
“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.”
"It is therefore vital that, in accordance with the current law, a new competition be held to select the architectural concept and subsequent design work. The fundamental condition of this competition must include maintaining the current construction schedule, since we already have an established budget and a 2011 deadline. Further, the new design will have to be built using the foundation currently under construction."
"We have arranged smooth interaction with natural monopolies, and are negotiating with banks for crediting communal infrastructural construction. As the result, the first land plots can and must be fully equipped for construction within a few months, with an emphasis on building low-rise homes."
"We need to launch new fields of the housing project this year, as we have planned, and start reclaiming vacant and misused federally owned land plots. An ad hoc fund for the promotion of housing construction has been established with this purpose. Active cooperation with the regions has helped the fund to obtain information about approximately a thousand such land plots, with the total area of a million hectares."
"Investment in various housing programmes will amount to 440 billion roubles in 2009, the money coming from federal, regional and local sources, the Housing Mortgage Crediting Agency, and the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund. If we take capital repair allocations into account, the funding will make record-setting 500 billion roubles."
"Active housing construction belongs to top national priorities. The financial crisis should not make the population bury their plans and aspirations in this sensitive sphere. That is what we proceed from. Those who have intended to buy a flat or build a private house should retain the opportunity."
"In addition, I particularly emphasise that future optimisation of the tax system will remain on the agenda. So, in 2010 the upper income allowance that allows small businesses to move to a simplified system of tax assessment will be increased from 30 to 60 million roubles. Although, as announced earlier, there will be no subsequent indexation. We see this as an anti-crisis measure."
"Strengthening the tax system's incentivising role is as urgent an issue as ever, above all in order to resolve the Russian economy's key problems. This includes increasing the efficiency of natural resource exploitation, introducing energy efficient technology, encouraging innovative solutions in business and supporting companies' modernisation."
"At the same time, we need to securely guarantee the fulfilment of the tax system's fundamental function: ensuring the solvency of the state. For this we need to refine the administration of the tax system and cleanse it of all the well-known tax evasion schemes, which have become ever more sophisticated of late."
"the anti-crisis package included a significant reduction to the fiscal burden on business. I am referring to lowering the tax on natural resources production, profit, small business and so on. In total, this amounts to approximately 700 billion roubles that will remain in the economy."
"Today this is far from being a theoretical question. In the conditions of serious budget deficit, it is vital that we take all possible steps to plan and implement the spending of economic resources rationally, and to improve the quality and efficiency of managing the network of state financed institutions. In addition, the agencies must be ready to be fully accountable for each rouble spent."
"It is crucial to ensure macroeconomic stability and a balanced budget: This is a key prerequisite for successful solution of social and economic tasks at present and in the post-crisis period."
"As for the demographic programmes, we must keep their funding intact despite all the difficulties involved in the drafting of the next year's budget. It is perfectly obvious that these programmes produce results. They help us achieve our goals. Starting next year, women will be able to use maternity capital for the declared purposes."
"I would like once again to reaffirm Russia's support, the Russian Government's support for the lawful Government of Moldova, and for the President of Moldova. We are very glad that the period of internal political tension has passed. In our opinion the Moldovan authorities acted very rationally, reacting calmly even to acts of hooliganism. We expect this process will be over soon. It is even more vital, given the conditions of the global financial and economic crisis, that political stability guarantees the resolution of difficult economic and social tasks."
"We highly value the position of Kazakhstan for its consistent support in the implementation of all integration programmes in the post-Soviet space. It is only natural that in the current difficult conditions our countries have chosen to unite their potentials in countering the negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis."
"We are going to step up efforts in carrying out a package of measures envisaged by our plan of joint action for 2009-2010. The plan provides for joint study and exploration of space, and cooperation in the fuel-and-energy sector, gas and electric power industries, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and the military-technical sphere."
"We believe it is necessary to make the best possible use of the advantages and potentialities of integration for increasing reciprocal investment and trade and carrying out joint projects. In this sense, the proposed customs union should become a major instrument for overcoming the crisis and resuming economic growth."
"We are starting the budget planning process for the following year and we must begin it proceeding from the parameters that exist today and from the forecasts being made on the basis of current indicators. This is a challenge, and it will require serious, thoughtful and responsible work from us. In this connection some areas of joint work are extremely important between such strategic partners as Russia and Kazakhstan. We are indeed very important partners for each other. Suffice it to say that our trade last year was almost $20 billion."
"The cost of this pension reform to the budget is very high. It runs into hundreds of billions of roubles per year. Needless to say, it will be difficult for the Government and the members of Parliament to find the funds for the pension reform in conditions of declining production and reduced budget revenues due to the current global financial and economic crisis. It is time for us to think about ways we can save. We cannot do without an economising effort."
"The budget for healthcare and demography should fund effective measures making sophisticated medical technology more accessible, and improving aid to patients with cardio-vascular diseases, cancers and traffic accident victims."
