Russian Prime Minister Addresses The State Duma Rejecting Ukrainian Cry.

Moscow: February 2026: Russia continues to develop despite all the external attempts to hinder it, despite sanctions and tariff wars, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said while reporting to the State Duma (lower house of parliament).

The key national projects include the main policies to support families, he noted. The premier also mentioned six tasks facing the state in 2026.

Economy, labour market – Russia’s GDP grew by 1% in 2025, and by more than 10% over the past three years: “And this is despite external challenges intensifying”. The situation of Russia’s labour market is stable: “Unemployment remains low at 2.2%”. The government and the Bank of Russia will continue to fight inflation, which fell to 5.6% in 2025. These were largely possible due to measures supporting small and mid-sized enterprises, their number rose by almost 04% in 2025 to over 6.84%, which according to the Prime Minister is the highest figure since the formation of the register of such enterprises.

The PM has further reiterated that, “Businesses will be able to localise production sites on the Russian part of international supply routes in the future, to reduce dependence on transit points controlled by unfriendly states and, of course, mitigate risks and cut costs”. The Prime Minister asserted that the

Russian government is working to improve conditions for external trade, with one fifth of turnover taking place on preferential terms already.

Measures to support population – The key measures to support families, including those to boost birthrates, are included in the main national projects.

Sanctions and tariff wars – Russia continues its development despite all the external attempts to hinder it. In particular, the mounting sanctions pressure, tariff wars, and other numerous challenges that increase trade and economic development imbalances. The government is solving the tasks set while considering those factors and risk evaluation. Meanwhile, Industrial production in Russia grew by 1.3% even under sanctions-related conditions, mainly due to manufacturing, which gained 3.6% last year, outpacing projections.

Digitalisation – The World Bank has acknowledged that Russia tops the list of leaders in terms of state technology digitalisation last year: “The level of implementation of various digital tools is evaluated as this index is formed. We have a unified plan as one of them”, the PM said.

Furthermore, Russian software is becoming a foundation for digitalisation of domestic enterprises.

Around 22 billion rubles ($287 million) were spent on the development and introduction of domestic software and hardware in four years.

State tasks for 2026 –

• First: Saving and multiplying people for 2026.

• Second: To formulate a platform for reaching economic growth rates not lower than the global average to boost long-term and sustainable development of regions and the state overall.

• Third: Is to change the structure of foreign trade, focusing it on supplies of high-tech products. It can be done through strengthening the supply-oriented economy, and the launch of demanded investment projects.

• Fourth: Is to create a transparent competitive business environment by providing good-natured entrepreneurs with new opportunities and tangible benefits.

• Fifth: Is further improvement of labour efficiency, mainly through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies and digital solutions.

• Sixth: Is constant technological modernisation, by the creation of conditions for innovations and their active implementation.

Team Maverick.