Why Putin Couldn't Meet Personally with Xi--Very Important Government Meeting

Dmitri Medvedev was dispatched to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping in the wake of Syria’s tragedy using his status as head of the United Russia Party as a ruse as a thin cover for the real reasons. As reported here, Putin’s domestic schedule is very full at the end of the year—always is. Global Times even published a second article to further the ruse. Of course, what was said between the two is for the flies on the wall to report, but a few reasonable guesses can be made that readers probably don’t need any help in speculating about. RT’s short item refrained from any ruse:

The deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and passed on a “personal message” from President Vladimir Putin….

After the talks, Medvedev told journalists that he had discussed with Xi the “general situation in the world,” including strategic stability and security, as well as the Ukraine conflict. [Emphasis Original]

I rather doubt the messages will ever be revealed, not even if they write memoirs.

The government meeting was again done via video, but we only get to learn what was said during its first 50 minutes, which is where video and transcript end. There are some important development related issues that we are allowed to know about and IMO make it worthy to report:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

The main issue of today's meeting is related to the energy sector and the development of its individual sectors, speaker Sergey Tsivilev, Roman Starovoit and Maxim Reshetnikov.

But I suggest you start with the current questions. Just now, you probably noticed, we were talking about the development of artificial intelligence in the framework of the event held by Sber. In this regard, the issue of a single service for issuing licenses and permits through the Gosuslugi portal. Such questions flashed there. I know that the Government is doing a lot in this area.

(Addressing D. Grigorenko) Dmitry Yuryevich, please say a few words.

Dmitry : Good afternoon, dear colleagues! Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello!

Vladimir Vladimirovich, on your instructions, the Government is doing a lot of work aimed at reducing the administrative burden on businesses. One of its parts is to optimize the procedures for obtaining various types of licenses and permits. They are mandatory for carrying out business activities.

To date, there are more than 500 different types of permits and more than 50 types of licenses. To help us understand the volume, several million permits and several tens of thousands of licenses are issued annually in Russia.

We have set ourselves the task of making the procedure for obtaining licenses and permits simple, convenient, and even intuitive. At the same time, the terms of obtaining licenses and permits should be reduced as much as possible, and the number of documents that are submitted for obtaining such permits, which the entrepreneur submits to state bodies, should be minimized.

Since the task was to make the procedure convenient for entrepreneurs, we organized the work together with business. We have 43 industry working groups, which consist mainly of the business community and business organizations. Together with them, we analyzed all existing licenses and permits and determined what could be reduced, improved, or accelerated.

What did we do as a result? We looked at what documents entrepreneurs provide for obtaining each license or permit and compared what of these documents the state already has or has already been submitted by entrepreneurs to the state, perhaps to other state bodies. We have released entrepreneurs from the obligation to submit such documents either repeatedly or at all, if such documents are available in other state bodies. At the same time, the departments were obliged to independently exchange such documents without the participation of entrepreneurs.

Accordingly, we naturally had to digitize these agencies so that they could quickly and clearly exchange such documents. However, what is important is that we have not canceled or changed any of the rules that a business must comply with, which means that the level of requirements will not decrease.

In the end, what did we get? In terms of licenses – the average period for obtaining a license has been reduced by 4.5 times compared to 2021, when it started: it was 45 days; today it is 10 days. On average, the number of documents that must be submitted in order to obtain a license has decreased by more than three times: there were 10 documents, but now there are three documents. By permits: the average period for obtaining a permit has halved from 43 days to 21 days, and the number of documents submitted for obtaining permits has reduced from eight to four documents. And since we have digitized the very procedure for obtaining a license and permit, we naturally brought it to the Gosuslugi portal—what you said at the very beginning—and made the procedure itself as simple and convenient as possible; literally, as it is now fashionable to do, in three clicks.

And today, on our portal "Gosuslugi" you can apply and get more than 400 types of the most popular permits, as well as 51 types of licenses. As a result, the growing popularity of the service for obtaining licenses and permits through the Gosuslugi portal is simply crazy today. Over the past three years, the number of requests to the Gosuslugi portal for obtaining licenses and permits has increased from 16 thousand requests to about one million requests. However, what is important? As you instructed, we have left people the opportunity to choose the method of contacting government agencies either through the portal "Gosuslugi", or through personal accounts, or on paper, if it is convenient for people.

Separately, we have launched a feedback service on the Gosuslugi portal; this is a "Pre-trial Appeal", or a pre-trial appeal mechanism, which is a service that allows you to complain either about the procedure for obtaining a license and permit, or about non-compliance with deadlines, or about some violation of the procedure for issuing documents. In other words, this is a very easy and convenient way for businesses to appeal any decision of a government body. It doesn't require any legal knowledge, and it's completely free. Businesses take great advantage of this.

Over the past year and a half, just over four thousand complaints have been filed, and all of them have been considered. On average, they are considered for a standard period of 15 days within seven to eight days.

We see that businesses are actively taking advantage of the new opportunities that we are creating in this area. And for further development, we have identified the following tasks for ourselves.

First. We plan to implement proactive issuance of licenses and permits. We are talking about the fact that the permit has an expiration date, and after it is completed--this is six months, a year, maybe several years--you need to apply again in order to renew the license permit. We are now introducing a proactive format, which assumes that if a business meets all regulatory requirements, the state itself will collect all the necessary documents and proactively offer to renew the license or permit. We have already launched one permit as a test this year, and we plan to expand it next year.

Second. We plan to issue comprehensive licenses and permits. We are talking about when you need to get related permissions. Right now, each permission is a separate service. We propose to launch the service next year so that you can receive multiple services through a single application.

As a result, Mr President, all the tasks that you set for this project, in this area, have been completed. We have simplified the procedure, reduced the time frame, and reduced the number of documents submitted for obtaining a permit. The service itself has been launched on the Gosuslugi portal.

We can see that the project was very popular. In fact, we propose to continue working on simplifying the procedures for obtaining licenses and permits, but with an emphasis on proactive and comprehensive formats of interaction with businesses.

Thank you. That's all I wanted to say.

Vladimir Putin: Permits, or rather, the transfer of some types of licensing activities to notification–-do you see any risks there?

Dmitry Grigorenko: There are risks, because in any case, when permits are issued, it is necessary to confirm compliance with certain requirements: the presence of personnel with certain qualifications, the availability of areas, proximity or distance to socio-cultural objects, and so on.

We have considered this form. Now we are trying, on the one hand, to simplify the procedure, and on the other hand, we are finding things where you can refuse permits, and we are working with the departments. If you request it, we are ready to allocate this work in a separate direction.

Vladimir Putin: Give it a try, will you?

Dmitry Grigorenko: Of course.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

And I brought one more question from the events that Sber organized. German Oskarovich asked to discuss problems related to the implementation plans of the Moscow – Petersburg high-speed railway project.

(To V. Savelyev.) Vitaly Gennadievich, what is the current state of this project?

V. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

In February of this year, following a meeting chaired by you in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, a project for the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg railway was launched. Over the past period, the Government has done the following work.

First. In June of this year, we issued a government decree approving the main terms of the concession agreement. It contains the organizational model and deadlines for the implementation of the main stages of the HSR project.

Second. In July, a concession agreement was signed, Roszheldor was identified as the concessionaire, and HSR Dva Stolitsy is the concessionaire. The concessionaire will conduct the construction of the highway at the expense of its own and borrowed funds and will receive the right to own and use the infrastructure.

The third. Also in July of this year, a government decree approved the passport of the Moscow–Saint Petersburg HSR investment project.

Fourth. By order of the Government in August of this year, Roszheldor was allocated three billion rubles out of 28.5 billion rubles needed for registration and withdrawal of land plots. Funds for further purchase are provided in the federal budget for 2025-2027.

Fifth. In August, a contract for the supply of high-speed rolling stock was signed between the State Transport Leasing Company, Ural Locomotives LLC and VSM Dva Stolitsy LLC.

Sixth. At the end of November, Mr President, you signed a federal law establishing the legal basis for the creation of high-speed rail transport. The Federal Law legislates the concept of "high-speed rail transport", defines the rules for regulating high-speed rail transport, including in terms of certification of rolling stock, and regulates the use of land for this type of transport.

I will focus on financing. The amount of funds for the implementation of the HSR project "Saint Petersburg" is 2 trillion 165 billion rubles [@ $25 Billion] according to the project passport-excluding VAT. Of these, 1 trillion 755 billion rubles are allocated for the creation of infrastructure, including 648 billion rubles of borrowed financing from a syndicate of banks: Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank and Sovcombank.

450 billion rubles are allocated from non-state pension funds: CJSC Leader, the Regions Fund, and the Blagosostoyanie Fund. 328.5 billion rubles-share capital, another 300 billion rubles-is the National Welfare Fund. 28.5 billion rubles–-capital grant for registration and purchase of land plots. 410 billion rubles are allocated for the purchase of high-speed trains–-43 trains are planned to be delivered by 2030.

I would like to note that the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia constantly monitors the production of rolling stock for the high-speed railway. Russian Railways and the Two Capitals HSR signed a general contract for infrastructure construction yesterday, December 10.

Russian Railways is working on the design and construction of the highway. The Moscow–Saint Petersburg HSR consists of three sections: the HSR entrance to Moscow (Kryukovo–Alabushevo–Moscow section), the HSR entrance to Saint Petersburg (Obukhovo-2), and the high-speed section of the highway (Kryukovo – Obukhovo-2 section).

Russian Railways is already building a section of the entrance to Moscow. In October of this year, construction of the entrance to St. Petersburg began. We are working on designing a high-speed section of the highway. Completion of the design and obtaining permission from Glavgosexpertiza of Russia for the construction of this section is scheduled for July next year, which corresponds to the deadline set by the concession agreement. We plan to start construction in the first quarter of next year.

An important advantage of the construction of a separate high-speed railway line is the release of the shortest route for cargo transportation in the direction of the ports of the North-West basin, as well as in the direction of the ports of Lavna and Murmansk. The increase in carrying capacity is estimated at 30 million tons. At the same time, Russian Railways will not need to invest more than half a trillion rubles in the development of a separate freight route Dmitrov–Unga.

To coordinate the interaction between the participants of the HSR project, Incident 54 was created in the Government, which I lead, and we constantly resolve issues that arise during the project implementation at the Government site.

Also on the site of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, there is a project office under the leadership of the Minister of Transport, which monitors the implementation of the HSR project on a weekly basis.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Sergey Sobyanin Sergey Sobyanin and German Gref Oskarovich for their significant contribution to the implementation of the HSR project. We work with them on an ongoing basis and resolve all issues that arise.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the Moscow-St. Petersburg HSR project is a landmark project for the country. We are currently on the project implementation schedule. The Russian government promptly resolves all issues that arise.

In this regard, I would like to thank and express some words of gratitude to Prime Minister Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin for coordinating the work on this project. I would also like to thank Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance, and Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development, for their constructive cooperation and for the issues that we are working on together on a constructive basis.

Thank you for your attention. I finished my report.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you, Vitaly Gennadyevich, everything looks very optimistic.

Are there any problematic issues?

Vladimir Savelyev: Mr President, there are many problematic issues, but they are current. As long as we find all the solutions, we solve it together. It was not for nothing that I thanked my colleagues inside the Government, the Moscow Government, and Sberbank, which is now organizing a syndicate of banks.

Of course, the project is really great. Vladimir Vladimirovich, I think that all the issues that arise will be resolved in a working manner.

Vladimir Putin: Have you made a decision to provide borrowed bank funds?

Vladimir Savelyev: According to Sberbank, yes. Banks are ready to finance the amount. I have just named these banks–-they will finance this project, because they agree to the conditions that we have offered them.

Vladimir Putin: No, it's one thing for them to agree, but it's another thing for them to decide. Accepted or not?

V. Savelyev: I won't tell you now whether the decision has been made or not.

Vladimir Putin: A girl and a young man, when they get married, they say they want to do it. But the marriage is concluded only when the signature is put.

V. Savelyev: We will make this decision by the end of the year. It is currently being implemented.

Vladimir Putin: Government support measures agreed on for rolling stock, support for rolling stock manufacturers?

Vladimir Savelyev: Yes, they have been agreed upon.

I think Anton A. Alikhanov will cover this issue now. Yes, we have allocated money and signed a contract for the production of 43 high-speed trains. On the part of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, such work is underway.

Vladimir Putin: Anton Andreevich.

A. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Let me tell you then about the issues related to our railway engineering enterprises. They are ready to develop and produce rolling stock independently. Actually, this work has already begun. We have the necessary technological resources and capacities for this, given that all segments of railway transport are highly localized, including those of high-speed passenger trains.

Now we are producing new high–speed trains--this is the Ivolga 4.0 of Transmashholding, which has already delivered 220 such cars to Moscow central diameters. Since the beginning of the year, the Ural Locomotives plant has produced 150 cars of the Finist train, which is gaining up to 160 kilometers per hour. This will be our parent company–-Ural Locomotives.

We have already built cooperation, the entire chain. In fact, the work has already begun. In Verkhnyaya Pyshma, the Sinara group is already preparing the foundation, and construction is underway for two new buildings. The total area is 60 thousand square meters. Construction will be completed by the beginning of 2026, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

And at the same time, we are designing all the critical nodes that ensure traffic safety. These trains will reach speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour. We develop innovative two-axle motor and non-motor trolleys, high-reliability braking equipment, and high stability support systems.

And, most importantly, a new asynchronous high-speed electric motor with a capacity of 650 kilowatts is currently being developed. One of Transneft's core companies is responsible for its development. To date, a 3D model of the power unit has already been prepared, and preliminary load calculations have been carried out.

All work is carried out with state support. Ural Locomotives received a loan of 7.2 billion rubles from the Industrial Development Fund to purchase equipment.

The project was also approved by the interdepartmental commission. We have included it in a special mechanism–-the so-called cluster investment platform: preferential bank financing for 34 billion rubles for a period of 15 years.

As Vitaly Gennadievich has already said, we monitor the progress of the project by all its participants step by step. The companies have committed to transfer the first two high-speed trains to Russian Railways for testing in 2027. Starting from 2028, the plants will have the capacity to produce about a hundred cars for high-speed electric trains and about 200 cars for high-speed ones.

In other words, in addition to forming a fleet for the Moscow–Petersburg highway, the company will have a sufficient reserve of capacities to provide rolling stock for other high-speed railway lines, which, I am sure, will appear in the future.

As for infrastructure construction, Mr Putin, there have been discussions about whether the industry can provide the necessary industrial nomenclature for construction equipment: as a matter of fact, we have a surplus of capacity for building materials and construction equipment, so there are no difficulties here. As for rebar, we fully provide the capabilities of our metallurgists here.

Summing up, I can say, Mr President, that the industry is ready to meet all the challenges that we currently face in developing high-speed traffic in our country. For many industries, this will allow additional loading of enterprises. Therefore, we are ready and carry out all our tasks.

Thank you for your attention.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Do we have Herman Oskarovich among the participants of the meeting?

G. : Yes, Mr Putin, I am here.

The decision was made by the banks. All banks have adopted the decision of the credit committees to date. According to the plans, the transaction should be closed financially by December 20. To do this, we need to issue two more documents, which we now have to finalize with the Ministry of Finance.

We had a meeting today, and we spoke with Anton Germanovich [Siluanov] today. There is a hope that we will release them, and then, in principle, the financial closing of the transaction according to the plan before December 20 can be done.

If this happens, we will need to actively continue developing the project documentation and, most importantly, not allow the price to rise. Because, of course, the project is very complex, we have never implemented such a project, and there is great excitement about meeting the previously announced budget.

Now, of course, there will be a rise in prices due to the fact that inflation is moving and so on. Nevertheless, the project must be kept within the planned framework, with the exception of objective factors, such as the rise in the Central Bank's interest rate and objective inflation. These points are provided for in the concession agreement, and they are subject to compensation. Everything else, of course, is important to keep in the budget.

Therefore, we have two key issues today – it is to meet the deadline for closing the transaction, the design process and the low cost of the project itself.

Vladimir Putin: Look at what I would like to say in this regard. The rise in prices is inevitable, it is obvious. And not only in connection with inflation, which has nevertheless stopped. This is due to the" key " first of all-with the key rate, with the rise in the cost of loans from commercial banks. This is understandable: there are some things that cannot be avoided.

But, on the other hand, I would like to draw the attention of producers and those in the Government who oversee the relevant areas of real production: in no case should we hide behind these objective circumstances in order to raise prices completely without any reason, but only under the pretext of the key rate and inflation.

Things are generally countable: it is quite possible to calculate the volume of this objective increase in price. Everything else needs to be cleaned—it must be cleaned, otherwise it will escalate endlessly and lead to the failure of all the planned deadlines, and perhaps even to the fact that the project will not be implemented.

All the same, we have to admit that to date all the necessary decisions on the provision of borrowed bank funds have not been made. Herman Oskarovich said that if something happens, then we will do this and that. And if it doesn't? The same applies to measures to support rolling stock manufacturers. But all [decisions] have not been made yet. Yes, everything is in use, in work–-we need to accept them.

What I said so jokingly, about how young people love each other and want to get married. They love each other, and true marriages, of course, take place in heaven. But until people come to the registry office and sign the relevant documents, they are not legally husband and wife. We need to sign everything and bring it to the end, otherwise we will simply miss the deadline, I repeat, or we will ruin the project in the bud. Let's pay attention to this.

I understand the current state of affairs. But you just need to honestly say to yourself: are we ready to implement, do we want to? If yes, we want to, and we are ready–-please do not create additional problems where there are already enough of them, and let's work together in this time frame, which we outlined earlier, in solidarity.

Agreed. We'll come back to this again a little later–-let's go after the 20th, because there is a certain deadline for December 20. And let's see what happens there.

At today's event, which German Oskarovich held, there was a lot of talk about training personnel, including those needed for the use of artificial intelligence. And what do we have for training personnel in the IT sector in general, Maksut Igorevich?

M. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

Let me remind you that over the past four years, the IT industry has grown faster than all other major sectors of the economy. Naturally, this affects the shortage of personnel. And it continues to grow: in the first six months of this year, we have an increase of 63 percent compared to last year. In other words, this is a very high rate of implementation of our own IT solutions and services provided by IT companies.

In four years, the number of employees of IT companies has increased by 50 percent and exceeded 850 thousand people. Vladimir Vladimirovich, in just eight months of this year, another 100,000 people have joined the IT industry. The average salary is 185 thousand rubles. In other words, the gap between the average salary in the economy and the average salary in the IT industry is seriously growing. This, of course, is evidence that we are short-staffed.

What are we doing to reduce this deficit? In the four years that have passed, we have doubled the number of budget places for IT specialties in universities. This year, 125 thousand people have been enrolled in universities for budgetary places, and about 70 thousand more-for extra-budgetary places. 500 universities are currently training IT specialists. Approximately 600 thousand people study at universities.

The Unified State Exam in computer Science has become the number one subject of choice among natural science disciplines. That is, now they pass it by 30 percent more than four years ago: 122 thousand school graduates passed the Unified State Exam in computer science this year. They choose consciously, want to connect their life with IT and go, accordingly, to IT-specialties in universities.

But quantity in this sense does not always mean quality. Of course, university graduates in IT specialties do not fully meet the requirements of our employers, the current demand associated with the preparation and development of state-of-the-art solutions.

Therefore, the only option here is how we can provide high-quality teaching, given that, of course, Mr Putin, it is very difficult for us to compete with salaries in the IT industry. And teachers, of course: we are not always able to provide the necessary qualifications in higher education institutions.

Therefore, the only option that we have now decided for ourselves is to introduce a certain amount of teaching at universities and a certain amount of student internships as a mandatory condition for IT companies that enjoy tax benefits in our country.

Yes, this practice is now often used by large companies, but it is clear that we cannot provide the entire "funnel" of those who want to get a high-quality education at a very small number of universities that train our elite. Therefore, we propose to introduce such a restriction, and, accordingly, IT companies will go to universities and will already train children for their profile.

The second issue that we are very concerned about is that now the lion's share of those who enter universities still go to specialties related to software development. That is, we will get those who can develop code and program at the output. Of course, this is very important, but only nine percent of those who enter these specialties go to fundamental disciplines related to applied mathematics, physics, mechanics, and radio electronics.

And it is obvious that these personnel are exactly what we currently lack in order to guarantee technological leadership and produce solutions that will become competitive in the future. In this sense, of course, we probably need to increase the standard of funding for these specialties.

For example, in artificial intelligence, together with Sberbank, we have developed a separate program that will be associated with advanced training of mathematics for the use of artificial intelligence. And in this sense, by the end of 2030, we plan to train 10 thousand specially selected students who will become the future elite associated with the development of artificial intelligence.

A very important issue related to the preparation for computer science in schools. It's the same problem here. Unfortunately, we are not always able to provide a high-quality level of computer science teaching in schools. The same problem: now the industry offers significantly more competitive pay conditions, and only deep enthusiasts, fans of their business, stay in school and teach their children.

In this part, we are implementing a large program related to additional training of those children who want it, the basics of programming. About 400 thousand children have completed such courses in four years. They are registered through the portal of public services with the consent of parents. They can study additional programming languages for a year in order to pass the Unified State Exam in computer science and enroll in an IT specialty at a university.

We also have a very successful practice: Yandex has developed a large platform, made its own online textbook on computer science, which now virtually all children in schools can use for free. Together with the Ministry of Education, we plan to legalize this practice: where there are not enough teachers, additional knowledge can be obtained on the online platform. And we plan to transfer the same practice to universities.

We need more than just developers – we need to ensure digital transformation in other sectors of the economy as well. To do this, we need specialists who are well aware, on the one hand, of deep industry specifics, and on the other hand, they understand the capabilities of modern technologies and Russian solutions.

Therefore, together with the Ministry of Education and Science, within the framework of [the program] "Priority-2030" , we are creating so-called digital departments in industry universities, which allow students who study in their main industry specialty to get a second specialty related to information technologies on-the-job, and thus become the leader of digital transformation in Russia. in their respective industries.

We have created such digital departments in 100 universities. More than 200 thousand students have already received this education. And in this sense, we just hope that they will become the engine of change in their digital industries. We will also continue this practice.

But we now have a massive demand that we always guarantee a certain amount of training in digital knowledge and digital competencies in almost all areas of professional training. Here, too, we can solve this problem by creating a single online platform that will allow students to study artificial intelligence, work with big data, and digital basic programming skills, so to speak, without interrupting the study of their main specialty.

We are implementing such a set of measures. I believe that in this sense, our plan is to get an additional 700,000 developers into the industry by 2030, while separately focusing on those disciplines that will allow us to reproduce the most popular modern solutions: artificial intelligence, robotics--where we currently have a huge shortage of specialists and solutions.

I finished my report. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I think that the proposal to involve IT companies that benefit from state support measures in training personnel in the same field is absolutely fair. It seems to me that our colleagues in these companies should also be sympathetic to this. Ultimately, it's the same for their business and should be done.

As for those who pass exams in basic subjects–-mathematics, physics, chemistry, then—unfortunately, of course, their number is decreasing. A lot needs to be done here, including training the teaching staff themselves. We do not have enough specialists who work with children in these areas, in these disciplines.

Sergey Sergeevich, what would you like to add here?

: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

Interest in a particular field is largely laid down from school and, in particular, to information technology, interest in IT specialties. In this regard, we are strengthening the material and technical base of schools. We significantly strengthened the material and technical base within the framework of the national project "Education". We have created 50 digital education centers "IT-cube". There are 309 of them nationwide. We will organize 19 more events before the end of the year.

More than 19 thousand schools have natural science and technology centers "Points of Growth", mainly in rural areas, as you said, you need to support schools that are located in small towns, in rural areas.

384 quantoriums have been opened, and another 80 will be introduced by the end of the year.

All this promotes engineering specialties.

To information technologies. Indeed, we had a decrease in passing the physics exam, but the percentage of people passing physics and computer science remained [at the level of] 33 percent over 10 years. That is, it is really twice as much, Maksut Igorevich [Shadaev] said about this, and it began to pass computer science. We have a tendency—we have already increased physics a little bit due to career guidance, interest, and popularization of natural science subjects. We have adopted a comprehensive plan for the development of natural science education in the Government, which will allow us to overcome the trends that you have mentioned, Mr President.

Secondly, we are meaningfully strengthening information technology education. Since this school year, the labor lesson has returned to schools, and as part of the labor lesson, we have made a separate module dedicated to robotics. A new computer science program was approved, taking into account the latest achievements in programming and artificial intelligence.

Today we are preparing a unified state textbook on computer science. Taking into account the experience that Maksut Igorevich mentioned, it will reflect domestic innovations in the field of high technologies, and we really have a lot of them. New programming languages are described, including training in domestic software, which is now being developed and is replacing Western programs.

We are also improving the training of programmers in schools, and together with the Ministry of Digital Development, we are developing IT classes. Today, a textbook on artificial intelligence for grades 5-9 of the Prosveshchenie publishing house is already ready. It, Vladimir Vladimirovich, is undergoing an expert examination at the Russian Academy of Sciences. We hope that the examination will be successful, and in this case we will include [it] in the federal list of textbooks, and schools will be able to use this textbook in their work.

Starting in 2021, we will hold the All-Russian Olympiad on Artificial Intelligence with the involvement of specialized companies. Participants were 55 thousand students of grades 8-11 from all regions. The winners get the right to enter the best universities in the country. Our pride is the Russian national team. This year, the students not only won gold and silver medals, but also became the leaders of the first International Olympiad on Artificial Intelligence, which was held in Bulgaria.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, as part of the preparation of the strategy for the development of education on your instructions until 2040, we are working together with colleagues from the Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the issue of a new Olympiad in robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles. We can see that such competitions are very popular. The relevant infrastructure is in place. It will also help motivate children in these areas, encourage the best students who have mastered the complex mechanics of unmanned systems.

I would like to mention the importance of the vocational training system, because many of our students-–62.5 percent--go to college, and this figure is growing. We also train qualified personnel in the field of information technology in six professions and 22 specialties. IT specialties in colleges, as well as in universities, are distinguished by a high level of employment of graduates. That's 82 percent. Over the past three years, IT college students have increased by 42 percent. Today, 376 thousand college students study in these areas.

Following your instructions, Mr President, we are working to promote working professions. For the second year in a row, we are holding the Professional Skills Championship. Last year, in Veliky Novgorod, you attended the high-tech championship [competitions] in promising areas, in promising specialties in colleges. Such competitions were also held this year, including in the field of IT and engineering technologies.

Similar areas were also widely represented at the main professional skills championship "Professionals", which ended just two weeks ago. For example, such directions were popular with children: these include information security, business software solutions, robotics, spacecraft, and others. By the way, representatives of 26 countries took part in the final of the big championship, which is 11 more than last year. Our championship "Professionals" is not at all inferior to the international ones, and even in terms of quality, as experts say, it surpasses WorldSkills.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, allow me to invite you to the next championship and, if your schedule allows, to hold a meeting with the guys who won the championships. They will be just happy, it will be very important for them.

Thanks for attention.

Vladimir Putin: Okay, thank you very much.

Of course, we need to pay special attention to training specialists for schools, colleges and technical schools, because this segment falls out, unfortunately. I am referring to specialists in the use of artificial intelligence and, of course, other similar technologies.

As for the next competition: it won't be for a long time yet–-we'll see, but a meeting with the guys will be fine. Please contact the Property. If possible, I will be happy to meet them. Thank you.

And the question is completely from another topic. In December, a new station, the Vostok wintering complex, was put into operation. Alexander Alexandrovich, how did the work begin in Antarctica?

A. : Hello, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Mikhail Vladimirovich, colleagues!

In fact, the new Vostok wintering complex in Antarctica was put into operation on December 2. Modern building in the center of the mainland at a distance of 1300 kilometers from the coast and at an altitude of 3200 meters above sea level. Built in five years. This is a record time. No country in the world has ever built in Antarctica at such a high rate.

Vostok was built in cooperation with private capital. , also contributed 70 percent of the funding, more than eight billion rubles, from the federal budget.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the builders of the complex – employees of Zapsibgazprom, who worked in extreme conditions. And four people for three years did not leave the borders of Antarctica at all: These are the head of the construction site Roman Komarov, the masters of construction and installation works Dmitry Kulikov and Ivan Minaev, and the health protection specialist Andrey Sarantsev.

In January, you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, together with Alexander Grigoryevich gave the command to launch the technical launch of the complex. By the way, we continue to help Belarus, deliver cargo, and this season we helped three Belarusian scientists get to Antarctica.

So the test of the polar winter complex "Vostok" was successful. When the temperature was below minus 80 degrees outside, it was up to plus 25 indoors. All life support systems have survived the autonomous mode of operation. The complex is absolutely ready for operation. The area of the new house of polar explorers is almost three thousand square meters: these are scientific laboratories, residential and public premises, a gym, sauna, and a medical office. The perimeter of the building is insulated with a special material with a thickness of one meter. Scale of this building: 140 meters-length and height-almost 18 meters. For comparison, an eight-entrance five-story house in Antarctica was built by our builders for the needs of polar explorers. Of course, this cannot be compared to the conditions that were there before.

The group of polar explorers that will work on Vostok for the first season, Vladimir Vladimirovich, has already arrived at the station. These are 14 of our scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Institute, the St. Petersburg Mining University and the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics. All of them will be engaged in research activities.

First, climate research is done by our scientists at the Arctic Institute. Analysis of ancient ice that is being studied in Antarctica allows us to reconstruct changes that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago with air temperature, the gas composition of the atmosphere, including the concentration of greenhouse gases, and many other indicators. Studying the climate system of the past will allow us to better understand the causes of climate change in the present and assess the risks of global warming using current studies, rather than methodology.

Starting this season, scientists from the St. Petersburg Institute of Nuclear Physics will collect samples of snow cover and ice in Vostok . In the spring, after the end of the season, all materials will be loaded into special refrigerators and sent to St. Petersburg by ship. In the laboratories, scientists will be engaged in biogeochemical and microbiological studies. We won't get the first results until the summer of next year.

We are also preparing a scientific trip to the mainland for 300 kilometers. The so-called "Dome-B"is located there. This is the area that our polar explorers want to explore and determine the point for future well drilling. According to scientists, on the "Dome-B" they can find the oldest ice on the planet, which is almost one and a half million years old. This event is not fast, and we will report separately on its processes.

It is extremely important to study the changes that occur with the climate, because a person is not able to stop these processes, it is not in his power, but it is possible to adapt to the transformation.

For example, just the day before yesterday we were in Baku and discussed the shallowing of the Caspian Sea with our Azerbaijani colleagues. Scientists of both countries say that it is due exclusively to climatic factors, and the negative consequences of shallowing affect all the Caspian states.

Climate scientists ' research, which is also conducted in Antarctica, will certainly help to better understand the ongoing global processes, because Antarctic ice is the standard of climate change, this is the opinion among scientists.

The second important scientific project of Vostok is, of course, the study of the subglacial lake above which the station is located.

We have been talking for many years about getting under the ice dome and exploring the reservoir under it at a depth of 3,600 meters. This season, scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Institute will test an environmentally friendly filling fluid that will be needed for drilling in an ultra-deep well. And then it's time to go out on the project and create the rig itself. The Mining Institute is ready to do this, but it will take time and money, because the drilling rig will be exclusive, it will be almost manually assembled specifically for Antarctica.

And the third. At the opening of Vostok, a small phytotechnical complex was launched, which is needed for testing methods of round-the-clock plant cultivation. Similar technologies will be useful for space missions. This is the case with the new winter complex "Vostok", which, let me remind you, is located in the center of the mainland, and on the coast of Russia there are nine more stations. This season, more than 500 people will take part in the Antarctic expedition, including construction workers, crews of ships and aircraft, and, of course, scientists from 32 organizations. Their scientific plan includes 65 research programs. There will be different institutions, different profiles. We help scientists with the delivery of infrastructure and provide on-site laboratories in Antarctica. All the studies are interesting and important, but I will mention two that are probably not so clearly associated with the White Continent, while they are very promising for world science.

The first is the study of near-Earth space and its impact on the human body. Scientists will install a special meteorological station, collect data on ultraviolet and magnetic index, as well as cosmic dust and micrometeorite particles that settle on snow. All this information is needed for future research in geophysics, biology, and chemistry. And it is also important how a change in the magnetic field affects a person.

The second research program is related to medicine. This season, for the first time, we have specialists from the Flu Research Institute working with us. Specific features of the station: groups of people are kept in a cold climate and in a confined space for several months, that is, the conditions are as extreme as possible, ideal for evaluating the effectiveness of antiviral drugs. A mobile laboratory, where scientists will conduct research, is installed on the ship "Akademik Fedorov", at the coastal station "Molodezhnaya".

Microbiologists from the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Northwestern State Medical University continue their work. They are looking for new antibiotics. To date, public health around the world has experienced that some infections have stopped responding to their usual medications. Therefore, scientists are looking for new antibacterial agents, in particular, isolation from natural components. During previous expeditions, the 63rd and 68th, experts isolated bacteria from the Antarctic soil. Experiments have recognized that two strains are promising for the treatment of staphylococcal infection. Now the next stage of research will be held, which is necessary to establish the optimal regimen for using the drug.

All the scientific work that Russian scientists do in Antarctica is recognized by the international scientific community, because the White Continent is a territory where the earth reveals its secrets not to politicians, but to scientists.

Thanks for attention. The report is finished.

Vladimir Putin: Are there any problems, Alexander Alexandrovich? Do you need to help the people who work there? Maybe after they appeared at the station, there were some questions that require special attention from our side?

Alexander Kozlov: Mr President, everything is under control and people are working. We will work to ensure that the underground lake, which I mentioned in my report, we can start working on it in the following periods. The station was finished. We will work with our Government colleagues in this area. Mikhail Vladimirovich's support is here. We resolve all issues promptly with him.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you very much.

Please, let's move on to the main question. Sergey Yevgenyevich Tsivilev, please.

Quite a report, and we didn’t even get to “the main question.” The Antarctica Vostok report is something I’ve awaited. The huge challenge for Russian education with the entire digital realm is profound. Will Russia’s HSR build come in on time and not too far over budget? Will AI really improve government efficiency as much as appears possible? And a host of other questions and observations could and should be made when it comes to readers own national situations—what’s happening where you live?

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