Meeting with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: How is it going, Mr Sobyanin?

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin Sobyanin SergeiMoscow Mayor : Mr President, as per tradition, I would like to report on last year's performance: what is going on in Moscow, how the executive orders on national goals as well as state and federal programmes are implemented, how the city's economy performed, and our plans for 2026.

We often say that the year was challenging, and 2025 was no exception. Nevertheless, we sustained positive momentum across most economic sectors and in social development, discontinued none of our programmes, and successfully carried out almost all the objectives we faced.

Regarding gross regional product, I hope that we will see growth of more than two percent this year. More broadly, if we consider the dynamics since 2019 - a strong benchmark year - we have increased regional product by 28 percent. This is a solid result, and we intend to maintain this trajectory.

Vladimir Putin: The trend is indeed excellent: consistent growth year after year.

Sergei Sobyanin: Yes, of course, there were difficult periods, such as 2020 due to the pandemic, but overall, the trend has remained positive.

What is the foundation of this trend? It rests on infrastructure development. Investment in fixed capital has produced strong results over the past six years, rising by 63 percent despite an already substantial base. Even before that, we had significantly increased them. These investments span infrastructure, construction, industry, and other sectors.

In accordance with your instructions, we continue to support the expansion of high-technology production and industry, advancing the objective of achieving technological independence for the economy.

Vladimir Putin: Have investments increased by 63 percent?

Sergei Sobyanin: Yes, over six years. It is a considerable volume.

Vladimir Putin: And by 2024, an additional four percent?

Sergei Sobyanin: Yes. The pace is more moderate than in earlier years, but even four percent growth on such a large base…

Vladimir Putin: It was 4.4 percent in 2022, four percent now - entirely normal. In 2024 it was 4.5 percent.

Sergei Sobyanin: These investments create the foundation for future development.

You and I have visited several industrial sites and saw the development of the special economic zone. Beyond this, private investors and major companies are also advancing industrial expansion. In 2010, we had roughly 10 million square metres of industrial space, much of it outdated. Today we have 13 million square metres of higher-quality facilities, and we anticipate nearly doubling this capacity by 2032.

To be continued.