Category: Russian Economy

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

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Foreign tourists continue to actively plan summer trips to the capital of Russia: according to the online hotel and apartment booking service Ostrovok, the number of bookings in Russian accommodation facilities for the summer season of 2025 has increased by 10% compared to last summer. At the same time, Moscow remains the most popular destination among foreign guests: it accounts for every second booking from foreigners in the country.

The top 10 destinations popular with foreign tourists this summer include Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Sochi, Irkutsk, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, and Nizhny Novgorod.

"Inbound tourism is an important driver of the economy. The 10% growth in bookings for the summer of 2025 shows that interest in Russia remains, and the capital remains the main magnet for foreign guests. But to maintain this momentum, we need to take into account the requests of foreign guests: transfers, excursions in their language, services adapted for different cultures. This encourages hotels and restaurants to improve their service standards, which ultimately makes the country even more competitive in the international arena. Thus, the development of inbound tourism is not only the country's image, but also a real economic benefit for the city and its residents," said Nikita Kondratyev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

The main flow of inbound tourism to Moscow in the summer of 2025 is formed by guests from Belarus, India, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, China, Turkey, Oman, the UAE, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Darya Kochetkova, Managing Director of the Ostrovok Group of Companies, noted: "Trips to Russia are becoming easier and more accessible for foreign tourists: for example, the visa regime with Oman was recently lifted, and direct flights to Saudi Arabia are expected to start in the fall. Improving the transport network and easing the visa regime are key factors in the growth of inbound tourism, and we expect the number of bookings from tourists from these countries to continue to grow."

The most popular hotels among foreign guests are four-star hotels: they account for more than a third of all bookings (35%). Three-star hotels (19%) and five-star hotels (15%) are also popular.

"In order to efficiently handle the growing flow of foreign tourists, it is important to understand that their requests differ from the needs of our domestic tourists. For example, among the most frequent requests from foreign guests are the organization of transfers from/to the airport, accommodation in multi-room rooms for large families, excursion services in the native language, as well as compliance of hotels with Muslim Friendly, China Friendly, India Friendly standards. This includes halal or adapted food, the presence of staff who speak foreign languages, and taking into account the cultural characteristics of guests. Knowing this, representatives of the hospitality industry should adapt their service and be ready to provide the appropriate services," commented Daria Kochetkova.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has completed accepting applications from small and medium-sized businesses as part of the first selection for subsidizing the costs of placing securities on the stock exchange and investment platforms. The program is being implemented with the participation of the Bank of Russia and is aimed at enterprises from the real sector that demonstrate a multiplier effect for the economy as a whole.

"A total of 14 applications from 13 Russian small and medium-sized businesses were submitted to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia for consideration during the first selection under the program. The share of small businesses that submitted applications is 70% of the total number of selection participants. The geography of the participants is Moscow, Penza, Oryol, Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, the Republic of Tatarstan and Krasnodar Krai," noted Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Tatyana Ilyushnikova.

Most of the applications are related to reimbursement of costs for the placement of bonds, the total nominal volume of which exceeded 1.7 billion rubles. This confirms the demand for government support measures to expand business access to the stock market.

The subsidy can be used to compensate for a number of costs:

— payment of remuneration under agreements on the organization of placement and (or) placement of an issue of shares or bonds;

— payment of remuneration under an agreement on the implementation of rating actions (in the event of assignment of a credit rating to the recipient of a subsidy or the issue of bonds);

— payment of remuneration under an agreement for the provision of services to attract investments;

— payment of remuneration for the services of the registrar under the agreement on registration of the decision to issue shares;

— payment of remuneration under an agreement for the provision of audit or legal services.

"This program allows attracting capital at all stages of enterprise development. For young and small companies, crowdfunding platforms may be the most suitable option, while for more mature companies, it may be entering the stock market. Thus, government support measures cover the entire range of business financing instruments. And the demand for them is growing: since the beginning of the year, SMEs have placed bonds worth 32.2 billion rubles on the stock market alone. We also note the development of equity financing in general, since in the current macroeconomic conditions it allows companies to attract capital without the need for regular payments, such as occurs with a loan," explained Mikhail Mamuta, member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia, Head of the Service for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Ensuring the Availability of Financial Services.

Key conditions for receiving a subsidy: to be included in the SME register, to operate in priority sectors (manufacturing, transportation and storage, tourism, information and communications, scientific and technical activities, healthcare), to be a small technology company or a subject of creative industries, not to be part of a group of companies with annual revenues exceeding 2 billion rubles. The results of the first selection will be announced in early September.

The program of subsidizing SMEs' costs for the placement of securities is being implemented within the framework of the federal project "Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurship and Support for Individual Entrepreneurial Initiatives" of the national project "Efficient and Competitive Economy". Its goal is to assist companies in attracting financing through stock market mechanisms.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Representatives of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation took part in expert meetings and high-level events at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Seoul. The delegations discussed issues of increasing the representation of women in economic processes, prospects for developing cooperation in science, technology and innovation, as well as structural reforms to increase business activity in the region.

As part of the high-level dialogue on women's economic empowerment, the parties considered the current demographic transition and the increasing burden it places on women to care for family members. They also discussed the region's persistent wage gaps, women's access to capital, technical skills and market niches.

The Korean presidency paid special attention to the role of women in digital transformation and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “In this regard, we shared, firstly, the objectives of the national AI development strategy and the corresponding federal project, as well as an assessment of the current and projected contribution of AI to the Russian GDP,” said Deputy Director of the Department Evgeniya Drozhashchikh. “The partners responded particularly positively to the results of a survey among medium and large businesses (VK Predict and the consulting agency Prognosis. — Ed.), according to which 70% of companies are already using AI in their work.”

The Russian side presented measures to support women interested in mastering IT skills: the Women in IT project, offering free training in digital competencies; the Digital Professions and Ready for Digital initiatives, which have proven to be in demand among women on maternity leave.

“To demonstrate the real involvement of Russian women in digital transformation, we also provided several business cases from participants of the Skolkovo Foundation,” shared Evgenia Drozhashchikh.

Thus, Diana Khasanova's BRAINPHONE project provides diagnostics and monitoring of Parkinson's disease by voice based on artificial intelligence. The Third Opinion platform launched by Anna Meshcheryakova provides an intelligent video analytics service for medical institutions. Svetlana Perminova's UJIN solution allows for the formation of a building's digital infrastructure, optimizing processes and the use of energy and time resources.

During the meetings, the Russian side presented projects implemented within the framework of APEC in the field of supporting women in creative industries, satellite monitoring of climate-active substances, and development of tourism in rural areas. At the same time, current initiatives were presented to unlock the potential of AI in the creative economy, mathematical modeling for sustainable development, management of space museum complexes, and tourism education. Russia invited the meeting participants to join the 10th international competition of women's entrepreneurial initiatives APEC BEST Award.

"It is noteworthy that during the discussion we practically generated interest in the startup agenda among economies. Previously, such small technology companies were perceived as an existing phenomenon in APEC, but were never the focus of individual initiatives or plenary sessions," shared Evgeniya Drozhashchikh. "However, after the presentation of experience in supporting an effective startup ecosystem, developing legislation, a registry approach and simplified access to government support measures, establishing international ties within BRICS and the SCO, APEC partners became excited about the topic. At the next stage, we plan to formulate a conceptual note and offer Asia-Pacific countries a thematic roadmap."

Following the meeting, the delegations agreed on a joint statement reflecting common priorities for the region at the intersection of the women's agenda and the goals of sustainable, inclusive, innovative development.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.