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 are making significant progress in reducing waste and air and water pollution - by more than 1% per year. We will increase the area of nature reserves and national parks by 11 million hectares by 2012. This is a colossal amount of land even for Russia, with its enormous territory. Today we have 55 million hectares of national nature reserves. We will increase this figure by 20% by 2012.”
“From the very outset environmental protection has been a priority for Nord Stream. We were guided not only by economic expediency, but also by commitment to the strictest international environmental standards. Some €100 million were spent on environmental impact assessments. Geophysical surveys were carried out over an unbelievable 40,000 square kilometres of seabed to find the optimal, safest route for the gas pipeline. <…>I can state with confidence that there has never been such massive environmental study in the history of the Baltic. Never has such a large amount of money been allocated for the environmental research on the Baltic.”
“It is important not only to realise the scope of problems but also take actual steps to address them, as my Finnish counterpart has just said, and take joint responsibility for the fate and recovery of the Baltic Sea. When addressing any economic issues and goals, it is necessary to take into account both the interests of one's own economy and people, and the interests of one's neighbours, as well as assess possible environmental impact on the Baltic which unites all of us. This is Russia's approach to implementing major infrastructure projects.”
“At the end of the day, increasing construction is the only sure way to meet people's housing demands. It is important to provide construction companies with the widest range of sites connected to all necessary infrastructure, including roads. We are relying on the Housing Construction Fund to address this issue.”
“There is another important issue we must discuss today. We have said many times this year that we will allocate another 250 billion roubles to revitalise the mortgage market. These additional funds will be allotted to reduce the mortgage interest rate. I would like to stress that this is our objective. Our objective is not just to allot funds, but actually reduce mortgage interest rates.”
“We set a goal for ourselves of commissioning 52 million square metres of housing. In fact we did even better, commissioning almost 60 million square metres of housing. To be exact, 59.8 million square metres. The main thing is to keep up and gradually increase construction. Most importantly, construction projects under way must be finished and new projects launched.”
“The work to provide housing to demographics to which the government has special commitments is being carried out entirely on schedule. This includes service members employed at the Ministry of Defence. As we promised, we will settle the issue of providing service members with permanent housing in the near future. The work on providing housing to veterans of the Great Patriotic War has gathered pace as well. We have made serious progress in the programme to relocate people out of housing that is beyond repair. A total of 130,000 families, 130,000 people, will receive new housing; legal formalities are underway. I would like to emphasise that we must meet all our commitments to provide people with housing.”
“We should pay increasing attention to the projects outlined in the Main Guidelines for Government Performance in the mid-term and long-term perspective. First and foremost, we should focus on the projects designed to overcome technological backwardness and increase labour productivity, as well as on efforts to resolve urgent healthcare and educational issues.”
“In the coming years we should establish a system for providing government and municipal services electronically. We are talking about information service portals and integrated communications channels, as well as departmental and regional databases. Every citizen in every region or municipality should have access to these new services and be able to avail himself or herself of its potential and advantages.”
“Each Russian citizen must have his or her personal electronic key for modern high-tech services. At present we have the Social Welfare Card for this. Many entities of the Federation already have successfully introduced these cards, including your republic, Bashkortostan. More than 150,000 such cards have been issued in the republic. <…> Make a note of this: the card must be universal and provide access to the whole range of government electronic services. It should be accepted in all the agencies, preferably throughout the entire country.”
“Information technologies have long ceased to be something abstract and mysterious. People prefer using electronic services because it spares them a great ordeal. Information technologies have long ceased to be something that people do not understand and become a real factor that contributes to our nation's competitiveness.”
“In the near future the government plans to introduce a package of alterations to the Tax Code and the law on education, which are intended to create additional incentives for small, innovative businesses, which we decided to set up at universities. These companies will be granted a five-year exemption to ensure a smooth transition to the insurance premium system. In addition, we are drafting amendments to introduce unified regulations for licensing start-ups.”
“We must accelerate the adoption of the federal law on the general principles for providing federal government and municipal services. I ask that you consider the government draft law on the legal status of federal government and municipal establishments within February. Alterations must make public spending more effective, improving the quality of the services provided to people.”
“United Russia has always prioritised working directly with people. These efforts must be increased. We must develop and take advantage of the opportunities offered by public reception offices and the application procedures used by the party.”
“A few words about our short-term legislative objectives. I would like to specifically mention the law on pharmaceuticals circulation, which sets new requirements for the safety and quality of pharmaceuticals and, most importantly, introduces a mechanism for government control of pharmaceutical prices, which will allow us to curb abuses and defend people's rights and interests. The draft law was passed after its first reading on January 29, 2010. I ask you not to slow down the work on this draft law.”
“I would like to thank United Russia MPs for their proactive work last year. A total of 394 laws were passed and put into effect. This required significant work on the part of experts and politicians, both in the regions and in parliament. Of the 394 laws, State Duma MPs and the government introduced 135 and 138, respectively. <…>I would like to give just a few examples to show the effects of our recent efforts. The amendments to the law on veterans provided all needy veterans with the right to housing. <…> The alterations to the Tax Code expanded the scope of the so-called simplified taxation regulations for helping small and medium-sized businesses. And the law on energy conservation will become a powerful tool for increasing economic efficiency and the efficiency of the budget.”
“We will also allocate an additional 250 billion roubles to encourage mortgage lending and stimulate demand in the housing market. We discussed this issue at the United Russia congress, and we have committed ourselves to it.”
“The federal government alone will allocate 30 billion roubles from its budget for purchasing vehicles. Last year we allocated 35 billion roubles, and this year 30 billion roubles. If necessary we will increase funding, depending on the situation. Another 11 billion roubles have been budgeted for buying up old cars for a recycling programme. This is a new programme, and as you are aware, entails certain challenges. Unlike other countries, Russia has never done anything like this before, and consequently the necessary infrastructure is lacking. There are not enough scrap companies in the regions, and unfortunately so far no logistics system has been developed for transporting these vehicles to the disposal sites. But work is under way. I hope that we'll be able to begin this programme in March as planned.”
“The economy showed clear signs of improvement during the second half of last year. GDP and industrial production began growing again, and there have been some signs of recovery in investment.”
