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- Warming follows: what resulted in the dispute between Reshetnikov, Siluanov and Nabiullina at the SPIEF
Warming follows: what resulted in the dispute between Reshetnikov, Siluanov and Nabiullina at the SPIEF
The tone for the main business day of SPIEF 2025 was set by a discussion about the slowdown in the economy: Nabiullina, Siluanov and Reshetnikov argued whether there were risks of hypothermia, or whether warming would come soon. The State Duma accused the Ministry of Energy of not having enough supply of goods and services in the country, and the department shifted responsibility to the Central Bank due to expensive investments. Artificial intelligence and the development of the media industry were also in the spotlight on June 19. The main contracts signed that day were devoted to the development of the regions — due to external constraints, it is important to increase cooperation between companies within the country.
Statements by Nabiullina, Siluanov and Reshetnikov at the SPIEF 2025 plenary session
The SPIEF business program opened in St. Petersburg on June 19. The tone of the entire event was set by the morning session "Supply—side Economics - a growth strategy in the face of modern challenges." Traditionally, the main financiers and economists of the country took part in the discussion: Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Head of the Ministry of Economy Maxim Reshetnikov.
The moderator of the session, Andrey Makarov, head of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, asked the speakers to assess the state of the Russian economy. According to Elvira Nabiullina, many of the resources that allowed GDP to grow over the past two years have now been exhausted.
"In terms of numbers, we have cooling. But for us, all our numbers are a rearview mirror. According to the current business sentiment, we already seem to be on the verge of going into recession," said Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Ministry of Economic Development.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov presented a more positive view. He noted that a cold snap is taking place now, but it is always followed by "summer."
— The Russian economy is indeed going through a cooling phase, but formally there is no recession yet. A technical recession occurs when GDP growth rates fall for two consecutive quarters. In Russia, GDP growth was 4.5% in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 3.1% in the third quarter. After that, the economy began to slow down: in the first quarter of 2025, GDP amounted to 1.4%," said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
The expert added: although the dynamics were positive, industrial production is stagnating, real consumer demand is declining, and credit activity remains subdued.
As Elvira Nabiullina explained, the economy grew due to the fact that free resources were used.: These include production facilities, import substitution, accumulated NWF resources, and the capital reserve of the banking system. Now we need to think about a new growth model, the chairman of the Central Bank is sure.
Maxim Reshetnikov suggested doing without a "revolution" in this case. The head of the Ministry of Economy believes that the discussion about changing the model implies a change in long-term trends, and now we need to deal with those issues related to the growth potential. Anton Siluanov also disagreed with the idea of changing the economic growth model.
"We live in such a complex world, Russia is growing at a four-plus, we are surrounded by sanctions, and you are talking about changing the model. We must rely on technological sovereignty.<....> The model is working," the Finance minister said.
At the same time, the supply economy is stalling, Andrei Makarov is convinced. This is due to the fact that there are fewer goods, prices are rising, and quality is falling, he said.
Maxim Reshetnikov is sure that there are areas where the supply is still growing well: in tourism, in the technology sector. He saw the problem in another way — in the deceleration of investments due to tight monetary policy. He noted that this situation will improve when the key rate decreases.
Its decrease by 1 percentage point, to 20% per annum, only slightly relieved tension — for further recovery, the key rate should be in the range of 14-16%, and a predictable inflationary environment is also needed, agrees Vladimir Chernov from Freedom Finance Global. He added that until this happens, the economy will move "in low gear."
What deals were concluded on the main day of SPIEF 2025
As Izvestia reported earlier, the volume of signed contracts at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum could reach 7-7.5 trillion rubles, which is 20% more than a year earlier. Moreover, judging by the main business day, many agreements relate to the development of regions.
For example, on June 19, Bank ROSSIYA and the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tatarstan signed a cooperation agreement. It involves joint work in the field of investments, participation in financing infrastructure for the development of the Alabuga Polytech personnel center, as well as lending to new projects. In particular, the parties will discuss the possibility of increasing the total amount of debt financing of the SEZ to 25 billion rubles in 2025.
"Participation in financing projects of the special economic zone will not only strengthen the industrial potential of the region, but also contribute to the creation of a modern innovative economy in Russia. We are confident that this partnership will open up new opportunities for growth and the implementation of large—scale investment initiatives," said Tatiana Polinko, Chairman of the Management Board of Bank ROSSIYA.
In addition, the credit institution began to cooperate with the Soyuz-Region group of companies. It produces diesel cars and engines for KAMAZ, which helps in import substitution, as well as in the development of logistics and the growth of regional economies, said Tatiana Polinko. The agreement provides for the development of banking technologies and infrastructure, the implementation of joint investment programs, and the provision of financial consulting services.
Other important deals concluded at the forum include additional financing for VEB.RF Corporation. Bank ROSSIYA provided her with funds in the amount of 10 billion for lending projects. Alexey Miroshnichenko, First Deputy Chairman of the corporation, noted that its strategy until 2030 provides for increasing financing for large investment projects, the development of anchor settlements and geostrategic regions, technological leadership projects, export support and entrepreneurship.
Deals at the forum on this day were concluded not only with domestic partners, but also with foreign players. In particular, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI) has signed an agreement with Bank ROSSIYA.
"In 2022, our representative office was opened in Minsk, and we are constantly working to expand the range of products and services for clients from the Union State. The bank also provides preferential loans to Russian enterprises for the purchase of Belarusian products," said Mikhail Klishin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the credit institution.
In general, the SPIEF conceptual framework presupposes the harmonious development of both Russia's internal and external resources, independent expert Andrey Barkhota is convinced. Due to the sanctions restrictions and the need to strengthen cooperation, interregional cooperation has come to the fore.
The topic of domestic tourism in Russia is especially relevant now. For example, the Vologda Region is among the three leaders in attendance during the New Year holidays, the governor of the region, Georgy Filimonov, recalled in an interview with Izvestia at the SPIEF. Vacationers most often come to Moscow, St. Petersburg and the patrimony of Santa Claus for the New Year holidays. A special economic zone is currently being created on the territory of Veliky Ustyug.
Visitors walk through the territory of the patrimony of Santa Claus
"Our goal is to create a center for international tourism and, of course, national attractiveness so that people receive modern, high—quality services. This includes accommodation, that is, a hotel complex, cafes, restaurants, rental offices, and outdoor facilities," he said.
The St. Petersburg Forum also agreed on the construction of the Omsk Northern Bypass highway, which will become part of the M-12 Vostok (Moscow – Tyumen). As a result, two bridges over the Irtysh and Om rivers, five interchanges and 19 overpasses will be built.
Avito, Rostelecom and UK Digit Invest decided to jointly develop digital platforms for universities "Digital Campus". The project is expected to reach more than 500 universities and 3 million students in three years.
In addition, on June 19, VK and the T Plus group signed a cooperation agreement in the development of IT solutions and replication of ready-made digital products. Sberbank and RANEPA have agreed to create a bachelor's degree program for current managers on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in public administration.
There were other big deals. For example, Russian Railways and the aerospace company Bureau 1440 will provide passengers of long-distance trains with high-speed Internet during the entire journey. According to the results of SPIEF 2025, ROSSETI Center and the National Research University MEI will begin cooperation in the field of education, research and personnel training for the Russian electric power industry.
What was discussed at the SPIEF sessions
Another topic that was actively discussed on the main business day of the forum was AI and the changing media industry.
The world is becoming more and more technological, with emotions and simple human communication gaining special value, said Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group (NMG). What is important now is a sincere conversation with each audience in a clear and truthful language.
Also during the SPIEF, VTsIOM provided statistics on what viewers are watching now: anti-stress content, nostalgic films and TV series about the 1980s and 1990s are in the lead. There is also a trend towards a shortage of live communication, which increases the number of views for bloggers. The main trend is lack of time: the videos are getting shorter.
"We really see trends in advance. Let me remind you that a few months ago we just announced the launch of an application for microdraming called "Stories", it is now available for download, it is in the testing period. <...> This is not just cutting, it really needs to pack long episodes into these one—and—a-half-minute plots with a beginning, an end, and a cliffhanger hook for the next episode," Svetlana Balanova emphasized.
Trends in the media environment include digitalization, the use of personal content by brands, and the development of microbloggers with a high level of trust from the audience, said Ekaterina Movsesyan, CEO of the KROS communications agency. Media is turning into an ecosystem where content, professional skills and business partnerships are born simultaneously, said Vladimir Krasnikov, head of the IT department at the PRIX Club.
A new challenge is that AI has dramatically penetrated into all spheres of life, including in the media, Ekaterina Movsesyan drew attention. Creating texts and images using artificial intelligence is just the tip of the iceberg.
Now media platforms and large information holdings are learning to better understand their audience and process big data using neural networks. In the future, this should provide more personalized content, the expert added.
This topic was also discussed at the SPIEF. As stated by the head of Sberbank, German Gref, at the session "Artificial Intelligence: from discussion to implementation", this is inevitable, but there is no need to rush, since excessive regulation can negatively affect developers. At the same time, he noted that the educational process in the country needs to be rebuilt so that "children do not forget how to count and write" due to the active development and use of artificial intelligence.
Over time, trends will only intensify — both companies and users will be present on even more platforms and channels, said Ksenia Trifonova, director of the Center for Communications and Digital Solutions at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. The advantage will be given to those who learn how to create real communities and retain them with the help of media tools.
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