Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to prepare a draft decree on national development goals for the next 10 years. The corresponding statement was made by the head of state on Monday, July 13, at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects.

“Based on the results of voting on the Constitution and on the basis of today's discussion, I ask the presidential administration, of course, together with the relevant departments, with the government as a whole, to prepare a draft decree that will fix the goals of national development for the period until 2030," Putin said.

The Russian leader also instructed the government to adjust national projects within three months. As the president noted, at the moment, “it is extremely important to strengthen constant feedback with people” and public control over the implementation of national projects.

“We need to proceed from realities, I agree with this. The more specific the tasks that we will have to solve and the goals that we will have to achieve, the better for us all, but, of course, for the results of our work, for the citizens in the long run, ”Putin emphasized.

The priority task for the next decade, the head of state called a consistent fight against poverty. In this regard, the President noted the importance of creating new jobs and favorable opportunities for people to conduct their business.

The need to adjust national projects arose in connection with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for the Russian economy, analyst at FINAM Group Alexei Korenev believes.

“According to the results of 2020, the budget deficit will be 5%, since the state actively spent money on payments to the population, as well as on keeping afloat business and the most important sectors of the economy. As a result, some national projects had to cut funding. Therefore, a new plan was required for development goals until 2030, ”explained the interlocutor of RT.

At the same time, one of the key goals of the updated national projects will continue to be to accelerate the growth of the Russian economy after overcoming the coronavirus crisis. This point of view in a conversation with RT was expressed by the investment strategist of BCS Premier Alexander Bakhtin.

“Despite the pandemic, the main leitmotif of the authorities to accelerate economic growth has not undergone significant changes. The state will finance large projects, including infrastructure, in the hope that these investment injections will lead to both increased business activity in many sectors and support consumer demand in the future. As part of the current tactical actions of the authorities, part of the budget will be allocated primarily to support the social sphere, ”the expert explained.

In favor of employment

According to Vladimir Putin, amid the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy in Russia, it was possible to prevent an explosive, “dramatic” increase in unemployment. According to the president, the decisions taken to support the employment sector indicate the existence of a large reserve "to act even more efficiently and even more harmoniously."

Recall, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, in March the unemployment rate in Russia was about 4.7%, and by the end of May, the value rose to 6.1%. According to First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov at a meeting on Monday, in June the figure could be about 6.3%.

Meanwhile, the country's Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov said that to date, Russia has already overcome the peak of the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the labor market.

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  • © Alexey Sukhorukov

Interviewed RT analysts largely explain the moderate growth in unemployment in Russia by timely measures of state support for the labor market. In particular, we are talking about direct payments and the provision of credit vacations to the population and business, as well as soft loans and tax breaks for companies and entrepreneurs.

“The business received compensation for employees and could obtain soft loans for the payment of wages. If companies retained staff, part of the debt was written off from them at the expense of the state. In a crisis situation, it is much more important to preserve jobs, since creating them at the stage of economic recovery is very laborious, and people need a constant source of income, ”Pavel Sigal, vice president of the Russian public organization for small and medium enterprises, told RT.

In turn, the deputy head of the Alpari information and analytical center Natalya Milchakova expressed the opinion that without government measures to support the economy, the unemployment rate in Russia could be almost two times higher and reach 10-11%.

Historical chance

During a meeting of the National Projects Council, Vladimir Putin also announced a historic chance to solve the housing problem in Russia. According to him, housing is "one of the fundamental conditions for a normal life of a person and a Russian family."

“We have a historic chance in the foreseeable future, absolutely understandable, maybe for the first time in the history of Russia to solve, radically solve the housing problem. We must not miss the chance, we need to work hard on this, ”the president emphasized.

Against this background, he pointed out the need to reduce costs to reduce real estate prices in the country.

“Everything related to the increase in costs, unreasonable costs and economically unreasonable growth in the cost of a meter of housing should be in the field of our attention, vision, should lead to the final result. Namely - to such prices that people could afford. That’s what we need to think about, ”Putin said.

During a meeting with the president, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that by 2026, about 5 million families will be able to get housing in Russia. Vladimir Putin considered the set bar realistic, but at the same time he called for more and "set ambitious goals."

According to Alexei Korenev, construction companies will be able to reduce costs if the state provides them with additional support in the form of subsidies or soft loans for the purchase of land for the construction of facilities. Also, the costs of companies can be significantly reduced by reducing the tax burden, the expert added.

“At the same time, housing prices in the near future will decrease somewhat. At the end of the year, the cost per square meter on average in Russia will fall by 2-5%. This is due to the fact that this year, due to the pandemic, 70 million square meters of housing will be commissioned against 80 million square meters a year earlier, the demand for real estate has decreased, ”Korenev noted.

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A key issue for the Russian real estate market in the near future will be the extension of measures to support mortgages, says Marat Khusnullin. According to him, in April, the volume of issued housing loans in Russia collapsed by almost 40%, however, thanks to decisions taken to assist the industry in the first half of 2020, the figure was 5% higher than last year. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, 1.44 trillion rubles came into the economy, which allowed “to actually save the construction industry from stopping.”

“Even if we maintain the parameters that we have today, this year we will exceed the indicator that was laid down to reduce mortgages below 8%, despite all the difficulties,” Khusnullin emphasized.

According to the national project Housing and Urban Environment, in 2020 the average mortgage rate in Russia was supposed to decrease to 8.7% per annum, and in 2024 to 7.9%. Meanwhile, according to the Central Bank, by the end of May 2020, the indicator reached 7.4% per annum. The value became the lowest for all time of observations.

In many respects, experts explain the positive dynamics by launching a program of preferential mortgages at a rate of 6.5% per annum. Until November 1, 2020, Russians can obtain a mortgage loan with an appropriate rate of up to 6 million rubles, and in Moscow, Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region - up to 12 million rubles.

“The decline in property prices can already be observed in different regions. In addition to tax easing, the construction sector received an unprecedented chance for development through a program of concessional lending to the population at 6.5%. The rest of the difference is covered by the state. Many young families who wanted to solve the housing problem got an affordable mortgage with an acceptable monthly payment and minimal overpayment, ”says Pavel Sigal.