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 International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is doing much to alleviate the suffering of people during world conflicts. We have seen that even if you fail to achieve something, you continue to work towards your goal. Regrettably, you still have a lot of work."
“It [European security agreement] would be a legally binding document aimed at guaranteeing real and equal security to European countries, based on clear and simple principles. First, it should guarantee that one nation's security is not ensured at the expense of another's security. Second, it should prevent any country, military union or coalition from taking any actions that could weaken common security and unity. And third, it should prevent development and expansion of military unions from harming other parties in the agreement. We also propose that the new document stipulate basic parameters of control over armaments, including the fundamental principle of reasonable sufficiency and cooperation formats to fight proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime.”
“Stability and security cannot be the privilege of a limited group of countries or specific international organisations, which aren't universal. Therefore, President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed signing a new European security agreement.”
"A litmus test for humanitarian law is the terrorist threat. Unfortunately, reality is that militant groups are able not only to deal pinpoint strikes, but also to engage in full-scale warfare. In doing so, they fully ignore not only laws, but also the elementary considerations of humanity. This clearly illustrates the issue: how to apply humanitarian law in the context of anti-terrorist moves, how to apply it in the struggle against those who do not recognise any law."
“Our goal is to uphold stability and predictability in strategic relations, and to avoid a legal vacuum in the limitations of nuclear arms.”
“Today's humanitarian law is a major branch of international law and of international life. It is one of the determining factors of international life. It fills one with hope that military technology can be regulated and controlled, and that the spread of so-called "inhumane weapons" be prevented. For this purpose we propose that all nations of the world introduce the practice of specifying all armaments being developed for compliance with the provisions of humanitarian law.”
“As before, observance of humanitarian law everywhere remains paramount. We naturally see two sides. The first is the legitimacy of using force as such, and the second, the lawfulness of using various means and methods of warfare and armaments. And in this case, it is obvious that the ones who violate humanitarian law are above all those who trample under foot the fundamental principles of international public law.”
“It is obvious that the range of issues pertaining to humanitarian law is closely linked to the larger area of international security. I would like to say a few words about that now. What we are witnessing, unfortunately, is the alarming trend of "diluting" the existing legal framework.”
“The goal of our party is to generate new ideas and projects and control their implementation. We need to understand public opinion and people's needs. The United Russia party has all the necessary tools to define strategic objectives and to develop political programmes and draft laws that correspond to the needs of our citizens.”
“The administration in each of Russia's regions and municipalities should employ responsible policies. Administration heads, as well as regional and city Duma deputies, should be aware of current issues and introduce timely solutions. It is important to adequately evaluate budget opportunities, to optimise the state governance system and to decrease maintenance expenses. We may have to abandon some expensive, so-called ‘status' projects whose expediency is questionable.”
“We should invite small and medium-sized businesses to bid on state and municipal contracts, assist with office space and utilities, remove administrative barriers, including access to the local markets.”
“We need an active policy on the labour market. We need to plan measures to preserve and create new jobs and also allocate significant sums for retraining programmes and temporary employment. One of the more efficient ways to solve this problem is to support the development of small business, which can adapt more quickly to the changing economy and create new jobs with little capital.”
“This year, we plan to increase financial help for small businesses. The Bank of Development will allocate 30 billion roubles, which is 21 billion more than was previously planned. The federal budget will offer another 10.5 billion, that is additionally 6.5 billion roubles. This money will subsidise credit, interest rates, government guarantees, the development of small business infrastructure (industrial parks, business incubators and so on), plus grants and education programmes for new entrepreneurs.”
“We are going to make credit more accessible to the agro-industrial sector. Needless to say, the loan servicing should not become an excessive burden. Therefore, on some credit, the interest rates will be fully refinanced by the state. A sum of 3.5 billion roubles has been earmarked for this purpose. In addition, major projects in the agro-industrial sector may be credited by the Bank of Development. We have made this decision. The charter capital of Rosagroleasing (State Agro-Industrial Leasing Company) has been replenished with four billion roubles.”
“I am convinced that the agriculture can grow stronger and become more competitive during the global crisis, and occupy more niches in both domestic and international markets. By the way, we should help our agricultural producers sell their record grain harvest, thereby creating a solid financial base for their future development.”
“In addition to this, we are ready to purchase more than 40,000 standard flats which are either completed or about to be finished. We will earmark nearly 83 billion roubles for this purpose. By doing so we will help more than just our construction companies, but this particular sector of our economy. First, flats will be given to army service personnel and citizens residing in hazardous dwellings. Second, we will create a guarantee that the buildings which are under construction will be completed. This means that the people who invested in the construction will receive their flats.”
“We will continue making housing more affordable and helping people as much as we can. In this context, I suggest doubling to two million roubles the tax deduction for citizens who are buying or building flats. Let me explain. In this case, a family will save up to 260,000 roubles in taxes rather than up to 130,000 roubles. By way of exception, I consider it possible to make this measure retroactive because of its importance. Let us introduce it from January 1 of this year. This means that the income taxes for those who bought or built housing after this date should be recalculated and they should be reimbursed for the difference from the budget.”
“In education, we plan to concentrate on a network of national research universities, and on introducing a fixed per capita principle of financing at all levels. We will also pay special attention to developing new federal education standards, and a system of independent appraisal of the quality of education. We should support municipalities which use modern models for pre-school education. We should focus on upgrading the skills of school teachers and on other projects which will become part of the presidential initiative Our New School.”
“We are very responsible in relations with all our partners. We are taking a direct part in international anti-crisis efforts, and supporting our allies on a bilateral basis.”
