VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: What's the current situation like in your republic?
Yegor Borisov: Everything's OK. We are completing our tasks according to plan. Our usual summer-season work is nearing completion now. We're wrapping up navigation according to schedule. Stocking up on fuel and coal. Preparations for the winter are drawing to a close. In northern areas, including Tiksi, the heating season will begin in the next few days. In Tiksi, heat supplies have resumed as of today. Seasonal work related to feed storage is highly important to us. The summer has been a dry one, and we'll be able to store some 500,000 metric tons of hay.
Vladimir Putin: And how much do you usually store?
Yegor Borisov: We've got some 10,000 left over. But I think that other types of feed could help us fill the gap. So we'll have a sufficient feed stock, I hope. All necessary work is being done to achieve that.
The macroeconomic situation is quite stable, as well. The construction of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline was completed last year. Investments were made in the Far East. We are meeting our targets in other sectors, as well. We're moving fast. There's been substantial growth thanks to the pipeline and we'll see more growth this year. The economy is doing well, especially when it comes to investment.
Thanks in no small part to the federal government's support, the republic's industrial growth is gaining momentum and will likely reach pre-crisis levels in the first quarter of 2011. This is extremely important to us.
Vladimir Putin: And how is ALROSA doing?
Yegor Borisov: ALROSA is solid.
Vladimir Putin: Since my last visit, have all the instructions I gave last August been implemented?
Yegor Borisov: Everything has been resolved, including on the Gokhran state repository and lending.
Vladimir Putin: And on the coal industry?
Yegor Borisov: The coal industry produced half as much coal last year. But now it's on its way to recovery. This year, the output is likely to reach 80% of the pre-crisis figure. We'll gain momentum next year. MECHEL is performing quite well, all the more so since they are to launch the Elginskoye deposit this year. Igor Sechin visited a short while ago. During his visit, the problems of the coal industry in the Russian Federation were discussed.
Vladimir Putin: And how is the construction of the railway and the bridge proceeding?
Yegor Borisov: Everything's going according to plan. All work is on schedule. MECHEL is financing the railroad's construction. The bulk of the project will have been commissioned by next year. We'll also be taking care of the Neryungri mine, which is today the No. 1 coal producer. This is one of our priorities.
Vladimir Putin: And how do things stand in the social sector?
Yegor Borisov: Fine. We have no more wage arrears. As for other aspects, including paying out pensions, wage levels, especially to public sector employees, our current wage levels are insufficient. But, in keeping with the tasks you've assigned to us, we'll be raising wages incrementally and reach the required wage growth rate in 2011.
Vladimir Putin: And how's the republic's hospital doing?
Yegor Borisov: Fine, by and large. Some of Russian medicine's most advanced technology is used there now. We have a perinatal unit to care for premature babies. We also have a branch of the Bakulev Institute, where open-heart and bypass surgery is performed. Kidney transplants are also performed in our centre.
Vladimir Putin: Where have your doctors been trained?
Yegor Borisov: We have our specialists undergo training at the Bakulev Institute and in other leading institutes of the Russian Federation. But now that we've opened the Northeastern Federal University, one of ten universities, we can offer medical programs locally, and provide the necessary funds from the republic's coffers.
Vladimir Putin: And how's your music boarding school?
Yegor Borisov: Our higher music school is doing quite well. Many of our graduates are now performing in professional bands. Many of our homegrown violinists go on to perform in Russian and with foreign orchestras. They are in demand. We'll try to maintain that level in the future. We're now setting up a symphony orchestra - something we've never had before - and we're establishing a philharmonic.
Vladimir Putin: Also on that boarding school's premises?
Yegor Borisov: No, at a school that spans all the stages of music education, from primary through undergraduate.
By and large, the population is upbeat, as people have a sense of stability. I've recently met with ethnic communities - we have 44, all in all. Each expressed its view of the current situation. All of them seem satisfied with how things stand. My mission is to sustain that optimism.
Vladimir Putin: Good.
