Meeting with Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky

Chair of the State Council Commission on International Cooperation and Export Alexander Tsybulsky Tsybulsky AlexanderGovernor of Arkhangelsk Region 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.

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.

To be continued.