Government report on its performance in 2016

“The Government of the Russian Federation < …> shall submit to the State Duma annual reports on the Government’s performance, including on issues formulated by the State Duma.” (Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 114, Clause 1, Subclause “a”).

Excerpts from the transcript:

Dmitry Medvedev: Last year, the State Duma discussed and adopted 284 Government proposed bills, which have since become law. New members joined the Duma’s legislative process immediately after being elected. As a result, 91 draft laws proposed by the Government were approved last autumn and more than 270 are still being considered. These include important draft laws designed to improve the quality of forensic examination and the effectiveness of cyber protection efforts and to reduce road congestion and improve road safety.

The State Duma election was the main political event last year. Russia’s strategy for the next political cycle was determined on a single voting day. It showed that people see consistency and responsibility for the decisions taken, the ability to listen to people and honour one’s obligations, as well as winning honestly are the most important elements in the government’s work. Our people voted for stability, but they also voted for development. They expect us to do everything in our power to improve their lives and to make success a fact of life in the country. This is society’s main political need today. I am convinced that this requirement will also feature in the upcoming presidential campaign. The race for the presidency will be difficult, as it always is. However, I would like to point out that we never turned a political struggle into a war, and we won’t do it now. Of course, this doesn’t mean that there are no differences. We do have them, which is absolutely normal. But disputes between our political parties, despite the differences in their views and ideologies, only concern the methods for achieving our main goal, which is to continue to develop our country so as to ensure a prosperous life for our people.

On the political side, we have reviewed our ability to resist external pressure and have seen that we can also move forward to promote our interests. In the economy, we saw that we can do more than just respond to crisis situations, that we can also create new growth drivers. We have taken a new look at our opportunities. And we have seen that we can only rely on ourselves. The sanctions pressure continued, and it will likely last for some time yet, and oil prices were low. Nothing has changed in this sense, but we have learned to use the situation to our advantage as we joined the fight for leadership in domestic and international markets. We are no longer afraid of any challenges, because they provide a development impetus. This confidence in our own strength is bringing its first results. Our economy is growing, although many people, including those across the ocean, predicted an economic catastrophe for us. Today, our progress has been acknowledged even by those who cannot be suspected of being partial to Russia.

More to be posted soon…