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 meeting:
Vladimir Putin: We are discussing the problem that has built up here. It has been building up in the Korkinsky mine for a long time. It concerns people who reside here – not just work but live in the area.
I would like to say that based on my impressions of what I saw in one house… Of course, this is no small problem. Actually, the scale of the problem is what brought us here. To solve the whole problem – I mean the whole problem, not just the first stage – it will cost 27 billion roubles according to preliminary estimates. 27 billion roubles! But there is a priority, and we will focus on it. They have dug quite a hole since 1931, it the largest man-made hole in Eurasia: over 500 meters deep and over 4.5 kilometres wide
But actually I would like to start with a different matter. There are objective problems. We entered a house – and you know, everyone at this meeting and those who used to work on these matters should be ashamed. “There are obvious problems here: there are hazardous living conditions in the area. Should people live in these conditions? There are cracks in the walls that open up onto the street…I want to address… Of course this not the responsibility of the federal government, but we do have the Ministry of Regional Development, right? Listen, such things should be monitored at least! I am not talking about regional and local authorities. Do you have any conscience at all? Have you ever been here? Just once? It is beyond the pale: a ceiling is about to collapse, and there are huge cracks in walls. How do people live there? OK, we shall speak about it later. Now back to business. How many people reside in the hazardous area, Mr Shoigu?
Sergei Shoigu: 3,700 people, 71 blocks of flats.
Vladimir Putin: 3,700 people. I have requested that your experts go there and assess the degree of the hazard.
Sergei Shoigu: Mr Putin, the risks are rather high especially during the spring flooding, particularly with the breakup of that tiny river that runs right under the mine dump, that presses from the northern part of the town of Roza with 5 billion tonnes. Add to it the eastern part of Roza (the second and the third zones), there is considerable rack formation here too. We have conducted all laboratory tests on your order, and the work goes on. As of today splintering in some places has reached 19 mm a day. Thus…
Vladimir Putin: This and the Tyva earthquake also played a part. They also felt it here, didn’t they?
Sergei Shoigu: Any seismic activity in our country and further south in Kazakhstan has an effect. Besides, there is, naturally, a high risk of gas emissions at mines, and any of them could cause a landslide. In 2011 we had a fairly large number of landslides: the largest landslide was 2 million cubic meters, it is an even landslide. Judging from that, Mr Putin, we claim that 3,700 people should be immediately relocated with all infrastructure facilities.
Vladimir Putin: From the papers I saw, from the proposals they contain, this immediate relocation is to go on for a year and a half. Why? How will people live? Are you aware of what we are talking about? Will people live another year and a half in such conditions?
Sergei Shoigu: Mr Putin, the major risks will emerge in May, May to June.
Vladimir Putin: I see, when the thawing is complete.
Sergei Shoigu: That is why I have a suggestion – large-scale construction should be launched here, and by the end of May all the work could be completed provided you give the order and the financial issues are resolved.
Vladimir Putin: Were there any quakes here after the relatively large earthquake in Tyva?
Sergei Shoigu: Yes, the shifting continues, the risks have increased, as I have already said, especially in the northern part where the town of Roza is. Over here, I’ll show you. Risks have increased in this area and in that one because the slope is already waterlogged.… To put it simply, it had been solidifying all that time. After the earthquakes in Central Asia (Khakassia, Tyva, Altai) the splitting continued more intensively but it could have gone even further if it weren’t for the winter. Thanks to winter, thanks to the cold, it is staying still.
Vladimir Putin: Ground.
Sergei Shoigu: But if we look at the priorities, the highest risks are here, in that part of the town coloured pink.
Vladimir Putin: And how many people live in the community and in that town? Total? 49 thousand, if I’m not mistaken.
Sergei Shoygu: Overall about 30 thousand.
Remark: About 50 thousand.
Vladimir Putin: Why 30 thousand?
Sergei Shoigu: No, if we take this zone, the high-probability zone, then up to 30 thousand. If we take the entire area, then of course, it is 50 thousand. But I think that we should take two approaches. The first approach is to focus on the development and resettlement of those two areas and to prepare and launch a large-scale plan for freezing and reinforcing that slope. It is, naturally, work to be done by the owner.
Vladimir Putin: OK. Go ahead.
Viktor Basargin: Mr Putin, we have prepared a draft executive order as part of a contingency plan under which the federal budget, regional and local budgets and the Mining Company will allocate 5 billion roubles for urgent measures, that is, relocating 3,700 people, which is about a thousand families, and also the rehabilitation of land after mining operations. It also includes building infrastructure, including social infrastructure, because the urgent measures apply to a large number of social facilities – a school, a number of pre-school institutions, a vocational college, a number of infrastructure facilities including a boiler station and some others. Actually, this is really a grave problem. You have already mentioned it. We also looked at that house – it is impossible to live in it.
Vladimir Putin: It is beyond the pale.
Viktor Basargin: Today, if we look at those priority facilities, if there is vacant housing now, may be we could just buy up that housing as social compensation and resettle people there.
Vladimir Putin: We have to give the people certificates and let them - either buy apartments immediately or give people housing certificates to buy a home.
Viktor Basargin: We believe this should be done as soon as possible.
Vladimir Putin: It must be done immediately, within days.
Viktor Basargin: Sites for further relocations have already been selected. It is the town of Korkino itself, there is a site there, a number of facilities in nearby areas. Today we have sites with infrastructure. We may have to solve employment issues and road construction but this is also envisioned in the priority measures on funding. We also discussed this matter with the head of the Chelyabinsk Mining Company. We think the operation of this pit should be guaranteed for the coming ten years so that the company will have funds to conduct land rehabilitation, reinforcement and conservation of the mine openings. During that period, the resettlement programme shall be financed by the federal and regional funds.
Vladimir Putin: So the priority is about 3,700 people. There are two aspects to it, too. The first one – it is absolutely clear, hazardous dwellings totally unfit for living. And this should be done, let me repeat, immediately, within days. Apparently, there are small houses and apartments for sale in the Chelyabinsk Region that could be purchased. Or people should be given money if they want to move to other places. That’s number one.
Second, as to what Mr Shoigu said, that is, by May when the land will be thawing, the situation is going to change, and it will not change for the better. By this time we must have a clear vision of the priority.
Third, the houses in the hazardous area that are unlikely to be damaged within the coming year. Then in that case we must have a well-thought-out plan (build a separate community, build blocks of flats, I saw your suggestions), and within a year, a year and a half at the latest, everyone should be relocated from the hazardous areas, those 3,800 people, approximately. And I ask you to submit a plan for the whole community and the whole town. It is the next stage, we could do it at a regular, stable pace – within a few years, maybe five or six. I repeat, all that combined will require 27 billion, while priority measures of relocating people from the hazardous areas require about 5 billion. How are we going to get it? Please, go ahead.
Anton Siluanov: Mr Putin, yes, indeed, 5 billion roubles are to be allocated to resolve the current situation. The federal budget will contribute 2 billion roubles. That will suffice to resettle those 3,760 families. To do that, we and the authorities of the Chelyabinsk Region have to make a list of people eligible for priority resettlement, present the list to the Ministry of Regional Development, then we will get it and will immediately submit a proposal to the government on the allocation of the required funds from the federal budget. In that connection, should our colleagues in the Chelyabinsk Region be asked to speed up the compilation and presentation of the lists to the respective federal agencies. We would promptly transfer the funds to them.
Vladimir Putin: Hold on. First of all, I want to say the lists are necessary and they should be approved (it is absolutely clear and the procedures should be followed), I want to repeat that there are things that should not wait for any approval. I ask you, here is the governor, the minister, though I guess this is not your among you direct duties… I understand there are heads of companies, of the region… Those houses where you can see the street through the walls, obviously there aren’t three or four thousand people living in them. We should relocate people from them right away…. Let the Emergencies Ministry personnel go there and record everything as it is. If there are other houses like the one I saw …
Remark: There are.
Vladimir Putin: Yes. Then we should go there, check all the houses, and submit proposals on resettlement. Immediately! And draw up all the paperwork at the same time. You said just 5 billion will suffice. Can you confirm that? We shall allocate 2 billion from the federal budget. Where will the other three come from?
Anton Siluanov: Two billion roubles shall be allocated from the Chelyabinsk Region budget and 1 billion from the company owners.
Vladimir Putin: Do the owners have such funds?
Konstantin Strukov (director of the Chelyabinsk Coal Company): If we receive the order, we’ll carry it out.
Vladimir Putin: This is not an order, we should agree on that.
Konstantin Strukov: We shall do it, Mr Putin.
Vladimir Putin: Will you find it?
Konstantin Strukov: We shall fix it.
Vladimir Putin: That’s a pretty large amount of money but the people are also no strangers to us. We will see how we can support you in other ways.
Konstantin Strukov: All right.
Vladimir Putin: OK? We shall find ways and help, support you. How about the region?
Mikhail Yurevich (governor of the Chelyabinsk Region): Hopefully, our budget will cope with that though we are a steel industry region, and the whole industry is facing a crisis now. The budget revenues are not sufficient but we have no way out, so we shall put off some things and focus on the priorities. And the most urgent issues, those houses that have already cracked, we shall solve it by the end of February, within a month.
Vladimir Putin: How many people live in them, approximately?
Mikhail Yurevich: No so many.
Vladimir Putin: Make a list and then report back to me.
Mikhail Yurevich: We shall make a list, they will have to be resettled in Chelyabinsk because so many housing funds … Well, and every person concerning the resettlement, they are still thinking where they would like to live, and should choose the place. In emergency cases they should go to Chelyabinsk.
Vladimir Putin: We have to be completely flexible on these issues. We have to talk to the people. They might be happy to move to Chelyabinsk. They have small children in those flats. And we have to have a cut-off – those who were registered in those houses, say, as of January 1, because we know what happens in such cases, let’s face it.
Viktor Basargin: Mr Putin, I’m looking at the figures: from 2008 to 2011 we resettled … We allocated almost 100 million roubles to our federal programme (56 million from the housing and utilities fund) and resettled 250 people – 100 families. Regarding hazardous buildings, the figure is similar.
Vladimir Putin: All right. Mr Sechin, would you like to add something?
Igor Sechin: Mr Putin, the situation was really very difficult, partly because of the seismic activity. I would like to thank the shareholders of this coal mine – here is Konstantin Strukov – for their work and support on this project, for their willingnesss to allocate some funding from their assets to support it. This helped us combine this scheme.
Vladimir Putin: This is a pretty large amount of money for them. They are working with almost zero profitability. He told me about it, and also I have seen the records.
Igor Sechin: We will be in control of this. The situation at the mine itself is under the control of the Ministry of Energy. The funds have been allocated to maintain the mine in an operable condition. We will work to fulfill the objectives that you have set for us.
Vladimir Putin: When will this major resettlement plan be prepared?
Viktor Basargin: It has been already prepared, Mr Putin.
Vladimir Putin: Already?
Viktor Basargin: Yes, the region’s targeted programme for 2012 includes all the steps.
Vladimir Putin: Do you expect to find new, separate areas for construction here, or not?
Mikhail Yurevich: Actually closer to Kopeisk and Chelyabinsk, as some people are pensioners and some need jobs. The jobs are needed mostly in Chelyabinsk and its suburb Kopeisk, and in some areas not far from here.
Vladimir Putin: Will there be several sites?
Mikhail Yurevich: We have chosen one large site so far. But in the city… There are many sites, all of them in the city.
Vladimir Putin: I believe, or to be more exact, I’m sure that you should address this issue again. Social facilities must be included: an outpatient clinic, retail etc.
Mikhail Yurevich: Mr Putin, the entire relocation area includes 18 social facilities.
Vladimir Putin: Here?
Mikhail Yurevich: Yes, here. It includes education facilities, preschool institutions, and healthcare.
Sergei Shoigu: Mr Putin, there are 71 such buildings.
Vladimir Putin: Here?
Sergei Shoigu: Yes, there are 71 buildings overall. I believe we need to give people certificates in the shortest possible time. Naturally, we must assess what kind of housing exists in the region now. Anyway, when we drove by I saw buildings for sale and so on. So we have every opportunity to relocate people from this building of 71 apartments quite quickly.
Vladimir Putin: This is the way it should be done.
Sergei Shoigu: Next, this year your instructions… There are 400 private premises. Naturally, we have to speak to these people. You’re absolutely right, as they have garages, vegetable gardens and some other things. Maybe we should build villages rather than apartment buildings, as we did in the summer of 2010, when people were resettled after the fires.
Remark: They should be pre-fabricated.
Vladimir Putin: It’s just that if it’s impossible to live in these 71 houses, there is no time to build the new houses. We should simply give money to them or buy housing and agree on where they would like to move.
Sergei Shoigu: The situation is changing every day.
Viktor Basargin: We have a more flexible mechanism – not a certificate, but a social benefit. This means a person can buy either new housing in the primary market, or housing in the secondary market, or they can take the social benefit and move to a different city.
Vladimir Putin: I have only one request for you though: don’t make this process too formal and bureaucratic. Coming there and having a look will do. Go and see by yourselves. And there’s no need to collect any certificates. Look, tomorrow either a ceiling or a wall will fall down there. What certificates do you need? Who will be in charge of this in the Chelyabinsk Region?
Mikhail Yurevich: The Ministry of Construction, the head of the region, and me, as we have to negotiate with each person.
Vladimir Putin: Let’s create an efficient staff that will carry out each step of this work: immediate resettlement, resettlement within one or two years, and manage the entire programme. And a person from your ministry is needed. We have agreed with the Finance Ministry in principle. Which documents do you need to allocate the money?
Anton Siluanov: We need a government decision, Mr Putin. We will address the issue at the next government meeting.
Vladimir Putin: It is scheduled for next week. Please, prepare all the paperwork so we can sign it.
Anton Siluanov: Agreed.
Vladimir Putin: What else can you say about this? All right. Complete this plan and make it consist of these steps and provide everything in this part. Mr Shoigu, has housing been rebuilt near Izhevsk after the explosions at the military supply depots? Have we allocated funds for that? How much?
Anton Siluanov: All the funds have been allocated, almost 2 billion roubles. Another 30-40 billion roubles is expected by the heads of the republic’s administration, we resolved this issue this year. But all the funds were allocated in time.
Vladimir Putin: But there are no buildings and no repairs. Mr Shoigu, go and see it yourself, or have some of your deputies do it. And Mr Basargin, you should go there as well and collect information on the situation. If necessary, let’s get law enforcement organs involved and find out where the money is.
Sergei Shoigu: Evidently, law enforcement should be involved, because all money has in fact been allocated. The contractors must have been selected by the local authorities. If this hasn’t been done yet, we should find out why.
Vladimir Putin: You must look into this immediately, within days. And even if the money has been misallocated, have law enforcement get into the issue. In any case, this doesn’t mean we should leave people in this situation. We must help them. Thank you.
