Putin admitted that he did not believe in domestic business

Vladimir Putin announced a five-year plan of creative entrepreneurial work in Russia. Its results should go to the domestic market, as well as to the markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. “This is the market of the future, and it is in this market that Russian business can fight for a buyer,” the president said. Entrepreneurs assured the head of state that the main thing for them is not income, and not capitalization, but creative work for the benefit of Russians and patriotism. “Work has become much more interesting,” they said. But they still asked for money.

Vladimir Putin marked Entrepreneurship Day with a meeting with representatives of Russian business. It was held in a mixed format: the heads of individual companies were invited to the Kremlin, the rest gathered in front of the screens in the field. The President said that new times have come for business. “Today, business is not limited to economic life. The revival of historical and the development of new traditions of domestic entrepreneurship is one of the key factors of social stability and our sovereignty,” Putin stressed, proposing to announce a five-year plan of creative entrepreneurial work in Russia.

The key task of this period is the development of the domestic market. In the 1990s, the president recalled, the Russian market was given over to foreigners, including transnational corporations. “It was impossible to compete with the giants who came to our market and gobbled it up. But at some point it became obvious that we did not have enough air in our own market, it was impossible to break through in it, ”complained VVP. And then came exactly “the case when there would be no happiness, but in the literal sense, misfortune helped.” Foreign companies began to leave, making room for Russian entrepreneurs. “The time has come to regain their positions and companies are confidently using this,” Putin said, noting that Russian goods are no worse in quality and even surpass foreign counterparts. “Nobody expected such a rush from us!” – the president rejoiced, but admitted that he himself was at first among the skeptics.

Putin stressed that taking advantage of the opportunities that have opened up, business should by no means concentrate exclusively on the domestic market. “This is the path to self-isolation, autarky and loss of competitiveness,” he explained. According to Putin, Russia has long, even before the start of the conflict in Ukraine, drew attention to new growth points for the global economy and began reorienting to these markets. Demands for goods and services are growing in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, these are the markets of the future, so it is there that Russian business should fight for buyers, the president believes.

The head of the Delovaya Rossiya public organization, Aleksey Repik, hastened to admit that today is a truly “sunny day” for Russian entrepreneurs. Indeed, there were several good reasons for such a statement at once – both the good weather outside the window, and Vladimir Putin’s initiative on an entrepreneurial “five-year plan” and the president’s presence at the meeting. And most likely – a combination of all these factors. Repik confirmed that earlier Russian business was built according to Western textbooks and ate crumbs from the master’s table of transnational corporations. But now other, better times have come for him. Passive income is “not for us and not about us”, and capitalization is no longer put at the forefront, the speaker said. “We are ready for a stage of great changes and ambitious goals,” he assured, noting that patriotism for business is also not an empty phrase. “Without love for the motherland, all this becomes meaningless and does not work.”

Previously, Russian entrepreneurs, according to Repik, by hook or by crook tried to enter the markets of the United States and Western Europe. “It seemed to us that the future was there, but it is not there! Not only for us, it doesn’t exist there at all,” the expert painted a depressing picture, noting that it is in Asia, Africa and the Middle East that Russian companies are really needed – “the road to 7 billion consumers seems more and more tempting.” “Everyone has a future,” Putin gently corrected the businessman, “Only everyone has a different one.” “Russia has a good future,” he is sure, “We know what we want and by what means we achieve our goals.”

Further speeches by company leaders produced a double impression. On the one hand, entrepreneurs claimed that everything was fine with them: they were happy with new opportunities and successfully coped with all difficulties and challenges. On the other hand, the impressive list of problems voiced by the speakers prevented us from unconditionally believing these statements. Almost everyone asked for either subsidies and preferential loans, or tax preferences, or mitigation of liability for failure to fulfill obligations under sanctions.

As it turned out, the refusal to trade through Western traders and the transition to direct deliveries worsened the financial situation of entrepreneurs. Delays in payment for goods are 180 or even 240 days – “this is a significant diversion of capital.” Difficulties with insurance are causing companies to ask for more insurance coverage. And the need to build our own infrastructure in Asia and Africa, since Russian products are not always allowed into friendly Turkish and Chinese ports, is support for investments from the state.

One of the meeting participants told the president that due to the introduction of new technologies and difficulties with components, KAMAZ trucks have risen in price from 5 to 9 (!) million rubles. While the size of the maximum state subsidy, which is allocated for their acquisition, remained the same – 500 thousand rubles. “Earlier it was 10% of the cost, but now it is much less. We ask you to remove the restriction and subsidize the purchase of our domestic tractor!” – the businessman turned to Putin. However, the president did not immediately make a decision, referring to the Ministry of Finance.

More fortunate was the businessman who asked for an extension of the moratorium for violations of the requirements of currency legislation for another two years. “We definitely need to extend the moratorium. And in no case should any payments from the business be made retroactively,” VVP said. In addition, the president supported the request to allow the sale of so-called “silver dishes” in ordinary shops and stalls. “Wives will be happy to buy it, pour it, treat their husbands. And it will be much better to educate with silver dishes, ”the manufacturer assured Putin.