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.”
“A mosque is to be built in Moscow, too, and it will be built. However, if we count how many churches and mosques have been restored and rebuilt in the whole country, it would seem that impossible has been done. There are hundreds, thousands of them, signifying the rebirth of our traditional faiths and religions. There’s one more thing to add. Surely, we are all different. In Russia, however, different confessions have always lived side by side. They have intermingled and have always shown respect for one another.”
“When it comes to World Cup football, this entails 13 cities. Yes, there will not be such large-scale infrastructure projects in all these. But, nevertheless, there is a lot of work to be done on the development of the road network, development of airport and of railway infrastructure. And if we can put together a good programme, and there are already proposals, on the development of high-speed rail traffic between all these cities, or at least between some of these cities, this would be a powerful development impetus for the entire infrastructure of the European part of the country, and this is certainly an advantage.”
“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.”
“It is worth mentioning that these measures are the first actual integration efforts in 15 years. I’m referring to the establishment of the Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and the next step which we are approaching – the establishment of a Common Economic Space. I would like to emphasise that this will mean a deep economic integration which will allow us to be more competitive. We will have a large market – 140 million in this country, 15 million in Kazakhstan plus 10 million in Belarus – look, this market can be compared to that of the European Union.”
“The several dozen Russian companies present in Mongolia are actively investing in the transport infrastructure, railway construction, and the prospecting and development of coal, uranium, and other deposits. No doubt, all this will build upon the export potential of the Mongolian economy – particularly through the use of Russian ports for trade with third-party countries. This mainly concerns the greater use of ports in the Russian Far East.”
“In the Navy, arms are to be renewed and strengthened; a strategic marine nuclear squad is to be formed from fourth-generation nuclear subs; modern surface vessels are to be purchased; and the operational hardware is to be repaired and upgraded. To be able to cope with the challenges of enhancing the country's defence capacity, the Navy must be developed in a level fashion, including the development of strategic nuclear forces alongside general-purpose naval forces.”
“The RGS is called upon to bear a substantial share of the responsibility to cultivate concern for the environment in society, to raise environmental awareness in the country. This objective applies, first and foremost, to the younger generation. I hope that the projects targeted at children and young people will be real priorities for the RGS and its partners. It is about developing educational programmes to support young scientists and, of course, organising competitions, festivals and expeditions that will help kids realise their potential, to believe in themselves and, most importantly, to truly get to know their homeland – our country.”
“This year Russia and Finland have managed to reverse the negative trends caused by the global economic crisis. Over the first nine months of this year our trade grew by 23% and Russia remains Finland’s largest trade and economic partner. The Russian economy has received a solid amount of direct Finnish investment and major joint projects in infrastructure and innovation continue to be carried out. Finnish companies have invested billions of euros in power generation.”
“We must fundamentally modernise our pharmaceutical and medical industries. Basically, we'll have to develop a new industry that will attract investment, generate innovations, create efficient jobs, and, most importantly, that will produce competitive, safe, high-quality and affordable products for our people and our health care system. We must reach a strategic goal – meeting domestic requirements in pharmaceuticals and equipment ourselves.”
