Mikhail Mishustin on external challenges: we survived

As the correspondent of The Moscow Post reports, yesterday the State Duma hosted the annual report of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin. This year, the report was made in emergency conditions. By the last months of the reporting year, and especially in the last six weeks of this year, much has become clear and exposed. And for Russia, and its society, and the government.

In the so-called "Western world," terry Russophobia blossomed in a lush color. European partners began to speak with the voices of opponents. In the speeches of Washington opponents, hostility, undisguised aggressiveness appeared. In the conflict in Ukraine, the United States and NATO openly take the side of the Kyiv authorities, local Nazis and alien mercenaries.

Stand up to the economic war

Against Russia, as Mikhail Mishustin said, an economic war has been unleashed, a real one. The Russian government was preparing for this. In the last two to three weeks, reacts to the situation in real time. This was later recognized in their speeches by the leaders of some opposition parliamentary factions.

The government itself, according to the rapporteur, has identified "five cross-cutting, main priorities for the short term." Among them are uninterrupted activities of enterprises, freedom of entrepreneurship within the country, support for the especially vulnerable, saturation of the domestic market with goods, sectoral support measures, which cannot be done without.

For the stable operation of enterprises, in order to preserve both enterprises and jobs, new production chains will have to be built that do not depend on "former foreign partners." As Mishustin said, "the blow is now being dealt to everyone indiscriminately," small, medium, large businesses.

But Russia has accumulated a margin of safety, despite the pandemic. First of all, within the framework of the national development goals set by the head of state. During the pandemic, the effectiveness of anti-crisis measures has increased, - said Mishustin.

There is a lot of confirmation of this. A new management model has been implemented, which made it possible to coordinate government actions and respond quickly to challenges.

The result of 2021 was a steady economic growth. Most enterprises have learned to live and develop, despite the risks associated with the coronavirus. "In two covid years, the Russian economy has grown at a pace five times higher than in developed countries," the Prime Minister noted with satisfaction.

According to the results of the second quarter, the Russian economy reached the pre-pandemic level in terms of GDP. GDP growth at the end of the year amounted to 4.7%. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. Non-resource non-energy exports grew by 40% and reached $200 billion. The manufacturing sector grew by 5%, including the growth of mechanical engineering production by almost 10%, truck output increased by 30%. The growth was due to domestic demand.

The issue of economic sovereignty

The situation in recent years has developed under the influence of a pandemic, related restrictions. Now we have to deal with the actions of unfriendly countries, "Mishustin said, stressing the need to increase the production of domestic products:" After all, today for our country import substitution is a matter of economic sovereignty. "

Two years ago, the Food Security Doctrine was approved, which is being successfully implemented. Reporting on the success of the agricultural sector and indicators of self-sufficiency in the main types of food, Mikhail Mishustin drew attention to the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin to raise self-sufficiency in the seed fund to 75% by 2030. Now this share is almost two-thirds. This is required by the difficult current situation, - said the prime minister.

Among the industries that systematically affect the economy, he named aviation and shipbuilding. In particular, he said that the construction of a serial nuclear icebreaker of the new Siberia project has been completed, three more such nuclear-powered ships are being built. This ice fleet will open year-round traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The task was set by 2024 to increase cargo traffic along the NSR to 80 million tons.

The aviation industry has become one of the earliest targets of Western sanctions. The Russian aviation industry tried to "cancel." Foreign partners who participated in cooperation on the creation of MS-21 aircraft, Sukhoi Superjet, simply refused to fulfill contractual obligations.

In the aircraft industry, the main thing is to achieve technological independence from foreign materials and components. This will protect Russia from unfair actions of competitors, - said Mishustin. The Russian industry has already mastered the production of composite materials for the wing of the Russian MS-21 aircraft. In December, this liner with a domestic composite wing first took to the sky. It is planned to completely replace the import units and units of this machine.

Last year was declared the Year of Science and Technology by President Vladimir Putin, "Mishustin recalled and announced numerous victories of Russian schoolchildren in international Olympiads, a large project for the development of higher education, an accompanying grant system, a plan for the development of a network of campuses and scientific and educational centers. This should become the basis of scientific and technological sovereignty and the basis of Russia's competitive advantages.

The Government is taking a separate large set of measures for the IT industry. Many of them are indicated in the presidential decree and became a continuation of the systemic decisions that the government has implemented over the past few years. The main thing is to attract talented young children, specialists to this sector of the economy, create conditions for them to work in Russia, produce competitive domestic products, provide advanced technologies for all industries - from medicine and education to energy and space.

The prime minister called for the creation of analogues of mobile application stores in Russia. According to him, the App Store and Google Play. The developer of an analogue of Google Play after Mishustin's statement about his readiness for such work.

"I appeal, taking this opportunity, - guys, developers, programmers, IT specialists, let's make our own ecosystem. We have everything for that. There are elements of this ecosystem that need to be refined. You need to make your own online store, "said Premier. He recalled that the Ministry of Digital Science is working on the creation of a Russian online application store on the Android platform and noted that the Russian authorities gave IT specialists all the opportunities to work in the country.

The government got the opportunity to make decisions on benefits for the import of technological equipment, components, spare parts, raw materials, materials that are used for the implementation of investment projects. A legal mechanism and regime for parallel import has been created.

But Mishustin stressed that import substitution in all industries is "a vital necessity. Its own strong industry, a powerful scientific and technical base, high-class personnel are the key factors in true independence, real sovereignty. " The main task is to support production and achieve complete scientific and technological independence. This is crucial not only for national security, but also for the future of our country, for its economic strength and the standard of living of millions of our citizens.

Exes competed who would hurt more

"Our former partners directly competed who would take restrictive measures faster. They were released almost daily. The goal was to create panic and strike at every person, "Mishustin stated, characterizing the situation of sanctions pressure. The new sanctions are of an unprecedented scale, their number exceeds 6 thousand, and they are directed against all citizens. The goal was to create panic and strike at each person.

The prime minister said that the country's financial system was the first to take a hit after the West pirated assets. "They actually robbed our country," he said, adding that global companies that have invested billions of dollars in Russian projects have come under political pressure. Supply chains were interrupted, high-tech imports were limited, air traffic was stopped, an attempt was made to deprive Russia of aircraft, and exports of goods were limited.

And he continued: "We have included in the plan separate measures to support backbone enterprises, updated their list. We closely monitor the financial and economic condition. They do not just provide employment themselves - numerous suppliers are tied to them. Special concessional lending programs are adopted for such organizations. There are solutions for industry, agriculture, energy. They are preparing for construction and other industries. "

We have survived and are still open

Mikhail Mishustin noted in his report that Western companies that have decided to leave the Russian market are freeing up niches for domestic entrepreneurs and giving a chance to expand the supply of Russian products. But he also turned to foreign companies. To those who ponder whether to leave or stay.

Russia is still open for a constructive dialogue, the prime minister assured. "We respect your work, the efforts you have put into your projects in our country. We appreciate our cooperation. But if you are still forced to leave, the company must continue to work, because it gives jobs. Our citizens work there, and protecting their interests is our priority. The standard of living of people cannot depend on the quirks of foreign politicians, "Mishustin warned.

Such sanctions were not enforced even in the darkest years of the Cold War. Their goal is to set us back years or even decades. Cut off from the world. The authors of this strategy hoped that the sanctions storm would destroy the economy in a few days. But the financial system of Russia has resisted. Payments within the country go without interruption. The stock market and the ruble exchange rate are stabilizing, the prime minister summed up.

"It is unlikely that any other state could handle this. We survived, "Mishustin said to the applause of the deputies.