Point of View

“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.”

"Areas near our borders face quite a few problems we must address, including the significant influx of immigrants from neighbouring countries, many of whom are not being properly registered and accommodated. Cross-border crime is also rising, and so are drug trafficking, the illegal arms trade, and poaching. These problems cannot be effectively resolved through the use of force alone. The situation can only be addressed through an integrated approach. We should begin by improving the social and economic situation in the areas and communities near our borders. We must improve their infrastructure, raise the living standards of the people living in these areas."

"In the second half of this year, our economy has started growing again; inflation is going down, and unemployment is gradually decreasing. This does not mean that anti-crisis measures are no longer necessary. Needless to say, we will continue encouraging the domestic demand, increasing the stability and reliability of the financial system, and taking measures to reduce the budget deficit and ensure macro-economic stability. Nevertheless, the tasks of strategic development are gradually moving to the fore. We are living in different economic conditions, and this reality is very important."

"New Russia had to start building a market economy and creating modern legal institutions practically from scratch, in very difficult conditions. Our partners – foreign companies which invested in Russia – did not find it easy, either. Nevertheless, I am confident that the majority of our foreign partners did not regret their choice. This is demonstrated by numerous successful projects in the Russian economy."

"Nothing has changed in the principles of building up today's economy. Competitiveness is always the first priority. If energy cooperation and Nord Stream provide for the competitiveness of the economies of Germany and Russia, if we supply relatively cheap gas to the market - because pipeline gas is always cheaper than liquefied - then this will contribute to the stability and competitiveness of the German economy. Who would refuse such an opportunity? Nobody would ever give that up. And rightly so. I hope that nobody will give it up. Today, when dealing with a unified Europe, we must be patient and obtain the necessary permits from countries the exclusive economic zones of which the pipeline system traverses. We must convince them of the project's expediency. I hope that we will be able to do this."

"Whether Nord Stream will be built or not, and I think that it will be, I'm confident of that - it's actually just a detail. Of course, it is important, but from the point of view of intergovernmental relations, it is a small detail. After all, sometime in the 1960s, we started building our gas system specifically tailored to meet the needs of consumers in the FRG. And at the time some countries put enormous pressure on the FRG to abandon these plans. But even in the middle of the Cold War, when the construction of the Berlin Wall began, the German government was conscious of its national interests, did not cave in to the pressure and saw this project through to the end. Surely, today we won't cave in to any kind of pressure in view of the clear interest of the German and Russian economies in this cooperation? In the modern world, many things will be resolved differently. Even so, interests take precedence, and applying pressure, whether military, political, economic, diplomatic or any other kind of pressure, has no prospects. Basically, that's the way it always was."

"We have established a good way to communicate directly with people. It allows us to understand their concerns, and for the State Duma, the Federal Government, and the regional governments to take these concerns into account when developing policy. All the more so since United Russia is represented in all regions, and has a majority in most regional parliaments. It is very important for party organisations to be as close as possible to their constituents. The party should not turn into a party of bureaucrats. It should primarily defend the interests of common people rather than those of civil servants."

"The decision of General Motors not to go ahead with the deal and not to sell Opel to the Magna-Sberbank consortium does not damage our interests. That is clear. That said, we were ready to support the deal. We supported Sberbank's decision to take part in the Sberbank-Magna consortium created in order to buy Opel. We gave them political support as well. In fact, several days ago, during a conversation with the German Chancellor, I reaffirmed the Russian Government's decision to provide 250 million euros in state guarantees to ease the load on the German Government and the German financial institutions. On the understanding, of course - and this was in our interests - that the plan to rescue Opel would be an investment in the Russian automobile industry, and that the plan would involve the transfer of technology. The members of the consortium worked hard with government agencies, GM, and with trade unions. The plan had been fully agreed upon. The last-minute decision to pull out of the deal does not harm our interests, but it does say something about the somewhat peculiar culture of our American partners when dealing with their partners. That is obvious."

"As for our own plans, they will not be changed. We will work with everyone, including American manufacturers. GM has a presence in the Russian Federation. We will support its activities in Russia, just as we will maintain contacts with the European manufacturers, such as our German and French partners, as well as with all those who have come to our market. For example, the Japanese producers. We have our own ambitious plans with which we will go ahead regardless, if not within this arrangement, then under some other arrangement. These plans are still alive and well, and they will continue and be completed. There is no doubt about it."

"As you know, we are in the final stages of an extensive programme to finish construction on more than 17 major bridges. Construction began in the Soviet era but was later stopped. But these are very important infrastructure facilities, and construction on them will be finished this year. We'll even exceed the quota by building one extra bridge. Today, I signed an executive order prepared by the Transport Ministry establishing bridges and roads in need of repair. This includes many facilities - in Vologda, Novaya Ladoga in the Vologda Region, the Saimaa Canal, the Krasnodar Territory in the south, St Petersburg, the Moscow Region, the Don, Volgograd, and the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky on the border with Ukraine."

"Operating without accidents and meeting the demands of the economy and ordinary people are the main criteria by which we must evaluate the effectiveness of an energy system. Clearly, this can be achieved by thoroughly modernising electric power stations and distribution networks, and by refurbishing obsolete facilities with reliable cutting-edge, high-capacity equipment. I believe that safety and quality must form the basis of the technical rules that regulate the generation and distribution of power. These regulations should be prepared as soon as possible."

"I would like to remind you that the Russian Federation currently holds the presidency of the Baltic Sea States Council. Just lately, several days ago, I signed off on the plan for the Russian Government's work as President of the Baltic Sea States Council. We are completing, have completed the practical work on the plan to improve the Baltic Sea environment for 2010-2012. It includes specific projects such as the building of purification facilities, including in the Kaliningrad Region."

"Import replacement is not an end in itself. Sometimes it makes more sense to operate within an international division of labour getting cheap quality products from our partners abroad. But in some cases we should of course seek to replace imports because even in the areas that seem to be far removed from defence and security matters, in the final analysis, many things connected with the defence industry cross over into the civilian market. We cannot afford to ignore that."

"Our goal is not to close the domestic market and perpetuate backward technology, but, on the contrary, to create truly competitive production facilities which put out quality consumer goods that are in demand."

"The last decade has made obvious the importance of direct government participation in the development and promotion of domestic film making, supporting film studios, and securing contracts for related organisations. We have managed not only to preserve the cinematographic personnel and industrial infrastructure, and all those present know how difficult it was to achieve this in the early and middle 1990s and the early 2000s, but we have done this, and also managed to elevate our film industry to a new level, primarily in sales revenues and in production capacity."

"We have a great cinematographic legacy. Our films traditionally receive prestigious awards at international festivals. However, our films have not yet won a mass foreign audience. In other words, we are still unable to exert in full measure economic and cultural influence, which is one of the most important and serious tasks of national film making."

"Needless to say, the financial crisis has had an adverse effect on the development of the film making infrastructure, or in simpler terms, the construction of new movie theatres and other facilities. However, the growth of box-office revenue from Russian films is a positive change. It has reached 15% in the last nine months. Other industries have been in decline, but box-office revenue has increased by 15% in the last nine months. The Government can render financial aid, help acquire equipment and build the infrastructure. It can help streamline the educational process, as we are doing at VGIK. But the Government cannot force spectators see what they are not interested in. This is what creativity is all about."

"Relations between our countries, including our political ties, regulatory agreements and economic cooperation, have been developing very well recently. Bilateral trade grew considerably last year, by over 40%. Unfortunately, it has fallen by more than 40% in the first months of the year, but there is a clear tendency for revival. The overall decline is currently less than 20%."

"We are grateful to the Danish Government for giving permission for the construction of the Nord Stream gas transmission system through Danish territorial waters and part of the Danish exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea. We greatly appreciate this prompt and sound decision on the part of our colleagues. It is an example of a measured, politically unbiased approach towards energy issues and energy cooperation in Europe."

"The budget for 2010 focuses on social programmes, with one of its key articles dealing with a large-scale pension reform. We all know a lot about this issue, and have discussed it a lot. Pension allocations will account for roughly 10% of the gross domestic product-an unprecedented amount that will increase pensions by an average 46% throughout the year."

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