For the first time in 10 years, the government summed up the results without Putin

Despite all the sanctions, in 11 months the fall in GDP amounted to only 2%

For the first time in 10 years, the government summed up the outgoing year without Vladimir Putin. The President always attended New Year’s meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers, but this time the officials had to cope with the role of the collective Santa Claus on their own. The main promise: all social obligations to citizens and measures to support the economy will be fulfilled. Whatever happens.

For almost the entire year, Cabinet meetings were held online, but the ministers arrived at the White House in person for the last meeting. For those who have not yet had time to take part in the action “Christmas Tree of Wishes”, it was a good reason to make happy children who have not yet lost faith in Santa Claus. Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov spent the most time at the New Year tree. First, he took off one cardboard ball, and it was written in it that the boy Andrey wanted to ride in a tank. The second ball (on the other side of the tree and even with a bow) contained a similar request. “What is it – all the tankers?” – the official was sincerely surprised (although why be surprised if only “this” is shown on TV, and only “this” is talked about at school). Further, Manturov removed the balls from the Christmas tree, apparently out of pure curiosity, and stopped when he reached seven. The result is this: three children wanted to go into the tank, three more – to the spaceport. And only 12-year-old Daria was original, expressing her desire to ride a motorcycle. “Right on the Aurus, we’ll ride it, on an electric motorcycle,” the Deputy Prime Minister was delighted, noting that this year’s children’s desires are noticeably different from last year’s. Well, what can I say: what year – such and wishes.

However, as other members of the government appeared near the Wishing Tree, it became obvious that there was clearly some real magic here. Some of the wishes were too “in the suit”. Minister of Natural Resources Kozlov got the organization of the meeting with the penguin. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, who removed three balls from the Christmas tree, needs to take one child for a ride in a helicopter, take another to the fire department, and introduce the third to dog handlers (all three services are part of the department). Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Health, Mikhail Murashko, very successfully drew out a wish with a microscope, and the Minister of Sports Matytsin with a master class in judo and a bicycle. As for Mikhail Mishustin, he got the dream of 10-year-old Ramin about a tennis table, and this surprisingly coincided … with the hobbies of the prime minister himself. At one of the events, the head of the Cabinet admitted that he regularly plays hockey and table tennis to keep fit. In general, miracles, and nothing more.

However, before starting to fulfill the children’s wishes, the members of the government had to act as a collective Santa Claus and take stock of the outgoing year. Usually Vladimir Putin shared this mission with the ministers, but this time the president decided not to participate in the last cabinet meeting, either in person or virtually. As Dmitry Peskov explained, contacts between the Kremlin and the White House are now carried out on an ongoing basis, so there is no need to hold any special meeting. The ministers will definitely wait for congratulations, but either not publicly, or together with all Russians. After all, the President’s New Year’s address, unlike the address and the press conference, has not disappeared from the schedule and its format has not changed in any way.

Mikhail Mishustin said that the negative forecasts of many experts and Western analysts regarding the prospects for the Russian economy have now definitely not come true. For 11 months, the fall in GDP amounted to only 2% compared to the same period last year. These are the most optimistic figures that have been voiced since the beginning of the NWO. (The Ministry of Economics expected a 2.9% decline by the end of the year, the Central Bank – 3.3-3.5%, the World Bank – 4.5%) The Russian economy turned out to be unexpectedly stable and quite flexible. The fact that a few decades ago would have killed her on the spot, now made her get out and move. And most importantly, the government did not lose its head and did even more than was expected of it.

“In November, year-on-year growth was observed in construction and agriculture. Increased production of electrical equipment. Positive indicators were noted in the production of vehicles, ”Mishustin listed the latest achievements, choosing perhaps the most win-win tactic: report not for the entire year, since there were a lot of different things, but for a short period. The prime minister drew attention to the fact that the situation on the labor market remains stable: in November, unemployment was at another historical low – 3.7%. Lending to legal entities and individuals is being restored. “The volume of loans increased by more than 13% compared to the same month last year,” Mishustin said. The answer to the question why this is important should be sought in recent statements by representatives of the economic bloc. The head of the Ministry of Economics, Maxim Reshetnikov, has repeatedly associated the future growth of the Russian economy with an increase in domestic demand. The incomes of Russians cannot provide such demand – in real terms, they continue to fall. But now there is hope for loans. “This is an essential factor for supporting the development of our economy,” Mishustin stressed. However, how stable it will be and what role it will play, it will be possible to objectively judge only in the new year. So far, Russians, fearing the future, demonstrate a very conservative model of consumer behavior.

The prime minister also listed operational work with the State Duma and the Federation Council as an asset of the executive branch: in the face of unprecedented sanctions, everyone needed to act decisively and quickly. “In a short time, measures were taken that protected the domestic market of Russia from external influence. Issues of assistance to NWO participants and members of their families were promptly resolved. Active work is underway to legally integrate four new territories into the Russian Federation, ”Mishustin listed the key points on the general agenda. The Prime Minister prudently did not speak about the challenges of the coming year. However, it is already obvious to everyone: it will definitely not be easy for the economy. We should expect a further drop in energy exports, an increase in the budget deficit, a contraction in investment, a decrease in construction volumes, etc.

But members of the government will tell the citizens about this after the chiming clock.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28943 dated December 29, 2022

Newspaper headline:
New Year’s miracles in the government