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.”
“You know that a state of emergency has been declared in many Russian regions. But we will overcome; we will allocate requisite resources to agriculture, as I have said. They will include direct subsidies, grants, government guarantees, loan subsidies, and grain sales, primarily fodder grain, to livestock-breeding farms from the grain reserve, and we will also subsidise the loans our farms will take out to finance such purchases. In all, there is a large package of support measures. We only need regional leaders and farm directors to act quickly and energetically to submit expert substantiation for the size of such support.”
“Russia is a very wealthy country, and that our greatest wealth lies in our cultural diversity, as I said at the beginning. And so it is very important that we understand your work, that we begin to understand the problems and trials of our ancestors, what our country went through as it took shape... the difficulties they encountered and how they overcame them. This allows us to say with confidence that we will overcome the problems we face today. And if we achieve success, it won't go to our heads or prevent our further progress. Everybody knows this, but I'll say it anyway: we can only be sure that we are building the right future if we know the past.”
“We should take the legitimate interests of our partners into account. I think we do. We reached agreement with our colleagues, including colleagues from Belarus, and signed a contract in 2007. And we are not asking for anything on top of that, beyond what the contract stipulates. The only thing we ask for is to observe the agreements we signed. Nothing else. Now when they tell us: allow us to pay less this year and double the amount the next, we agree. The next year they tell us: no, let is leave things as they were the year before last. Even in this case we try to reach a sort of consensus, to agree on some details, to ease the transition to market terms. And it seems to me the polemics, however sharp, between Belarusian and Russian energy experts has finally led to agreement.”
“A state of emergency has been declared in many Russian regions. But we will overcome; we will allocate requisite resources to agriculture, as I have said. They will include direct subsidies, grants, government guarantees, loan subsidies, and grain sales, primarily fodder grain, to livestock-breeding farms from the grain reserve, and we will also subsidise the loans our farms will take out to finance such purchases. In all, there is a large package of support measures. We only need regional leaders and farm directors to act quickly and energetically to submit expert substantiation for the size of such support.”
“Currently, many regions formally meet existing deadlines, but in reality they also repeatedly return the documents to businessmen, requesting additional certificates and permits, which takes applicants extra time and money. Moreover, each additional document resets the clock on the deadline. Now developers will be able to have their documents fully processed, with all necessary additions and revisions, within 60 day. Officials who fail to meet the deadlines and make applicants return again and again will be disciplined and may even face disqualification.”
“There were many good and efficient elements of our previous education system. However, we need to proceed from the fact that Russia is an open country, for our specialists as well, who may be in demand in foreign labour markets. This means that our diplomas should be adapted to the international standard, including the European, American and many others. To achieve this, we should be part of the unified European system of education. That is largely why we have joined the Bologna Process to integrate our education system into that of Europe. At the same time you are right that we mustn't lose what has always been our competitive edge. First of all, it is in fundamental sciences and all related areas, including specialist training.”
“Affect many aspects of young people's lives. Here's an example: recently we have been talking a lot about demographic problems. I'm sure you've heard all this before and know it very well. And how to resolve demographic problems? By supporting women and young families who want to have a first or a second child. Everything that has been done through these programmes is in fact youth policy. This includes the maternity capital, the various allowances. Or, as another example, take the Housing Programme: the part of this programme that affects young people is the subsidies for mortgages. This too, in fact, is designed to help young people. And so, the absence of an overall programme does not mean that we are doing nothing. We are actually doing quite a bit.”
“I hope that our Olympic athletes won't let us down, and we'll get some really good results. But sport is sport. These are open completions, and as you know anything can happen in sport: tragic defeats and glorious triumphs. In any case, we must do our best to create the best conditions for training, and then we can expect good results and victories.”
“Official unemployment has dropped by a million in the past year. That is a very good pace for cutting unemployment. The economy is also recovering at a fairly rapid pace, which is the most important factor for the labour market to rebound. But there is another side to this problem. We should not replicate the inefficient jobs and industries of yesterday; we need to build a modern labour market to create new, high-tech and high-paid jobs. We will move in this direction.”
“What the problem is with our educational system? The problem, unfortunately, is that there is a disconnect between how professionals are educated and what the labour market actually needs. Our goal, the government's goal is to first of all combine these two components. And here there are several ways to address this problem. One of them is early internships at companies that are interested in recruiting particular specialists. Such a practice is now becoming more widespread.”
“A report by the Prosecutor-General's Office is highly revealing in this respect. It cites, as glaring facts, violations made by state agencies concerned with supervisory functions. There were fake tests, shell firms set up to milk businesses, and complete chaos regarding fees for state services. I therefore consider it absolutely right that we have launched a comprehensive review of the state's regulatory and supervisory functions. We have examined, at a series of government meetings, the state of affairs in education, agriculture, healthcare and construction. And we have prepared a raft of concrete proposals and legislative initiatives.”
“I'd like to point out that this upcoming budget will be tight. In these conditions it is very important for us to focus on our priorities. We must justify and consider the effectiveness of all expenditures and only spend money on truly important issues. This primarily applies to social services and meeting our social obligations. I'd like to emphasise that our unconditional priorities include everything related to pensions, allowances, public sector wages and salaries, the implementation of housing programmes and the development of healthcare.”
“We all understand that for Russia, with its enormous territory, the development of aviation and airports is critical. It is one of our top priorities, and we must address it in order to ensure the unity of Russia's territory and the Russian nation. Air transportation in Russia is currently booming. Passenger air travel has not only recovered since the crisis, it has exceeded the peak reached in 2008. In January-May, 2010 air travel increased by 32.3% against the same period of 2009. These trends are directly related to the growing capacity of Russian airports.”
“In the past 10 years, the federal government has invested 800 billion roubles in the North Caucasus. In 2000, federal support amounted to 15 billion roubles; now the regional governments will receive some 180 billion roubles through subventions and inter-budgetary transfers. Allocations have grown twelvefold. Three large-scale federal targeted programmes are underway in the North Caucasus Federal District. These are the South of Russia programme and the federal targeted programmes to strengthen the economies and social services in Chechnya and Ingushetia. A total of 20 billion roubles will be allotted for these programmes in 2010 alone. As you can see, we are investing significant money and effort in the North Caucasus, which is allowing us to resolve acute social problems, gradually increase people's incomes and improving the region's infrastructure.”
“Long-term unemployment is probably the region's most acute social and even psychological challenge. A jobless person, especially a young one, feels abandoned and loses hope. I believe that our effectiveness in addressing the problem of unemployment will be the yardstick by which we measure the success of our joint efforts in the North Caucasus. Over the next 10 years, we must meet a critical objective: creating at least 400,000 new jobs in the North Caucasus. And we must do it together.”
“The matter requires negotiations, and the principles underlying the talks depend on the two negotiating parties. Just as the other members of the international community, Russia can only be a guarantor of the process. I know there are many forces in Georgia that want Georgian-Russian relations normalised, and want to have a common future with the Ossetian people. This is the road to travel, and we should not seek other solutions. America is America, Russia is Russia and Ossetia is Ossetia. There's nobody you can invoke, and you can't wait for manna from heaven. "We want no condescending saviours to rule us from their judgment hall" (quotation from l'Internationale). We need to do everything with our own hands. Something has been done already, and we need to make a step in the right direction.”
“We have reached a very high level of interstate contacts with the new president of Ukraine and with its government. We are removing the artificial barriers that previously hindered constructive cooperation, and in just a few months we have reached a high level of intergovernmental relations with the new president and government, and put together a substantial portfolio of joint projects, primarily in industries where Russian-Ukrainian cooperation brings our two countries tangible competitive advantages, in particular in aerospace, shipbuilding, energy and transport... Our companies share a lot already. They operated as part of one production chain over decades. And those links should be restored, including through the formation of integrated structures.”
“The relations between the government and the Russian Orthodox Church are going through a special period and stand out for their special warmth. We do not just return to the Church what it was illegally deprived of after 1917, but we also build new churches. However, this concerns the material side of our relations. Of much greater importance are the relations between the Church and the government in the spiritual sphere. The Russian Orthodox Church and all traditional confessions in Russia together with the government are building new and restoring previously lost shrines the way we are restoring together our common home, our Motherland - Russia. The Church, more than any other institution, provides support for every individual and the entire state at difficult moments, and it is the Church that shares our joys and successes.”
"Also, I see a danger in the bureaucracy growing accustomed to national projects and seeing them as nothing special. We cannot and will not tolerate this outlook. I mentioned this already at the beginning, and you well know that the national projects were successful because we concentrated our administrative and financial resources on them and imposed special oversight on the use of these resources. And these ingredients for success cannot be forgotten. Because the goals pursued by national projects are too important. We cannot let these projects become routine."
