What happened on the day of October 12th. The main thing
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed state support measures with business representatives, and the government presented budget parameters for 2027-2029. The European Union (EU) has approved a new package of sanctions against Russia. The Russian army continued to advance in several directions. Russia also discussed the growing number of teenagers involved in terrorist crimes. In addition, attention was drawn to searches in the administration of Novorossiysk and a legal dispute over the rights to the songs of "Tender May." All the details and other main events of the day are in the Izvestia digest.
Visa-free regime with Vietnam
Putin signed a decree on the introduction of a visa-free regime for Vietnamese citizens. From October 15, 2026 to October 15, 2027 inclusive, they will be able to come to Russia for up to 30 days for tourist, guest and business purposes, as well as to participate in scientific, cultural, sports and other events and transit travel.
The new procedure does not apply to Vietnamese citizens arriving in Russia for work, including journalism, education, or permanent residence. In these cases, the rules of stay are determined by Russian law.
In addition, on October 12, Cyprus visa application centers in Russia resumed accepting applications after technical problems were fixed. The documents are being accepted again in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk. At the same time, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the websites of visa centers may still work intermittently. Because of this, applicants still have difficulties with online registration and verification of the status of applications.
The government presented to the State Duma the main budget parameters for 2027-2029
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes that the budget was formed taking into account possible changes in the situation on world markets. To increase its sustainability, the base oil price used in calculating costs was reduced from $59 to $50 per barrel for the entire three-year period. Social obligations, indexation of payments and solving demographic problems remain among the priorities.
Insurance pensions are planned to be indexed twice in 2027. In February, by 6.8%, adjusted for inflation, and in April by 3.3%, taking into account the projected wage growth. According to the Ministry of Finance, by the end of the year the average old-age pension will amount to 29,924 rubles.
In addition, in 2027, the living wage will rise to 20,227 rubles, and the minimum wage will rise to 28,935 rubles. According to Siluanov, the increase in the minimum wage will be part of the implementation of the task to increase its size to 35 thousand rubles by 2030.
Alexey Zabotkin, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, noted that reducing the structural primary budget deficit in 2027 will be one of the conditions for further lowering the key interest rate. According to the government's plans, this indicator should return to zero by 2029. Zabotkin stressed that the budget remains one of the most significant sources of demand in the Russian economy.
The draft federal budget of Russia for the next three years provides for about 2 trillion rubles for the development and implementation of domestic technologies. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted at the government's strategic session that technological leadership remains one of the key national goals, for which nine national projects are being implemented. The authorities are also counting on the participation of regions and private businesses in financing developments.
Scientists from the USA received the Nobel Prize in Economics
The Nobel Prize in Economics in 2026 was awarded to American scientists Robert Ernest Hall and Michael Woodford. The award was given for research on the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilization.
The works of scientists are devoted to how central banks and governments can more effectively withstand economic crises. Hall and Woodford have shown the importance of taking into account market participants' expectations for forecasting inflation and unemployment. Their research has helped create more accurate economic models to assess price dynamics and the risks of a sharp decline in production.
The European Union has approved the 22nd package of sanctions against Russia
The European Union (EU) has approved the 22nd package of sanctions against Russia, including about 1.6 thousand individuals and legal entities associated with the defense industry in the restrictive lists. The head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, called the expansion of restrictions the largest since 2022 and said that more than half of the new restrictions are related to the ballistic missile production chain.
Russian enterprises were sanctioned, including NefAZ, a manufacturer of buses and special equipment, part of the KamAZ group, the Gorky Automobile Plant, the Far Eastern Zvezda plant, as well as the companies ODK — Gas Turbines, ODK — Perm Engines and the Rybinsk Shipyard.
State Duma deputy Alexei Zhuravlev told Izvestia that the new package would not have a significant impact on the Russian economy. According to him, the restrictions are mostly personal in nature and include entry bans and asset freezes, while there are no significant new trade and economic measures in the package.
Zhuravlev also drew attention to the exceptions made by individual EU countries for their own economic interests. In particular, Estonia has secured the exclusion from the package of a Russian company that supplies rare earth metals to the Estonian company NPM Silmet.
The fight against the recruitment of teenagers and tougher penalties for terrorism
The number of minors involved in terrorist crimes is growing in Russia. According to the Investigative Committee (IC), there were 196 such teenagers in the first half of 2026, more than twice as many as in the same period last year. Terrorist and subversive activities of minors have been suppressed in 21 regions of the country.
According to the UK, teenagers are involved in crimes through instant messengers and online games, promising easy earnings, as well as using deception, blackmail and threats. Among such crimes are arson attacks on transport infrastructure facilities and communications base stations. This year, 39 criminal cases against 57 teenagers have been sent to the courts, and 18 defendants have already been sentenced.
Against this background, the Government supported a bill to toughen penalties for public calls for terrorism and mass riots, as well as for violence against government officials. In particular, it is proposed to increase the terms of imprisonment for calls for mass riots spread on the Internet to six years.
The advance of the Russian army and attacks on Ukraine's military logistics
Russian troops continued to advance in several directions. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the settlements of Lidino in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Reznikovo in the Kharkiv region and Nikolskoye in the Zaporizhia region have passed under the control of Russian units.
The Ministry of Defense reported that during the liberation of Nikolsky, Russian Marines took control of a defense area of about 13 square kilometers and cleared more than 200 buildings. In the Lidino area, Russian units improved their positions in the Dobropolsky direction, and continued to advance and clean up urban areas in Dobropolye.
The Russian army also attacked Ukrainian transport and port infrastructure facilities used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). According to the ministry, two vessels with military and dual-use cargo en route to the ports of Mykolaiv and Odessa, as well as the Novaya Pochta logistics center in the Mykolaiv region, were hit. In addition, the Russian military hit four locomotives in the areas of Odessa, Krivoy Rog and Pyatikhatok.
Separately, the Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian units continue to obstruct the evacuation of civilians from Konstantinovka to the DPR, including mining roads and using drones to attack citizens. Russian military personnel, according to the ministry, are examining roads, buildings and other parts of the city, ensuring control of the situation on the evacuation routes.
Putin discussed state support measures with business
Putin asked the head of Delovaya Rossiya, Alexei Repik, to propose government support measures that would allow entrepreneurs to conduct business more confidently and feel safe. The Head of State stressed that businesses should understand that the state protects their interests, and entrepreneurs, in turn, help the country cope with emerging challenges.
Repik noted that Russian companies have accumulated significant competencies and have the potential for further economic development. According to him, the business community has proposals for more effective use of these opportunities in the interests of the country.
Searches in Novorossiysk city administration
Searches began in the office of the head of the Novorossiysk administration, Andrei Kravchenko. According to Izvestia's source in law enforcement agencies, the investigative actions may be related to the transfer by developers of charitable contributions to the accounts of organizations associated with the mayor and his wife, instead of the city budget.
According to the source, in 2024, the administration concluded agreements with developers on the integrated development of territories. According to the agreement, the companies had to transfer voluntary donations to the Chernomorets football club, of which Kravchenko is president, and the autonomous non-profit organization City of Happiness, headed by his wife. The source estimated the total amount of contributions at 250 million rubles.
During the searches, the security forces seize documents of interest to the investigation. There was no information about the arrests at the time of publication. Kravchenko has been mayor of Novorossiysk since December 2021. Prior to that, he headed the Center for Entrepreneurship Development and Youth Support.
Legal dispute over the rights to the songs of "Tender May"
Moscow courts have declared invalid the agreement on the exclusive rights to the songs of the band "Tender May" and its trademarks between lead singer Yuri Shatunov and producer Andrei Razin. The lawyer of the widow of the artist Svetlana Assel Mukhtarova-Kazarnovskaya said that the decision also concerns documents related to Shatunov's personal data.
She stated that Razin justified the rights to musical works, images and images of the singer by a contract, which the courts found to be unreliable. Previously, the producer has repeatedly claimed exclusive rights to these objects.
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