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.”
"I would also like to inform you that I have signed the executive order of the Government of the Russian Federation today providing lump sum payments to veterans of World War II, persons disabled due to World War II, widows from the war and underage prisoners of Nazi concentration camps. A lump sum of 5,000 roubles per capita will be issued in honour of the approaching anniversary of the Victory in World War II. Individuals involved in the war effort on the home front and adult inmates of Nazi concentration camps will receive a thousand roubles each. I call on the Ministry of Finance to comply with this order and issue relevant allocations on time."
"The government commission established by executive order must do everything it can to determine the causes of the accident in the shortest possible time. That's the first thing. And second, we need to do everything we can to help the victims' families and those travelling to Moscow to identify the bodies. We need to do everything we can to help them during this difficult time. We need to help them with travel and accommodations in Moscow, and we need to have psychologists on hand to offer them support in this difficult hour."
"We will have to implement their decisions in the form of laws and governmental regulatory acts, and in the budgets of all levels within the framework of federal and local programmes. Today, United Russia seems to be the only party capable of attaining this goal, first of all because it has a large network and holds the dominant position in the local and regional governments. It also has the necessary organisational, intellectual and political resources for tackling such challenging tasks, and is prepared to assume responsibility for implementing these plans."
"I'd like to inform you about a number of new decisions adopted by the government to support higher education institutions. First, we have established special grants for up to 150 million roubles each to finance research in our institutions of higher education. This money will allow to hire respected specialists at Russian universities. I'm referring both to those working in Russia and abroad. Nationality is of no importance here, but we are primarily thinking about our compatriots who are teaching abroad."
"Further development of the global navigational system will remain one of our top priorities. First, the development of GLONASS is creating serious demand for new technology and modern intellectual products. Second, it is fundamentally changing the practice of economic management, improving efficiency in transport, agriculture and even housing and utilities, and providing a wide range of popular services to the public. The system is becoming increasingly important in the sphere of security. Experts understand perfectly well that the development of precision weapons is impossible without a global positioning system. Its even helps the Ministry of the Interior significantly increase its hot pursuit crime detection rate."
"Recently, we have focused our attention on the preparation of and implementing the budget. Budget planning is a major yardstick by which we measure the effectiveness of public administration. It allows us to see whether the government can actually address the problems people face."
"Our main objective must be the radical modernisation of defence production facilities. New Armed Forces are impossible without a new defence industry. We must do everything in our power to eliminate the dangerous disparity between the technological capacity of defence companies and the needs of the Armed Forces, increasing both production quality and volume."
“We also have a system of patents for small businesses. The entrepreneurs who purchase patents at fixed prices will be free to do business with a minimal level of accounting standards and other administrative burdens and barriers. This fiscal arrangement is the most convenient for business, and so deserves to be expanded.”
“Last but not least, educational, research, cultural and healthcare non-profit organisations should be exempted from the profit tax, which will give them considerably more leeway to do their jobs. And in future, we may transfer some budget-funded contracts to NGOs. Experience has proved that this measure encourages competition to provide public services and improves such services.”
“We have innovative businesses that even a small increase in taxes could force to cut back on development. We are willing to keep their premiums at 14%, which is practically what they pay now. We should also re-examine the official list of industries eligible for this privilege. On the whole, we should pay the most attention to high-tech industries, with their unique products.”
“Companies switching to new energy-saving equipment will be entitled to more incentives, and may even be exempted from property taxation for three years.”
“The burden on payrolls will increase next year. This will certainly be the most acute problem in the near future. As you know, we have decided to increase mandatory social insurance payments. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to achieve financial stability in the pension system while raising the older generation's living standards at the same time. However, we have put off a tax increase due to the economic crisis. This year premiums will remain frozen at 26%. We must find resources so we can increase the financial burden gradually over the course of next year.”
“Also, macroeconomic stability, low inflation, affordable credit, a reasonable budget deficit at certain stages and a good balance between debts and reserves all play a tremendous role in creating a friendly investment climate. I believe it may even possible to increase these reserves to some extent, considering the current rise in petroleum prices. To sum up, we should take a comprehensive view of the situation. Such an approach helps us to avoid diffusing funds too much or making promises we cannot fulfil. We have another objective: we should structure our efforts so as to fund priority projects and at the same time preserve a sustainable macroeconomic environment, thus guaranteeing the macroeconomic stability of the budget and the entire national economy.”
“We will also launch a fundamentally new federal targeted programme for the comprehensive modernisation of housing and public utilities, which will complement the efforts that the Housing Reform Promotion Fund started several years ago. Naturally, this programme will not just be about major housing repairs. Significant renovation of utilities networks is also necessary. Moreover, this renovation should not only be undertaken in emergencies and should involve modern technology, materials, energy-efficient equipment, private investment and concessions.”
“Turn to federal targeted programmes proper. They account for a sizeable portion of the national budget. In particular, 740 billion roubles have been earmarked this year to develop advanced technology, build up social and transport infrastructure, solve housing problems and enhance security. The federal targeted programmes for 2011 will certainly address these obvious priorities.”
“Forecasts for social and economic development and basic budget indices should be based on conservative and realistic estimates that take into account all possible risks, particularly unpredictable fluctuations in global markets for oil, metals and other basic Russian exports.”
“We need to prepare in advance for the entry into force of the law altering the status of public institutions, which envisages fundamentally new approaches for preparing and executing of budget expenditures. In particular, the usual estimates will be replaced by measures such as targets in education, healthcare and other public services. These targets will be used not only to determine how much funds are allocated but also to set requirements for the scope and quality of work. The purpose of these changes is to provide healthcare, education and the services of our entire public sector to citizens by providing an incentive for careful attention to people's needs and demands.”
“It should return to traditional financial planning. We had to temporarily abandon it last year in order to take extraordinary measures due to the global financial and economic crisis. We had to implement government anti-crisis programmes, which on the whole have met their targets. The situation has now been stabilised, and we can again afford to prepare a more routine budget. Therefore, we must produce a high-grade budget for 2011 that will meet long-term objectives and fully guarantee the fulfilment of social obligations.”
“We haven't had much political contact in recent years. This is the first visit of the Swedish prime minister to Russia in ten years. That being said, economic ties between our countries have deepened. In 2008 bilateral trade neared $9 billion. However, it has dropped by some 40% during the recession. Many large Swedish companies do business in Russia, including IKEA, Electrolux, Tetra Pak, Alfa Laval, Scania and Volvo. Swedish companies also have quite a big share in the telecommunications market.”
“I have already mentioned the importance of technical, scientific and medical support for the athletes. All the recent advances should be applied here, while keeping in mind that honest competition and drug use are incompatible. In Vancouver, the Russian team gave us no cause to doubt its strict adherence to this rule. Let's keep it that way going forward.”
“There is another important point I would like to make. After our unimpressive showing in Vancouver, I've heard people say that we will prepare for the Sochi Olympics, but being a top medal winner should not be a priority; a good showing is good enough. I do not share this view. One does not compete at this level to sweat; one competes to win. Millions of fans in Russia expect our team to win. In Sochi, our team must be among the leaders.”
“Russia's regions must also have a greater role in training our Olympic reserve team. Fifty regions have already adopted their own sports programmes; others must follow suit as soon as possible. It is usually grassroots sports that pave the way for serious achievements.”
“In 2009, about 200 government-funded sports facilities were opened. We need to continue to improve our sports infrastructure at all levels, from community sports fields to major stadiums. We need cutting-edge training facilities for athletes in all sports without exception. Let me repeat that - all sports without exception, including the new categories.”
“We need to revise the payment system for coaches and specialists working with our national team. We have created a fund with the help of major companies that will provide substantial funds to support our leading national athletes and specialists. We will need to keep an eye on how it works and where the money goes. Ideally, every leading athlete should be paid a substantial monthly allowance. Let me repeat that: every leading athlete. We need to make sure that this is being done. We may also create a special system for awarding government grants.”
“Additional steps need to be taken to train coaches and to choose and foster new athletes. We have developed a policy that will provide financial incentives to our athletes, but it is more important to find promising athletes in the first place. Vancouver has shown us that we don't have enough internal competition in certain sport in Russia. We don't have strong benches, and in some cases we don't have a bench at all. We need to take all the best ideas from the Soviet training system and combine them with modern international methods.”
“Systemic problems we have managing elite sports. This may be the result of the limited authority of our sports federations. I would like to hear more about this today and for you to formulate the problem precisely. Or maybe they lack a sense of responsibility? The federations' work should be transparent and more open to the public, so that they can see who is responsible for what.”
“The Sports Ministry must do more than distribute funds. And once it distributes the funds, it must actively participate in programmes to prepare and train athletes and have a vote in key issues such as appointing coaches.”
“The Russian government and Russian automakers will have to resolve a number of fundamental issues. First, we need to introduce modern technical regulations setting requirements for automotive safety and reduction of polluting emissions. By removing outdated equipment from the market, we will make the air in our cities cleaner and, most importantly, we will save thousands of lives that are lost today in road accidents.”
“Getting back to the auto industry, we need to seriously increase the competitiveness of the Russian auto industry. In just a few years, we were able to attract all major automakers to Russia. We were able to convince them to open their assembly plants in Russia and now they are working in this country. Today, they have become an integral part of the Russian auto industry and are full-fledged representatives of Russian auto manufacturing. But this alone is not enough; it is only the first step. Our end goal is to build a modern auto industry in Russia, including the entire production chain - from the steel sheet to the end product.”
“Issues of training engineering personnel and the company conducting its own research and development are of considerable importance and need to be addressed. Of course, we cannot hope for an instant result. But if promising potential is created, we may one day talk of establishing reputable Russian centres for the development of new automotive equipment and new concentrations of know-how.”
“I am confident that the indexation will not distort macroeconomic parameters. We managed to reduce inflation last year and sustain this trend in the first months of this year, which shows that we will manage to meet the planned macroeconomic targets. A responsible policy means, among other things, fulfilment of our obligations to our citizens. Therefore as of April 1, 2010, pensions in Russia are to be increased by 6.3 percent.”
“We have a powerful instrument of state purchases, but it is being used inefficiently and does not encourage suppliers to promote innovative business. That is very regrettable. I believe that the innovative element must be made an obligatory part of the acquisitions programmes. Potential suppliers and business must see that the government intends to buy only modern products, and that access to state orders will be granted above all to those who promote innovation.”
“In 2010, we allocated some 1.1 trillion roubles, or over 10% of the federal budget, for fundamental and applied research, higher education, high-tech medical services, and federal programmes in aviation, space and nuclear energy (Rosatom). As you know, these are very substantial allocations.”
“We must continue creating institutional and other conditions for successful introduction of high technologies. We must remove more administrative barriers hampering innovative businesses, and continue modernising the state-sponsored segment of science.”
“Another issue concerns the promotion of Russian innovative products and encouraging the demand for them on the domestic and external markets. New knowledge and technology must not remain unused gathering dust. We know very well that such capital becomes depreciated and obsolete very fast. To prevent this and to give the country an opportunity to benefit from new knowledge, we must create a comprehensive market of intellectual property. Also, we need to create, almost from scratch, mechanisms for the circulation of research and technical information, for making it maximally open and accessible for potential partners, investors and consumers.”
“We must create a database of R&D projects carried out under contracts with the federal executive authorities. It goes without saying that such a database must be absolutely open and accessible.”
“The government has announced its policy choice in favour of sustainable development based on innovation and modern technology. Important steps have been made to build a system of institutions and instruments for innovation and modernisation. But it should be recognised that very few projects are truly innovative. What we see ahead is monumental and demanding work involving tangible progress rather than slogans and appeals.”
“The government has decided to award prizes to outstanding young specialists in science and technology for 2009. We have selected 30 young specialists (under the age of 33) successfully pursuing promising and important projects in priority sectors. These projects involve cancer diagnosing, resource and energy saving plasma technologies, and development of nano-structures in electronics.”
“For the first time, we have established an important, supranational body, which has already been granted many of the responsibilities of a country. It is important not to lose this momentum and establish a common customs area by July 1 and a common economic area by January 1, 2012, as we agreed.”
“In my opinion, health inspections should only remain in place in industries where such inspections are a recognised international practice, for example in baby food production or the production of food with specific nutritional or medical purposes. In the rest of cases, these inspections are unnecessary. Scrupulous businesspeople will be thus relived of double or even triple government inspections carried out in an attempt to shake them down.”
“Our first objective is to define what areas really need government oversight and come up with sound and justified mechanisms to protect people's rights. All procedures must be significantly improved, with duplicate and redundant functions eliminated. We must dispense with the potential for conflicts of interest. As in other areas [in healthcare and social security], we must re-examine paid consulting, expert and registration services. Low-ranking agencies should not become profitable businesses.”
“Also, I believe that in most cases it is possible to shift from licensing to notifications, i.e. declarations of quality in accordance with legislation. In addition, we must toughen the penal and administrative consequences for ignoring acting legislation and failing to meet commitments. This primarily applies to healthcare. The government must monitor the situation and respond to any health care violations that result in patient injury or risk of death.”
“The South Stream is one of these major projects. As you know this project has received broad international support. Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Serbia and Slovenia have already joined the project. All participants in the project, including Croatia, which has joined it today, will obviously stand to gain from it. The project will guarantee the stability of energy supplies to Europe and bring purely economic advantages to its participants.”
“Russia considers Croatia to be its important and reliable partner in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole. We have discussed in detail the entire agenda of Russian-Croatian relations and I'd like to note that they are intensive and diverse.”
“Fundamental changes are taking place in terms of our armed forces' equipment. During 2008-2009, long-term contracts were concluded for the supply of 130 warplanes. In the current year 2010, 27 aircraft, more than 50 helicopters and five battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems will be purchased by the army. As you see, we are talking about high-volume supplies. Altogether, as laid down in the state armaments programme for the next 10 years, troops are to take delivery of over 1,500 new fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and something like 200 surface-to-air missile systems. As a result, no less than 80% of the air force's aviation equipment will be up-to-date and no less than 75% of its air defence systems will be new, which means a several-fold rise in our armed forces' combat capabilities.”
“The unification of systems currently used remains a pressing task. At the same time, further efforts should be made to improve their combat performance. Careful attention must be paid to the development and mass production of aircraft engines, and to improving the quality of structural materials and electronic chips.”
“The federal targeted programme for the Russian South and the programme for Ingushetia's development will require more than 43 billion roubles through 2016. In particular, 2.1 billion roubles will be allocated this year. This is a modest sum, meant to build the foundation for future comprehensive work. Seven billion roubles will be allocated next year, and funds will come in equal instalments after 2012. All told, the programme entails 130 projects.”
"Last year we quadrupled financial support for small and medium-sized businesses. I would like to stress that we must continue this policy because, as the available data suggest, it has created about 200,000 new jobs. At the same time we are gradually passing into a new stage, that of post-crisis development. Here we should pay more attention to the structure of small and medium-sized businesses and extend support to high-tech enterprises."
“I would like to emphasize that infrastructure development must be accompanied by serious investments in safety. It is essential that we guarantee a new level of anti-terrorism security, fire safety and technical monitoring of the tracks and rolling stock. Under the plan, 4.5 billion roubles will be invested to enhance railway safety in 2010.”
