The meeting focused on the launch of a mentoring programme for medical school graduates. Several current issues were also addressed at the beginning of the meeting.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,
Today, our agenda includes a number of important economic and social issues including the development of the human resources potential of the domestic healthcare system.
Last Sunday, we celebrated Medical Worker Day. I would like to once again congratulate doctors, paramedics, ambulance crews, and junior medical personnel on their professional holiday. Special words of gratitude also go to the professors and instructors of medical universities and colleges, as well as to all practicing specialists working in clinics, hospitals, and federal medical centres who share their knowledge and experience and help train the younger generation. This continuity is undoubtedly essential for improving the quality of medical care in the country.
The noble and creative tradition of senior peers supporting young medical professionals originated in the pre-revolutionary period, matured and grew stronger during the Soviet era, and in recent years we have done much to ensure that mentoring in healthcare has become an important tool for training specialists.
At the end of last year, the relevant provisions were enshrined in a dedicated law. Its implementation will, in fact, begin in just a few days, when approximately 220,000 medical school graduates receive their diplomas. After completing their initial accreditation, young specialists will embark on their professional careers under the guidance of skilled mentors.
I would like to emphasise that this is not a system of mandatory job assignments, like it was during the Soviet era. Graduates are free to choose a medical institution to start their career. The key requirement is that the institution is included in the programme of state guarantee of free medical care.
I would like to highlight the following.
We must not allow the mentoring programme to become a mere formality or to place an excessive burden on healthcare workers, including through an unjustified increase in bureaucratic requirements. An approach like this would invalidate the very purpose of the decisions that have been adopted.
In this connection, I would like to ask the State Council Commission on Long and Active Life, the Russian Popular Front, and the National Medical Chamber to organise monitoring of the programme’s implementation at the local level. We need to maintain close contact with young specialists and their mentors, get their feedback and analyse their comments and suggestions.
(After that, several participants delivered their reports on current issues.
Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin pointed out that the transport sector was preparing for a major transformation, which will determine its development in the coming decades. On September 1, 2026, commercial invoices will switch to a digital format within the State Information System of Electronic Transport Documents. The system has been functioning in test mode for the past four years and now includes 14,000 companies in 83 regions.
Alexei Tsydenov, Head of the Republic of Buryatia and Chairman of the State Council Commission on an Effective Transport System, shared his comments and additional points on that issue.
The President emphasised that the time was certainly right for transitioning to the new system, which is more transparent, keeps all transactions legal and will help do the same in the national economy.
Speaking at the President’s request, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov reported on the enrolment process at universities and the implementation of a pilot project for transitioning to a new higher education model that will replace the bachelor’s and master’s system. The idea is, in part, to enhance the accessibility of higher education. The minister noted that 620,481 state-funded places have been approved for higher education institutions this year. The majority of these are for engineering professions – 42.5 percent of the total, as well as teaching, healthcare and agricultural professionals. The minister added that they focused on benefits for participants in the special military operation and their families. The priority admission conditions for these groups of population include a special quota of 53,500 places, or 1,300 places more than last year. Valery Falkov also reported that a special preparatory department has opened this year at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the leading engineering school in the country, to help discharged veterans of the special military operation prepare for enrolling at engineering and technology universities. The training subjects include mathematics, physics, the Russian language, practical engineering skills and career guidance aimed at helping applicants choose their future professions.
Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov reported on the employment of graduates and interaction with employers. He noted that youth unemployment has more than halved since the launch of the long-term youth employment assistance programme, from 17 percent in 2020 to 7.5 percent in 2026. At the same time, the employment level and wages of university graduates were growing. The programme of individual career coaching launched a year ago helps graduates find their place in the employment market. Over 83,000 places have been allocated this year for employer-sponsored education, the majority of them in healthcare, engineering and teaching. Over 90 percent of employers pay additional scholarships to their students.
Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko delivered a report on the main subject of the meeting, The Launch of a Mentorship Programme for the Graduates of Medical Schools.
The participants in the subsequent discussion included Acting Governor of the Tver Region Vitaly Korolev, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region Alexander Tsybulsky, Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region Alexei Teksler, Governor of the Ivanovo Region and Chairman of the State Council Commission on Long and Active Life Stanislav Voskresensky, and heads and graduates of medical schools from these regions.)
Vladimir Putin: I would like to go back to the questions I had for Marat Khusnullin and Alexander Novak at the beginning of this meeting by asking Mr Khusnullin to start by saying a few words on the topic we raised at the beginning of our meeting.
Mr Khusnullin, go ahead, please.
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin: Mr President,
The system-wide infrastructure development effort on the Crimean Peninsula has made tourism one of the drivers of economic development. To illustrate this point, let me say that in 2025, despite all attempts by the adversary to make life harder for us, we had over 7.4 million tourists, up from 6.3 million in 2024. Tourists travelling by car account for 75 percent of this total, while the remaining 25 percent arrived by train.
In the current environment, there has been a decline in the number of tourists on the peninsula. The Government has worked with the regions to offer state support measures to companies working in the tourism sector to ensure that workers do not leave the industry, while also providing for reimbursing prepaid bookings, including for children’s camps and recreational programmes.
We discussed all these matters and reported to the Prime Minister. In keeping with your instructions, a document to this effect will be issued in the coming days.
We are also taking additional measures together with the Defence Ministry to enhance the protection of all transport communications with the Crimean Peninsula.
As for the agricultural sector, the effort to prepare for the harvest season is underway. This is quite a challenging task, but I think – Mr Novak will elaborate on this point in his remarks – and we hope to have quite a good crop yield this year. It is now a matter of harvesting it.
We are also continuing our efforts to prepare for the autumn and winter season. Utilities services will benefit from additional support, if they need it.
We are keeping a close eye on housing and hotel builders. The real estate sector and the construction industry continue to attract investment.
We are currently working in close, real-time coordination with the governors on measures to minimise all delays and downtime.
I think that we will be responsive when taking centralised decisions on promoting steady socioeconomic development and carrying out the corresponding programmes in Crimea and Sevastopol.
This ends my report.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Mr Novak, go ahead, please.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak: Mr President, colleagues,
Regarding the current situation on the fuel market, it is challenging but manageable. Mr President, the Government is acting under your instructions to take the necessary measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of fuel to consumers.
We have coordinated a set of measures to provide additional fuel supplies, especially during the summer season and with due regard for increased demand for petroleum products. This allows us to address arising logistics problems in some regions and at fuelling stations.
As per your instructions, we are paying special attention to Crimea, Sevastopol and border regions. We are working together with Mr Khusnullin, his working group, the Transport Ministry, the Defence Ministry and other agencies.
We are also focused on the Far East and Kaliningrad. We hold meetings on current issues with the participation of oil companies and federal authorities almost every day.
What has been accomplished to date? First, we have adopted a total ban on the export of petroleum and aviation turbine fuel. We are also considering a total ban on the export of diesel fuel. All oil refineries have maximised their production capacity, shortened repair and maintenance times, and postponed scheduled repair and maintenance works. The Energy Ministry is closely monitoring these schedules and optimising timelines.
We are working with Russian Railways and the regions on a daily basis to address logistical issues and the delivery of fuel to fuelling stations.
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service is monitoring prices at fuelling stations in real time, taking measures to streamline their operations as and when necessary.
I would like to emphasise that our vertically integrated oil companies currently bear the main burden of supplying the domestic fuel market. They have increased production and deliveries to the regions as much as possible, including in the regions where they have few or no branded fuelling stations.
Small and medium-sized oil refineries have been fully engaged in the production of motor fuel.
We are using previously unused reserves and stimulating additional supplies to the domestic fuel market. In particular, the Government has drafted relevant amendments to the tax legislation, which will be discussed and adopted within the next few days.
The Government is paying special attention to the agricultural complex and the supply of fuel to agricultural producers and farms. This is a priority for us. Seasonal fuel supply patterns have been approved and are being complied with. Prices are being monitored. The Energy Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture are promptly addressing arising problems together with oil companies. In other words, we are using all the necessary tools without delay, continuing to monitor the situation and taking the requisite measures to ensure a stable fuel supply across the Russian regions.
This concludes my report.
Vladimir Putin: Very well.
The Defence Ministry, alongside other law enforcement and military agencies, must play a pivotal role in minimising the threats they are trying to create for us – I mean the attempts by the Kiev regime to create new threats. However, the Government of the Russian Federation and the heads of the regions must also play their part. This is a challenging task, that much is obvious, but there is nothing impossible about it. In this context, focusing on the spheres within your respective areas of responsibility is instrumental. Everyone working within your area of responsibility must demonstrate diligence and responsiveness.
What did I want to say in this regard? Everything the Kiev regime does, as I have just mentioned, is designed to achieve the single objective of creating favourable conditions for itself in base of negotiations or, to be more exact, of resuming peace talks, which were cut short at Ukraine’s initiative. They want to be in a position of strength once this happens.
What does it mean to be in a position of strength for them? This can only be a matter of creating an illusion of a position of strength. In fact, on the ground there is a completely different reality.
As we know, our military units – I will elaborate on this point later – are advancing their positions every day. Second, all these terrorist attacks, including those targeting civilian infrastructure, for example the bus carrying Belarusian children in the Belgorod Region, or the student dormitory in Starobelsk – these attacks do not change anything and cannot affect what is taking place on the front along the line of contact. As I have already said, Russian troops are advancing, liberating one community after another, one territory at a time.
Moreover, I think that these attacks, especially the strikes targeting children, definitely serve as an incentive for our fighters on the battlefield to deliver on the mission they received from their country. After all, they see and understand whom we have to deal with.
There is no other way of describing this regime other than a Nazi regime, to say the least. It is hard to imagine, since we have not seen anything like that since World War II. Of course, this is especially true for strikes against children.
Nevertheless, as we have said many times, Russia is ready to engage in peace talks with Ukraine, and is ready to proceed based on the Istanbul agreements. Let me remind you that the Ukrainian delegation initialled these agreements. This means that everything was fine with these terms for them. I do not see any reason not to stick to these agreements as far as Russia is concerned. This is a matter of relying on a foundation created by the agreements that were reached during the talks in Istanbul, and the modalities as discussed in Anchorage, as well as, most importantly, the reality on the ground, and also the principles I had set forth a couple of years ago during my remarks at the Foreign Ministry.
That said, our actions will be defined by what we have. We will keep steadily advancing along all tracks to ensure that our people are safe, while also working on economic matters at the federal level and within the regions of the Russian Federation with a focus on stabilising the economy, government finance and strengthening the Armed Forces.
Thank you very much to all of you.
Mr Novak, we will have a separate conversation with you.
All the best to you.