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 question of making changes to the pension system for leading experts was also raised. And this, in turn, affects another problem, that of recruiting new staff. So if the leading scientists could increase the retirement replacement ratio, then those people could be safely transferred to a different status, they would not be lost to science, and full-time jobs would be freed for young professionals. Incidentally, I promised that we would create an additional four full-time positions in the appropriate institute of the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology, so that they can hire new young professionals.”
“Today we will also consider a number of issues that bear directly on the improvement of the business climate and on the rational integration of our country into the international economic community. I am referring here to the modernisation of the Russian customs system. It must be admitted, as all of us know very well, that foreign economic players, especially those working in high-tech industries, are seriously dissatisfied with the quality of our customs system. The Foreign Ministry and the Federal Customs Service have drafted proposals on Russia's ratification of the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures. I hope this will allow us to more rapidly introduce modern customs standards on the Russian border, which will be convenient both for people and businesses.”
“We find it unreasonable to increase taxes, taking into account that pensions and other social contributions will rise in 2011. However, we find it possible to increase the financial burden on those economic sectors which have enjoyed low tax rates for a long time and which enjoy high global prices. The revision of tax rates will be connected with the growth of budget spending in the priority areas that have already been mentioned.”
“In terms of budget spending priorities, they will remain unaltered. We will ensure that the social obligations of the government are fulfilled and pay particular attention to the programmes connected with modernizing the economy and developing high technologies. On this subject I can say that in 2011 pensions will grow by 9% compared to the basic one of 2010. The old-age retirement pension will increase to 8,780 roubles, while the social pension will rise to 5,050 roubles. And the major increase is set to take place on February 1 of next year.”
“We have developed a sufficiently effective mechanism for interacting with the party as a whole, with the party's leadership. Now, as you know, we hold a party conference practically every quarter and will do this in all federal districts. These are like mini party congresses. My current status in relation to the United Russia party in no way limits my opportunities to influence what the party does and in no way limits the party's influence on the government's decision-making, because we have developed very close ties, particularly on preparing the next three-year budget, for 2011 and the following two years, 2012-2013. This is very professional, very tough and very nerve-wracking work on distributing resources across various sectors. And, of course, we cannot do this in isolation from the deputies of the leading party, the leading faction in the State Duma, United Russia.”
“But we should take the legitimate interests of our partners into account. I think we do. We reached agreement with our colleagues, including colleagues from Belarus, and signed a contract in 2007. And we are not asking for anything on top of that, beyond what the contract stipulates. The only thing we ask for is to observe the agreements we signed. Nothing else. Now when they tell us: allow us to pay less this year and double the amount the next, we agree. The next year they tell us: no, let is leave things as they were the year before last. Even in this case we try to reach a sort of consensus, to agree on some details, to ease the transition to market terms. And it seems to me the polemics, however sharp, between Belarusian and Russian energy experts has finally led to agreement.”
“It's easy to understand the desire of local governments to set the land taxes as high as possible, because the proceeds go to the municipal budget. However, this all too often increases the tax burden on businesses and hampers long-term investment projects. Thus, local governments gain a rouble today to lose dozens or perhaps even hundreds of thousand roubles tomorrow as they rob themselves of potential tax revenues. So I call on our colleagues to be more flexible about land taxation, lower rates to support social projects, small and medium-size business initiatives and innovative industries.”
“Despite a decline in 2009, trade between our two countries has returned to pre-crisis levels. There has been progress in many sectors, particularly in high-tech industries such as aircraft manufacturing and space. We have seen good results in the An-70 aircraft project, which we also discussed in detail with Ukraine's previous government and president. But now we hope to start up joint work on the An-148 aircraft project, as well as on projects to build engines for other airplanes and helicopters. A large percentage of the Russian helicopter fleet is powered by Ukrainian-made engines. Our work together in space holds also great promise.”
"I am convinced that the Russian steel industry has everything it needs to become one of the world leaders in effective production and management, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness quite soon… Much remains to be done. You know it better than anyone else, because your production facility still lags behind its competitors in labour efficiency and consumes 15% to 20% more electricity. All this, of course, is a legacy of the past, a legacy that is difficult to get rid of. You can't undo everything in one fell swoop, but we are moving in the right direction. We need to start manufacturing the products where we still rely on imports."
“The space rocket field has been one of the state's priorities since its inception. Space has always occupied a special place for us, and I hope it will continue to do so. And so, despite the difficulties we face because of the downturn, the space sector received all the money originally allocated, in accordance with the approved programmes. Moreover, last year we provided government support for companies in this sector that were in a difficult situation - funds were provided to increase companies' authorised capital, interest rates on favourable loans were subsidised and government guarantees were issued... We expect investments in the domestic space industry will yield considerable benefits, serving as a catalyst for growth in related manufacturing sectors, which will in turn help resolve many socio-economic problems.”
“You know that a state of emergency has been declared in many Russian regions. But we will overcome; we will allocate requisite resources to agriculture, as I have said. They will include direct subsidies, grants, government guarantees, loan subsidies, and grain sales, primarily fodder grain, to livestock-breeding farms from the grain reserve, and we will also subsidise the loans our farms will take out to finance such purchases. In all, there is a large package of support measures. We only need regional leaders and farm directors to act quickly and energetically to submit expert substantiation for the size of such support.”
“Russia is a very wealthy country, and that our greatest wealth lies in our cultural diversity, as I said at the beginning. And so it is very important that we understand your work, that we begin to understand the problems and trials of our ancestors, what our country went through as it took shape... the difficulties they encountered and how they overcame them. This allows us to say with confidence that we will overcome the problems we face today. And if we achieve success, it won't go to our heads or prevent our further progress. Everybody knows this, but I'll say it anyway: we can only be sure that we are building the right future if we know the past.”
“We should take the legitimate interests of our partners into account. I think we do. We reached agreement with our colleagues, including colleagues from Belarus, and signed a contract in 2007. And we are not asking for anything on top of that, beyond what the contract stipulates. The only thing we ask for is to observe the agreements we signed. Nothing else. Now when they tell us: allow us to pay less this year and double the amount the next, we agree. The next year they tell us: no, let is leave things as they were the year before last. Even in this case we try to reach a sort of consensus, to agree on some details, to ease the transition to market terms. And it seems to me the polemics, however sharp, between Belarusian and Russian energy experts has finally led to agreement.”
“A state of emergency has been declared in many Russian regions. But we will overcome; we will allocate requisite resources to agriculture, as I have said. They will include direct subsidies, grants, government guarantees, loan subsidies, and grain sales, primarily fodder grain, to livestock-breeding farms from the grain reserve, and we will also subsidise the loans our farms will take out to finance such purchases. In all, there is a large package of support measures. We only need regional leaders and farm directors to act quickly and energetically to submit expert substantiation for the size of such support.”
“Currently, many regions formally meet existing deadlines, but in reality they also repeatedly return the documents to businessmen, requesting additional certificates and permits, which takes applicants extra time and money. Moreover, each additional document resets the clock on the deadline. Now developers will be able to have their documents fully processed, with all necessary additions and revisions, within 60 day. Officials who fail to meet the deadlines and make applicants return again and again will be disciplined and may even face disqualification.”
“There were many good and efficient elements of our previous education system. However, we need to proceed from the fact that Russia is an open country, for our specialists as well, who may be in demand in foreign labour markets. This means that our diplomas should be adapted to the international standard, including the European, American and many others. To achieve this, we should be part of the unified European system of education. That is largely why we have joined the Bologna Process to integrate our education system into that of Europe. At the same time you are right that we mustn't lose what has always been our competitive edge. First of all, it is in fundamental sciences and all related areas, including specialist training.”
“Affect many aspects of young people's lives. Here's an example: recently we have been talking a lot about demographic problems. I'm sure you've heard all this before and know it very well. And how to resolve demographic problems? By supporting women and young families who want to have a first or a second child. Everything that has been done through these programmes is in fact youth policy. This includes the maternity capital, the various allowances. Or, as another example, take the Housing Programme: the part of this programme that affects young people is the subsidies for mortgages. This too, in fact, is designed to help young people. And so, the absence of an overall programme does not mean that we are doing nothing. We are actually doing quite a bit.”
“I hope that our Olympic athletes won't let us down, and we'll get some really good results. But sport is sport. These are open completions, and as you know anything can happen in sport: tragic defeats and glorious triumphs. In any case, we must do our best to create the best conditions for training, and then we can expect good results and victories.”
“Official unemployment has dropped by a million in the past year. That is a very good pace for cutting unemployment. The economy is also recovering at a fairly rapid pace, which is the most important factor for the labour market to rebound. But there is another side to this problem. We should not replicate the inefficient jobs and industries of yesterday; we need to build a modern labour market to create new, high-tech and high-paid jobs. We will move in this direction.”
“What the problem is with our educational system? The problem, unfortunately, is that there is a disconnect between how professionals are educated and what the labour market actually needs. Our goal, the government's goal is to first of all combine these two components. And here there are several ways to address this problem. One of them is early internships at companies that are interested in recruiting particular specialists. Such a practice is now becoming more widespread.”
“A report by the Prosecutor-General's Office is highly revealing in this respect. It cites, as glaring facts, violations made by state agencies concerned with supervisory functions. There were fake tests, shell firms set up to milk businesses, and complete chaos regarding fees for state services. I therefore consider it absolutely right that we have launched a comprehensive review of the state's regulatory and supervisory functions. We have examined, at a series of government meetings, the state of affairs in education, agriculture, healthcare and construction. And we have prepared a raft of concrete proposals and legislative initiatives.”
“I'd like to point out that this upcoming budget will be tight. In these conditions it is very important for us to focus on our priorities. We must justify and consider the effectiveness of all expenditures and only spend money on truly important issues. This primarily applies to social services and meeting our social obligations. I'd like to emphasise that our unconditional priorities include everything related to pensions, allowances, public sector wages and salaries, the implementation of housing programmes and the development of healthcare.”
“We all understand that for Russia, with its enormous territory, the development of aviation and airports is critical. It is one of our top priorities, and we must address it in order to ensure the unity of Russia's territory and the Russian nation. Air transportation in Russia is currently booming. Passenger air travel has not only recovered since the crisis, it has exceeded the peak reached in 2008. In January-May, 2010 air travel increased by 32.3% against the same period of 2009. These trends are directly related to the growing capacity of Russian airports.”
“In the past 10 years, the federal government has invested 800 billion roubles in the North Caucasus. In 2000, federal support amounted to 15 billion roubles; now the regional governments will receive some 180 billion roubles through subventions and inter-budgetary transfers. Allocations have grown twelvefold. Three large-scale federal targeted programmes are underway in the North Caucasus Federal District. These are the South of Russia programme and the federal targeted programmes to strengthen the economies and social services in Chechnya and Ingushetia. A total of 20 billion roubles will be allotted for these programmes in 2010 alone. As you can see, we are investing significant money and effort in the North Caucasus, which is allowing us to resolve acute social problems, gradually increase people's incomes and improving the region's infrastructure.”
“Long-term unemployment is probably the region's most acute social and even psychological challenge. A jobless person, especially a young one, feels abandoned and loses hope. I believe that our effectiveness in addressing the problem of unemployment will be the yardstick by which we measure the success of our joint efforts in the North Caucasus. Over the next 10 years, we must meet a critical objective: creating at least 400,000 new jobs in the North Caucasus. And we must do it together.”
“The matter requires negotiations, and the principles underlying the talks depend on the two negotiating parties. Just as the other members of the international community, Russia can only be a guarantor of the process. I know there are many forces in Georgia that want Georgian-Russian relations normalised, and want to have a common future with the Ossetian people. This is the road to travel, and we should not seek other solutions. America is America, Russia is Russia and Ossetia is Ossetia. There's nobody you can invoke, and you can't wait for manna from heaven. "We want no condescending saviours to rule us from their judgment hall" (quotation from l'Internationale). We need to do everything with our own hands. Something has been done already, and we need to make a step in the right direction.”
“We have reached a very high level of interstate contacts with the new president of Ukraine and with its government. We are removing the artificial barriers that previously hindered constructive cooperation, and in just a few months we have reached a high level of intergovernmental relations with the new president and government, and put together a substantial portfolio of joint projects, primarily in industries where Russian-Ukrainian cooperation brings our two countries tangible competitive advantages, in particular in aerospace, shipbuilding, energy and transport... Our companies share a lot already. They operated as part of one production chain over decades. And those links should be restored, including through the formation of integrated structures.”
“The relations between the government and the Russian Orthodox Church are going through a special period and stand out for their special warmth. We do not just return to the Church what it was illegally deprived of after 1917, but we also build new churches. However, this concerns the material side of our relations. Of much greater importance are the relations between the Church and the government in the spiritual sphere. The Russian Orthodox Church and all traditional confessions in Russia together with the government are building new and restoring previously lost shrines the way we are restoring together our common home, our Motherland - Russia. The Church, more than any other institution, provides support for every individual and the entire state at difficult moments, and it is the Church that shares our joys and successes.”
"Also, I see a danger in the bureaucracy growing accustomed to national projects and seeing them as nothing special. We cannot and will not tolerate this outlook. I mentioned this already at the beginning, and you well know that the national projects were successful because we concentrated our administrative and financial resources on them and imposed special oversight on the use of these resources. And these ingredients for success cannot be forgotten. Because the goals pursued by national projects are too important. We cannot let these projects become routine."
Rostekhnadzor must have the right to temporarily, pending a court ruling, suspend the manager of an enterprise for gross and repeated violations of safety rules. If we increase the overall responsibility we will improve safety. We have already discussed it: there should be zero tolerance of any violations, somebody smoking and saying that he cannot go without a smoke for five hours or if matches and cigarettes are found. Let us get this matter straight. You must say: for the sake of our own safety the rules must apply to everyone: to those who work, those who organise the work and the owners.
"We have competitive solutions in the aviation industry. The United Aircraft Corporation plans to triple its production of civil aircraft between 2011 and 2013, which marks a transition from producing to order to mass production. In order to implement these large-scale plans, we will have to modernise aircraft plants. We either have or are designing similar development projects in other industries as well."
"Since 2008, we've allocated 89 billion roubles for programmes to provide housing for veterans, allotting 34.5 billion roubles this year alone. However, to meet all commitments to the people that were put on a waiting list after March 1, 2005, we'll need to allocate an additional 81.2 billion roubles for these purposes by the end of this year. I repeat, a total of 89 billion roubles has been allocated for this programme since 2008, 34.5 billion roubles have already gone to it this year, and 81.2 billion roubles will be provided by the end of the year. It's quite a large amount, and much will need to be done. Please don't put this issue on the back burner; everything needs to be finished in a timely manner."
At the same time, it's necessary to increase our efforts in addressing the strategic objectives of the development of the labour market. I'm referring primarily to advanced training programmes. People have shown interest in training for new professions. State employment agencies should offer more such opportunities, organising internships for young professionals and helping people with disabilities find jobs.
"We will draft and adopt the Accessible Environment government programme. It will be distributed. Corresponding standards will be introduced in construction, architecture and so on. But I do not think this is sufficient. I think that the term Accessible Environment should include the training of everyone who works with the general public, with the community. All of them - doctors, teachers, and those who work in the social sector - should adapt and be trained to work with people with restricted movement or limited abilities. This is the extremely important, because it creates the corresponding mental attitude in society."
"Despite the global financial and economic crisis, we were able to retain positive trends in the economy with our Indian partners. Despite the crisis, trade between our countries grew 7.5% last year, and in the first four months of this year, it grew another 26%. We have many concrete large-scale projects, and they are all progressing well. I'm very glad to have the opportunity to meet with you and discuss our joint work."
“The global economic crisis that we all have encountered has clearly shown how dependent we are on each other. It has also shown that the irresponsible or selfish actions of one country or even one large bank may cause problems for the entire global financial system, as well as for themselves. Therefore, it is especially important that governments, financial authorities, and central banks of all countries synchronise their policies. … We are committed to coordinating our own steps with what's going on out there, with the decisions worked out by the G8 and G20 groups.”
“We intend to buy only new, state-of-the-art equipment and not what was designed twenty or even thirty years ago. For this purpose, we made a full inventory of the military industrial complex and specified basic requirements for military production. Of course, we should draft our rearmament plans with regard to the current economic situation and our budget. So, the Ministry of Defence and other state clients of the rearmament programme were asked to prepare detailed calculations and justification for the amount of necessary budget spending for 2011 and the following years.”
“Today geological exploration is a promising and attractive enterprise, where each rouble invested by the government attracts 10 roubles of private investment. In recent years proven reserves of strategic reserves, including oil, gas, gold and copper, have grown faster than the amount of these resources produced each year. This shows that we've resolved the problem we faced several years ago when we produced more than we developed, which caused certain problems and concerns. Today we can report that we have resolved the priority issues for exploration in this field.”
“I would like to express hope that all events being held during the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia will make it possible to reassess our past and our joint future and will enable the citizens of both countries to get to know each other better and to chart ways of effective work in the near future and in the long-term. It is hardly surprising that General Charles de Gaulle once assessed Russian-French relations and said the Russian-French alliance always became particularly important at all crucial stages of history. One could not say better.”
“The purchase of the Mistral is primarily a matter for the General Staff. We need answers to the following questions: How will the ship be used? Where will she be used? What components will be manufactured and where? I repeat, we want to know what components and in what volume will be manufactured at Russian enterprises. This matters a great deal to us. There are very many issues that have not yet been considered by experts. We should get this work underway, and then we will see. As we know, the Russian defence industry is sufficiently well developed. Russia is a major global arms manufacturer and a leading arms exporter. Just as in any other sector, experience, technology and production end-result exchanges are, of course, useful because this primarily concerns state-of-the-art technology.”
“In recent years, we have substantially increased funding for science as well as secondary and higher education. We have launched a national project in this area, and we have already spent 180 billion roubles on it. For example, new equipment and the introduction of modern programmes have allowed us to improve conditions at 30,000 schools with a total of nine million students. Overall, federal budget appropriations for education have almost doubled since 2006 - from 212 billion to 400 billion roubles.”
“There are problems, but I do not want to get into their causes now. European leaders have spoken about this at length, convincingly, and I think correctly. [Financial] discipline must be strengthened and the budget deficit must be closely monitored. Overall, there is much to be done, such as changing the currency laws, which should be the same, or at least as close as possible, in all EU countries. On the whole, the foundations of the European economy are sufficiently strong. There are clear leaders in terms of economic stability, such as Germany and France. And nobody wants to destroy the European Union. I think that Ms. Merkel was correct when she said that there would be no EU without the euro, even if the organisation would still be called the European Union.”
“I would like to draw your attention to some important considerations in the social sphere such as the income level of military pensioners. We need to think about improving the system, especially considering the upcoming reform in the military pay system. It is evident that civil pension increases created a misbalance in the pension provision for military pensioners. I believe it's necessary to immediately increase the bonus payments for military pensioners. Currently the payments are 240 roubles. These need to be increased to at least 1000 roubles. We have assigned 7.9 billion roubles for this purpose.”
“Democracy cannot be separated from legality. And legality cannot exist outside democratic society. Laws must be passed by a legally elected parliament representing the interests of society as a whole. This is a complex and sophisticated mechanism. And I want to stress once more: it does not mean that we have everything organised ideally, we see where the problem lies, including in the media. I do not want to say that everything is perfect. You know that all over the world, wherever you point a finger, authorities always try to put a better face on things and to curb the media to some extent. But in any country with a well-developed civil society these attempts, as a rule, do not succeed. Where society is immature or weak, authorities find it easier to manipulate it. In this sense, our goal is for our civil society to mature, grow, gain in strength and understand its own strength.”
“That being said, this increase in the federal funding should by no means encourage regions to reduce their own spending on healthcare. I hope that regional leaders will heed this. Let me be clear. If some regions have already started repairing hospitals and have promised to buy equipment, they must keep their word, carry out their plans, and not shift the financial burden over to the federal budget. They must complete all the projects that they have begun and pay for all of their commitments in full.”
“We suggest that in their cooperation, regional institutions should focus on developing trade and economic ties and the infrastructure as well as on promoting integration and economic projects all with a view to ensuring the prosperity of the Eurasian nations. I believe it is time we initiated serious efforts to organise our common economic space, to modernise our economies, our industrial and cross-border cooperation, and establish new transport routes, high-tech clusters and energy hubs.”
“As far as Nabucco is concerned, I have repeatedly said and will continue to say that if someone completes an economic feasibility study of this project, and if this study can form the foundation of this project, then Godspeed, let the project move forward. But we realise that Azerbaijani gas will not be enough to fill the Nabucco pipeline to capacity.”
“We had an ambitious proposal and a great desire to host the Olympic Games, but perhaps that was all Sochi had. Now Olympic venues are springing up right before our eyes. And this does not just apply to Olympic venues: the infrastructure of Sochi and the south of the country is also expanding. I'd like to emphasise once again that the Olympic venues and the related infrastructure account for a mere 20% of the cost for the entire project. We are building roads, an airport, a port, tunnels, flyovers, a natural gas pipeline, a thermal power station, eight substations and sewage and water supply systems. This is a huge effort to develop the south of Russia.”
“Several years ago we set ourselves the goal of ensuring that quality and affordable domestically produced food is available in Russia. We adopted a state development programme for agribusiness and allocated over 300 billion roubles from the federal budget for its implementation in 2008 and 2009. Allocations totalling 107 billion roubles have been approved for 2010. We can say with confidence that this investment and other measures designed to support agriculture have produced the desired result.”
