UNCLASSIFIED -- training scientific workers and highly skilled specialists in the sphere of agriculture. Economic Growth 55. The strategic objectives of ensuring national security are the development of the country's economy, the safeguarding of economic security, and the creation of the conditions for the development of the individual, the transition of the economy to a new level of technological development, Russia's entry into the ranks of leading countries in terms of the volume of gross domestic product, and the successful countering of the influence of internal and external threats. 56. The main strategic threats to national security in the sphere of the economy are its low competitiveness, the persistence of the export/raw-materials model of development and a high level of dependence on external economic circumstances, laggardness in the development and introduction of future technologies, the lack of protection of the national financial system against the actions of nonresidents and speculative foreign capital, the vulnerability of its information infrastructure, the imbalance of the national budget system, the registration of ownership rights to a significant proportion of organizations in foreign jurisdictions, the deterioration in the state of the raw-materials base and its depletion, the reduction in extraction and reserves of strategically important minerals, the progressive shortage of labor, the persistence of a significant proportion of the shadow economy, of the conditions for corruption and the criminalization of economic and financial relations, and of illegal immigration, the unequal development of regions, and the decline in the stability of the national system of settlement. 57. A negative impact is exerted on economic security by the restrictive economic measures imposed against the Russian Federation, global and regional economic crises, the intensification of unscrupulous competition, the illegitimate use of legal resources, and the disruption of the stability of heat and power supplies to national economic facilities, while in the future the shortage of mineral, raw-material, water, and biological resources will also have an impact. 58. The safeguarding of economic security is ensured through the development of the industrial and technological base and the national innovations system, the modernization and development of priority sectors of the national economy, the boosting of the investment attractiveness of the Russian Federation, the improvement of the business climate, and the creation of a favorable business environment. The most important factors in ensuring economic security are an increase in the effectiveness of state regulation of the economy with a view to achieving stable economic growth, an increase in labor productivity, the opening up of new sources of resources, the stable functioning and development of the financial system, an increase in its level of protection, currency regulation and control, the accumulation of financial reserves, the preservation of financial stability and balance in the budget system, the improvement of budgetary relationships, the overcoming of the exodus of capital and of qualified specialists, an increase in the volume of domestic savings and their transformation into investments, and a reduction in inflation. Furthermore vigorous measures are needed to combat corruption and the shadow and criminal economy and also to ensure state protection of Russian producers active in the sphere of military, food, information, and energy security. UNCLASSIFIED