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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon.

Before we begin today’s meeting, I would like to say a few words about recent domestic political events – specifically, the State Duma elections that have just taken place. I want to thank the citizens of Russia for their active participation in this election campaign.

We all know about the attempts to disrupt and derail these elections, as demonstrated by the adversary’s continuous efforts to breach air defences in Moscow and other regions, but the fact that people were queuing up at the voting stations proved that Russia cannot be intimidated. Such a high – indeed, record – turnout of voters coming to the polling stations shows that the Russian people support our efforts to strengthen the country.

A great deal depends on the Government – monetary policy, social policy and many other tasks. The vote cast by Russian citizens in the State Duma elections reflects their hope that the goals we have set for the vital development and strengthening of Russia will be achieved.

We certainly understand the times we live in. I would now like to address our troops and commanders on the front line. I want you to know, comrades: this vote was for you. People believe in you, believe in our victory, and believe in your courage, heroism and devotion to the Motherland. I have no doubt that all the goals we have set for the special military operation will be achieved.

I want to reiterate that much depends on the Government in the areas within its remit. Clearly, strengthening the state’s defence capability is impossible without effective monetary and, as I have already mentioned, economic policy.

To date, we have achieved all our goals according to a plan, including addressing social issues and fulfilling our obligations to the country’s citizens. We must do everything to live up to the trust the people have placed in the Government of the Russian Federation, and in the entire Russian leadership, in all key areas of strengthening the country.

We have an important item on today’s agenda: the issue of “whitewashing” the Russian economy. One aspect of this involves the use of the Chestny Znak (Honest Sign) system. Before we turn to the main agenda item, however, I would like, as usual, to briefly address a few current matters. The first of these is the International Youth Festival, which has just concluded.

I would like to ask Mr Chernyshenko to say a few words on this subject.

Please, go ahead.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko: Thank you very much.

Mr President,

Thanks to your decision, Yekaterinburg became a hub for young people from all over the world this September. The organising committee, led by Sergei Kiriyenko and supported by regional government teams and the leadership of the Sverdlovsk Region, ensured that the children and young adults attending the festival enjoyed a comfortable and safe environment. The event was held at the hospitable campus of Ural Federal University – a facility you inaugurated in January. The festival brought together around 50,000 people, including 10,000 participants from 191 countries. Throughout the week, they enjoyed a packed programme of awareness-raising, cultural and sporting events, as well as excursions.

I would like to particularly highlight the ceremonies. At the opening ceremony, we showcased the cultures of nations representing all five continents; afterwards, participants spoke of the unity of our shared values and listened very attentively to your message. After the closing ceremony, the young people were reluctant to say goodbye and leave, chanting “Russia!” in unison. The ceremonies were broadcast worldwide, reaching a total audience of around 20 million viewers.

Together with our partners – of whom there were over 100, in accordance with your instructions – we also organised a large-scale exhibition. It vividly demonstrated seven key spheres of life: cultural identity; daily life; sources of life and human development; technological leadership; the transport arteries of the future; and modern living. The exhibition space was vast, spanning three pavilions and 30,000 square metres. Moreover, these were not merely stands for individual ministries or companies; it was a genuine showcase of our country’s key achievements and strategic directions. Visitors could see, touch and even taste everything, including national cuisines of all the peoples of Russia, as well as take part in contests, win prizes and receive memorable gifts and souvenirs. The experience of hosting the Russia Exhibition and Forum at VDNKh taught us a great deal, so we applied the best practices in Yekaterinburg.

Mr President, the young people discovered a lot of new things about Russia, myths were dispelled, and, most importantly, they took back with them the truth about our country. We hosted more than 4,000 foreign participants, including as many as 344 from the USA alone, 290 from Europe, 629 from Africa and 1,000 each from the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, as well as more than 1,000 from the neighbouring countries.

It is important that those who attended the festival continue to discuss it to this day, as evidenced by the publications. It is particularly valuable that they do so sincerely, including foreign bloggers and journalists with multi-million-strong audiences. The total number of publications has now exceeded half a million.

In keeping with established tradition, once the festival had concluded, 1,000 foreign guests went on to travel across the country to get to know other regions of Russia; notably, half of them served as international electoral experts during the recent elections and helped ensure their transparency and success. I would like to note that all participants in the regional programme were hosted by 35 constituent entities, including, for the first time, the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia.

The festival in Yekaterinburg left no one unmoved. According to a survey conducted by the festival directorate, 98 percent of guests were leaving our country with a sense of gratitude. The overwhelming majority of participants noted that this landmark event of 2026 was important not only for Russians but for the entire world. There were even young people who were keen to stay on to study and work in Russia – they simply did not want to leave.

Mr President, in 2028, we will host the next event in Krasnoyarsk – a specialised youth forum – and in 2030, the 2^nd World Youth Festival will take place in Sirius; preparations for it are already in progress.

Thank you. That concludes my report.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much, thank you.

I understand that many travelled at their own expense, as you mentioned.

Dmitry Chernyshenko: Yes, that is a first. More than 1,500 people arrived independently.

Vladimir Putin: I see. Thank you very much. A good, substantive and important event.

(Next, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov reported on measures to prepare specialised platforms for providing assistance to small and medium-sized businesses. He spoke, in part, about the establishment of 90 industrial, technology and business parks and the implementation of the President’s instructions on the establishment of another 100 such parks by 2030. The mechanism for establishing such parks is incorporated into the new investment cycle and will provide businesses with ready-made infrastructure and accelerate the launch of projects. Maxim Reshetnikov noted that these projects are mostly associated with technological leadership and supply-side economics, becoming growth points in the regions.

At the request of the President, the Minister also reported on the implementation of his instructions on the relocation of the headquarters of major state-owned companies from Moscow to the regions.

Promsvyazbank CEO Pyotr Fradkov and Chairman of the Management Board – General Director of RusHydro Viktor Khmarin reported on the experience of such relocations.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina spoke about the introduction of the digital ruble as a full-fledged payment instrument of the Russian financial system starting September 1. She noted that Russia now has all the components of the national payment infrastructure, namely, its own payment card, the faster payments system, the financial messaging system, and now the Central Bank’s digital currency. The digital ruble is an entirely domestic solution based on cutting-edge Russian technologies with top-tier security and protection.

Elvira Nabiullina explained that the main distinguishing feature of the digital ruble is that all accounts are opened directly on the Central Bank platform, and all transactions are carried out there. This offers new opportunities for payment automation and ensures that budgetary funds are spent in accordance with their designated purpose.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov provided comments on that issue.)

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. I would like to thank everyone who have presented their reports.

Let us now move on to the main issue, the Chestny Znak (Honest Sign) national labelling system. Please.

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