Why Vladimir Putin will visit Tula

Vladimir Putin may visit the Tula region on April 4, two sources close to the presidential administration told Vedomosti. In particular, it is assumed that the head of state will go to the Tulazheldormash enterprise, where he will talk with the management and staff, says one of Vedomosti’s interlocutors.

In addition, in the region, the head of state may hold a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on a topic that is relevant for the region – industry, two Vedomosti sources say. The region’s governor, Alexei Dyumin, heads the State Council commission for industry.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not answer questions, but the Kremlin press service confirmed the visit. Vedomosti sent a request to the regional government.

The previous meeting of the State Council for Industry was held on January 11, 2023. At that time, Assistant to the President of Russia, Secretary of the State Council Igor Levitin reported that in addition to the tasks related to the military-industrial complex, “it is necessary to pay attention to the development of civilian industry.” The meeting discussed a draft report for the meeting of the State Council Presidium on key aspects of industrial development. It also contained systemic solutions for the industrial development of the country in the medium and long term.

“Increased attention has been drawn to the Tula region due to the fact that there are many military enterprises in the region,” says a source close to the presidential administration. According to him, the region was one of the first to be visited by Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev as part of an inspection of defense industry enterprises.

The last time Putin came to Tula at the end of December 2022. Then, together with Dyumin, he visited the Shcheglovsky Val machine-building plant (part of the NPO High-Precision Complexes JSC of Rostec). The plant is engaged in the production of advanced weapons – combat vehicles ZRPK ” Pantsir-S” and “Shell-S1”, combat units “Bakhcha” and “Berezhok”, etc.

But Tulazheldormash, owned by the PTK group, is not directly part of the defense industry and is one of the largest manufacturers of special machinery and equipment for the construction, renovation and maintenance of railways for Russian Railways. Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline-analytics, noted that Tulazheldormash is a large enterprise that uses innovative technologies.

According to Vedomosti’s source in the defense industry, this time the president’s visit to defense enterprises is unlikely.

During his previous visit to Tula, the President also held a meeting with the heads of defense enterprises on the issues of meeting the needs of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the military operation in Ukraine. The meeting was attended by Medvedev and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.

Putin’s visit to the Tula region this time has a formal reason – a meeting of the State Council Commission on Industry, which was not held during the last trip to the region in 2022, Mikhail Vinogradov, head of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, told Vedomosti.

In addition, it is assumed that the topic of “technological sovereignty” will be discussed, and the region positions itself as one of the leaders in this matter, since traditional and high-tech enterprises coexist in the region, the expert noted.