The creative economy has become a new language of global influence

In a large country, it is impossible to introduce positive innovations in the same way, according to a template. Every region and every culture must decide for themselves how to use their strengths and unique assets. In an era when old economic models are losing their stability, the production of meanings comes to the fore — after all, those who do not create their own identity are doomed to borrow someone else's.

At the plenary session "Creative Economy: Values uniting the World" within the framework of the Russian Creative Week 2026, participants discussed how the creative sector is turning from an isolated industry agenda into one of the key tools for the country's development, international partnership and technological sovereignty. The conversation focused not only on market and regulatory issues, but also on a broader, deeper story.: how, through the creative industries, Russia forms its own model of the future – value-based, distributed and based on man as the main creator of meaning.

According to Marina Mongush, President of ANO Creative Economy, director of the Russian Creative Week Forum and the National Award for Creative Industries, who moderated the discussion, in 2026 Russia is outgrowing the framework of simple conversations about meanings, because all creative industries, including design and urbanism, are values embodied in real life. "The Russian Creative Week is an open platform for assembling the country's creative economy: from meanings to social optimism, from industries to territories, from content to people, from creative products to economics and international influence."

She stressed that the creative economy today is no longer an auxiliary element for traditional sectors, but an independent system that influences industry, media, education, regions and the international agenda. Within the framework of the forum, this logic was deployed through several layers of the creative economy: from state and municipal management to media, sports, digital platforms, territories and international cooperation.

This position was confirmed by Sergey Novikov, Head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, who provided specific data proving the sector's leadership in terms of growth rates. According to him, over the past seven years, the contribution of creative industries to the country's GDP has increased from 2.8% to 4.2%, exceeding 8.2 trillion rubles, and the strategic goal by 2030 remains a solid 6%. Novikov drew attention to the unique distributed model of Russia's development, where half of the income is generated by Moscow, and the other half is provided by the subjects of the Federation. The speaker emphasized the personnel phenomenon.: "The state has created the necessary conditions for the self-realization of highly educated youth, whose share in the sector is 32%, and more than 56% of employees with higher education here. Of the 430,000 creative business entities, 300,000 are individual entrepreneurs and small companies capable of operating effectively in small towns and rural areas. The regions show a non-linear growth of new money and a real diversification of their economies."

Alexey Goreslavsky, Director of the Institute for Internet Development, told about how the logic of industry development has changed in recent years — from focusing on "box office action movies" to strategic production of socially significant content. According to him, another important trend is taking shape today — projects are becoming more than just units of content. Full-fledged ecosystems are being built around them, combining different formats of interaction with the audience and large-scale promotion campaigns.

"Today, producers are adapting their projects to meet the challenges of society and the state, and this is an important step forward. But it is equally important to create real ecosystems around them.: The series or movie should be continued in the form of merch, video games, themed events, and other formats. There is a huge demand from a young audience for this, and we need to respond to it. Because the success of the project has long been measured not by the minutes of the broadcast, but by its real impact on the viewer," Goreslavsky clarified.

The vector of expansion of sovereign meanings in the international arena was supported by Svetlana Balanova, CEO of the National Media Group. She cited verified statistics, according to which 82% of Russians regularly watch Russian films, and two thirds are proud of them. In her opinion, domestic content has long gone beyond entertainment and has become a factor of social influence. She noted that Russian films and TV series today not only gather an audience, but also form a value framework that is in demand within the country and understandable abroad. At the center of her logic is the universality of basic human themes, which find a modern and competitive expression in the Russian version.

"The mission of NMG is to give vivid emotions and convey an up—to-date picture of the world with respect for the past and concern for the future. Thanks to strong government support, our production has reached a global level: 82% of Russians regularly watch Russian films, and 88% recognize their role in shaping the cultural code. Today, the audience is waiting for not just entertainment, but honest, deep topics. It is important to understand that traditional Russian values are universal, they are in demand by the vast majority of the world's population and do not require adaptation for export. Our series "Three Cats" is broadcast in 150 countries in 40 languages, having collected 5.5 billion views in China alone! We have also launched educational games and sports shows. Russian children's content is becoming an element of the new world order, laying down the right meanings even before adulthood, broadcasting the cultural code through children's projects, co—producing films like Red Silk, and promoting inclusion as social capital," she said.

Denis Kravchenko, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, outlined the legislative and economic basis for this breakthrough. He noted that the creative sector is growing 3-4 times faster than classical industries, and called for accelerating the transition from direct grant support for creators to independent market earnings. "The creative economy contributes an additional 750 billion rubles to the country's GDP per year. Our basic law is working, and a Coordinating Council has been formed under the government under the leadership of Novak and Oreshkin. But now it is important that the sector earns itself. The time has come: we insist on adopting a Strategy for the development of the Creative Economy by the fall of 2026 and launching a separate national project on behalf of the President. Local municipalities are asking for powers and entry points — creative clusters, and we are already preparing amendments to the law. We also suggested that the Ministry of Economic Development link budget places at universities with the strategies of the regions. Finally, the third step is export. The domestic market is limited, but our digital platforms ensure the seamless marketing of creative products both domestically and abroad."

Roman Rotenberg, First Vice President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, spoke about how large-scale national brands are able to package patriotism and traditional values in modern, dynamic formats. He presented sports as a huge creative ecosystem combining media, game development, clothing and merch production. Rotenberg noted that the departure of American sports brands has opened up unique opportunities for the development of the domestic brand "Red Machine" based on the great Soviet heritage, and said: "Now we are seeing tremendous demand for our trademark and techniques abroad: in the near future, we plan to open academies in Dubai, Thailand, South Africa and other BRICS countries. Our main goal is to enter new international markets under the Russian flag and promote our values. Winning sports is always about pure creativity and improvisation."

Natalia Popova, First Deputy Director General of the Innopraktika Non-Governmental Development Institute, presented the tools of cultural diplomacy and overcoming the information blockade. She focused on the tools of "smart power" and the expansion of cultural and educational presence abroad, in particular, in African countries. The speaker clearly demonstrated that targeted but in-depth work with international students, musicians, and artists can radically change the mental perception of Russia abroad. Popova showed that the integration of the socio-cultural contour into the geopolitical agenda is a basic condition for the promotion of domestic technologies and the formation of loyal elites of the future.

The view of the closest international partners was presented by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Abkhazia, Daur Kove, who stated that for his country, the creative economy is not a tribute to fashion, but a vital tool for sustainable development. He said that the Abkhaz Parliament had already adopted the law on creative industries in the first reading, and the next step would be the creation of a Creative Industries Park with a special legal and tax regime to bring content creators out of the shadows. Kove made a large-scale integration proposal: "We are officially offering leading Russian creative agencies to open their representative offices here, creating a comfortable and efficient "southern residence" for joint projects. Our immediate plans include launching a physical creative hub in Sukhum, designing a full—fledged film cluster, and holding a large-scale joint forum in 2027."

The final chord of the plenary session was a speech by Saeed Nikpour, Director of the International Development Department of the Foundation for Culture and Creative Industries of Iran, who described a sovereign three-component development model: identity sets the right direction, entrepreneurship transforms culture into specific products, and foreign markets allow this code to be broadcast externally. The speaker noted that a digital generational change is taking place in Iran — young people are making a powerful technological leap, focusing on animation, game development and IT platforms. Summarizing the discussion, Nikpour called for decisive action: "The current century is the era of the formation of new economic and cultural powers. If we cannot create meanings ourselves, then false meanings will be created for us, which we will have to consume. It will be necessary here in the first part, at the end, where there are false meanings, that's where you need to change. Iran has built a clear cycle: identity sets the direction, entrepreneurship transforms culture into products and economic value, and foreign markets allow this code to be translated externally. The last generation made Iran's brand recognizable through Persian carpets and architecture, and the new generation is making a powerful breakthrough in animation, games and digital platforms. Our weak point is international branding, and we need to redouble our efforts here. Dialogues with Russia alone are no longer enough; joint projects aimed at families and children are needed. The creative economy will be fully operational only when its products are deeply embedded in the daily lives of our peoples."

The plenary session at the Russian Creative Week 2026 was not just a discussion about creative industries, but a conversation about a new architecture for economic growth. It is based on several key outcomes: the creative economy has already become one of the strategic industries; its development is impossible without regions; the labor market is changing in favor of self—employed and project formats; and technological sovereignty can no longer exist separately from intellectual and creative.

"After this Week, the main thing must change: we must finally move away from the old separation between technology and meaning. It is no longer enough for one sector to simply create a product, while the other thinks separately about its form and presentation. Today, it must be born together: technology, creativity, values, and the image of the future must come together in one system. If we want a truly strong economy, then it must be not only modern and independent, but also filled with meaning, a human perspective and a foundation of values," Marina Mongush is convinced.

This is the main conclusion: the creative economy ceases to be a topic about a particular industry — it becomes a topic about the country as a whole. Today, it connects the state, business, regions, media, culture, sports and international partnership into one logical system, where people create value, and the future is not an abstract idea, but a practical task.