“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 are conducting a sector-by-sector analysis of it - including conventional weapons, rocket and space technology, the navy, anti-aircraft defence and so on. And there are lots of problems associated with the need to modernise our leading companies, because we cannot use 1950s-era equipment to produce modern weapons for our defence capacity. All of these issues are resolvable. We're resolving them and will continue to resolve them."
"As for weapons purchases and sales, we are No. 2 in the world in terms of volume of sales to foreign markets, and of course, we don't need to buy weapons from abroad to provide for our defence capacity."
"I take advantage of my current job to try to resolve the most acute problems in that area. Are you aware that our Red list includes many animals that are on the brink of extinction and extermination? Among them - the Amur tigers in the Far East of which there are only 500 left. That is a critical number. The Far Eastern leopards are in an even worse situation. Scientists estimate that there are approximately 50 to 60 species of leopards left. "
"When I was there[Battle for Respect], I really liked these young people, not only those who gave excellent performances, but also the people who attended the show. They are young and very trusting, so it is very important what it is said and done by their idols. And we should make sure these idols do positive things."
"I believe that the government should work with all age groups, and, in particular, with young people. 17% of Russians die of smoking-related diseases. The number of deaths from drug abuse is slightly lower. And we are all know about deaths caused by alcohol. That's why we have launched several campaigns promoting healthy lifestyle. I want them to be implemented at both federal and regional levels. And I am counting on the initiatives of youth organisations, because working with teenagers is our top priority."
"President Dmitry Medvedev spoke in his state of the nation address about the New School programme. The government is giving schools and education in general a lot of attention. We have a priority national project in education. We will continue this project."
"Would like to emphasise once again that we will continue fighting corruption. The President has spoken more than once about this, and the Government will do all we can on this issue, although this is a very complicated process. Corruption is a huge problem in this country, but we are not the only ones. Corruption is worst in countries with transitional economies, because they have numerous grey zones which are not regulated by law. However, we will achieve success if all of us, if our entire society works on this issue."
"State-owned corporations were not established to expand the state's involvement in the economy. They were established in order to gather the fragments of those industries and enterprises that were scattered in previous decades, primarily during the privatisation of the 1990s, and that are also vital to the interests of the state. This includes the aircraft industry and some areas of the defence industry. Our task is to consolidate these assets and bring them up to the required conditions and levels. In some cases, these corporations will actually be dissolved, as is the case with the housing and public utilities corporation, which was established to operate for a preset period. Some of them must be converted into public shareholding companies, which was initial goal."
"We have held a tender for 14 higher educational and research schools this September, and that, according to the commission, three specialised schools have submitted quite competitive and interesting programmes. Three of them, namely, the Moscow Aviation Institute, the Kazan Institute and probably the Saratov higher aviation school, have been listed among federal higher research schools. All of them will receive additional funding and resources totalling 1.8 billion roubles over the next five years and will use it to modernise their material-and-technical base and to improve personnel training."