VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN

Point of View

26 april
2012
Economy 103

“We need to see the prospects, and in this respect it is no secret that strategic forecasting is an important component of the development strategy for our economy and for this country in general. This is not idle talk, nor is it guesswork. We must proceed based on expert evaluation of the development of the global economy and the Russian economy, and to take a close and professional look at a more distant perspective.”

Vladimir Putin
At a Government Presidium meeting, April 26
2 april
2012
Economy 103

“In fact, Vnesheconombank has become an important integrated institution promoting the development of the national economy. The bank considerably increased its participation in financing major investment projects in the last four years, which means the creation of new jobs and the development of new technology”.

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of Vnesheconombank’s supervisory board, April 2
22 march
2012
Economy 103

“On the backdrop of rather complicated global economic and financial processes, Russia confidently started 2012. The first two months of the year saw positive dynamics in practically all of the key areas and indicators.”

Vladimir Putin
At a government meeting, March 22
27 december
2011
Economy 103

“The most important achievement of this past year is the consolidation of the trend towards steady growth. The Russian economy has overcome the effects of the crisis and has reached its pre-crisis figures in key parameters.”

Vladimir Putin
At a government meeting, December 27
6 december
2011
Economy 103

“None of the developed economies will have a budget surplus this year; while Russia’s federal revenue will exceed expenditures. Inflation will be the lowest in recent history this year – 7%, which is even below the estimates. The country’s reserve funds are growing too. We have a healthy economy and financial sector and we stand a good chance of making a development breakthrough.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting with heads of regional public reception offices of the Chairman of the United Russia party, December 6
28 october
2011
Economy 103

“Within the next few years we will have to fundamentally change our economy. These are not our ambitions, nor a slogan, but the requirements of the day. This is a challenge that faces the entire world in general and Russia in particular. Only an efficient, competitive economy with a powerful industrial and technological base will allow us to feel confident in the constantly developing world, to reduce our dependence on complicated and turbulent processes in the world economy and guarantee our protection against global risks.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, October, 28
12 september
2011
Economy 103

“I should note that rates in Russia always increase on January 1. This creates expectations of inflation, and drives inflationary pressure from the very beginning of the year. That is why I propose to cap the increase in Russian Railways’ rates at 6% as of January 1, 2012. <…>All other increases will not take effect on January 1, 2012, but on July 1, 2012 – these include a maximum increase of 15% in gas prices and increases to keep pace with inflation on electricity, which includes grid maintenance and heating. This is in light of the fact that energy consumption declines in the warm season and consumers will find the higher prices easier to bear than in winter.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the government commission on budgetary planning for the upcoming fiscal year and the planning period, September 12
13 july
2011
Economy 103

“As the overall economic situation stabilised and post-crisis growth began, it started to pay greater attention to long-term goals rather than emergency support measures for specific sectors and enterprises. First and foremost, I have in mind projects for modernisation and re-equipment and, naturally, for promoting small and medium-sized businesses.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of Vnesheconombank’s Observation Council, July 13
30 june
2011
Economy 103

“Last year Russia became the global leader in oil production, with over 500 million metric tonnes. We took over the first position, overtaking all other oil producing countries. I'd like to congratulate our oil industry for this result – 500 million tonnes of oil is exactly the quantity that we need to meet both domestic and export requirements, and we should maintain production at this level in the coming years.”

Vladimir Putin
At an interregional conference of United Russia, June 30, Yekaterinburg
26 may
2011
Economy 103

“I suppose that expanded vocational education, primarily secondary and primary education, is a priority task facing the state and the business community. We must see to it that this kind of education meets the demands of modern production. We must renew the technical base for training specialists. <…> All of us need to work to raise the prestige of industrial careers and to enhance the public significance of skilled labour.”

Vladimir Putin
At the First Social Business Forum, May 26
26 may
2011
Economy 103

“We must give priority to the development of all non-oil and gas sectors. I’d like to emphasise that I’m referring to the modern industry capable of producing the competitive products required in Russia (and primarily in Russia) and the rest of the world. This economy must be based on such basic market notions as profitability, demand and return on investment. Therefore, business, and in fact only business, can become the driving force of this project. The government can only help it by creating the right conditions.”

Vladimir Putin
At the First Social Business Forum, May 26
26 may
2011
Economy 103

“We are setting ourselves an ambitious goal – to make Russia one of the world’s top five economies in a decade and to increase the GDP per capita from a little over $19,000 today to $35,000 and a bit more. The living standards of our people, as well as the quality of education and healthcare must be comparable to those in the leading world economies.”

Vladimir Putin
At the First Social Business Forum, May 26
25 april
2011
Economy 103

“We need to consistently work toward reducing Russia’s dependence on the commodity market. We all understand this and have been discussing it for many years. In fact our common strategic goal is to ensure a sustainable and quality growth of our economy based on the domestic market and non-resource related sector.”

Vladimir Putin
At a joint meeting of the boards of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance on their performance in 2010 and objectives for 2011, April 25
4 april
2011
Economy 103

“I believe that in 2010, we laid the foundation for moving forward and addressing the long-term goals of our development. There are, of course, still certain risks in the economy, but there are positive trends as well. The process of recovery in industry and the banking sector is gathering ever more momentum and force”.

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the government, April 4
29 december
2010
Economy 103

“Indeed, we do have something to show for all the work we have done. The key indicators, of course, are the falling rate of unemployment and the reduction in the number of people who live below the poverty line. We have managed to make progress on this even during the global financial and economic crisis. Of course, it had something to do with the changing trends in economic development. Last year we saw a major slump, 7.9%. This year we expect a growth of about 9%, and the industry indicators are even better, a growth of more than 8% and rising real wages.”

Vladimir Putin
At a Government meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, December 29, 2010
16 december
2010
Economy 103

“The proportion of Russians living below the poverty line has decreased from 13.1% last year to 12.5% this year. Is that a lot? I would say that this is a positive change. I'd like to remind you that 29% of people in Russia, or about 45 million, were living below the poverty line in the year 2000.”

Vladimir Putin
“A Conversation with Vladimir Putin, Continued”, December 16
18 september
2010
Economy 103

“The main issue today is the development of our economy. It is in our common interest to make progress by modernising production, creating efficient and higher-paying jobs as well as enhancing labour productivity. Incidentally, this year we have seen a growth in labour productivity, not a record one but still a stable one. And we must maintain such quality of industrial development by all means. Otherwise, Russian businesses will not be able to remain competitive, and new jobs will be created abroad rather than in Russia - similar things are happening in Western Europe.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the General Council of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, September 18
31 may
2010
Economy 103

“We are now experiencing the lowest inflation in 20 years: 3.8% for the first four months of the year. It's clear that this is very important and beneficial for encouraging investment and increasing lending, especially long-term lending. More importantly, low inflation allows us not only to maintain people's real incomes, but steadily increase them. Today we see an upward trend in key economic indices. Russia's GDP is expected to grow by 3.5%-4% in 2010, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development. There are even more optimistic scenarios, but we will proceed from that conservative estimate. Russian industry performed extremely well in April, posting double-digit growth, 10.4%, for the first time.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting on pricing and tariffs, May 31
20 april
2010
Economy 103

“Starting in July 2009, the Russian economy has shown increasingly steady signs of recovery. According to official government forecasts, in 2010, GDP is slated to increase 3.1%. Nevertheless, there is a high probability that the growth rate will be higher. The preliminary results of the first quarter of 2010 inspire optimism. Growth in industrial production was 5.8% and real income increased 7.4%. All of this enables us to say that the recession is over in our economy. More importantly, we have very good starting conditions for further progress.”

Vladimir Putin
A report to the State Duma on government performance in 2009, April 20, Moscow
5 february
2010
Economy 103

“The economy showed clear signs of improvement during the second half of last year. GDP and industrial production began growing again, and there have been some signs of recovery in investment.”

Vladimir Putin
At the meeting with United Russia party leadership, Moscow, February 5, 2010
7 december
2009
Economy 103

“Traditionally Russia has had a large foreign trade surplus: at the end of 2009 it will be about $100 billion. Foreign investment is flowing in, the national currency, the rouble, is growing stronger and our sovereign wealth fund has now reached more than $447 billion.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting with the members of the Russian-Indian Enterprise Management Council, Moscow, December 7, 2009
7 december
2009
Economy 103

“Positive trends are apparent in Russia too. Since June 2009 the GDP has been growing month on month and investment demand and retail trade have been gradually recovering. The macro-economic situation remains stable, inflation in the country is set to be at one of its lowest rates since 1992, certainly under 10%, and I think it my be 9%.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting with the members of the Russian-Indian Enterprise Management Council, Moscow, December 7, 2009
3 december
2009
Economy 103

"The economy has been growing in the past five months. The growth is modest, an average of 0.5% a month, and some months even lower, 0.3%. Some months the economy grew by 0.8%, but on average the economy has been growing by 0.5% for the past five months. I very much hope that these positive figures will grow by the middle of next year."

Vladimir Putin
At a programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin: To Be Continued", Moscow, December 3, 2009
3 december
2009
Economy 103

"We are restoring our gold and currency reserves. Today they are the third largest in the world after the People's Republic of China and Japan and amount to $444 billion. We have a trade surplus, and we will probably have the best indicator in this area. We have a positive trade balance, probably the best figure. We did well in 2006, and the inflation rate is likely to be lower this year. It will be lower than 10% this year, probably even one-digit figure, around 9%. This means that we have coped with these problems."

Vladimir Putin
At a programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin: To Be Continued", Moscow, December 3, 2009
3 december
2009
Economy 103

"We see the average wage falling; it is down 3.6%. Why? Because the fall in the commercial sector was considerable, 5.6%, I think. The influence on the public sector became evident in 2009 because the wage fund in the sector was increased in December 2008, and so wages in that sector increased by 4.1%. We have increased pensions considerably, by 13%-14%."

Vladimir Putin
At a programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin: To Be Continued", Moscow, December 3, 2009
3 december
2009
Economy 103

"In the sectors that the Government considers to be its direct sphere of responsibility the situation is more or less acceptable. For instance, industry, as I said, is expected to contract by 13%, but the defence industry will grow by 3.7%. And in some areas, for example in aerospace, they have many problems too and we were recently looking at this industry - but they have a growth of 13%."

Vladimir Putin
At a programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin: To Be Continued", Moscow, December 3, 2009
3 december
2009
Economy 103

"What has been done during this difficult year, I would say, first, that it was one of the most difficult years in the past decade - not only for us, but for the world economy in general. These events have hit us hard. We had predicted (though no official forecasts were made), some experts believed that GDP in Russia would drop by about 10%. It has dropped significantly, but not as much as some experts had thought. It is likely to be 8.5-8.7%. That is a lot."

Vladimir Putin
At a programme “Conversation with Vladimir Putin: To Be Continued", Moscow, December 3, 2009
9 november
2009
Economy 103

"In the second half of this year, our economy has started growing again; inflation is going down, and unemployment is gradually decreasing. This does not mean that anti-crisis measures are no longer necessary. Needless to say, we will continue encouraging the domestic demand, increasing the stability and reliability of the financial system, and taking measures to reduce the budget deficit and ensure macro-economic stability. Nevertheless, the tasks of strategic development are gradually moving to the fore. We are living in different economic conditions, and this reality is very important."

Vladimir Putin
At the meeting of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council, Moscow, November 9, 2009
16 october
2009
Economy 103

"I would like to say at the beginning of our meeting today that the Russian Government and the Central Bank of Russia maintained the stability of the country's banking system amid the global financial downturn and protected the national currency from dramatic fluctuations that can be so painful for people and for companies."

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting on economic issues, Moscow, October 16, 2009
15 october
2009
Economy 103

"The scope, essence and timeframe for administrative procedures must be clearly outlined, and the principles for setting prices for government services must be established. It is necessary to continue to foster administrative reform, abolish the state's unnecessary powers, minimise the number of inspections, and switch from the practice of giving authorisation to providing recommendations."

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the Government, Moscow, October 15, 2009
6 october
2009
Economy 103

“We consider privatisation to be one of the key tools in reforming the real economy, in improving the competitive environment and in attracting additional investment.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting on the 2010-2012 federal property privatisation plan and a reduction in the number of strategic enterprises, Moscow, October 6, 2009
30 september
2009
Economy 103

"We must ensure that the post-crisis recovery of the Russian economy be accompanied by qualitative modernisation of its industrial base and infrastructure through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies and an increase in labour productivity."

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the Government Commission for Control of Foreign Investment, Moscow, September 30, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"I also believe that we have no other option but to form a full-fledged and stable financial market of our own, where national savings will be converted into development capital - a source for so-called "long money." And this is yet another of our key goals."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"We call on businesses to more actively invest in Russia's regions. Do not stay in the same place, where there is often not enough "room" for everyone, but consider the regions that are not spoiled with overinvestment and where it is possible to take advantage of optimum business conditions."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"We are also pursuing a tight anti-inflation policy. Our goal here is to reduce the current inflation level almost by half (from the estimated 12% this year). I believe - I know - that Central Bank officials agree with these proposals: 11% on average by the end of this year, or even lower, and no more than 5%-7% by 2012."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"Russia is the only country that proceeded with a large-scale pension reform during the recession. The basic portion of labour pensions will be increased again by 30% later this year - on December 1. Next year, pensions will grow by an average of 46%, an unprecedented rise in Russia. Now what economic implications will this have? This reform will produce internal demand for an additional 1 trillion roubles, or over $30 billion."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"In line with the pension reform issues, we postponed an increase in corporate insurance premiums, so as not to worsen the fiscal burden on businesses during the recession. Admittedly, as a result - back to our macroeconomic problems - the 2009 federal budget will carry an 8% deficit for the first time in a decade."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"We have enough resources and opportunities to protect the country from new currency shocks, from shocks to the national currency and the financial system. Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves exceed $400 billion."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"We need to improve many things in legislation and corporate governance, and to modernise the structure of the real and financial sectors. But we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Russia's development strategy until 2020 and the guidelines of the Government's operation until 2012 outline the main directions for development, the main projects that should ensure qualitative changes in the Russian economy, and the innovative vector of its modernisation."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"I would like to say that we need not so much a quick, as a qualitative recovery. Our recovery should be based on fundamentally new precepts, with reliance on new growth parameters."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
29 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At the VTB Capital Investment Forum “Russia Calling”, Moscow, September 29, 2009
18 september
2009
Economy 103

"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%."

Vladimir Putin
At the 8th International Investment Forum in Sochi, September 18, 2009
18 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At the 8th International Investment Forum in Sochi, September 18, 2009
15 september
2009
Economy 103

“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%.”

Vladimir Putin
At a meeting of the Government Commission on Budget Projections for the Next Fiscal Year and Planning Period, Moscow, September 15, 2009
11 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At a met with members of the sixth Valdai Discussion Club, Moscow, September 11, 2009
11 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At a met with members of the sixth Valdai Discussion Club, Moscow, September 11, 2009
11 september
2009
Economy 103

"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."

Vladimir Putin
At a met with members of the sixth Valdai Discussion Club, Moscow, September 11, 2009
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