Key takeaways from the 2025 Moscow Financial Forum: The main economic and financial discussions that defined the anniversary event

On September 18, the Central Exhibition Hall 'Manege' hosted the tenth anniversary Moscow Financial Forum, organized by the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Moscow City Government.

This year's Moscow Financial Forum was attended by more than 2,500 delegates, including representatives of federal and regional authorities, businesses, leading financial and economic experts, and heads of public organizations. The Forum's venue hosted more than 200 media representatives.

Chairman of the Russian Government Mikhail Mishustin addressed the participants and attendees of the Moscow Financial Forum 2025 with an opening speech. He noted that over its 10-year history, the Forum has played an increasingly prominent role in resource management, a fact he attributed to the relevance of its topics, the high caliber of its experts, and the innovative ideas generated during its discussions. The Prime Minister recalled that for several years, Russia has maintained its position as Europe's largest economy and has consistently held the fourth place globally. Mikhail Mishustin stated that the country now faces the critical task of implementing the ambitious objectives set by the President for 2030. These include further improvement of the quality of life for citizens, securing technological leadership and financial sovereignty, and building a robust, self-sufficient industrial base. The Head of Government emphasized that substantial funding has been allocated for these plans, with 40 trillion rubles earmarked for National Projects alone. Mikhail Mishustin concluded by stating that these funds must be utilized with maximum efficiency, while maintaining a prudent and measured management approach, with unconditional observance of financial and macroeconomic stability.

The Forum featured a total of 17 business sessions. The central event was the plenary session titled "The Financial System: Challenges and Tasks," which included participation of the Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, and Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin. The discussion was moderated by Andrey Makarov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes.

As Anton Siluanov noted, the federal budget for the next three years will fulfill all its obligations irrespective of external constraints. "Restrictions, sanctions, trade wars, price fluctuations on external markets—none of this should be felt by our citizens, by pensioners, or by families with children. The budget must ensure this," the Minister stated.

In turn, the Governor of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated during the discussion that Russia is not in a recession. "One must not confuse a recession with an economic slowdown. A recession typically involves several consecutive quarters of GDP decline, a fall in real incomes, and high unemployment. However, none of these factors are currently being observed," she concluded.

The session's moderator, Andrey Makarov, highlighted the capital's economic successes, noting that the investment growth rate in Moscow is 2.4 times higher than the national average. According to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, this is the result of systematic work. "It is a question of stability. The most important thing is to understand what the rules of the game will be in the environment you operate in, in two years, in five years, in ten years’ time. We have this understanding. And it allows us to plan and optimize all budgetary processes," emphasized Sergey Sobyanin.

Furthermore, the Moscow Financial Forum addressed a wide range of topics, including the development of the financial market, management of state property, financial literacy, intergovernmental fiscal relations, alcohol market, organization of small-scale public procurement, and digitalization of financial control, among others.

Discussions at the Moscow Financial Forum 2025 also covered the services of the "Big Minfin", operation of the unified digital platform for subsidies and grants, and state support measures for SMEs. Furthermore, a new portal for delivering state support to businesses was presented.

According to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, this initiative is not merely a standalone platform, but an entire ecosystem for entrepreneurs. It is designed to assist them in establishing new production facilities, sharing expertise, and obtaining state support. The event was attended by representatives of regional businesses and local authorities, who praised the Portal for its high quality and user-friendly structure.

"We are helping to create an environment for small businesses. This includes technoparks where entrepreneurs can establish small-scale production, exchange experiences, and learn about the best practices. We are also developing services that allow them to receive support with just one click," emphasized Anton Siluanov.
On the sidelines of the Forum, a Memorandum of Cooperation on public finance management was signed among the financial authorities of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states. The financial authorities of five nations joined the Memorandum: the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Also, within the Forum's framework, the Russian Ministry of Finance and the DOM.RF company presented the main prize for the third season of the online game "WeCalculate" (MySchitayem)—a house of one's own. Participants will also compete for cash vouchers for household appliances and have a chance to win a trip across Russia.

The Forum day also featured the traditional ceremony for the "FINCOR" award in financial and economic journalism. The quality and geographic diversity of the submissions continue to grow annually. Over the four years the award has been presented, nearly 1,600 applications have been received from candidates.

On the sidelines of the Moscow Financial Forum, the jewelry exhibition "National Style in Jewelry Art" was held. It is dedicated to the 195th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Russian jeweler Pavel Ovchinnikov. As part of the exhibition, the piece titled "The Botik of Peter the Great" was presented to the State Historical Museum.

The Moscow Financial Forum has been held since 2016. The discussions which take place within its business sessions form the foundation for decisions made by Russia's financial and economic authorities.

The anniversary Tenth Moscow Financial Forum was held with the support of major Russian companies.

General sponsorship for the Forum was provided by two major financial institutions: VTB PJSC Bank and Sberbank PJSC.

Major sponsorship was provided by Gazprombank (Joint Stock Company), Rosselkhozbank JSC, and A7 LLC.

The Forum's official sponsors and partners included: PSB Bank PJSC, Sovcombank, the Renova Group of Companies, the Moscow Exchange PJSC, ALROSA, AB InBev Efes JSC, the Gold mining company Polyus, the DOM.RF Group of Companies, the Faster Payments System (FPS), and T-Bank.

The event's sponsors and partners included: Prikoksy Zavod Tsvetnykh Metallov JSC (Prioksky Nonferrous Metals Plant), Goznak JSC, Alfa-Bank, NPO Krista LLC, the All-Russian Union of Insurers, the 1C Company, SOGAZ JSC, and VEB.RF.

The Forum's events were covered by major Russian media outlets, including:

The general information partners for the Forum were the Russian news agency TASS and the Kommersant.

General international news partner — RT.

General multimedia partner — RUTUBE.

General radio partner — Business FM.

General media partner — VK Company.

The Forum's official information partners included: Interfax, the Expert business journal, Komsomolskaya Pravda media group

The Forum's information partners included: RG Media, the video agency Ruptly, the Prime news agency, the Byudzhet (Budget) magazine, Snob, the Finansy (Finance) magazine, the Kompaniya (Company) business journal, and the Finansy Mail media project.