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
Before the start of the videoconference, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin reviewed the headquarters’ operation. An employee responsible for monitoring social networking websites and managing United Russia’s Twitter page, said the party’s microblog has 10,000 followers.
The prime minister asked about the work of the United Russia website. Sergei Neverov, secretary of the party’s General Council presidium and head of its central election headquarters, told him that the website had been visited by about 2 million people in the last two months, while 50,000 users visit the website daily, on average.
The president and prime minister then watched a video advert put out by the party.
After touring the headquarters, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin were connected with regional headquarters via videoconference and discussed a number of important socio-political and economic issues in Russia.
In particular, the prime minister mentioned housing and utilities bills, a very sensitive issue. He said that the prices of these services are not set by the federal government unilaterally: they also depend on decisions taken by regional and municipal authorities. He said that the government has decided to cap the rise in natural monopolies’ prices next year, so that the rates they charge for their products and services – except Gazprom – will not rise faster than inflation and not before July 1, 2012. Only Russian Railways will increase it rates on January 1.
The prime minister noted that “local housing and utilities markets must be demonopolised, so that no utility companies enjoy the local authorities’ support and that they process their customers’ bills accurately and correctly,” adding, “This is an important issue where United Russia can make a real difference.”
He assured his audience that the government is determined to continue its efforts to reduce inflation. He noted that the current inflation rate is 4.8% and projected end-of-year inflation at 7%. “We need to continue moving in this direction [to cut inflation]. We’ll be working on it at the federal level, but much will depend on regional authorities too,” he said. He instructed regional branches of United Russia to make it their priority.
One of the issues covered during the videoconference was agriculture. The prime minister said the government will allocate 170 billion roubles to support farmers in 2012. “We will continue practically all the support programmes, including those for mineral fertilisers, subsidised interest rates, leasing, and discounted fuel and lubricants supplies,” he said. He reminded the conference participants that in 2010, the government provided 2.2 million tonnes of fuel to agricultural producers, and 2.5 million tonnes in 2011. “Last year government support saved farmers 5.5 billion roubles. This year, they will save 17 billion,” he added.
When talking to the United Russia headquarters in the Novosibirsk Region, the prime minister also discussed healthcare modernisation, another area that is a major recipient of government support. “There is something Mr Medvedev and I have to ask you and your colleagues that are high on the party ticket (they got on the top of the list for a reason, a doctor and a teacher at a local lyceum) – to focus on healthcare modernisation and look closely at the progress already made, especially on raising salaries at medical institutions. This issue is directly linked to the introduction of healthcare standards. The same holds true for education: the issue is how close teachers’ salaries are to the regional average wage. We have made a great deal of effort – the United Russia party, the government and the president – to ensure that people feel that support. This depends, among other things, on local activists. Please, focus on this, colleagues.”
Also during the conference the prime minister said that the government planned to allocate an additional 10 billion roubles to support preschool education in the regions over the next two years. “We decided to allocate another 10 billion roubles from the federal budget to support preschool education, primarily in regions which are making their own efforts in this area,” he emphasised.
He called on governments at all levels to work on returning preschool and kindergarten buildings, which have been put to other uses, to educational institutions.
A farmer from Stavropol invited Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin to visit his farm. “Our region is very hospitable and you are greatly respected here. Being respected means you are welcome anytime. We would be glad to see both of you,” he said.
“Shall we go?” Mr Medvedev asked. “Of course, we will. After being invited by someone with such a kind and open face, we simply have to go and shake his hand in person,” Mr Putin said.
