Chair of the State Council Commission on International Cooperation and Export Alexander Tsybulsky focused on two matters: the activities of the Commission on International Cooperation and Export and Russia’s non-commodity and non-energy exports in general.
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The Governor mentioned the Export for Victory exhibition held last year which told the story of the Soviet government’s efforts to increase, despite major difficulties, exports and earn foreign currency to support the front during the Great Patriotic War. Proceeds from fur exports alone financed the construction of 5,000 tanks. There were many other initiatives as well. Of particular interest is the experience of exporting Soviet films. In 1943, one of them – Moscow Strikes Back (Razgrom Nemetskikh Voysk Pod Moskvoi) – won an Oscar for Best Documentary.
Mr Tsybulsky emphasised that the sanctions on Russia were primarily designed to restrict the promotion of the Russian-made products on international markets. With regard to non-commodity and non-energy exports, he reported that in 2025, their volume reached the equivalent of US$149 billion, 10 percent more than in the previous period. Industrial exports grew by 18 percent. The geography of supplies has changed and 86 percent of exports now go to friendly markets. The core destinations include China, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkiye, and India. Exports to India grew by nearly 28 percent over the past year.
Alexander Tsybulsky also noted that work continues on two major international projects focusing on the development of foreign economic infrastructure, namely, the creation of a Russian-Tajik industrial park in Dushanbe and a Russian industrial zone in Egypt. The process of selecting potential residents is underway.
The discussion also covered agricultural exports. Russian agricultural products are imported by 160 countries. Russia is number one worldwide in exports of wheat and barley, frozen fish, and sunflower oil (in monetary terms), and number three in terms of physical volume of agricultural exports to international markets. More than 90 percent of exports go to friendly markets.
Exports of services, which increased by 10 percent on last year, is another important area. The main components include transport, telecommunications, and computer services. Small and medium-sized enterprises are a separate area: 80,000 SMEs export their products to foreign markets. Their revenue in 2024 amounted to the equivalent of US$50 billion. They receive assistance from export support centres operating in 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The multiplier effect for SMEs is impressively high: every ruble of state support generates 70 rubles in revenue.
Alexander Tsybulsky also addressed several export-related issues. In particular, he highlighted the need to increase transport subsidies, noting that high logistics costs often render Russian goods uncompetitive in third-country markets. He also pointed to the problem of duties imposed on Russian products in promising foreign markets and called on the Ministry of Economic Development and other relevant agencies to consider establishing preferential conditions in such markets, where export volumes could be significantly expanded.
The Governor then moved on to regional matters. First of all, he reported on support measures for service members in the special military operation zone and their families, including an agreement with the Rostec Corporation and the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation to establish a modern interregional orthopaedic centre at a war veterans’ hospital.
Socioeconomic development was also discussed. In response to a question from the President about key investment projects, Alexander Tsybulsky outlined plans to build a major logistics complex as part of the Arkhangelsk seaport. The facility will function as a fishing port, featuring storage infrastructure and refrigerators capable of storing up to 25,000 tonnes of frozen fish and 200 tonnes of live crab for both export and domestic markets. Additional two logistics projects are being implemented by the Severny Proyekt company, which operates a fleet of 25 vessels. Significant initiatives are also being implemented in the wood industry sector, including the launch of the country’s first production facility for harvester heads for logging operations using 80 percent of domestically produced equipment, as well as a fully domestically produced high-performance timber grading and sorting line that in many ways surpasses foreign analogues. Wooden housing construction is also expanding rapidly.
The Governor also highlighted two notable IT projects. One is Open Forest, a software solution for forestry that uses unmanned quadcopters and Russian-developed technology to assess forest resources, including volume, composition, and wood species quality. The other is the compact KUBIK trap camera, created using a special technology that gives it a capacity to operate autonomously for over a year. Initially developed for civilian use, it has also found its application in the special military operation zone.
Among other developments, Alexander Tsybulsky noted the modernisation of a century-old algae processing plant, where a production workshop for premium beauty care products based on Russian algae was launched last year, matching the quality of international products. Ship repair and shipbuilding are also advancing, with new floating docks, barges, and tugboats under construction to meet growing demand.
During the discussion, the President pointed out a slight decline in industrial production in the region. Alexander Tsybulsky explained that this was due to the exceptionally high base of the previous year, which had seen record performance.
In conclusion, the Governor reported on progress in relocating residents from dilapidated housing. The President stressed the importance of continuing this effort and ensuring that people are relocated from substandard living conditions.