Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly with a message on 29 February, touching upon the topics of national economic projects and support for the military, according to Russian media.
Putin set a new record for the length of his address, with his speech lasting just over two hours. The President announced the need to reduce the share of imports in the national economy, to increase domestic production and to implement advanced digital technologies. Putin also set a goal to digitise all social spheres by 2030.
It is necessary to form digital platforms in all key sectors of the economy and social sectors
The president suggested introducing such an economic instrument as a “savings certificate”, which would allow Russians to deposit their savings in banks for a long-term period at a higher interest rate.
By 2030, the share of imports in Russia should fall to 17% of GDP, with the government and business itself investing at least 2% of GDP in research and development. New national projects such as Human Resources, Youth of Russia, Long and Active Life and Family have been announced.
As for the Human Resources project, Putin promised to train more than 1 million specialists in working professions by 2028, with 120 billion rubles allocated to support secondary education.
Putin also promised to increase payments for supervision in technical schools and classroom management in schools starting 1 March, as well as to allocate 9 billion rubles to upgrade the infrastructure of pedagogical universities.
Addressing the problem of life expectancy, the President announced the launch of the Youth of Russia project, allocating more than 1 trillion roubles over the next 6 years for the construction, repair and equipping of healthcare facilities.
Small and medium-size businesses are now making an increasing contribution to the country’s economy, accounting for over 21 per cent of industries. In 2023, a total of about 1.2 million such companies were registered, the highest figure in 5 years. At the beginning of the year, the number of young entrepreneurs under 25 increased by 20%, numbering more than 240 thousand.
The Head of State declared that the heroes of the war in Ukraine should be included in the social and political life of the country, be given leading positions in the education system, business, state administration, as well as become heads of regions and enterprises.
The President also spoke about the need to strengthen military power in the western direction, emphasising the country’s readiness to defend its interests by any means. He also emphasised that his speech was based not only on immediate plans, but also on strategic tasks for the future, taking into account the opinions of Russians from various regions and participants in military operations.
