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At present, the Ministry of Health and Social Development is preparing proposals as regards changing of the formula of calculation of the pension capital and indexation of pensions.

In September 2011, a number of alterations were introduced in the Compulsory Medical Insurance Rules*. These alterations are designed to make more complete and precise some of the provisions adopted in February 2011 as part of the law on CMI.

It’s commonly assumed that Russian commodity farm producers suffer from insufficiency of state support. The review of agricultural policies in OECD countries and emerging economies in 2008-2010 prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and published in September 2011 controverts this assumption.

In early October the RF Central Bank published an assessment of Russia’s balance of payments for 9 months 2011.

At its meeting on 21 September 2011, the Government of the Russian Federation considered a draft of the Federal Law "On the Federal Budget for the Year 2012 and the 2013–2014 Planning Period".

Federal Law, of 18 July 2011, No 835-FZ introduces amendments that are designed to expand the list of tax-exempt activities for physical persons donating funds to non-profit organizations.

Investments in fixed assets over the period of January through August 2011 amounted to Rb 5320 bn, having risen by 4.1 % on the corresponding period of the previous year.

The inflow of foreign investments in Russia's national economy in 2010 amounted to $ 114.7 bn, thus having risen by 40.1 % on 2009 and by 5.8 % on 2008.

According to Rosstat, in the first half-year of 2011, the index of Russia's physical volume of GDP amounted to 103.7, while the rate of growth slumped from 105 % in Q1 to 103.4 % in Q2 comparison with the corresponding periods of 2010.

On 14 September, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia decided to keep the refinancing rate unchanged, but reduced by 0.25 percentage points its interest rates on certain liquidity provision operations on the open market (Lombard and REPO auctions), as well as for a majority of standing facilities (Lombard loans, direct REPO operations, loans secured by gold, non-marketable assets and guarantees).

Early in July, the RF Ministry of Finance published a draft of The Main Directions of the Tax Policy of the Russian Federation for the Year 2012 and the 2013-2014 Planning Period¹.

By Federal Law of 7 June 2011, No 132-FZ¹, Part II of the RF Tax Code (TC) is augmented by new Article 267.2 "Expenditures on Formation of Reserves Against Future Expenses on Scientific Research and (or) Development". The corresponding provisions of tax legislation will enter into force from 1 January 2012.

One of the key directions of this country’s budget policy for the years 2011 – 2013 that were outlined in the RF President’s Budget Message published on 29 June 2011 is the necessity to speed up the decision-making process with regard to introducing tax on immovable property in the medium term. In this connection the Head of the State noted that this tax should be introduced depending on the completion of cadastre estimation of capital construction objects in those RF subjects where such an estimation had actually taken place, so that the tax could be levied beginning fr om 2012¹.

Amendments to the legislation extending the benefits provided to residents of the innovation center Skolkovo have been prepared¹ .

In 2009-2010 marketing season grain exports from Russia amounted to more than 21 million tons, whereas in the current marketing season 2010-2011 - about 4 million tons.