so on.

It is also necessary to take into account that in digital technologies, for example, there are risks, of course. It is necessary to strengthen protection against cyber threats, and the stability of all elements of infrastructure, the financial system, and public administration must be significantly increased.

I propose to launch a large-scale systemic program for the development of the economy of a new technological generation, the so-called digital economy. In its implementation, we will rely specifically on Russian companies, scientific, research and engineering centers of the country.

This is a question of national security and technological independence of Russia, in the full sense of the word - our future. It is necessary to take an inventory and remove all administrative, legal, and any other barriers that prevent businesses from entering both existing and emerging high-tech markets.

Provide such projects with financial resources, including targeting the work of the renewed VEB (Development Bank) towards these tasks. We will need qualified personnel, engineers, workers ready to perform tasks at a new level. Therefore, together with business, we are building a modern system of secondary vocational education, organizing the training of college and technical school teachers on the basis of advanced international standards.

We will increase the number of budget places in engineering disciplines, IT specialties, and other key areas that determine economic development. Next year, centers of excellence will be created at leading universities, including regional ones, to provide intellectual and personnel support for projects related to the formation of new industries and markets.

Fundamental science should also serve as a powerful factor in the accumulation of scientific and technological resources necessary for economic growth and social development. Its task is twofold: to assess and predict future trends and to propose optimal solutions to meet the challenges we face.

And in the scientific field, as elsewhere, we will develop competition and support the strong, capable of producing practical results. This must be taken into account by the Russian Academy of Sciences and all scientific organizations. We will continue to build a research infrastructure that will allow us to solve large-scale scientific problems.

Within the framework of the megagrant program, more than 200 laboratories have already been created, without any exaggeration, of the world level, they are headed by scientists who determine the trends in global scientific development. By the way, many of them are our compatriots who previously left abroad.

I recently met with a group of such researchers. Already now, many of them spend most of their time working in Russian laboratories, working successfully and with pleasure. And they see that today in Russia interesting scientific problems are being set, a good research base is being created and material conditions are at a decent level.

But, of course, people have the right and must understand that they have a work horizon and a planning horizon; in this regard, I propose to ensure long-term funding for effective research projects, including through the resources of the Russian Science Foundation.

At the same time, it is fundamentally important to support our talented young Russian scientists, there are many of them, so that they create their own research teams and laboratories in Russia. A special line of grants will be launched for them, designed for a period of up to seven years. For these purposes, as well as for the development of scientific infrastructure and the opening of new laboratories, in 2017 alone, an additional 3.5 billion rubles will be allocated to the already declared resources for science.

And of course, the activities of research centers should be closely integrated with the education system, the economy, and high-tech companies. We need to turn research into successful commercial products, by the way, we have always suffered from this, from development to implementation a huge amount of time passes, and in general sometimes...

This applies not only to our time, and not even to the Soviet one, but in the Russian Empire everything was the same. We need to reverse this trend, we can do it. To solve this problem, two years ago we launched the National Technology Initiative; it is designed to ensure leadership positions for Russian companies and products in the most promising markets of the future.

Dear Colleagues! Everything I just talked about, all these priorities are included in the “Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of Russia”. The decree approving it was signed.

Everyone is well aware that in recent years we have faced attempts at external pressure. I’ve already talked about this twice and remembered it. Everything was used - from myths about Russian aggression, propaganda, interference in other people's elections to the persecution of our athletes, including Paralympic athletes.

By the way, as I said, every cloud has a silver lining, the so-called doping scandal, I am sure, will allow us to create in Russia the most advanced system to combat this evil. I assume that the national anti-doping program will be ready at the beginning of next year.

What would you like to say? Everyone is quite tired of custom-made information campaigns, the invention and planting of incriminating evidence, and mentoring teachings. If necessary, we ourselves can teach anyone.

But we understand the extent of our responsibility and are truly sincerely ready to take part in solving global and regional problems, of course, where our participation is appropriate, in demand and necessary.

We do not want confrontation with anyone, we do not need it: neither us, nor our partners, nor the international community. Unlike some foreign colleagues who see Russia as an enemy, we are not and have never been looking for enemies. We need friends. But we will not allow our interests to be infringed upon or neglected. We want and will be in charge of our own destiny, to build the present and future without other people's prompts and unsolicited advice.

At the same time, we are committed to a friendly, equal dialogue, to establishing the principles of justice and mutual respect in international affairs. We are ready for a serious conversation about building a stable system of international relations in the 21st century. Unfortunately, in this regard, the decades that have passed since the end of the Cold War were wasted.

We are for security and the opportunity for development not for a select few, but for all countries and peoples, for respect for international law and the diversity of the world. Against any monopoly, whether we are talking about claims to exclusivity or attempts to customize the rules of international trade, limit freedom of speech, and actually introduce censorship in the global information space. They always reproached us for allegedly introducing censorship within countries, but now they themselves are practicing in this direction.

Russia actively promotes a positive agenda in the work of international organizations and informal associations, such as the UN, G20, APEC. Together with our partners we are developing our formats: CSTO, BRICS, SCO. The priority of Russian foreign policy has been and remains the further deepening of cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and interaction with other CIS states.

The Russian idea of ​​​​forming a multi-level integration model in Eurasia - the Greater Eurasian Partnership - is also of serious interest. We have already begun substantive discussions on it at various international and regional levels. I am convinced that such a conversation is possible with the states of the European Union, in which today there is a growing demand for an independent subjective, political and economic course. We see this in the election results.

The enormous potential for Russia’s cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region was demonstrated by the Eastern Economic Forum held this year. I ask the Government to ensure the unconditional implementation of all previously adopted decisions on the development of the Russian Far East. And, let me emphasize again, Russia’s active eastern policy is not dictated by any current market considerations, not even by the cooling of relations with the United States of America or the European Union, but by long-term national interests and trends in global development.

In the current difficult conditions, one of the key factors in ensuring global and regional stability has become the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. It serves as an example of world order relations, built not on the idea of ​​dominance of one country, no matter how strong it may be, but on harmonious consideration of the interests of all states.

Today, China is emerging as the largest economy in the world, and it is very important that every year our mutually beneficial cooperation is replenished with new large-scale projects in various fields: trade, investment, energy, high technology.

The most important direction of Russian foreign policy is the development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India. The results of the Russian-Indian high-level negotiations held in October in Goa confirmed that our countries have enormous potential for deepening cooperation in a variety of areas.

We count on qualitative progress in relations with our eastern neighbor, Japan. We welcome the desire of the leadership of this country to develop economic ties with Russia and launch joint projects and programs.

We are ready to cooperate with the new American administration. It is important to normalize and begin to develop bilateral relations on an equal and mutually beneficial basis.

Interaction between Russia and the United States in solving global and regional problems meets the interests of the whole world. We have a common responsibility for ensuring international security and stability, for strengthening non-proliferation regimes.

I would like to emphasize that attempts to break strategic parity are extremely dangerous and can lead to a global catastrophe. You cannot forget about this for a single second.

And, of course, I count on the United States uniting its efforts in the fight against a real and not imaginary threat - international terrorism. This is precisely the task our military personnel are solving in Syria. Terrorists have suffered significant damage, the Russian army and navy have convincingly proven that they are capable of working effectively far from permanent locations.

By the way, we see the work that employees of special services and units are doing inside the country to combat terrorism. We also have losses there. All this, of course, is in the field of our attention. We will continue this work. I would like to thank all our military personnel for their professionalism and nobility, courage and bravery, for the fact that you, soldiers of Russia, value your honor and the honor of Russia.

Dear Colleagues! When people feel they are right and act united, they confidently follow their chosen path. It has not been easy for us in recent years, but these trials have made us even stronger, truly stronger, and helped us better and more clearly identify the areas in which we need to act even more persistently and energetically.

By overcoming current difficulties, we created the basis for further movement forward and did not stop working on the development agenda, which is extremely important. That is, we did not delve into some of the little details of the current day, we did not deal only with the problems of survival, we thought about the development agenda and ensured it. And today it is this agenda that is becoming the main one, coming to the fore.

The future of the country depends only on us, on the work and talent of all our citizens, on their responsibility and success. And we will definitely achieve the goals set before us and solve the problems of today and tomorrow.

Thank you very much for your attention.