Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov announced the rejection of market principles in the work of the government in order to provide the country with "technological sovereignty." The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade made such a statement on the day of his appointment to a new position, RBC broadcasts the speech of the official in the State Duma.
An official promoted by Vladimir Putin said that a special session was held in the government three days ago under the leadership of Mikhail Mishustin, where a decision was unanimously made to change the paradigm in the work of the industrial sector.
“We came to a unanimous opinion in the government that today it is necessary to make a turn from an absolutely market-oriented industrial policy to a policy of ensuring technological sovereignty,” the new Deputy Prime Minister said.
Particular attention in Manturov's speech was given to the military-industrial complex. One of the most important tasks assigned to him in his new position, the official called providing the Russian army with high-precision missiles and drones, not only in the context of the invasion of Ukraine, but also in the future. The Deputy Prime Minister also noted the need for an intensive search for critical components for the military and civilian industries. A special task, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, will be the creation and support of demand for domestic products in the Russian market.
“In addition, in the interests of our manufacturers, it is necessary to consolidate demand, gradually replacing imported machinery and equipment that are used in various sectors of the economy,” Manturov promises.
The search for alternatives to foreign technologies will be a priority for the new Deputy Prime Minister. In particular, he promised to find domestic analogues of technologies and equipment for the development of oil and gas fields, equipment for agriculture, Russian aircraft for the aviation industry. Similar measures will affect the chemical industry, logging and the fishing industry. It is worth noting that Manturov spoke on the agenda, which previously belonged to former Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who oversaw the military-industrial complex. On Friday, July 15, Borisov was appointed to the state corporation Roscosmos and replaced Dmitry Rogozin as head of the company.
Manturov's speech testifies to the state's intention to take control of even more industries and increase its influence on them, which risks bringing the state's share in the economy to critical levels. In June, representatives of the Federal Antimonopoly Service admitted that the state's share in the economy already exceeds 70%. The head of the Accounts Chamber, Alexei Kudrin, warned earlier that the expansion of the public sector would only slow down the development of the Russian economy.
Manturov's rhetoric is similar to the recent speech of Vladimir Putin, who spoke about the prospects of the socialist idea. The President does not see any problems in its implementation and believes that it can be combined with market mechanisms. And the key problem of this approach is “filling the economy”. The capitalist model, according to the president, has exhausted itself.