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
"I propose taking a decision today <...> to establish an organising committee for the 2018 World Cup bid race. <...> But no matter what happens, we will continue to do what we have been doing recently, that is, building football fields and other sports facilities, and establishing sports clubs, above all for children and teenagers. We will promote football. Much has been done in this field, and so I think Russia has the right to bid for the honour to host the 2018 World Cup."
"By 2015, we plan to get 30% of the population involved in physical fitness and sports, and the relevant figure for young people should reach 60%. I've already mentioned the absolute figures."
"Today, more than 22 million people in Russia regularly participate in sports. This number increases by an average of one percent per year. The relevant figure for children and teenagers is even higher - 7.5 million, or more than a third of the total population. The figures are not insignificant, but we should not rest on our laurels. Neighbouring Finland has completely different statistics - more than 70% of its population participates in sports."
"Sports have become a way of life for 22 million Russians. We must double their number, at least. All Russian school students must be able to regularly exercise free of charge."
“I would like to say a few words about doping control. <…> I want to draw the attention of the National Olympic Committee, the concerned ministries and departments and the Russian Federation's Government to the fact that we have no right and will not shift responsibility onto athletes alone. Sports-events organisers must also comprehend their own responsibility. We must create modern and effective mechanisms at every sports agency in order to protect sports interests and those of athletes on the international scene.”
“Last decade, primarily in the early and mid-1990s, the system of sports schools for children and teenagers was discontinued. This is obvious: We have lost a lot of professional coaches and must now reinstate these programmes. Although we have made some strides in the last few years, it is not enough. We will step up these efforts despite all difficulties.”
“We are implementing a football-field construction sub-programme under the federal target sports-development programme. We are doing this in conjunction with the Russian regions. This implies construction of small football fields and large stadiums. All this is part of our plans which will not be downsized.”
"As for the Continental Hockey League, I believe that it is not just a sports project. It will make it possible to consider seriously the restoration of a single social and cultural space on post-Soviet territory, because a shared interest in hockey will unite people from former Soviet republics. Hockey was popular in the Soviet Union. If we manage to attract Central European countries to the League, some Scandinavian states, and other Europeans, it will acquire European configuration."
"We have a young and promising team. To turn promise into reality, the sports organizers - the Ministry, and the National Olympic Committee - should do everything to create the conditions for the training of athletes who are capable of winning such stunning victories and making such achievements as we have seen now in Beijing".
"Today we should review a draft programme, one of those we spoke about earlier, the programme aimed at developing football, the most popular sport in our country. <…> The programme in question should provide for a significant improvement of facilities and equipment at youth sports schools. Why don’t we have enough players to qualify for the national team? Isn’t it because there are many foreign players while we have for a long time failed to support youth sports? In the near future over 500 new football fields, seven indoor arenas, and a training centre for our junior national team will be built. Advanced training of coaches to meet UEFA qualifications has been arranged. For the above purposes, we need to allocate 19.1 billion roubles between now and 2015, with 10.6 billion to be financed out of the federal budget".
"I know, not all the athletes on our Olympic are experienced athletes and renowned sportsmen, there are also some newcomers. This is a sign the coaches care about the future of national sports and its best achievements. This is the evidence of our great future, which certainly depends a lot on your previous efforts and on your will to win. We are all aware that luck is important too, so on my own behalf and on behalf of the millions of your other supporters I would like to wish you good luck and great victories".
"Generally, participating in the Olympic Games is a very good result already. But if you only make it, the result is quite insufficient. You must do your best to win. We have excellent chances. Last year our sportsmen won 78 medals and 29 of them were gold. It means that you have every chance to repeat these successes here. As you may know, we have started to pay more and more attention to sports, and allocate a lot of money for it. You may have already heard this, but I would like to tell you once again: I have recently signed an order to more than double the awards".
"Judo is an exercise both for your body and your spirit. It develops strength, reaction, fitness. It teaches you to control your feelings, to feel the height of the moment, to see the rival's strong and weak points, to try to achieve your best results. And the most important is constant improvement and self-cultivation. You will agree that such knowledge, skill and experience are essential for a politician".
"To support physical education and sports in Russia certain measures have been introduced and approved by the Government. A special law has been passed, and a relevant ministry has been established. Since 2006 a special federal targeted program has been implemented - Development of Physical Education and Sports in the Russian Federation. The program will run until 2015. The project budget is more than 100 billion roubles ($4.07 billion). Over 4,000 sporting facilities are to be built. Three quarters of them will be housed in schools and universities. This means children and young people will be the first and most important users of those sporting facilities. Sport is beginning to play an essential part in educational programmes".
"We think it is of prime importance to get the younger generation interested in sport. And it is most important to encourage this from an early age".
"I'm sure that the Russian National Olympic Team will write a brilliant chapter in the history of the Beijing Olympics. Our athletes will give excellent performances, demonstrate high class and skills and will win the highest number of medals.<…> I am reluctant to talk about sure achievements before they come true. Laozi once said: "The one who chants praises to himself will never gain the fame." However, experts say we have a good chance in the rhythmic gymnastics, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, tennis, boxing, track and field, shooting, and synchronized swimming. I also hope that judo fans will be pleased with the athlete's performance".
"I hope the participation of our athletes in the Olympic Games will become additional motivation for the development of popular sports".
"At the same time, the development of children's and youth fitness and sports is our main duty for today. We have determined to fully reinstate and modernise children's and youth sport schools. This is one of the essential fields of work".
"It is great that young athletes - and it is important above all for the young - now have a chance to show their skills to their fans. For the first time the Russian championship will be held this season for the under-21s.<…> Today about 67,000 kids attend sports schools. That is not the limit. That is not enough. We need to promote mass sports, which is what we have been doing in recent years consistently and will do in the near future. The juniors, many of them at least, will compete in Vancouver and later in Sochi in 2014. Of course, their fans will expect results, expect victories".
