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 took preventive action to avert critical unemployment growth, to enable people to keep their jobs, to learn new professions or to open their own businesses. We also tried to help enterprises retain their most skilled personnel. Employment-facilitation programmes covered 2.8 million people. In February 2009, unemployment hit an all-time high of 7.1 million during the crisis, declining to 6.4 million in March 2010. Although this is still a lot, the overall trend seems positive. This means that, regardless of seasonal fluctuation, we managed to launch processes that restored the labour market and promoted the creation of jobs.”
“We decided not to cut the government spending on every budget item. We can often hear that there was a radical reduction, but we didn't make wholesale reductions of spending on every budget item. We chose a different solution, and I believe we did the right thing. As a matter of fact, we kept the budget at the planned level, redistributing budget spending to benefit the sectors that can ensure social and economic stability in the country. Moreover, budget spending grew significantly in 2009, if compared with 2008, the pre-crisis year. I was surprised to see these numbers myself yesterday. Budget spending grew 27.3%, whereas revenues dropped 20.9%. We used the reserves we accumulated to offset the deficit.”
“Starting in July 2009, the Russian economy has shown increasingly steady signs of recovery. According to official government forecasts, in 2010, GDP is slated to increase 3.1%. Nevertheless, there is a high probability that the growth rate will be higher. The preliminary results of the first quarter of 2010 inspire optimism. Growth in industrial production was 5.8% and real income increased 7.4%. All of this enables us to say that the recession is over in our economy. More importantly, we have very good starting conditions for further progress.”
“The crisis has not reduced business activity. On the contrary, the number of small- and medium-sized companies grew by 143,000, or 2.8% last year. In other words, people have not lost their can-do spirit. As before, they are ready to assume responsibility for their destinies. We must support them as much as we can. At the same time, it is still premature to speak about the full entrepreneurial freedom in this country. How can we talk about freedom if until recently we had 500 types of business activities that required a license, and 78% of goods sold in the country had to undergo mandatory certification? Now we have reduced the number of licensed activities to 74.”
“We tried to support the auto industry which was hardest hit in Russia and probably in the world. Overall, the government will purchase an additional 100 billion roubles worth of domestic vehicles in 2009 and 2010, including cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles for federal and municipal services. Moreover, when I talked to company executives, many said flatly that their companies would have long gone out of business without this programme. Production would have been halted and people fired.”
“It is heartening that over the recent years young people have been increasingly gravitating towards careers in medicine. These days, medical school graduates are more and more often choose to pursue a medical career. Today, highly skilled specialists versed in the latest diagnosis and treatment methods are in great demand in our country's healthcare system. High-tech equipment is being widely introduced in our medical institutions, and treatment methods and standards are being improved. We are building new hospitals with sophisticated equipment and new prenatal centres. We have been investing considerable funds in programmes for cardiovascular disease and cancer treatment, in the enhancement of assistance to road traffic accident victims. As you know, we have achieved good results.”
“We’re trying to protect the environment as well as to restore what's been lost as a result of human activities. I have already shown you what's been done to restore the population of Caucasian leopards, which were exterminated in the Caucasus in the 1950s. We've reached further agreements with our Iranian partners, and hope to bring in a few more animals from Iran to implement the project here, in the Caucasus. It's strange that leopards can be found on the coats-of-arms and other national symbols of the North-Caucasian republics but do not exist in the wild.”
“From 2006 to 2009 we spent almost half a trillion roubles - 453.3 billion - through the Healthcare national priority project alone. These funds were used to provide free medicines for veterans and disabled persons, as well as compensation to those who refused in-kind benefits in favour of monetary payments. We spend over 100 billion roubles to this end every year. In addition, 10,000 outpatient clinics received modern diagnostic equipment, which has shortened queues for specialist care. Finally, 70% of the ambulances in this country were modernised. That's 70% of our entire vehicle fleet! A few words about the need for high-tech medical services: not long ago, only one out of every ten patients had access to such services, but now that number is 60%. We have achieved some of our goals, but frankly we only managed to resolve our most acute, pressing problems.”
“We have always had special relations with the Kyrgyz people, and it goes without saying that we now must support our friends in Kyrgyzstan during this difficult time for them. In this context, I'd like to ask you to prepare relevant projects and government resolutions so that we can implement all of your proposals by the end of this week. I'd like you to remain in contact with the interim Kyrgyz government and promptly make decisions with your Kyrgyz colleagues to meet their needs. Let us assume that the situation will return to normal, while bearing in mind that it is very difficult and that, if necessary, we can provide further support.”
“The government is developing a business-friendly environment, and has already made several decisions to eliminate excessive administrative barriers and promote competitiveness. There are more than enough barriers and superfluous administrative powers at all levels of government, and they complicate the functioning of the government machine as such. However, the scope of these corrupt practices is not our biggest problem. The worst thing is that new barriers are constantly generated at various levels. Our officials seem to have an inherent need to control everyone and everything.”
"I would also like to inform you that I have signed the executive order of the Government of the Russian Federation today providing lump sum payments to veterans of World War II, persons disabled due to World War II, widows from the war and underage prisoners of Nazi concentration camps. A lump sum of 5,000 roubles per capita will be issued in honour of the approaching anniversary of the Victory in World War II. Individuals involved in the war effort on the home front and adult inmates of Nazi concentration camps will receive a thousand roubles each. I call on the Ministry of Finance to comply with this order and issue relevant allocations on time."
"The government commission established by executive order must do everything it can to determine the causes of the accident in the shortest possible time. That's the first thing. And second, we need to do everything we can to help the victims' families and those travelling to Moscow to identify the bodies. We need to do everything we can to help them during this difficult time. We need to help them with travel and accommodations in Moscow, and we need to have psychologists on hand to offer them support in this difficult hour."
"We will have to implement their decisions in the form of laws and governmental regulatory acts, and in the budgets of all levels within the framework of federal and local programmes. Today, United Russia seems to be the only party capable of attaining this goal, first of all because it has a large network and holds the dominant position in the local and regional governments. It also has the necessary organisational, intellectual and political resources for tackling such challenging tasks, and is prepared to assume responsibility for implementing these plans."
"I'd like to inform you about a number of new decisions adopted by the government to support higher education institutions. First, we have established special grants for up to 150 million roubles each to finance research in our institutions of higher education. This money will allow to hire respected specialists at Russian universities. I'm referring both to those working in Russia and abroad. Nationality is of no importance here, but we are primarily thinking about our compatriots who are teaching abroad."
"Further development of the global navigational system will remain one of our top priorities. First, the development of GLONASS is creating serious demand for new technology and modern intellectual products. Second, it is fundamentally changing the practice of economic management, improving efficiency in transport, agriculture and even housing and utilities, and providing a wide range of popular services to the public. The system is becoming increasingly important in the sphere of security. Experts understand perfectly well that the development of precision weapons is impossible without a global positioning system. Its even helps the Ministry of the Interior significantly increase its hot pursuit crime detection rate."
"Recently, we have focused our attention on the preparation of and implementing the budget. Budget planning is a major yardstick by which we measure the effectiveness of public administration. It allows us to see whether the government can actually address the problems people face."
"Our main objective must be the radical modernisation of defence production facilities. New Armed Forces are impossible without a new defence industry. We must do everything in our power to eliminate the dangerous disparity between the technological capacity of defence companies and the needs of the Armed Forces, increasing both production quality and volume."
“We also have a system of patents for small businesses. The entrepreneurs who purchase patents at fixed prices will be free to do business with a minimal level of accounting standards and other administrative burdens and barriers. This fiscal arrangement is the most convenient for business, and so deserves to be expanded.”
“Last but not least, educational, research, cultural and healthcare non-profit organisations should be exempted from the profit tax, which will give them considerably more leeway to do their jobs. And in future, we may transfer some budget-funded contracts to NGOs. Experience has proved that this measure encourages competition to provide public services and improves such services.”
