Events digest: highlights of the week at the National Centre RUSSIA
The 24th
Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, a meeting with Deputy Prime
Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak, the 21st Congress of the
Russian Union of Travel Industry, and other key events of the week at the
National Centre RUSSIA are featured in our weekly roundup.
21st Congress of the Russian Union of Travel Industry
On 20
November, the National Centre RUSSIA hosted the 21st Congress of the Russian
Union of Travel Industry (RST), where participants discussed strategic
initiatives for the development of tourism, strengthening regional
infrastructure and promoting Russia as both a domestic and international travel
destination.
The
President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, sent a greeting to the
participants of the congress.
"In
our country, educational travel, guided tours and the health resort sector have
a rich history spanning many centuries. It is gratifying that today, largely
thanks to the fruitful and creative work of the RST, the best sectoral
traditions are being carefully preserved and developed. We are seeing real,
significant results: modern hotels, cafés and restaurants are being built, new
jobs are being created, and conditions are being formed for the growth of
entrepreneurial activity in the hospitality industry, as well as in the
construction and transport sectors. Much is being done to revive and support
traditional crafts, restore cultural heritage sites, improve the quality and
accessibility of tourist services and train qualified personnel. The tourism
industry itself is becoming one of the key drivers of the infrastructural and
socio-economic development of cities, towns and entire regions," the
President noted.
24th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government
On 18
November, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail
Mishustin, opened the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the
member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at the National Centre
RUSSIA. The high-level meeting brought together representatives of 10
countries, along with observers and dialogue partners.
"At
the National Centre RUSSIA, we are summing up the results of Russia’s
chairmanship of the Council, during which special attention was given to
expanding trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation within the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation. I would like to express my gratitude to all member
states for their constructive and partnership-based participation. We have a
very full agenda today, so I suggest we move straight to work," the Prime
Minister said.
Alexander Novak in the project "Platform of the Future: 100 Projects of Russia.Economy"
Russia is
actively supporting small technology companies and creating new opportunities
for innovative businesses and the promotion of domestic technologies. Today,
more than 5,500 small technology companies are registered in the country —
almost 1,500 more than in 2024. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister of
the Russian Federation Alexander Novak during the project "Platform of the
Future: 100 Projects of Russia. Economy".
"Representatives
of small and medium-sized businesses want to enter the category of small
technology companies. What sets small technology companies apart? They are
slightly larger and focused on developing technologies. We have defined that
for this category, revenue should be up to 4 billion roubles. This applies to
high-tech sectors — in total around 60 areas. What is the essence? It is a simplified
form of support. If a company passes a special review and is included in the
register of small technology companies, it becomes eligible for state support
measures. Today, 5,500 companies are already included in this register, whereas
a year ago there were about 4,000," Alexander Novak said.
The results
of the large-scale digital transformation that has reshaped the country’s tax
system in recent years were discussed at an expanded meeting of the board of
the Federal Tax Service.
Deputy
Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chief of Staff of the Government,
Dmitry Grigorenko, noted that over the past 35 years the Federal Tax Service has
become an undisputed technological leader: "Today, the Federal Tax Service
is not a 'controller' but a system of modern, convenient and client-oriented
services. At the same time, the Service’s digitalisation efforts are recognised
as a benchmark of quality and efficiency for the entire public administration
system."
Minister of
Finance Anton Siluanov pointed out that thanks to the Federal Tax Service’s
automated VAT control system, ACS VAT-2, which analyses VAT declarations, the
tax gap has been reduced to under one percent.
Head of the
Federal Tax Service Daniil Yegorov noted that over these years the Service has
evolved from being seen solely as a supervisory authority to becoming a
reliable partner and service provider for citizens and businesses. The Service’s
projects strike a balance between oversight and service, and ultimately go
beyond tax-related initiatives to become part of national infrastructure,
elevating public administration to a new level.
The final
event of Rosmolodezh.Enterprise and Rosmolodezh.Profi, "Creators",
brought together more than 3,000 young entrepreneurs, specialists and students
from across the country to review the year, share experience and identify new
directions for business and career development.
"Over
this year, we have held more than 1,000 events within Rosmolodezh.Enterprise,
the specialised programme for young entrepreneurs. More than 36,000 young
people across the country have taken part in Rosmolodezh.Profi projects.
Participants propose solutions for the processing industry and agriculture,
develop IT technologies and the creative industries and launch social
enterprises. As part of the national projects 'Youth and Children' and
'Personnel', we support the initiatives of young entrepreneurs, while paying
special attention to developing early-career specialists so that young people
can realise their ideas in Russia and implement their business projects across
the country," said Director of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov.
The
"Creators" marathon featured a presentation of the joint project
"Youth Code" by Rosmolodezh.Enterprise and Tavrida.ART, creative
meetings and an extensive business programme. The central event of the forum
was the awards ceremony for the All-Russian Award "Young Entrepreneur of
Russia". The winners were selected in 17 categories covering all key
sectors of the economy — from "Social Mission" and "Shield of
the Fatherland" to "Creative Industries" and "Exporter of
the Year".
Launch of the "New Year Tree of Wishes" project
The nationwide project of the Movement of the First, the "New Year Tree of Wishes", was launched on World Children’s Day, 20 November.
"The
'New Year Tree of Wishes' is a wonderful opportunity to extend a helping hand
to every child and young person, regardless of where they live or any health
challenges they may face. We begin by offering targeted support ahead of the
New Year and then create conditions for their continued integration into active
work. On 2 December, at the National Centre RUSSIA, the 5th International Forum
of Civic Engagement #WEARETOGETHER will open, where the central 'New Year Tree
of Wishes' will be installed so that every participant can fulfil someone's
dream," said Director of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs
(Rosmolodezh) Grigory Gurov.
On the day
the campaign was launched, children attended a festive meeting with Ded Moroz
from Veliky Ustyug. Russia’s main winter wizard arrived at the National Centre
RUSSIA directly from his residence to speak with the children, answer their questions
and present the first gifts. He noted that belief in magic remains alive in
people, praised the Movement of the First for organising the campaigns
"Russian Children’s Ded Moroz" and "New Year Tree of
Wishes", and reminded both adults and children that great miracles always
begin with small ones.
Launch of the federal stage of the "Mum Entrepreneur" project
Twenty-five
winners of the regional stages of the "Mum Entrepreneur" programme
arrived in Moscow for the final three-day training. The programme opened with
the masterclass "Self-Presentation: How to Speak Confidently About
Yourself and Your Business" delivered by psychologist and Candidate of
Sociological Sciences Anetta Orlova. The training continued with a lecture by
financial expert Yulia Shatokhina titled "Project Economics: Ten
Indicators of a Financial Model". She has worked with the "Mum
Entrepreneur" project since 2018 and has conducted many author’s workshops
for its participants. The series of sessions concluded with business trainer and
financial expert Tatyana Yevdina.
The
"Mum Entrepreneur" programme is implemented by the Ministry of
Economic Development of the Russian Federation. It is part of the toolkit of
the federal project "Small and Medium Entrepreneurship" under the
national project "Efficient and Competitive Economy". In 2025, the
programme is taking place in 68 regions across the country.
Seventy
activists and mentors from the Smolensk region who achieved significant success
in the Movement of the First in 2025 gathered for "Smolensk Region Day at
the Media House of the First".
The
Smolensk delegation of the Movement of the First was welcomed by Chair of the
Board of the Movement of the First Artur Orlov; Deputy Chair of the Government
of the Smolensk region Anastasia Gapeyeva; Deputy Chair of the State Duma
Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots,
Artyom Turov; and Chair of the Regional Branch Council of the Movement of the
First in the Smolensk region, Pavel Petrov.
The results
of the Movement’s activities in the Smolensk region were presented by member of
the Regional Branch Council Anastasia Demchenkova. She noted that 481 primary
branches have now been established in the region, and the Movement’s membership
has reached 42,500. She also spoke about unique initiatives being implemented
in the region.
Each performance by the winter wizards is based on folk legends of the indigenous peoples of different regions of the country.
Spiritual foundations and traditional values are the true strength of our people, regardless of faith.
Monday, 24 November, will be a maintenance day at the National Centre RUSSIA.
