Main messages for the 2020 Voluntary National Review
by the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is committed to achieve the goals defined by the international community in the 2030 Agenda. We have been making continued efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the national level. This work has been done as a direct continuation of the activities in the framework of the Millennium Development Goals achievement. While the concept of sustainable development was formulated and has become an integral part of the national development concept of Russia in 1996.
The Russian Federation is a multinational social State with its policy centered around people, their rights and freedoms, welfare and quality of life. The implementation of those principles is consistent with sustainable human development realized through public and private initiatives aimed at the development of education and health care systems, social protection, transport, digital and energy infrastructure as well of as the economy as a whole and the environment protection. All these priorities are consistent with the SDGs and are the basis for the international activities of Russia in the relevant areas.
The implementation of the SDGs and their respective targets in the Russian Federation is carried out by sectoral government bodies in the framework of the national development policy until 2024. The SDGs are integrated into twelve national projects and the comprehensive plan for the modernization and expansion of the backbone infrastructure. These documents cover more than 100 SDG targets directly or indirectly.
The Russian Federation submits its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. For this purpose 17 thematic working groups have been established to address each of the SDG. Each group includes representatives of the legislative branch, federal and regional executive bodies, municipal authorities, the Central Bank of Russia, development institutions, civil society organizations, research organizations, as well as business community. More than 200 experts and more than 100 organizations have participated in the preparation of the VNR. The draft Review as well as its chapters have been subject to open public expert discussions.
The preparation of the VNR made it possible:
• to involve a wide range of stakeholders in the process of discussion on the document;
• to establish fruitful dialogue between state, civil society, business and academia;
• study and take on board different opinions on the SDGs, ensure broad public interest to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs;
• conduct in-depth analysis of the consistency between national goals and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and evaluate the interim results of the progress in their implementation.

The results of the analysis are as follows:
• Russia has been successfully implementing policy aimed at the human capacity building through a comprehensive education, health care and employment programms;
• In implementing the principle of “leaving no one behind” Russia focuses its efforts on four aspects: support for the poor (economic aspect), support for people with disabilities (social aspect), elimination of inequality between different regions (territorial aspect), and support for indigenous and small peoples (national dimension);
• Russia continues to improve its citizens’ quality of life, including through the development of social protection, transport infrastructure, digital public services, urban environment while also increasing the accessibility of financial services, employment opportunities, introducing and implementing improved environmental regulation and higher standards;
• Russia fulfills its obligations in combating global climate change in a faithful manner, introduces modern environmental safety standards, works to improve energy efficiency and preserve our biodiversity and unique natural capital;
• Russia is an active donor in the area of sustainable development assistance, providing it to different countries, including those affected by emergencies, takes steps aimed at strengthening multilateral development institutions, and implements projects and initiatives for integration and cooperation in the Eurasian region and beyond.
Russian long-term development policy is based on a balance of three key dimensions of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental, and is also focused on broad partnerships in the implementation of development tasks.
In recent years, the Russian Federation has shown tangible progress for each of the individual SDGs. Among the most successful are SDG 1 “Poverty Eradication”, SDG 4 “Quality Education”, SDG 8 “Decent Work and Economic Growth”. At the same time, a number of targets in certain areas have yet to be achieved by the joint efforts of the State, business and the public.
The 2030 Agenda implementation is continuing even in the emergency time. Russia takes every effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and provides medical assistance and health-care for those who need it in the country as well as abroad. The government implements a wide range of measures to minimize the negative impact of the quarantine on population and business.