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.”
“The Russian Geographic Society’s wildlife conservation programme is also very important. The creation of a new nature reserve of federal importance, Pozarym, combining specially protected areas in Altai, Tuva, Khakassia and southern parts of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, resulted from the Snow Leopard Programme. <…> I can’t help mentioning the volunteer campaign to clean up the banks of Siberia's largest river – the Yenisei – attended by over 1,000 people. In addition, members of the Russian Geographic Society suggested that local authorities make this campaign an annual event and establish the Day of the Yenisei. The initiative found fertile ground, and we now have in Russia the first environmental festival launched at the regional level upon the initiative of a public organisation.”
“The new generation of the Russian Geographic Society members and trustees should be worthy of their predecessors by preserving and maintaining the society’s traditions and expanding the scope of its work. You should act in meaningful ways and bring young, talented and caring people onboard.”
“Since its inception, the Russian Geographic Society has borne a powerful patriotic charge. The society’s initiatives brought together the most prominent and educated people, selfless enthusiasts and hard workers truly devoted to our Motherland.”
“There’s one more problem that has to do with the Defence Ministry’s service housing. <…> The infrastructure issues should be addressed in the same way here, and the towns should be consistent with the latest standards. Of course, we need to take inventory of existing service housing stock and see what needs to be done to bring it up to standard.”
“Social infrastructure and public utilities should also be in place, so that people can live a comfortable life in their new flats. <…> All land plots, including the ones owned by the Defence Ministry, should go to municipal authorities so that they can build the infrastructure and housing for servicemen. This land could also be used to build kindergartens, schools, roads, public utilities and so on.”
“Housing was the most painful problem in the Armed Forces. <…> As you may be aware, only 8,000 – 10,000 new flats for servicemen were built or purchased in the 1990s and the early 2000s. About 20,000 servicemen were placed on municipal waitlists in the 1990s meaning that they didn’t have a place of their own at all. They are still waiting. Following our conversations with the military district commanders, we began a large-scale housing programme for servicemen of the Defence Ministry and other related departments.”
“I would like to emphasise that we need a modern information and communication environment for our administrative, including government, agencies and society, an effective system of interdepartmental communication that will rid us of excessive paperwork and red tape. I would like to ask the Ministry of Communications to prepare proposals on introducing common algorithms for computerisation of our ministries and departments within the next month and provide a performance evaluation system for each particular department within the next two months.”
“I would like to praise the responsible and comprehensive policy of our large federal museums, which are trying to ensure access to their collections to as many people as possible, opening branches in other cities, organising exhibitions in Russia and abroad, and using modern methods like online virtual tours.”
“Sponsorship and patronage of the arts have increased in recent years, as you know. Many businesses are on the board of trustees of state theatres, libraries and museums. We need to think together about what we can do to encourage their activity and make it more attractive.”
“I would like to draw your attention to the following. First, our market must be protected against various kinds of motor junk, against the import of used cars at giveaway prices. <…> Second, we should provide additional support to national producers. I think all producers will be happy to hear the following news – both those who operate 100 percent Russian capital and our foreign partners. I believe that all government and municipal agencies, contractors and enterprises financed out of the federal budget soon will only have to buy motor vehicles produced in Russia and in the common economic space, i.e. Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. ”
“It is not by chance that our foreign colleagues and national investors are taking an interest in the Russian automotive industry. Even the crisis has not cancelled the projects on the establishment of new car production enterprises in Russia and the modernisation of the existing technological platforms. Major car clusters are successfully developing here – in Togliatti, Kaluga, St Petersburg, Tatarstan. AvtoVAZ is implementing major re-equipment programmes in partnership with our friends and colleagues from Renault and Nissan.”
“According to the strategy for the development of the automotive industry through 2020, the plans are to increase the production of all vehicles up to 4 million, and the production of passenger cars up to 3 million cars a year. We must make every effort to ensure the sustainable development of the national automotive industry. It should meet the demand of the domestic market and enhance its export potential, create new jobs and orders for related industries, and certainly, maintain its competitiveness.”
“I must say that the country’s automotive industry has shown positive dynamics in the last few years. The qualitative changes are obvious: large-scale investment is poured into the industry and new technologies are used. I would like to repeat that this is a positive trend. And all of us need to work together to strengthen it.”
“Let me note that in 2011 growth was obvious in every segment of the automotive industry: the production of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses. The production of passenger cars totaled over 1.7 million cars, which is a record-breaking figure in the history of Russia’s car industry. <…> The Russian market, with sales of about 2.8 million cars (as of 2011), is becoming one of the world’s largest. In terms of market size Russia ranks 2nd in Europe after Germany and 4th in the world after China, the United States and Germany.”
“I am confident that the front can and must play a positive role in the development of our political system. It will exert its influence on the formation of parties and the election of governors in the regions. It will also play a role in changing the rules for the formation of the upper chamber of parliament.”
“So I believe that the Russian Popular Front will hold on to its influence on the work of the parliament. It must influence it directly, by helping to prepare and draft decisions which will be sponsored by United Russia as well as other parliamentary parties. This is our first goal. Another area for cooperation between us involves the auditing of bills the State Duma is working on. <…> Finally, the third important area involves working with municipal governments.”
“It is possible to give the front the status of a public organisation or movement because we have not registered it legally in any way. This is simply an association and a movement of like-minded individuals, but we can register it and its status would then be defined in charter documents.”
“I assume that the Popular Front will not cease to exist after the election, but will continue working. Secondly, the main political force in parliament, the United Russia party, has fulfilled its promise to the Popular Front: it had promised to include at least 25% of the Popular Front representatives in its election ticket, but in fact it included even more”.
“The implementation of major system-wide innovation and infrastructure projects has always been a priority. I would like to point out the important projects that were implemented through Vnesheconombank, such as the construction of Tobolsk-Polymer, Russia's largest polypropylene production complex, the creation of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 passenger aircraft, the creation of the Kaluga Automotive Cluster, modernisation of the Tikhvin Carriage Works and the reconstruction of the Khabarovsk Oil Refinery. <…> In addition, Vnesheconombank has established new institutions aimed at supporting and improving the competitiveness of the national economy. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which began operating this year, is designed to expand the flow of direct investment in the country's economy.”
