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.”
“We should focus in particular on building modern border infrastructure in the Arctic. This will significantly fortify our military and border security and improve the protection of natural resources. As we agreed with the deputy prime minister in charge of this matter and the Ministry of Finance yesterday, we plan to allocate 134 billion roubles for improving the infrastructure of the Russian state border within the next nine years. This is a significant amount, and it should be used with the utmost efficiency.”
“However, we still have a lot to do. First and foremost, we need to significantly increase the capabilities of the border infrastructure. If we do so, it will help us a lot in our fight against terrorism, cross-border crime, smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration and theft of biological resources. At the same time, the border should be open and accessible for all law-abiding people, and barriers must not be put up against legitimate business transactions, cross-border cooperation or the realisation of Russia’s vast transit potential.”
“As is known, a border checkpoint is the first impression a traveller gets of a new country, and these impressions should be positive; people should be able to pass border control as quickly and comfortably as possible. This issue is particularly important in the run-up to major political and sporting events held in Russia in the near future. I’m talking about the APEC forum in the Far East, the World Student Games in Kazan, the Olympic Games in Sochi, the Ice Hockey World Championship in 2016 and the FIFA World Cup in 2018.”
“In the past three years, 28 checkpoints have been commissioned, making it possible to accelerate and improve the quality of control procedures at the airports Sheremetyevo, Koltsovo, Sochi, Grozny, seaports in St Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Kozmino, here at the Kavkaz port, as well as on westbound highways. Another 19 checkpoints will become operational before the end of 2011. I expect the deadlines to be observed.”
“I am very pleased that the company Rosneft has joined today to sign a strategic partnership agreement with one of the world’s leaders on this market, ExxonMobil. This project promises to be highly interesting and ambitious. Today's event is sure to receive a positive reaction from the world energy markets; Exxon’s exploration of Russia’s strategic continental and deep water shelf will open new horizons.”
“It’s great that you don’t forget the heroics and heroes of our past, because people of various ethnicities and religions take pride in our national heroes. Historical memory is a wonderful cement that binds together people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds into the united and indivisible Russian nation; it shapes and consolidates our united and indivisible Russia.”
“Our task is to increase the availability of high-tech medical services and to reduce the current shortages, so that people will be able to receive the treatment they need. We are well aware of the substantial need for high-tech surgery, as well as our actual capacities”.
“I met with representatives of organisations for people with disabilities. We spoke about how the disabled cannot always get proper medical examinations due to the lack of a barrier-free physical environment and proper equipment. <…> With new facilities under construction and old ones restored and repaired, you must not forget to make them accessible to people with disabilities. <…> When purchasing equipment, you should pay attention to this, to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunity to use services at medical institutions and the equipment purchased for these institutions”.
“Thanks to the Health national project we have managed to solve the most acute problems in healthcare. I repeat, only the most pressing problems. Now, under regional programmes, we must effect qualitative change in improving healthcare in the Russian regions. This is above all about upgrading the quality of medical help on offer, ensuring it is accessible and of course, it is about decent pay for medical professionals, medical workers”.
“Rehabilitating education will allow us to increase support for universities that have maintained high education standards, and increase investments for their programmes and development projects. Funds that are being used inefficiently today should be used instead to finance state-funded scholarships which are in demand, and to prepare quality specialists that the Russian state and society need most. In this regard, I would like to say that we are launching a pilot project – increasing financing for the programmes to prepare engineers in ten universities of Russia. We will evaluate the results and take a decision on extending this practice”.
“The universities should be made more open. This concerns both the character and the results of the admission process, maintaining high education standards, and assessing the quality of education. Ratings of universities should become an important tool. <…> The rating process cannot be turned into a corporate, backstage procedure. The consumers of education services must get unbiased ratings, and you can get them only by engaging the leading researchers, experts, public figures, and of course, the business community – the consumers of your product”.
“We have envisaged a separate area on qualification standards within the Strategic Initiatives Agency. I very much rely, esteemed colleagues, on your direct engagement. I would very much like you to participate in developing these standards, to turn them into real guiding points that would help fill respective vacancies in the market. We have already had positive experience with this. Currently, a consortium of universities is working with the United Aircraft Building Corporation, which allows for a strict specialty division while preparing engineering personnel”.
“We are planning to adopt a law soon that will expand the powers of the board of trustees of higher educational institutions. These changes involve including representatives from business and the regional executive power on the board of trustees. They will have to take an active role in developing educational programmes in line with the needs of certain territories and specific industries. The respective draft law is being considered by the State Duma and has already passed the first reading”.
“It is very important that while living through such difficult times, we have managed to keep our best traditions alive, and the continuity and quality of higher education intact. For the most part, of course, this was possible thanks to the brilliant work of professors, teachers and university and school teams – their faithfulness and devotion, and awareness of their responsibility for the future of Russia. On this basis, we can set new challenges, improve Russian higher education in line with the demands of time, societal requirements and national development goals”.
“But I am convinced that the Russian education system has preserved its main competitive advantages. <…> Graduates from Russian higher education institutions set the tone in the world's leading centres and high-tech companies, and this applies not only to previous years, there are many fresh examples as well”.
“I am convinced that we all share an awareness of the fact that quality modern education is the guarantee of the sustained development of our country, the foundation for realising one’s potential and for expanding social and economic opportunities for all the country’s citizens, and a strategic resource of Russia that we must strengthen and make full use of. It is thanks to our strong higher education system that our country has scored many successes and come out ahead in the global competition at critical junctures in history…”.
“The economic background was positive during these months. Russia’s GDP was up 3.9% as compared to the same period last year. The inflation rate was 5% during the first six months. <…> Russia’s trade surplus increased. Russian exports exceeded imports by $101.7 billion over the first six months of 2011. <…> Real wages are also up 2.4% in Russia. The unemployment rate is down to 7% from 8.1% in the first six months of 2010. The federal budget performance results have exceeded our expectations”.
“It is very important not to lose people who hold a lot of promise and to use them during regional elections and in forming representative and executive bodies both at the regional and federal levels. We should create a talent pool and draw on it. Certainly, this is very important”.
“I am pleased to note that the ideas underlying the establishment of the Popular Front are being implemented. We managed to create a situation where large numbers of public organisations who joined the Popular Front got a real opportunity to send their representatives to supreme governing bodies using channels offered by United Russia. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people participated in this work confirms it better than anything else”.
