President Vladimir Putin criticized Denis Manturov, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, at today’s government meeting for the lack of aircraft orders at several enterprises and pressed for contracts to be completed within the next month.
“Enterprises must understand the prospects for orders, hire labor, and maintain production facilities. They need to understand how much the military department will order and how many civilian ships will be ordered,” Putin declared.
Putin noted that some companies had not signed a contract even for 2023, which has already arrived. “Unless they have the passports you’re talking about, and they don’t have firm contracts, they have no clear plan. It’s too long, too long,” he said.
In response, Manturov argued that the ministry under his control had contracts “both through the Ministry of Defense and civil lines” and that “everything is already prepared.”
“You’ve compromised, but there’s no contract. Why do we delay? You really are playing the fool. When will the contracts be? That’s what I’m asking,” Putin replied.
Immediately after the meeting, the Kremlin stated that Putin had no serious complaints about Manturov’s work. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on the minister’s criticism, quoted by TASS, that “this is a normal workflow.” He assured Manturov that no reprimand had been issued.
“The president noted that these are difficult times. Peskov expressed confidence that Putin and Manturov will continue to communicate and that whatever the president says will be done. Sometimes the rhetoric is tough and the tempo is tough,” he said.
economic balance
Putin also emphasized at the meeting that the country’s economy is “generally stable and actively developing.” He expressed confidence that these trends would persist into 2023.
“We can state plainly that the country’s financial and banking systems, the economy as a whole, are in a stable state and are actively developing,” the President asserted.
In addition, he outlined six main areas of focus for the coming year: expanding foreign economic relations and building new logistics corridors; improving roads and other infrastructure; housing and communal services; increasing the technology capacity of the economy; and stimulating the creation of new industries and jobs.
Directing ministers, Putin underlined that the priority should be raising real wages and reducing poverty. “Economic policy measures must be built to lift real incomes and, together with social support, help reduce poverty and inequality, especially for families with children,” he stated.
The president stressed the importance of strengthening the country’s financial sovereignty as a cornerstone for boosting investment in high-tech firms, industry, agriculture, and other sectors. He noted the year 2022 as a turning point for the economic bloc and the Ministry of Finance.
new regions
Putin announced that starting in 2023 the authorities would set performance indicators for the development of new regions of Russia—DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye, and Kherson. By 2030 these regions should catch up with the rest of the federation on living standards, infrastructure, and other key metrics.
“Key performance indicators for the development of Zaporozhye, Kherson, LPR, and DPR should be determined in advance for this year,” the Chairman stated.
Work on preparing these indicators is underway, though Putin cautioned that it is not yet complete and urged the remaining issues to be resolved as quickly as possible. He noted that in 2023 the government must address needs arising from the special military operation in Ukraine, announced on February 24, 2022.
“I want to emphasize that we will reliably guarantee the security and interests of the country, increase defense capability, and will certainly resolve all issues related to the supply of the armed forces and troops involved in the special military operation,” he said.