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
“Support from Russian citizens has always helped us, and I’m confident that the government’s future line-up will rely on the people. We must never forget about the needs of ordinary people. We must always remember how government-level decisions influence the lives of all ordinary Russian citizens.”
“In 2009, the cost of freight carriage was supposed to increase by almost 16%, 15.9%to be exact, but in reality it did not increase by more than 10.6%. This took a burden off the real economy during a difficult crisis year by cutting transport expenses. We will continue to keep tariff increases under control this year.”
“Our priorities here? First, we must concentrate on the development of high-speed passenger rail along the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod line and the railway from St Petersburg to the Finnish border. The Moscow-St Petersburg line showed that high-speed rail is in much demand. Second, we must continue building a railway to connect Yakutsk with the general railway network.”
“A large number of important documents outlining the future of the industry were adopted in 2008, primarily the Strategy for Developing Russia's Railway Transport up to 2030 and the targeted federal programme for developing Russia's transport network through 2015. <…>I would like to start by saying that these plans remain in place despite the economic difficulties we and the rest of the world are experiencing.”
“It was so important for us not to scale back our construction projects or waste the experience acquired while implementing major projects during the downturn in 2009. Government support to Russian Railways in 2009 amounted to a handsome 130 billion roubles. Reimbursement for lower freight tariffs added up to 40.5 billion roubles; 38.4 billion roubles went in subsidies for discounted long-distance travel by students; 41.5 billion roubles for infrastructure construction in Sochi, six billion roubles to build a detour around the man-made disaster area in Beryozniki, and three billion roubles to purchase railway carriages from the Tver rail car plant. In addition, Russian Railways saved almost 900 million roubles - 890 million roubles, to be exact - on import duties for Sapsan high-speed trains.”
“The Russian Railways investment programme for 2010 amounts to 270.5 billion roubles. The amount of support from the federal budget will even be increased slightly, to 140 billion roubles. In other words, the government is again taking on more than half of all expenses for modernisation and new construction projects. The government will allocate 50 billion roubles to compensate Russian Railways for the indexation of lower freight tariffs, 27.8 billion roubles to partially subsidise long-distance economy-class travel and 60 billion roubles for the construction of transport infrastructure in Sochi.”
“Educational institutions should become more open, regularly publishing full and objective reports on their activities. And the public governing boards being created in schools - I have mentioned one of them - must have real opportunities to influence key decisions affecting the school's life.”
“Starting on September 1, 2011, all first formers will study according to new educational standards. We must prevent the introduction of these modern standards from becoming a mere formality, ensuring that they improve both the quality and content of education and the conditions for children during their time in our schools. On a side note, I would like to draw the attention of the Minister of Education to the need to analyse these standards critically, with input from leading national experts, making sure they meet modern requirements. We should see how they will work. Special responsibility for this rests with the regional and municipal authorities.”
“We must show we are serious about enhancing the teaching profession's performance and prestige. <…> In addition to decent pay, Russian teachers will have an opportunity to continually improve their qualifications and learn new teaching technology. To this end, the Education Ministry is developing new programmes for additional professional training.”
“Of course I have to mention what's on everyone's mind: the performance of our national Olympic team in Vancouver. We certainly hoped for more. However, there is no reason lose heart or beat ourselves over the head about it, and it certainly gives us something to think about. We must review our performance, draw our conclusions and perhaps change the way we do things. The goal of this review is to fix our problems and do what's necessary to help our Olympic team train for and succeed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.”
