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.”
“Next year, we will continue to be actively engaged in the labour market. The government has allocated nearly 28 billion roubles for employment programmes. We will also have to develop an effective policy regarding labour migration, and to boost the mobility of Russia's workforce. Other planned policies are aimed at making our social security system financially sustainable. We will also build a new mandatory medical insurance system, which should cover all Russian regions within two years.”
“Indeed, we do have something to show for all the work we have done. The key indicators, of course, are the falling rate of unemployment and the reduction in the number of people who live below the poverty line. We have managed to make progress on this even during the global financial and economic crisis. Of course, it had something to do with the changing trends in economic development. Last year we saw a major slump, 7.9%. This year we expect a growth of about 9%, and the industry indicators are even better, a growth of more than 8% and rising real wages.”
“We need direct foreign investment. And not just capital but so-called smart investment that requires a technology transfer and the creation of new quality jobs. Russia is open to foreign investment. At the same time, investment in non-strategic sectors requires no coordination. As far as strategic sectors are concerned, the authorisation procedures will be simplified considerably, just like we had agreed.”
“There has been no decline in entrepreneurial activity even during the crisis. On the contrary, the number of small and medium enterprises has increased by nearly 600,000 in the last two years. Higher education institutions and research centres alone have created almost 700 small companies in the high-tech industry. I repeat: We are well aware of the huge economic and social significance of small and medium-sized business in Russia. In fact, this is true of any country. We will provide the necessary assistance.”
“State support for the automobile industry was timely and effective. More than 44 billion roubles were spent in 2010 to stimulate domestic demand. Incidentally, we were just now talking with the workers and I think that if one takes into account all the channels of support for GAZ, it amounts to 8 billion roubles. I mean stimulation demand, scrapping, subsidizing credit, state guarantees for certain enterprises, procurement of cars and vehicles for state needs and so on. As I said, 13 billion was spent under the scrap and reduced cost credit programmes.”
“Last year, when we all were suffering from the crisis, Russia supported Armenia. On your request we drew up and issued 500 million dollars in a soft loan with a maturity of 15 years. Despite a certain overall decrease, this allowed us to shore up both our bilateral trade and Russia's investment in the Armenian economy, which amounts to between 2.8 billion to 3 billion. Not a single Russian company has withdrawn from Armenia's economy. This goes for Gazprom, INTER RAO UES, JSFC Sistema, VTB Bank and many other companies. In total, several thousand companies comprising Russian capital are operating in Armenia.”
“Regional programmes should logically continue federal efforts to improve public health. They are designed to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare. The regions will purchase modern equipment, and renovate and otherwise update their key medical facilities. Healthcare facilities must comply with the latest medical standards, employ highly qualified specialists, and certainly raise staff salaries, including those of doctors in outpatient clinics.”
“The world today is completely open. A country that withdraws into itself loses its positions. Only an open country with an open employment market, education and sports can succeed. In an open country that kind of nationalism is impossible.”
“There are a number of tools that the government and private businesses in Russia can use to foster the development of science and innovation. I’m referring to government programmes, targeted research and development funds (which are companies in which the government is a stakeholder), and private investment and venture funds. It is important for these state-run funds to find where in this science and innovation support system they are most needed and where there are no alternatives to them.”
“Since 2005 the number of patients receiving high-tech medical care increased from 60,000 to 290,000. We need to further increase access to such services. We have already increased it fivefold, from 60,000 to 290,000. This is good, but the demand for such services is much higher, and we need to step up our efforts. Budget allocations for high-tech healthcare from 2008 to 2013 will total 135 billion roubles.”
“A mosque is to be built in Moscow, too, and it will be built. However, if we count how many churches and mosques have been restored and rebuilt in the whole country, it would seem that impossible has been done. There are hundreds, thousands of them, signifying the rebirth of our traditional faiths and religions. There’s one more thing to add. Surely, we are all different. In Russia, however, different confessions have always lived side by side. They have intermingled and have always shown respect for one another.”
“When it comes to World Cup football, this entails 13 cities. Yes, there will not be such large-scale infrastructure projects in all these. But, nevertheless, there is a lot of work to be done on the development of the road network, development of airport and of railway infrastructure. And if we can put together a good programme, and there are already proposals, on the development of high-speed rail traffic between all these cities, or at least between some of these cities, this would be a powerful development impetus for the entire infrastructure of the European part of the country, and this is certainly an advantage.”
“The proportion of Russians living below the poverty line has decreased from 13.1% last year to 12.5% this year. Is that a lot? I would say that this is a positive change. I'd like to remind you that 29% of people in Russia, or about 45 million, were living below the poverty line in the year 2000.”
“It is worth mentioning that these measures are the first actual integration efforts in 15 years. I’m referring to the establishment of the Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and the next step which we are approaching – the establishment of a Common Economic Space. I would like to emphasise that this will mean a deep economic integration which will allow us to be more competitive. We will have a large market – 140 million in this country, 15 million in Kazakhstan plus 10 million in Belarus – look, this market can be compared to that of the European Union.”
“The several dozen Russian companies present in Mongolia are actively investing in the transport infrastructure, railway construction, and the prospecting and development of coal, uranium, and other deposits. No doubt, all this will build upon the export potential of the Mongolian economy – particularly through the use of Russian ports for trade with third-party countries. This mainly concerns the greater use of ports in the Russian Far East.”
“In the Navy, arms are to be renewed and strengthened; a strategic marine nuclear squad is to be formed from fourth-generation nuclear subs; modern surface vessels are to be purchased; and the operational hardware is to be repaired and upgraded. To be able to cope with the challenges of enhancing the country's defence capacity, the Navy must be developed in a level fashion, including the development of strategic nuclear forces alongside general-purpose naval forces.”
“The RGS is called upon to bear a substantial share of the responsibility to cultivate concern for the environment in society, to raise environmental awareness in the country. This objective applies, first and foremost, to the younger generation. I hope that the projects targeted at children and young people will be real priorities for the RGS and its partners. It is about developing educational programmes to support young scientists and, of course, organising competitions, festivals and expeditions that will help kids realise their potential, to believe in themselves and, most importantly, to truly get to know their homeland – our country.”
“This year Russia and Finland have managed to reverse the negative trends caused by the global economic crisis. Over the first nine months of this year our trade grew by 23% and Russia remains Finland’s largest trade and economic partner. The Russian economy has received a solid amount of direct Finnish investment and major joint projects in infrastructure and innovation continue to be carried out. Finnish companies have invested billions of euros in power generation.”
“We must fundamentally modernise our pharmaceutical and medical industries. Basically, we'll have to develop a new industry that will attract investment, generate innovations, create efficient jobs, and, most importantly, that will produce competitive, safe, high-quality and affordable products for our people and our health care system. We must reach a strategic goal – meeting domestic requirements in pharmaceuticals and equipment ourselves.”
