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.”
“Despite all the existing problems, it is essential that we continue implementing the programme for the technical re-equipment of defence companies and for the production of modern military hardware. We understand that under the circumstances, defence companies find it hard to allocate funds for development purposes, at least, on the scale that was planned before. Therefore, it is necessary to streamline federal defence-oriented programmes, and use the funds thus saved for the completion of the projects which are critical for improving the technological level of the national military-industrial complex.”
“These measures subsidise interest rates. Allow me to recall what we have agreed on. The companies in the military-industrial complex involved in carrying out state defence orders will receive subsidies from the federal budget to make up for part of the expenses on interest rates on loans received in Russian lending organisations. Second, they will get subsidies to compensate for the part of their expenses on profile industrial activities, which would prevent their economic collapse and bankruptcy. In 2009, the companies involved in fulfilling state defence orders will receive state guarantees on loans.”
“When we develop measures to support the military-industrial complex, we proceed from its special significance for Russian security and for the technological development of our economy and industry. In the last few years we have seen a marked increase in the supply of our armed forces with new weapons, special military equipment, spare parts and other essential hardware. We have far-reaching plans for re-equipping the army for the future. More than one trillion roubles have been allocated for this purpose just for 2009. The overall expenses for this purpose will total about four trillion roubles by 2011.”
“I believe that our main task today is to create the conditions for the military-industrial complex to use effectively the state defence order and other instruments of Government support.”
“We would like Russian energy to be an inseparable and organic part of the world energy, to function according to common rules, to make due profits, and secure the interests of its partners.”
“We shall regularly analyse work at key economic and social developmental projects included in the Guidelines for Government Activities up to 2012. To be sure, the present situation demands the utmost attention to anti-crisis measures and monitoring the effect of decisions made. We will pay the greatest attention to monitoring employment”
“Essential amendments to the Tax Code and some other laws entered into force on January 1. <…> First, the tax credit on estate purchase and construction has increased to two million roubles. This law is retroactive, so families who bought housing in 2008 may also benefit from it. Second, maternity capital spending on mortgage payments has been authorised since the second child's birth, while we had previously planned to appoint the start since the child is three years old. <…> Third, children's grants have risen by 8.5%. Last but not least, we have exempted from taxes the greatest possible amount of employers' expenditures on personnel training, health care and housing.”
“The Government points out other opportunities to the public. Persons entitled to grants and soft taxation are welcome to use their benefits, while employers should retain corporate social programmes whenever possible and so not merely help their employees in these lean years but also to invest in the future by creating a basis for post-crisis development.”
“Tax inspections, the Pension Fund and other state agencies, in their turn, should be as quick as possible with considering relevant applications and help the population in every way.”
“In the present adverse situation, regional airlines acutely need new and effective craft. This should be lean-burn craft-it matters most for local routes. Passenger planes seating up to 50 are the most important. Russian industry does not yet manufacture such aircraft, so, to support airlines, we should exempt them from import duties as they purchase such planes and engines for them. We have coordinated that step with the Industry Ministry and the United Aircraft Building Corporation.”
“We will devote considerable attention to creating a full-fledged Customs Union in Eurasia and facilitating integration processes between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. In 2009, the Government plans to expedite the creation of modern market institutions. Notably, it will implement measures stipulated by the Competition-Incentives Programme and the Financial Markets Development Strategy.”
“As regards the housing policy, we must finalise a system of regulatory documents promoting competition in the construction industry. We have approved modern technical regulations making it possible to build top-quality and much cheaper housing than it is today. We must also involve additional land resources now being misused by numerous federal agencies in the economic process. The relevant Housing Construction Promotion Fund has been established. We are expecting tangible results from its work.”
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the existence of the gold and currency reserves, the Government's reserve funds, enables us to address these problems - and I would like to stress it - with due regard for the interests of the population. Unlike in the former crises, we are not acting on impulse, we are not making abrupt decisions like other countries have to do in order to cope with the negative phenomena. We consciously use the sovereign wealth fund, the Government's reserve fund, so that people may decide without undue haste what to do with their savings, so that they do not wake up tomorrow to discover that all their savings have been devalued. We act thus so that people understand the development trend and can independently decide what to do. We will always show this sort of responsible attitude to the country's citizens.”
“As far education is concerned, we plan to focus on creating a system of national research universities, to support the introduction of modern pre-school education models and to implement advanced training programmes for schoolteachers.”
“Today we must look at unproductive and ineffective spending and the actions we made in the comfortable conditions when petrodollars were plentiful and flowing in. Today, we must be more effective and economical. If we speak about such areas of our activity as energy-saving, it is clear that we are talking about high technologies. Clearly, our work in this area in the short term will make the Russian economy and the country as a whole more competitive.”
“Starting on December 1, federal public sector agencies will switch over to new remuneration forms aiming to provide better services to the population and incentives for the best doctors and teachers. Despite all the manifestations of the crisis, the wage fund for budget-dependent employees has swelled by 30%.”
“In all, the Government is set to implement 60 high-priority projects until 2012. We have selected project managers and stipulated specific deadlines and funding sources. First of all, this concerns reforms in the human resources sectors. I have repeatedly noted that current investment in education, healthcare and the social sector will become our competitive advantage tomorrow.”
“We hope that these measures will prove effective in 2009 and will help to prevent plunging standards of living and rising unemployment, and will facilitate the sustainable performance of the financial system and the industries.”
“In November, the Government approved a long-term national development programme until 2020. This implies that Russia must assert itself as a global leader in terms of economic development levels and key quality of life indices by the end of next decade. We are not going to scrap our plans. On the contrary, we have been working hard to implement them.”
