Programme

The Union State of Russia and Belarus is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024. The Union State implemented and successfully completed 28 programmes in 2021–2023 and outlined the priorities for the two countries’ economic integration over a three-year period. This work has contributed to significant progress in harmonizing legislation in various sectors of the economy, the creation of common markets, and the alignment of business conditions for economic operators in Russia and Belarus. The Supreme State Council of the Union State approved the main priorities of integration for 2024–2026, both in terms of creating a common economic space as well as pursuing a coordinated policy in scientific, technical, social, cultural, humanitarian, and youth information affairs. What results have been seen from the completion of these tasks? What will the guidelines for 2024–2026 emphasize? Which areas require a greater concentration of efforts? What advantages does the Union State format offer compared with other associations?

Moderator
Dmitry Mezentsev, State Secretary of the Union State

Dmitry Mezentsev

State Secretary of the Union State

Born August 18, 1959 in Leningrad.
After graduating, in 1981, from the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers, worked as a workshop expert of the Leningrad-Baltic Locomotive Depot of the Oktyabrskaya Railways.
1983–1984: carried out Young Communist League work in Leningrad.
1984–1990: served as an officer in the Soviet Army, in the army press division.
1990–1991: people’s deputy of the Leningrad City Soviet, head of the Leningrad Soviet and city executive committee press centre.
1991–1996: Chairman of the Press and Media Committee of the St. Petersburg Mayor’s Office, representative of the Ministry for Information and the Press of Russia.
1996–1999: Deputy Chairman of the State Press Committee of the Russian Federation.
November 1999: President, Centre for Strategic Research (Moscow).
January 2002 – June 2009: member of the Council of the Federation, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (CF FARF), representative of the Administration of the Irkutsk Region on the CF FARF; 2002–2006: Chairman of the CF Commission on information policy.
2004–2009: Vice Chairman of the CF FARF
2006: by directive of the Government of the RF, appointed authorized representative for the SCO Business Council and elected Chairman of the SCO Business Council; re-elected in 2009.
2009–2012: Governor and Chairman of the Government of the Irkutsk Region.
On June 7, 2012, at the SCO summit in Beijing, appointed Secretary-General of the Organisation for January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015.
Ambassador.
Professor, Head of Political Psychology Department, St. Petersburg University, since 2008, CSc (Psych.), associate professor of MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Member of the Union of Journalists of the USSR and of Russia since 1988.
Marries with a daughter and a grandson.
Awards: Order ‘For services to the Homeland’ 4th degree, Order of Honour, medals, officer of the state Order of the Legion d’Honneur (France), medal ‘For strengthening Russian–Chinese Friendship’.

Panellists
Vasily Anokhin, Governor of the Smolensk Region
Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Viktor Evtukhov, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
Maksim Ermolovich, Member of the Board (Minister) for Competition and Antimonopoly Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission
Viktor Karankevich, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus
Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of Primorsky Territory
Denis Kravchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Economic Policy
Vitaly Kretsky, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardisation of the Republic of Belarus
Dmitry Krutoy, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation
Elena Martynova, Deputy Head,The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr)
Michail Miatlikov, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Vitaly Nevera, Deputy Chairman, Grodno Regional Executive Committee
Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Vladislav Panchenko, Vice President, Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre; Vice President, Russian Academy of Sciences
Ekaterina Petrutskaya, Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus
Nikolay Snopkov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus
Yury Chebotar, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus
Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Vasily Anokhin

Governor of the Smolensk Region

Dmitry Volvach

Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

He has three university degrees, graduating in 1996 from Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in physics. Graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in physics in 1996 and Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in law in 1998. Graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in law in 1996 and the All-Russian State Tax Academy with a degree in finance and credit in 2001.

PhD in Law.

From 1998 to 2000 worked in the Inter-District Inspectorate No. 40 of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation in Moscow.

From 2000 to 2002 he held various positions in the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation.

From 2002 to 2005, he was head of the Credit Organizations Department of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation.

From 2005 to 2008, he was Head of the Department of the Federal Tax Service for the Arkhangelsk Region and Nenets Autonomous District.

From 2008 to 2009, he was head of the Administration of the Federal Tax Service of the Stavropol Territory.

From 2009 to 2010, he was deputy head of the IT Department of the Federal Tax Service.

From 2010 to 2011, he was deputy head of the Administration of the Federal Tax Service in the Pskov Region.

In July 2011, he was appointed Head of the Transfer Pricing and International Cooperation Department of the Federal Tax Service.

In June 2014, he was appointed Head of the Department of Standards and International Cooperation of the Federal Tax Service.

In April 2018, he was appointed Head of the International Cooperation and Currency Control Department of the Federal Tax Service.

He holds the class rank of State Counsellor of the Russian Federation, 1st Class.

On 29 October 2019, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Federal Tax Service by order of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Mikhail Galuzin

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Viktor Evtukhov

State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Education:
1993 – Leningrad Finance and Economics Institute with a major in economic cybernetics.
2002 – Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Law.
2004 – Master’s degree from Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of International Relations.
2003 – Defended his post-graduate dissertation and granted the degree of candidate of economic sciences.
2008 – International Management Institute of St Petersburg (IMISP) under the Masters of Business Administration programme.
Professional experience:
1998 – Elected deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg (second convocation) for the 33rd Electoral District (Moskovsky District) and was twice re-elected in 2002 and 2007.
2009 – Appointed member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation – Representative in the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Government of St. Petersburg; representative of Saint Petersburg State University in the government and administrative bodies of the Russian Federation.
2011 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation.
2012 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
2014 – Appointed State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation under an order of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Maksim Ermolovich

Member of the Board (Minister) for Competition and Antimonopoly Regulation, Eurasian Economic Commission

Viktor Karankevich

Minister of Energy of the Republic of Belarus

Oleg Kozhemyako

Governor of Primorsky Territory

Oleg Kozhemyako was born on 17 March 1962 in Chernigovka village, Chernigovsky district, Primorye Territory.
Graduated from the Khabarovsk School of Mechanics, passed compulsory military service in the Armed Forces; graduated from the Far Eastern Institute of Soviet Trade (Pacific State Economic University) specializing in Economics.
Started working in 1981 in the sphere of production and worked his way up from a regular mechanic of 3rd class to foreman at the Primorskaya State District Power Station.
In October 1989, created Primorsky production co-operative store that transformed into Primorskoye food production association in 1992.
In 1995, was elected Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at OJSC Preobrazhenskaya Base of Trawler Fleet.
In 1998–2002, Chairman of the Board of Directors at OJSC Preobrazhenskaya Base of Trawler Fleet.
On 9 December 2001, elected Deputy of the 3rd Legislative Assembly of the Primorye Territory, served as a member of the Committee on Food Policy and Environmental Management.
On 27 November 2002, elected Representative to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Primorye Territory Legislative Assembly, served as a member of the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, served on the Committee on Youth and Sport and the Committee on Information Policy.
Since October 2004, served as Advisor to Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Mironov.
On 18 January 2005, appointed Vice-Governor of Koryaksky Autonomous Area, managed issues of the delivery of goods to the Northern territories and provision of the region with fuel.
On 9 March 2005, appointed acting Governor of Koryak Autonomous Okrug.
On 14 April 2005, approved as Governor by the Legislative Assembly of the region.
In July 2007, included into the Advisory Committee of the State Council of the Russian Federation.
In 2007–2008, worked as Aide to the Head of the Presidential Executive Office.
On 20 October 2008, approved as Governor of the Amur Region by deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Region.
On 25 March 2015, appointed acting Governor of the Sakhalin Region by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
On 13 September 2015, elected by over 67% of the citizens of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands at the direct early elections of the Governor of the Sakhalin Region.
On 21 September 2015, officially took the office of Governor of the Sakhalin Region.
Full State Counsellor of the Russian Federation of the 3rd Class. PhD in Economics.
Married with a son and a daughter.

Denis Kravchenko

Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Economic Policy

Denis Kravchenko, born April 17, 1976 in Volgograd into a family of engineers.
1999: graduated from St Petersburg State Polytechnical University
2005: postgraduate degree in economics from the same university.
2002: joined government service with the central office of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. Held a number of major administrative posts in the United Russia party's parliamentary faction; headed the public relations department of the State Duma's central office.
2002–2003: pro-bono adviser to Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov.
2007: deputy head, State Committee for Youth Affairs, subsequently transformed into the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs.
From 2011: government service at the regional level as a Deputy Governor of Pskov Region, supervised the regional representative office of the Russian government.
March 2014: Deputy General Director, United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC).
February 2016: promoted to his current position of Senior Deputy General Director and State Secretary at the URSC.
September 2016: became a member of the 7th State Duma. Currently Vice-Chairman, State Duma committee for economic policy, industry, innovative development and entrepreneurship.
Class 2 Full Counsellor of State of the Russian Federation.
Card-carrying member of United Russia since 2003.
Since 2014: member of the Expert Council under the Russian government and of administrative bodies at several Russian defence enterprises.
Incumbent chairman of the Youth Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Holds a number of government and ministerial awards, including a presidential commendation (2007).
In 2016, the Russian dailies Vedomosti and Kommersant named Kravchenko among the top 50 best senior managers in Russia.
Married, with two children; lives in Moscow.

Vitaly Kretsky

Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Standardisation of the Republic of Belarus

Dmitry Krutoy

Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation

Elena Martynova

Deputy Head,The Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr)

Michail Miatlikov

Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Vitaly Nevera

Deputy Chairman, Grodno Regional Executive Committee

Alexey Overchuk

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

Born 9 December 1964 in Korostyshev, Zhitomir Region, Ukraine.

1986: Graduated from the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy with a degree in Economic Cybernetics. PHD in Economics.

1986–1993: Senior laboratory technician at the Economic Cybernetics Department, junior research fellow, research fellow, senior research fellow at the laboratory for economic mechanism improvement at the Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.

1993–1998: Chief specialist, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department of the Russian State Committee on Land Resources and Land Management.

April–July 1998: Head of the Department of State Registration of Real Estate Rights at the Russian State Land Committee.

July–December 1998: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian Ministry of Land Policy, Construction, Housing and Utilities.

1998–1999: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian State Land Committee.

1999–2000: Head of the Information and Analysis Department at the Russian Land Policy Committee.

August 2000: Appointed deputy head of the Russian Federal Cadastre Service.

April 2004: Acting deputy head, July 2004: Deputy head of the Federal Real Estate Cadastre Agency.

2007–2008: Deputy head of the Federal Agency on Special Economic Zones Management.

2008–2010: Held senior positions at UFG Asset Management Group.

2010: Advisor to the head of the Federal Taxation Service.

2011: Appointed deputy head of the Federal Taxation Service.

21 January 2020: Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia by a Presidential Executive Order.

Vladislav Panchenko

Vice President, Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre; Vice President, Russian Academy of Sciences

Date of birth: 15.09.1947

Graduated from:
M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU),
Faculty of physics
Ph. D and Doctor of science in Physics, MSU

Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)
RAS Presidium Member
Full Professor
Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation
Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), President
Global Research Council (GRC), Chair (GRC – international organization of more than 100 national science funding agencies)
MSU, Medical Physics Department, Chair
Federal Research and Development Center for Crystallography and Photonics, Scientific Director
International Society for Optical Engineering (former SPIE), Russian Chapter, President (1998-2006)
SPIE Fellow Member
Optical Society of America (OSA), Member of the International Directorate (1999 – 2001)

Renowned Russian scientist in the fields of
Physics of laser-matter interaction, non-linear optics
Laser material treatment and laser micro-nanotechnology
Laser and information 3 D additive technologies for biomedical applications, medical physics

Laureate of the Russian Federation State Prize
Laureate of the Russian Federation Government Prize

Holder of
Order For Merit to the Fatherland (Russia)
Order of Friendship (Russia)
National Order of the Legion of Honour (France)

Ekaterina Petrutskaya

Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Belarus

Nikolay Snopkov

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus

Yury Chebotar

Minister of Economy of the Republic of Belarus

Alexander Shokhin

President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Alexander N. Shokhin was born 25 December, 1951.
Graduated from the Moscow State University in 1974.
Doctor of Economics, Professor.
Twice, in 1991-1994 and in 1998, Mr. Shokhin held the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
In 1991-1994 he also held positions of Minister of Labor, Minister of Economics, Chairman of the Russian Agency for International Cooperation and Development.
From 1994 to 2002 – Deputy of the State Duma, with the posts of First Vice Chairman of the State Duma, leader of the Duma party bloc 'Our Home is Russia', Head of the Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Capital Markets.
Since 1995 - President of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics.
From 2002 to 2006 – Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Investment Group "Renaissance Capital".
From 2005 to 2009 – member of the RF Public Chamber.
Since 2005 – President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. Mr. Shokhin is a member of several deliberative bodies under the Russian President and Government. He is also an independent director on the Boards of several companies, including ALROSA, Russian Railways, TMK and others.