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.”
"We will seek to reduce the tax burden. We will try to do it. But we must bear in mind that we face major challenges in reforming the socially sensitive sectors: public health, education and the pension system. All these reforms will involve considerable budget outlays because all these changes should enhance living standards and not lower them. So, budget expenditure will have to increase. That is why we must think about tax cuts, but we should tread warily".
"We set up a special fund for nanotechnologies. Some 180 billion roubles ($7.24 billion, or €5.01 billion) is planned for this sort of research work".
"As for privileged rates for students, we will keep them, and not only for the Far East but also for students all over the country."
"The transport infrastructure, airport, roads, power generation, additional power plants, the gas pipeline from Sakhalin, development of the Russky Island, and construction of a new federal university. I strongly expect that this programme will be a major boost for the development of the region as a whole."
"We should certainly tackle some of the most pressing problems facing Russia’s Far East as part of the preparation for the summit. It is in fact a top priority for us. Although we are certainly honoured to host such an important international event, it is even more important to use this chance to give more attention to the development of Russia’s far-eastern regions, to tap administrative and financial resources to turn the capital of the Primorye Territory into a major influential centre for economic and cultural cooperation".
"There are plans to vastly improve the condition of Vladivostok’s streets and roads, to modernise the local airport, to rebuild and redecorate the city’s “marine facade”, to build a link between the city and Russky Island, a promising area for urban development. Overall, a total of 35 major construction and modernisation projects will be implemented".
"It is my hope that this centre (Federal University on Russky island) will not be just another higher educational establishment, but will become a real intellectual center in the Far East, a centre of attraction, a powerhouse of sorts for Russia’s Far East. And not just for Russia, but also as an educational and research centre - for the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole".
"We have a federal programme, one of only a few, which focuses specifically on the Far East. The programme fleshes out the details of a plan to develop the area. What is central to the plan? Infrastructure and electricity. New jobs and a more active promotion of innovative ideas than perhaps in other places. Russia’s Far East must become part and parcel of the Asia-Pacific Rim and contribute to the development of the Russian economy as a whole".
"Today – and I am pleased to state this – there is a growing interest in the natural sciences. The reason is that we are entering a new and different phase in our country’s development. More and more attention is being given to real production. And real production without fundamental science is impossible. <…> And I hope that these activities, these fields – engineering, fundamental and applied sciences – will grow in popularity".
"We wouldn’t like to issue grants according to territory or region; we would prefer to make the choice based on how effectively a student association works and how prepared it is to do independent scientific research. It should be based on a fair competition, and best projects should be picked regardless of the region they come from".
"I welcome all kinds of movements and organisations, with different goals and philosophies. It is important that young people take an active stance, that they feel involved in positive processes promoting the development of our country and society, and feel that they are a part of the country’s development. I think it is very important".
"Let me also remind you that Russia’s bid for the APEC presidency in 2012 has been unanimously supported by the participants of that international forum. We are looking at the upcoming summit as a real opportunity for expanding cooperation with our partners in the Asia-Pacific Region".
"I firmly believe that the reputation of any country which is capable of defending the life and dignity of its citizens, and can conduct independent foreign policy will only improve in mid- and long-term perspective".
"We are not going to play by some special rules of our own. We want everyone to follow the same rules that are also referred to as international law".
"We want normal economic relations with all of our partners. We are a very reliable partner. We have never let anyone down".
"As for your exports, that is, our imports, Russia is a very reliable and big market. I don't remember the figure but, for example, the German machine-building industry has been increasing its supplies to Russia every year. These supplies are huge. Does someone want to discontinue these supplies? We'll buy from somebody else. But I don't understand who needs this?".
"We have never infringed on Georgia's sovereignty, and have no intention of doing so in the future. And yet, we have special spiritual links with that country and its people, considering that almost a million, or even more than a million Georgians live in this country. For us, this is a special tragedy".
"We have not attacked anyone. It is we who are demanding guarantees from others that they will not attack us anymore and will not kill our citizens. And yet there are attempts to portray us as the aggressor.<…> We have no intention of attacking anyone, and we have no intention of going to war with anyone.<…> We don't want any complications. We don't want to bicker with, let alone fight anyone. We want normal partnership and respect for us and our interests".
"During my eight years as president, I often heard the same question: what place does Russia reserve for itself in the world - how does it see itself and what is its place? We are a peace-loving state, and we want to cooperate with all our neighbors and all our partners".
"It is now the G8 is already a bit inadequate. Indeed, without China or India, without consulting with them, without influencing their decisions, normal development of the world economy is impossible".
"Yes, Europeans depend on our supplies, but we, too, depend on the purchasers of our gas. This interdependence guarantees stability".
"We want to live in peace and accord. We want normal trade and work in every field, be it international security, disarmament, the fight against terrorism, against drugs, the Iranian nuclear problem-and the North Korean, which at the moment is getting somewhat more acute. We are willing to do all of this, but we want that work to be an honest, open partnership, and not self-seeking".
"A total of 3.2 billion roubles ($130.19 million, or €88.32 million) have been allocated to the Kamchatka and Primorye territories, and the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions to make up for higher fuel oil prices. Mr Kozak has already mentioned it here. This is one of the measures which should help these regions to get through the cold season without any accidents, or emergencies. A total of 1.2 billion roubles ($48.82 million, or €33.12 million) have been earmarked for the republics of Altai, Ingushetia, and Yakutia, as well as for the disaster relief efforts in the Stavropol territory. It is planned to allocate 250 million roubles ($10.17 million, or €6.9 million) to the Republic of Mari El to cover its expenses on the 7th All-Russia Rural Summer Sports Games".
"I would also like to stress a substantial growth of investment into the national economy. For the first time, we will spend more than a trillion roubles to this end. This will be 35% more than last year".
"I would also like to stress a substantial growth of investment into the national economy. For the first time, we will spend more than a trillion roubles to this end. This will be 35% more than last year".
"I must say that in drafting the budget, the Government set itself the task of primarily funding education, health care, innovation development of the economy and infrastructure, and, of course, the security of our citizens".
"We have a young and promising team. To turn promise into reality, the sports organizers - the Ministry, and the National Olympic Committee - should do everything to create the conditions for the training of athletes who are capable of winning such stunning victories and making such achievements as we have seen now in Beijing".
"As you can see from the documents, the Defence Ministry has drafted amendments to the law on Commemorating the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. I would like to say in this context that Victory Day has always been and will remain a truly national holiday. It is the day when we recall tragic and glorious pages of our history, honouring veterans, and when we teach a lesson of patriotism and public spirit to the younger generation".
"The long-term national development concept stipulates the following key tasks: increasing average life expectancy to 75 years, stopping negative population growth; reducing mortality rates".
"We must overhaul the health care and pension systems, implement infrastructure development programmes and ensure Russia's rational integration into the global trade system. Economic growth is the only way to accomplish all these objectives. Labour productivity, a key parameter, should soar by 200%-300%".
"Our strategic goal is to ensure sustainable innovative development, to provide better educational and health-care opportunities, to improve the environment and to reliably guarantee the security of Russian citizens".
"The draft federal budget has set a target of decreasing inflation to a one-digit number in 2009. That is one of the key indicators. I'd like to ask all the departments to consider this view of the situation".
"I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that we do have a surplus. And we must use this opportunity as long as possible when we make up the budget of the country with the surplus. And I want to ask you not to encroach on it if we want to stay within planned inflation borders. Because otherwise all these expenditures will turn negative both for the economy and for individual citizens".
"In 2009 we will reach the goal of increasing social pensions to the level of the living wage. The average pension will increase. Veterans of the Great Patriotic War who require housing will be provided with it. 18.9 billion roubles has been allocated for that".
"The research and development sector is still relying only on federal resources. It has weak commercial potential and, which is exceptionally important, it is poorly integrated with education. All of this greatly aggravates its personnel problems. It is obvious that while realising the approved programmes for the modernisation of science and education, we have to think about creating new instruments".
"I consider the establishment of national universities an important part of the development of Russian science. Two national universities have already been established, the Southern and the Siberian universities. They demand our special attention and development support".
"From 2009 the federal targeted programme on Scientific and Pedagogical-Scientific Staff of Innovative Russia will come into force. I expect that it will allow us to increase the professional level of our specialists and create a clear-cut system of attracting young and promising scientists. For achieving this goal we have allocated 80 billion roubles from the federal budget".
"And we should create a system that would regulate the situation in the market fairly and rationally based on current legislation.<…> It is necessary to think over the legislation in detail, and eliminate the weak points and loopholes revealed in it. It should be systemic decisions on the formation of more transparent, flexible and fair rules of competitive struggle maintaining steady economic growth, reducing inflationary pressures, and reducing the level of corruption".
"We have recently allocated additional 500 million roubles to North Ossetia-Alania. Today we are going to decide whether we need to allocate another 540 million roubles from the Reserve Fund to render assistance to the injured and to compensate for lost property. These funds should be distributed among people, 50,000 roubles for each family to compensate for lost property".
"We have to complete the formation of competitive integrated structures in key branches of industry".
"Today we should review a draft programme, one of those we spoke about earlier, the programme aimed at developing football, the most popular sport in our country. <…> The programme in question should provide for a significant improvement of facilities and equipment at youth sports schools. Why don’t we have enough players to qualify for the national team? Isn’t it because there are many foreign players while we have for a long time failed to support youth sports? In the near future over 500 new football fields, seven indoor arenas, and a training centre for our junior national team will be built. Advanced training of coaches to meet UEFA qualifications has been arranged. For the above purposes, we need to allocate 19.1 billion roubles between now and 2015, with 10.6 billion to be financed out of the federal budget".
"The budget strategy should be based on the policy of Russia's long-term development until 2020, and in fact this strategy is a part of this policy - its financial frame, basis, and foundation. Moreover, the financial strategy itself - I mean the long-term financial strategy - is estimated even for the longer term, until 2023".
"Turkey has been a reliable and stable partner, and a good neighbour over many years. Our trade volume has been growing steadily, and our relations in many different areas have become stronger. That is why political stability of such a partner is indeed of the utmost importance for us".
"I would like to note that in 2009, for the first time we are beginning the financing of the programme of promoting a healthy lifestyle, giving up smoking and over-consumption of alcohol. For these purposes 830 million roubles have been allocated. We are also increasing the financing of medical help to oncology patients; the financing is increasing by 6.3 billion roubles, and the financing of programmes to reduce the death rate from cardiovascular illnesses will increase to 3.2 billion roubles".
"In 2010 it is being planned to allocate an additional 14.9 billion roubles, and 21.5 billion roubles in 2011. This money is supposed to be used as grants for creative groups, for the restoration of museums, theatres, libraries and other facilities, for the construction of new buildings and structures of this nature, and for planned events in the cultural sphere".
"I consider it necessary to stress that Russia has always respected Georgia very much, and has always counted Georgians as a fraternal people. I am certain that despite these tragic events, our relations will continue unchanged in future".
"I know, not all the athletes on our Olympic are experienced athletes and renowned sportsmen, there are also some newcomers. This is a sign the coaches care about the future of national sports and its best achievements. This is the evidence of our great future, which certainly depends a lot on your previous efforts and on your will to win. We are all aware that luck is important too, so on my own behalf and on behalf of the millions of your other supporters I would like to wish you good luck and great victories".
"Generally, participating in the Olympic Games is a very good result already. But if you only make it, the result is quite insufficient. You must do your best to win. We have excellent chances. Last year our sportsmen won 78 medals and 29 of them were gold. It means that you have every chance to repeat these successes here. As you may know, we have started to pay more and more attention to sports, and allocate a lot of money for it. You may have already heard this, but I would like to tell you once again: I have recently signed an order to more than double the awards".
"First I would like to mention that we have special relations with your country, where more than a million of our compatriots live. Indeed, our international relations in the past years have been on the rise. Political contacts are strengthening; they are stable and regular at all levels - at the level of our Governments and Parliaments".
