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Vladimir Putin held a videoconference meeting with members of the Government.
The main topic on the agenda was the development of the County Teacher, County Doctor, County Paramedic, Country Culture Worker and Country Coach programmes. Reports were delivered by deputy prime ministers Tatyana Golikova and Dmitry Chernyshenko.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,
Today we will talk about the development of the County Teacher, County Doctor, County Paramedic, Country Culture Worker and Country Coach programmes. But before that, I would like to greet you on behalf of the Prime Minister, who is currently on a trip and with whom I spoke a short while ago. And second, I would like to raise a number of current issues, starting with the results of the INNOPROM-2025 International Industrial Exhibition.
Mr [Anton] Alikhanov, how did it go?
Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov: Mr President,
This year marks a milestone for the INNOPROM exhibition which has brought together over 50,000 participants from 66 countries in Yekaterinburg. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the official partner country this year presenting a large national exposition alongside Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
INNOPROM continues to expand its presentation capabilities. This year, 390 exhibition booths were set up by participants, including 140 by foreign companies, as well as group expositions from 33 Russian regions. The scale of the event was further enhanced by the traditional 9th Russia-China EXPO held on the sidelines of INNOPROM, with over 300 Chinese companies showcasing their products.
Mr President, the goal of technological leadership set by you took centre stage at this year’s INNOPROM. Most of the Russian breakthrough solutions presented at it were aligned with the objectives of the new national technological leadership projects. Industrial robotics, which are the key focus of the national system-wide Means of Production and Automation project, deserve special mention. The console-gantry all-purpose robots were of particular interest for our international guests. These systems can simultaneously deliver parts to multiple machines and processing centres, thus significantly reducing the number of robotic units at production facilities.
Equally important is the debut of Russia’s innovative six-axel industrial and collaborative robotic manipulators. These robots enhance the precision and speed of operations such as welding, painting, and assembly. They are in high demand across various transport engineering sectors, primarily, the automotive industry.
In this sector, we continue building our own component base. For instance, the exhibition featured domestically developed anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and electronic stability control systems (ESC).
Our institute, NAMI, presented a secure autonomous driving system currently being tested on the Lada Vesta vehicle. NAMI also unveiled a pre-production prototype of the Atom electric vehicle, with full-scale production expected to begin later this year. The Atom’s systems were tested in Arctic conditions after being delivered there by the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker.
In other areas of the Transport Mobility national project, INNOPROM showcased a model of a high-speed rail train set. As I reported to you earlier, core components and systems of this train are undergoing testing. In September, production of the first train body will begin, and by the summer of 2027, two lead train sets will be delivered for infrastructure testing and certification.
In urban transit, in addition to modernising bus fleets, we manufacture trams using composite, stainless materials, and also modular trams with three to seven sections and dual-cab configurations eliminating the need for reversal rings.
In the aviation section of the exhibition, Mikhail Mishustin inspected the Ilyushin Il-114 regional passenger aircraft. Its certification is to be completed this year, and according to the schedule, serial deliveries to operators will start next August.
In the light aviation segment, a newly developed all-composite four-seat aircraft featuring a domestic engine designed last year was presented. It is intended for pilot training and tourist flights, with around nine pre-production samples expected to be manufactured this year.
Visitors were also able to take a look at the PD-8 engine for the fully import-substituted Superjet aircraft. Its certification is to be completed by the end of this year (all certification tests are currently underway), with serial deliveries planned for next spring.
Additionally, a new domestic 110-horsepower engine was showcased. Its production was launched at an enterprise based in Ufa, which is part of the United Engine Corporation. This engine will make small aviation independent from foreign manufacturers and will also be used on heavy civil unmanned aerial systems (UAS) developed under a dedicated national project.
Speaking of UAS, the exhibition had on display a serial helicopter-type UAV capable of delivering 100 kg of cargo over 600 km, and a unique amphibious UAV capable of taking off and landing on both water and land, with a 700 kg payload and a range of up to 1,500 km. A test batch of these UAVs is planned for August, with serial production scheduled to begin in 2028.
Today, significant developments are being carried out under the New Materials and Chemistry national project to ensure independence in raw materials. Among the most notable achievements presented at this exhibition I should mention metal powder sputting technology which can be used to create high-precision parts by pressing them in just one minute. The main consumers are the automotive industry and oil and gas sector; for oil-and-gas machine building this technology is in high demand.
The construction of the first sodium polyacrylate plant in Russia is another important project. Sodium polyacrylate is essential for producing medical items and personal hygiene products.
Another essential substance that our chemical complex can now produce is silica gel for polymerisation catalysts. It is a key raw material for the production of polypropylene and polyethylene which are widely used in various industries.
Special attention is also given to the catalyst industry, not only for the chemical and automotive sectors but also within the New Nuclear and Energy Technologies national project. Among the latest innovations for this essential sector, two models were demonstrated at INNOPROM: a centrifugal pump for continuous nuclear power plant operations, and a main line pump with an electric drive, which will eventually replace imported gas-turbine-powered units on pipelines.
The medical industry was also largely represented at the exhibition, showcasing laminar sterilisation units for laboratories and other controlled environments, the latest anaesthesia and respiratory devices, and portable diagnostic devices for detecting hearing issues in newborns.
All these developments will contribute to achieving technical sovereignty in healthcare under the New Health Saving Technologies national project.
One more national project supported by industry focuses on tourism development. Among the new types of technology and equipment used in this sector, where there are niches that we have to fill, we actually presented two new products at INNOPROM: the first Russian snow groomer (piste bashers) for ski resorts to undergo pilot operation at a resort this year, with serial deliveries planned for next year, and a ten-seat passenger cabin for cable cars.
All the developments I have mentioned are Russian-designed. However, there are several areas that involve cooperation with our Belarusian partners. This year, an INNOPROM exhibition was already held in Uzbekistan in April. For the first time this year, a similar travelling format exhibition will be held in Minsk, Belarus, at the end of September, where we will present promising areas of industrial cooperation between our two countries.
That is all. Thank you. The concludes my report.
Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev reported on the increase in digital services on the Gosuslugi public services portal and the fight against cybercrime. The Minister noted that several new services enjoy great popularity among the public. For example, 13.5 million people have set a self-ban on loans over the past six months, and about 25 million have downloaded the Gosklyuch application for electronic signing of documents.
A section with information about the mobile phone numbers registered in a person’s name has been established to combat cyber fraud. As of April 1,2025, no more than 20 SIM cards can be registered per person. If a person has more registered in their name, they will need to decide which to keep by November 1.
Maksut Shadayev also commented on the law adopted by the State Duma to punish those who knowingly search for extremist materials online, including using VPN services. According to the Minister, the law stipulates a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles for knowingly accessing clearly extremist materials from the register maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
“Ordinary people who deliberately, I repeat, deliberately don’t search for prohibited extremist materials, even though they know that they are extremist and have been placed on the Justice Ministry’s register, including through VPN services, will not be fined; I wanted to clarify this,” Maksut Shadayev pointed out.
Vladimir Putin: Regarding the law on searching for extremist information, which the State Duma has adopted and you have mentioned, how do you think it would be applied in practice?
Maksut Shadayev: In practice, law enforcement agencies will need to prove intent and that the user knew that the materials they were searching for are extremist and have been placed on the register. In this sense, ordinary users need not worry.
Numerous discussions have been held on this issue, arguing that people must know the list of the 5,500 prohibited materials so they never open them. However, we see no risks in this regard, because no punishment will be applied if the user was not aware of the extremist nature of the material in question.
At the same time, we know that adherents of these ideologies and organisers of extremist communities deliberately search for such materials, which means that ordinary citizens do not need to be concerned.
Vladimir Putin: Good, thank you.
Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov reported on the operation of the special economic zones over the past 20 years. There are 59 such zones in Russia, including six zones established in 2025. Over 1,300 resident companies have invested 2.7 trillion rubles and created 110,000 jobs in various sectors, from industry and science to logistics and tourism. Investors from 34 countries are involved in the special zones.
These zones have also benefitted the state, since benefit costs and infrastructure spending for zone residents have been offset by the growth of the tax base. As of now, this has brought 122 billion rubles to the budget, which means that tax revenue exceeds expenditures.
The mechanism is being improved. Two years ago, an additional support measure was introduced to recoup the regions’ infrastructure costs through the zone residents’ tax and customs payments to the federal budget. This financial instrument is available to all constituent entities. Last year, it was used by St Petersburg, the Moscow, Ivanov and Lipetsk regions. In 2025, relevant applications have been submitted by the Tula, Samara and Sverdlovsk regions.
Reports on the main theme of the meeting – the progress of the County Teacher, County Doctor, County Paramedic, County Culture Worker and County Coach programmes – were delivered by deputy prime ministers Tatyana Golikova and Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The County Doctor programme was launched in 2012 and expanded to include middle grade medical staff in 2018. Payments to the medical staff under the County Doctor programme since 2012 have reached nearly 73 billion rubles, and another 33 billion rubles are to be paid by 2030, Tatyana Golikova said.
The County Culture Worker programme was introduced as a support measure on January 1, 2025. “This year, initial budgetary allocations have been approved at 1.1 billion rubles, with 2.5 billion to be paid every year until 2030. We believe that this programme will cover all the 9,000 vacancies,” Tatyana Golikova stated.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko briefed the meeting participants on the progress of the County Teacher programme. Under the programme, the teachers who move to rural communities, workers’ settlements, urban-type settlements and towns with a population of up to 50,000 get a one-time payment of two million rubles in the Far Eastern Federal District and one million rubles in other regions. As of January 2025, the size of the one-time payment has been increased to two million rubles for the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. “The most popular subjects taught by the teachers who found employment under the programme are the Russian language, literature, mathematics, geometry, history, social sciences and geography,” Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
Dmitry Chernyshenko: Now, regarding the new County Coach programme, which was launched on your instruction at the Sports Council meeting in Ufa last October. Currently, 63.3 percent of the population in Russia regularly engages in sports. According to your instruction, this figure should reach at least 70 percent by 2030. In rural areas, however, participation stands at only 52 percent, which clearly lags behind the national average. This is mainly due to uneven infrastructure development, but also a shortage of qualified personnel.
The current estimated need in rural areas is around 3,000 coaches and sports specialists. However, this figure is based on survey data, as opposed to the education sector, where staffing needs are verified; here we are still in the process of gathering accurate data.
If you support this proposal, the Ministry of Economic Development, together with relevant agencies, can incorporate the collection of this primary data into the federal statistical monitoring framework. This would help us establish a proper data-gathering system, as we have in other sectors.
The programme is currently in its pilot phase. This year, 28 regions will receive subsidies, including border regions. Starting next year, all constituent entities, including the newly integrated territories, will participate. The payment under the programme will amount to two million rubles for those relocating to rural areas, the regions in the Russian Far East or the new regions, and one million rubles for those moving to other parts of the country.
The estimated funding required from the federal budget to cover this need is approximately 2.8 billion rubles.
Mr President, with your approval, we will work with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sport to secure the necessary funding.
I would also like to note that payments made under the County Teacher, County Doctor, and County Culture Worker programmes are tax-exempt. I would like to ask you to consider supporting a similar exemption for the County Coach programme starting in 2025.
Thank you. That concludes my report.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
I agree with your proposals. This is exactly what needs to be done. I would like to draw the attention of our regional colleagues to this as well. We have discussed this many times before – these programmes are essentially designed for the benefit of the regions. This is absolutely essential, and it must be done.
Head of the Russian Popular Front Executive Committee Mikhail Kuznetsov also reported on the development of county programmes. According to him, housing remains a key factor influencing the decision to relocate:
In this regard, the Popular Front proposed expanding the rural mortgage programme to all areas covered by county initiatives and giving participants priority access to such loans.
Another step to improve the programme’s effectiveness would be removing administrative barriers. ”Participants complain about excessive paperwork: notarised documents, in-person submissions, and long application processing times,“ Mikhail Kuznetsov noted. He suggested switching to digital applications, setting clear deadlines for consideration, and creating a unified digital job vacancy registry.
He also highlighted age limits in the workers, which is currently capped at 55 years old, unlike in the healthcare sector, where no such restrictions exist. He proposed allowing candidates over 55 to participate if the vacancy remains unfilled for over a year and they pass an individual interview.county programmes for teachers and culture
The President reacted to Mikhail Kuznetsov’s remarks by addressing Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, asking him to consolidate the key points raised.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Oreshkin, I would like to ask you to sum up and formalise the points raised just now by Mr Kuznetsov, as well as the other remarks made during the meeting, into official instructions. This will ensure the continuation and further improvement of these programmes. I hope that they will function even more effectively.
Overall, the work has been organised effectively. But it is clear that there are still issues that need attention. Please take note of them and coordinate with colleagues in the Government.
Maxim Oreshkin: Understood. We will do that.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
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July 23, 2025, The Kremlin, Moscow