1. Russian government anti-crisis activities in 2010
The Russian government's anti-crisis policy in 2008-2009 has resulted in the resumption of growth within a comparatively short period of time. According to a tentative estimate, GDP increased (with due account for seasonal factors) by 1.1% in the third quarter of 2009 and by 1.9% in the fourth quarter.
While continuing anti-crisis policies, more vigorous measures must be taken to create new industrial capabilities, promote modernisation and innovation, and enhance the quality of human capital. The anti-crisis priorities proposed for 2010 are:
- support for early signs of economic growth;
- putting the economy on a trajectory of innovative, socially oriented development in accordance with the Strategy of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation in the Period Until 2020;
- maintaining social stability.
To consolidate the positive trends in key sectors of the Russian economy, loans to the regions and state guarantees of the loans for systemically important enterprises will continue to be issued.
The government of the Russian Federation will contribute to effort to extend loans to enterprises, restructure real sector debts, support internal demand, promote small and medium-sized enterprise development and restructure the economies of communities dominated by a single enterprise.
To put the economy on a trajectory of innovative, socially oriented development in accordance with the Strategy of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation in the Period Until 2020, it is necessary to ensure macroeconomic stability, improve the economic institutions that support business in the economy, stimulate innovation and investment in the economy, develop infrastructure (transport, energy and telecommunications), further stimulate internal demand for domestically produced goods, improve the situation in depressed regions and create new regional areas of growth.
Anti-crisis measures will be aimed at increasing internal demand, attracting investment, establishing new, modern production facilities, stimulating innovation in the economy, implementing policies for the development of key hi-tech and infrastructure sectors, modernising the financial system and developing human capital.
In the abovementioned areas, export support programmes should be developed and implemented more vigorously (the creation and capitalisation of the Export Insurance Agency, increased funding for export support), the tax system should provide greater incentives, state support for small, innovative business creation should increase and the list of research and development facilities enjoying benefits and improving the administration of such benefits should be expanded.
Another modernisation objective is restructuring the public sector in the economy by stepping up privatisation and reform of the budgetary network.
As a result of anti-crisis measures, most macroeconomic indicators in 2010 are expected to improve.
On the whole, given current world economic trends, GDP in 2010 will grow by about 3.1%. If the measures aimed at overcoming the crisis and modernising the economy are successfully implemented and the short-term economic problems successfully solved (ending banking credit stagnation, making many products more competitive in the context of a stronger rouble, etc.) the Russian economy may quickly bounce back to 5% to 6% annual growth.
2. Draft Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation to Improve the Legal Status of State (Municipal) Institutions
The draft law is aimed at creating conditions and stimuli for cutting institutions' internal costs and bringing in off-budget sources of financing, as well as at creating conditions and stimuli for federal executive bodies to optimise the networks under their jurisdiction.
In particular, the draft law proposes:
1. Changing the legal status of existing public institutions that can operate in the market without transforming them, including by:
- changing the mechanisms of financial support for funding institutions from the budget, while at the same time expanding their scope of authority by shifting them, as of January 1, 2011, from financing through cost estimates to grants geared at fulfilling state objectives;
- allowing budget-supported institutions to engage in income-generating activities for their own use;
- eliminating grant liability of the state under the obligations of the budget institutions which will be granted broader rights;
- expanding the rights of budgetary institutions to dispose of any property assigned to such institutions, with the exception of extremely valuable movable property listed by the public body that has founded the corresponding institution.
2. Creating a new type of state (municipal) institution, the kazyonnoye institution, whose status essentially is the same as that of a budgetary institution as defined by current legislation, with an extra limitation whereby all the incomes from income-generating activities are to be entered in the corresponding budget beginning in 2011.
Until January 1, 2011 the draft law would establish a transitional period that grants budget institutions with expanded range of rights and the kazyonny institutions to function under former legislation (earlier regulatory acts would remain in force, individual accounts of institutions would remain in place and the off-budget revenues of kazyonny institutions would not be entered in the budget).
As of January 1, 2011, the changes in the legal status of budgetary institutions and kazyonny institutions would be extended to institutions under the jurisdictions of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the municipal entities.
3. Draft schedule for the meetings of the government of the Russian Federation and Government Presidium from January through June, 2010
The government of the Russian Federation has received from the federal executive bodies about 100 proposals for draft schedules for the meetings of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government Presidium from January through June 2010.
As part of the budget process, the draft plan includes issues the government considers at its meetings every year, such as:
- scenario conditions, the main parameters of the forecast of the social and economic development of the Russian Federation and the maximum prices (tariffs) for the products (services) of natural monopolies for 2011 and for the planning period of 2012 and 2013,
- draft federal laws on the implementation of the federal budget and the budgets of state off-budget funds of the Russian Federation in 2009,
- guidelines for the tax policy for 2011 and the planning period of 2012 and 2013,
- draft guidelines for the budget and customs tariff policy for 2011 and the planning period of 2012 and 2013, etc.
The draft plan contains issues that the government of the Russian Federation and the Government Presidium discuss at their meetings every year, such as:
- reviewing the implementation of the federal budget for 2009 and the first quarter of 2010,
- progressing in fulfilling federal targeted programmes and implementing the Federal Targeted Investment Programme in 2009 and the first quarter of 2010,
- measures to support seasonal agricultural work in 2010,
- the performance of the power industry and housing and utilities sectors in the autumn and winter period of 2009-2010 and the tasks of preparing for the forthcoming autumn and winter period of 2010-2011.
The draft plan discusses 23 such projects as part of the implementation of the Guidelines of the Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation in the Period Until 2012, as approved by Resolution No.815 of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 17, 2009.
Under the Comprehensive Plan of Activities to implement the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation through 2020 and the Basic Principles of Strategic Planning in the Russian Federation a list of strategic planning documents has been approved subject to approval and implementation before 2012. In this regard the draft plan discusses issues connected with the draft strategy for social and economic development of the Far East and the Baikal area in the period through 2025, the state Accessible Environment till 2015 programme, as well as draft lists of critical technologies and priority areas in the development of science and technology in the Russian Federation.
The draft plan also includes issues on which only the meetings of the government of the Russian Federation are authorised to rule, in accordance with the Federal Constitutional Law On the Government of the Russian Federation.
Moscow,
December 29, 2009
*Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information contain the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation.