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.”
“The question of making changes to the pension system for leading experts was also raised. And this, in turn, affects another problem, that of recruiting new staff. So if the leading scientists could increase the retirement replacement ratio, then those people could be safely transferred to a different status, they would not be lost to science, and full-time jobs would be freed for young professionals. Incidentally, I promised that we would create an additional four full-time positions in the appropriate institute of the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology, so that they can hire new young professionals.”
“Today we will also consider a number of issues that bear directly on the improvement of the business climate and on the rational integration of our country into the international economic community. I am referring here to the modernisation of the Russian customs system. It must be admitted, as all of us know very well, that foreign economic players, especially those working in high-tech industries, are seriously dissatisfied with the quality of our customs system. The Foreign Ministry and the Federal Customs Service have drafted proposals on Russia's ratification of the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures. I hope this will allow us to more rapidly introduce modern customs standards on the Russian border, which will be convenient both for people and businesses.”
“We find it unreasonable to increase taxes, taking into account that pensions and other social contributions will rise in 2011. However, we find it possible to increase the financial burden on those economic sectors which have enjoyed low tax rates for a long time and which enjoy high global prices. The revision of tax rates will be connected with the growth of budget spending in the priority areas that have already been mentioned.”
“In terms of budget spending priorities, they will remain unaltered. We will ensure that the social obligations of the government are fulfilled and pay particular attention to the programmes connected with modernizing the economy and developing high technologies. On this subject I can say that in 2011 pensions will grow by 9% compared to the basic one of 2010. The old-age retirement pension will increase to 8,780 roubles, while the social pension will rise to 5,050 roubles. And the major increase is set to take place on February 1 of next year.”
“We have developed a sufficiently effective mechanism for interacting with the party as a whole, with the party's leadership. Now, as you know, we hold a party conference practically every quarter and will do this in all federal districts. These are like mini party congresses. My current status in relation to the United Russia party in no way limits my opportunities to influence what the party does and in no way limits the party's influence on the government's decision-making, because we have developed very close ties, particularly on preparing the next three-year budget, for 2011 and the following two years, 2012-2013. This is very professional, very tough and very nerve-wracking work on distributing resources across various sectors. And, of course, we cannot do this in isolation from the deputies of the leading party, the leading faction in the State Duma, United Russia.”
“But we should take the legitimate interests of our partners into account. I think we do. We reached agreement with our colleagues, including colleagues from Belarus, and signed a contract in 2007. And we are not asking for anything on top of that, beyond what the contract stipulates. The only thing we ask for is to observe the agreements we signed. Nothing else. Now when they tell us: allow us to pay less this year and double the amount the next, we agree. The next year they tell us: no, let is leave things as they were the year before last. Even in this case we try to reach a sort of consensus, to agree on some details, to ease the transition to market terms. And it seems to me the polemics, however sharp, between Belarusian and Russian energy experts has finally led to agreement.”
“It's easy to understand the desire of local governments to set the land taxes as high as possible, because the proceeds go to the municipal budget. However, this all too often increases the tax burden on businesses and hampers long-term investment projects. Thus, local governments gain a rouble today to lose dozens or perhaps even hundreds of thousand roubles tomorrow as they rob themselves of potential tax revenues. So I call on our colleagues to be more flexible about land taxation, lower rates to support social projects, small and medium-size business initiatives and innovative industries.”
“Despite a decline in 2009, trade between our two countries has returned to pre-crisis levels. There has been progress in many sectors, particularly in high-tech industries such as aircraft manufacturing and space. We have seen good results in the An-70 aircraft project, which we also discussed in detail with Ukraine's previous government and president. But now we hope to start up joint work on the An-148 aircraft project, as well as on projects to build engines for other airplanes and helicopters. A large percentage of the Russian helicopter fleet is powered by Ukrainian-made engines. Our work together in space holds also great promise.”
"I am convinced that the Russian steel industry has everything it needs to become one of the world leaders in effective production and management, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness quite soon… Much remains to be done. You know it better than anyone else, because your production facility still lags behind its competitors in labour efficiency and consumes 15% to 20% more electricity. All this, of course, is a legacy of the past, a legacy that is difficult to get rid of. You can't undo everything in one fell swoop, but we are moving in the right direction. We need to start manufacturing the products where we still rely on imports."
