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.”
“We have together agreed that it is premature to reduce measures of support for the real economy this year. Support for housing construction is one of these measures. I believe that we should use government resources to encourage demand for inexpensive, affordable housing. Therefore, we will impose a ceiling on mortgage loans - three million roubles in the regions and eight million roubles in Moscow and St Petersburg, our metropolises.”
“Vnesheconombank (VEB) and the National Welfare Fund will grant commercial banks a total of 250 billion roubles to enable them to issue affordable loans. This is the long-term credit that we will use to resolve the housing problem.”
“At the end of last year, the government issued an instruction to the relevant bodies to find additional resources for supporting mortgage loans in order to make them accessible to the public. I have already said more than once that interest rates on mortgage loans should not exceed 11%, and the down payment should not be more than 20% of the cost of a flat. Calculations show that such terms will allow many more people to take advantage of mortgage loans, because they cannot afford to pay the 14%-15% the banks require today. Even 11% is high, and should be lowered in the future.”
“We have two key goals for housing. First of all, we must consistently fulfil the government's obligations to supply housing to particular demographics, such as war veterans, people who took part in the Chernobyl cleanup, army servicemen, etc. I'm also talking about relocating people out of dilapidated housing and other similar programmes.”
"Most importantly we need to educate people about fighting xenophobia. People need to realise that from the first days of its existence as a state, Russia developed as a multiethnic and a multi-faith country. We have always had a very strong tradition of being respectful towards other cultures and religions. That has always been one of our country's strengths. And this tolerance is what has helped create this huge state that is the Russian Federation today. We need to be very clear about this. These fundamental and elementary moral principles need to be learned from the earliest age."
“The processes of building additional generating facilities, development of distribution grids and shaping an energy market are closely interrelated. If energy deficit persists and getting connected to power grids remains a problem, what we are likely to get in the end is a "quasi-market" controlled by monopolies, while the interests of consumers, the economy, and the country are simply ignored. We must certainly prevent this situation and we are determined to do so. Our mission is to create the most favourable environment for growth.”
“Under the project, the plant's 10 hydropower units are to be replaced with new ones of the same capacity but with improved characteristics. They are to be produced by Power Machines under a contract estimated at 11.7 billion roubles. Six power units are to be supplied in 2011 and the remaining four in 2012. On the whole, investment in the reconstruction and modernisation of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant will reach some 37 billion roubles.”
“Active construction of power units, modernisation of power plants and decommissioning of expensive, resource-wasting and inefficient facilities. During the reform of RAO UES, the new owners made serious commitments to invest in the development of the Russian power industry. A part of these commitments was financed by the issue of additional shares. They attracted approximately 450 billion roubles. <…>According to the latest data, however, only 270 billion roubles of the above sum were spent directly on the implementation of investment projects, and 66 billion roubles were spent on current operation of the company, including the purchase of non-core assets that are not connected to the power industry. <…>Let me tell you this straight away, for you not to take offence later: Penal sanctions will be used against those who "consume" the resources earmarked for investment or, worse still, pull these resources out of the business.”
“The commissioning of generating facility should be coordinated with the construction of a relevant grid infrastructure. Otherwise, starting new generators and boosting capacity becomes pointless. There are two companies in Russia responsible for development of power grids, state controlled Federal Grid Company and Interregional Distribution Grid Company. Let me warn their management that their fulfillment of obligations will be strictly monitored as well. Natural gas should also be promptly supplied to the new generating plants.”
