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.”
“After the drought of the past year and a serious decline in agriculture, we have not only restored the performance of the agro-industrial complex but have even improved the figures from the pre-drought year of 2009. Our tentative estimate is that the industry has grown by 17.8% in 2011 but some experts believe that the final average for this industry will be about 20% when all additional figures are considered. The grain harvest is 93 mln tonnes after processing. And the export grain potential has been restored in full.”
“The level of general unemployment has decreased as compared with the beginning of the year. It was at 7.8% early this year, and now it is a bit over 6% (6.3%). The number of people who are officially registered as unemployed has decreased by 400,000.”
“The most important achievement of this past year is the consolidation of the trend towards steady growth. The Russian economy has overcome the effects of the crisis and has reached its pre-crisis figures in key parameters.”
“Our tasks are modest: we want 25% of our total energy to come from nuclear power, but even that is a challenge. It means that in the coming years we must build as many nuclear reactors as were built during the whole history of the nuclear industry in the Soviet Union. That will be sufficient and necessary to ensure a balanced structure for the Russian power industry.”
“I firmly believe that our tax system should ensure the interests of the state. <…>The interests of the state consist not only of collecting taxes but also ensuring comfortable working conditions for taxpayers. Our fiscal instruments should stimulate economic activity, not suppress it. And we certainly need to (I believe some things are just obvious) move toward reducing the number of required reporting documents.”
“With regard to rural health posts, certainly, there are universally accepted standards. <…> We should strive to ensure that people have access to the same standard of medical care regardless of where they live in the Russian Federation, in the countryside or in big cities. Clearly, we have a long way to go, but we should strive to get there and we need a body to oversee this work.”
“We need to make sure that young people are able to see the promise of a vocational training and of the new economy. They should be able to see that the meaning of occupations is changing. <…>Our project to create 25 million modern jobs is designed to create an entirely new level of employment, raise the demand for skilled labour and, at the same time, raise its social prestige.”
“Now, given the growing national economy and the forthcoming modernisation of all spheres of our life, especially production, it has become abundantly clear that our lack of highly-qualified workers presents the same obstacle to development as restrictions related to infrastructure, such as a lack of roads, electricity and communications.”
“That by using federal support and funds provided by businesses, we will be able to promote primary and secondary education. I have mentioned this already, but I want to emphasise that Russian regions should intensify their focus on this issue, and they should do so not only because it falls under the issues overseen by the regions. Above all, they should do so because a good vocational training system serves the interests of the regions themselves and is a prerequisite for their socio-economic prosperity.”
“It is essential that employers, businesses and unions take part in the development of these occupational standards. I also suggest developing effective frameworks for involving businesses in the development of additional training programmes, and assessing the quality of training and acquired skills. To do this, we need to establish a nationwide employee certification system for priority economic sectors within the next two years.”
“The occupational certificate should guarantee the need in the market for a particular profession, as well as a decent salary, and it should also confirm the high skills of a person who holds such a certificate. If we set forth stringent requirements for the quality of training, we will at the same time be raising the social prestige of these occupations and will thereby guarantee respectable employment, just like it's done at the educational institution where we are now.”
“Turkmenistan is our longstanding and traditional partner in many areas of cooperation, and principally of course in the gas sector. It is pleasing to note that our trade volumes keep growing. Last year this volume grew 33%. This is a very good indicator.”
“We see the business community and entrepreneurs as our partners. Changing the country is our common objective. We expect close and open cooperation with all those who want to do honest business in Russia, and we are ready to help you. We want you to be successful. We need your experience and your understanding of the real problems in this country. I strongly believe that we must engage more representatives of mid-sized businesses to work in executive and legislative bodies.”
“One of the key problems for medium-sized business is the availability of qualified personnel. I believe that entrepreneurs should become actively involved in working to develop professional and educational standards in our country, and they should do so in close contact with educational institutions and regional and municipal authorities.”
“We must create conditions in which success in business can be achieved not just by people who possess greater administrative resources or more personal connections, but by those who produce quality products that meet international standards and are truly the best in the market. We need a more effective anti-monopoly policy and we must remain committed to creating a truly competitive environment.”
“Clearly, our economy needs a decisive shift in terms of taxation. It needs a modern taxation system. We should also think about streamlining taxes that contribute to high-quality economic growth.”
“The goal that we have set for ourselves is to propel economic growth to at least six per cent, or better still, to seven per cent per year, and to join the ranks of the world’s top five economies within five years. We must achieve this through growth, not because of a contraction in the world’s major economies. Over the next decade, Russia needs to increase GDP per capita by 50%, from the current $20,700 (let’s speak in terms of dollars) to over $35,000. This year’s GDP growth rate is estimated at 4.2%, probably even 4.5%.”
“It is clear that the ambitious goals we are setting for ourselves can only be achieved under a new economic growth model propelled not by the commodity sectors, but by powerful high-tech industrial production businesses. <…> The key issues here are the costs and resources for building an innovative economy. According to our estimates, fixed investment needs to be increased to nearly 25% of the GDP by 2015, and then to 30%. Almost 43 trillion roubles are expected to be invested in Russia’s economy within the next three years.”
“Our main task is to create jobs in the North Caucasus. Small and medium companies can and must play a big role in this effort. The traditions of entrepreneurship and the ambition to start one's own business are very strong in the North Caucasus. If implemented properly, this potential will certainly yield tangible results.”
