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
"At present, nearly all the leading countries are trying to determine their place in the post-crisis world. Russia is also facing this task. I believe that Russia can not only strengthen its traditional competitive advantages, for example, in energy, metallurgy, chemicals, transport, and now also in agriculture, but also greatly enhance the role of its high-tech innovation sector."
"We can now shift our attention, moving from "manual control" to systemic solutions capable of ensuring the sustainable development of the Russian economy in the post-crisis period."
"We will consistently promote private enterprise, the country's integration into the global economy and will also do our best to create a favourable investment climate. As the situation becomes stable and the crisis trends are overcome, it is our intention to purposefully and consistently reduce state economic intervention, to use traditional market tools, including privatisation instruments."
"We believe that we still need to support those industries where a dramatic decrease in demand has created serious problems. As in many countries, these include the automotive industry, engineering as a whole, housing construction and other industries."
"Apart from removing administrative barriers, we have cut taxes significantly. As you must know, Russia has the lowest income tax rate today, 13%, and also the lowest corporate tax rate in both the G8 and BRIC - 20%."
"We are open to foreign investment. Last year we adopted a law regulating the procedure allowing foreign capital to gain control of companies in strategic sectors. Ladies and gentlemen, that law was adopted largely as a result of consultations with our foreign partners, who said openly that we must tell them clearly where they can work, under what conditions and where they could expect limitations. We have done so."
“Today, a year after the start of the crisis, we are seeing the first signs of economic recovery, and we justifiably expect that the Russian economy will start gradually improving in 2010. I hope that the GDP will grow, even if just a little. The Ministry of Economic Development predicts growth of 1.6%.”
"We will continue our efforts to diversify the economy, to encourage the development of high-tech and science-intensive industries. We are already doing this, while at the same time tackling a two-sided problem, as I have said above, which includes measures to prevent increases in spending. However, we have not cut state investment in high-tech projects that rely on government involvement in these industries - in aircraft manufacturing, in space exploration, or in shipbuilding."
"I would like to say that we will honour all of our social commitments this year, regardless of the crises. We have indexed social allowances, just as we planned to do before the crisis, within the framework of legislation we adopted during the good years. We will index pensions four times this year."
"One of our tasks this year is to restore macroeconomic indices, lower inflation, and prevent the strengthening of the national currency to the levels we saw in previous years.<...> First of all, we must pay attention to macroeconomic parameters. Using this as the groundwork, we will try to ensure that long-term loans are available in the economy and at the lending institutions, so that we will be able to use internal financial resources."
"Our second task is to strengthen the financial system. This is an incontestable objective. We have made a decision to increase the authorised capital of national banks. We expect the number of banks to decrease in Russia. It will be a gentle, positive process that will strengthen people's trust in our financial institutions and will allow the economy to use these resources more effectively."
“The crisis has affected Russia very seriously. However, we see nascent stabilisation in the country, beginning in June, and economic growth, even if modest, of 1% monthly since June."
"In the realm of social policy, we have adopted a very important law called the Labour Code. I spoke about it with several of my counterparts from developed European countries, and they told me they would also like to have such a code in their countries. Their laws in this area are much more socialized. I think this was a great achievement on Russia's part. The current system protects workers' interests while keeping the labour market flexible, and at the same time makes demands on the workers themselves."
"We should not forget the goals we must reach, notably, to maintain macroeconomic stability, keep the deficit at an acceptable level, reduce borrowing and preserve our reserves. We must pursue responsible social and economic policy. The Finance Ministry has drafted the appropriate proposals."
“In the last few months, we have been registering positive signs both from world markets and from the domestic economy. Starting in June, industrial production has grown by about 1% per month. Prices on our export commodities are also standing at a high enough, acceptable level.”
“Distribution markups will be regulated by the constituent entities, as before, but based on the methods approved by the Federal Tariff Service. This will help exclude useless intermediaries from the supply chain. If a company violates pricing regulations, it will bear responsibility, up to losing its license.”
“The prices of medicines rose by 18.3%, much more than the prices for other goods and services. Moreover, in the regions, the price of one and the same drug can vary by as much as two to three times. All this indicates a lack of order here. <…> I think we should tighten state regulation in this sector. Producers will have to prove the need to revise prices of vital medicines, and federal bodies of authority should develop an effective procedure to oversee and verify their calculations, and be given the authority to refuse the registration of inflated prices.”
"Today this is far from being a theoretical question. In the conditions of serious budget deficit, it is vital that we take all possible steps to plan and implement the spending of economic resources rationally, and to improve the quality and efficiency of managing the network of state financed institutions. In addition, the agencies must be ready to be fully accountable for each rouble spent."
"It is crucial to ensure macroeconomic stability and a balanced budget: This is a key prerequisite for successful solution of social and economic tasks at present and in the post-crisis period."
"I want you to know that we are not only limiting car imports but also opening our borders to technologies and removing customs barriers for commodities which Russian industry and the entire economy may use for technological modernisation."
