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.”
“Creating the conditions for comfortable and unobstructed business activities, our focus on entrepreneurial initiative, and predictable and responsible economic policy – this is our choice and it represents the unified position of the Russian government. We seek to work together with everyone who wants to do creative work and achieve success in our country.”
“We will proceed carefully, strengthening the fundamentals of our political system and refining it. We will not tread water, and we will make sure that the Russian people and our partners – our economic partners above all, but also our political partners – see the continuity of our course and understand that they are dealing with a stable and solid country, which is safe for investment and can be a reliable partner.”
“Our strategic goal is to diversify the economy. However, to change its structure, we must open the way for thousands of new projects and business ideas, and we understand this. First of all, what we need is state-of-the-art manufacturing and modernised, quality jobs, new technology, and a dramatic increase in performance. Moreover, we intend to carry out large projects in bio- and nanotechnology, communications, energy-saving, and space exploration. We are going to establish a network of powerful hi-tech companies.”
“The domestic farming industry must satisfy the needs of the Russian market and facilitate its steady balance, particularly, in terms of costs. We must only export the excessive grain harvests. Based on this assumption, the government will gradually resume supportive measures in order to secure the position that our grain producers held previously in the global market. But I will repeat it once more: domestic consumption is a priority.”
“This year’s results have shown that the Russian farming industry is becoming steady and well-balanced. We begin to extend the production range and make changes to the system of the rural economy, which means there are new prospects and new standards of living for the people working in the rural area and new prospects for the steady supplying of the big industrial centers. This is our main objective: to ensure a good quality of life in the rural area and to supply affordable domestic produce to big industrial cities.”
“We expect a total of 95 million tonnes of crops this year, with wheat harvest amounting to 60 million tonnes, 18 million tonnes more than in 2010. What does it mean? It means we reached the goal we set for ourselves. It means that such a substantial reserve will cover both the domestic demand and the reserves required for the next year, thus restoring Russia’s position in the global market. In this regard, I would like to say thank you to the workers of the farming industry. This is an excellent result!”
“I am convinced that the establishment of the Eurasian Union and efficient integration are approaches that will enable members to take a prominent place in our complicated, 21st century world. Only by standing together will all our countries be able to take their places as leaders of global growth and drivers of progress, only together will they succeed and prosper.”
“Some of our neighbours explain their lack of interest in joining forward-looking integration projects in the post-Soviet space by saying that these projects contradict their pro-European stance. I believe that this is a false antithesis. We do not intend to cut ourselves off, nor do we plan to stand in opposition to anyone. The Eurasian Union will be based on universal integration principles as an essential part of Greater Europe united by shared values of freedom, democracy, and market laws.”
“Its natural resources, capital, and potent reserve of human resources will combine to put the Eurasian Union in a strong competitive position in the industry and technology race, in the struggle for investors, for the creation of new jobs and the establishment of cutting-edge facilities. Alongside other key players and regional structures, such as the European Union, the United States, China and APEC, the Eurasian Union will help ensure global sustainable development.”
“It is crucial that the Common Economic Space is rooted in coordinated action in key institutional areas such as: macroeconomics, ensuring competition, technical regulations, agricultural subsidies, transport, and natural monopolies tariffs. Later, this framework will also include common visa and migration policies, allowing border controls between our states to be lifted.”
“The Customs Union and CES are special in that they have supranational structures which will also be guided by the basic requirements to minimise bureaucracy and heed people’s actual interests.”
“The CIS experience enabled us to launch a many-tiered, multi-speed integration process in the post-Soviet space, and to set up much needed institutions such as the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Customs Union and finally the Common Economic Space.”
“A crucial integration project, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (CES), will kick off on January 1, 2012. This project is, without exaggeration, a historic milestone for all three countries and for the broader post-Soviet space.”
“We hope that the federal contract system will become an effective tool of state investment policy and will play a major role in modernising the entire economy. And, of course, it should considerably enhance the effectiveness of budget expenditures.
“We must purchase quality and innovative products for government and social needs and form a system that will reduce corruption and ensure maximal transparency of this work – starting with purchase plans and ending with the performance of contracts.”
“The intellectual and cultural potential of the nation are shaped by how much we read and how much we publish; but even more than that, they are shaped by the moral and ethical values that are conveyed by these books; whether they encourage critical thinking, reflection and analysis. <…> It is for the good of the country and its future that we will revive our people's appetite for a good read. We have all the necessary tools for this: talented authors and professional publishers.”
“Reading high quality and serious literature directly influences people’s level of education and cultural sophistication. It sets social trends and shapes the nation’s aspirations to make scientific and economic breakthroughs and other significant achievements. To a great extent, it serves as a springboard for the entire nation, giving it a competitive edge on the world scene.”
“The VEB must continue to develop programmes of support for small and medium-sized businesses, which has been a strategic priority for the bank. There will now be a special emphasis placed on supporting companies that operate in non-trade sectors, on financing innovative projects related to the creation of new production lines, quality merchandise and technology.”
“The VEB should take a more proactive role in investment policy, operating as a powerful driving force behind projects aimed at restructuring the Russian economy to enhance its resistance to any kind of outside stress. Some of the top priorities are high-tech and infrastructural programmes and projects that create new jobs for skilled workers.”
“Trade is increasing in our single economic space as we go on refining the union’s legislative foundation. <…> Every question matters here as we fine tune every procedure with business and with the public. This is all the more important as we will make another step quite soon – a step toward the Single Economic Space.We need state-of-the-art technology for customs regulation – I mean an integrated information system for foreign and customs union trade.”
“The methods of supporting agriculture leave ample room for progress, particularly through precisely prioritised long-term development programmes.”
“The country is entering the long and critical period of the election campaign, debates and elections to various government bodies and structures of the highest level. This is a crucial moment in the life of the country and society. Much depends – in the economy and the social area – on the effective performance of the Russian Government.”
“We can say that we have overcome the agricultural recession caused by the two drought years with exceptional heat, which was the worst last year. We roughly estimate the total grain yield at 90 million tonnes <…> In addition to supplying the domestic market, Russia will also rejoin the world’s leading grain exporters. We certainly owe it to our farmers but don’t forget that the government gave them a hand in hard times, helping not only with the work but also with maintaining development capital.”
“I am asking you to render all possible assistance to your colleagues in the regions and above all to focus on the technical exchange of information with the federal and municipal authorities. The principal task is to ensure a maximally comfortable situation for the people who should know what they need from officials and what those officials can demand from them. Every procedure must be simple, understandable and, most importantly, completed on time”.
“On July 1, 2012, a system of electronic interdepartmental interaction should also connect the regions and municipalities. By that time, we must create – and we will create – a comprehensive system covering the entire country, which will then operate efficiently”.
“All federal authorities will adopt a new system of operation, which will entail the use of electronic communication for all interaction, on October 1. What’s the concept? When people come to a state agency – a federal one in this case – for a reference or some other document, officials will no longer send them to other agencies for additional information but will themselves have to request it and then issue the requested document”.
“Each family in Russia must have the prospect of solving their housing problems. This is an important goal, one of our priorities. By 2016 we must practically double the construction of modern, affordable housing. But the main criterion for us is not simply square metres but a real opportunity for Russian families with various incomes to make a home for themselves in a new house or flat.”
“In the next five to ten years we must almost completely re-equip our army and navy. We will involve not only our defence enterprises but also our civilian industrial and engineering companies in this effort. I see the increased State Defence Order (SDO) to be a major instrument for upgrading our industrial defence complex and the rest of the national economy.”
“We have pushed back the demographic crisis that threatened Russia’s very existence. Just think of it – only recently, this country lost a million people a year. In 2008-2011 more than six million people were born in Russia – a record number in the last 20 years.”
“No place in the world has so many opportunities for creative endeavours as Russia. No place in the world has such vast opportunities for hard work, knowledge, energy and talent - no place but Russia. No place in the world has such resources and such spiritually strong people as Russia. Russia has everything it needs to achieve truly great aims, to achieve success. And our guiding principle is to keep moving forward. Our strength lies in the trust of our people! Together we will win!”
“Russia has repeatedly achieved breakthroughs worthy of its greatness, strengths and talents, its cultural wealth and shared values that hold together the united and indivisible Russia. I am confident that we have sufficient energy and determination to achieve even greater objectives and goals.”
“We will dramatically upgrade or create at least 25 million modern jobs in industry and the public sector. In effect, we will modernise every third job – this is our priority national goal for the next 20 years.”
“The first thing that needs to be done is to give children with disabilities an opportunity to study alongside their peers, in order to let people to be familiar with living in this environment from a very young age, so that they learn to understand each other's problems, to sympathise, help and support them.”
“We should change the quality of jobs rather than merely reduce the unemployment rate to zero. We need different jobs, more skilled and high-paid jobs with better working conditions. We managed to partly do this even during the crisis, though this is not noticeable yet.”
“If we all act together – actively, carefully, abiding by international standards, listening to expert opinions and finding compromises – I am certain that we will be able to organise our work in the Arctic in such a way that it will contribute to all nations living there and, in fact, to all of humankind. At the same time, we will act so as to preserve the region for future generations, to the extent that humans can preserve anything in its original form; what I mean is that our planet is a living organism, and everything on it is changing.”
“Our goal is to use all our resources to study the current state of the Arctic in detail and to develop effective instruments for reducing already inflicted damage and preventing new risks. I'd like to hope that the current forum will become a venue for discussing and finding solutions to all the problems I have mentioned. Therefore, I propose that we devote the next forum to environmental protection.”
“For our part, we have already launched a general clean-up operation in the Far North and the Russian Arctic as promised. One of the first projects is clearing Franz Josef Land of barrels with waste oil. <…>Implementation of these proposals will not only improve the Arctic environment but also allow us to develop unique technology for reclaiming polluted territories. Let me repeat that environmental protection should become a key theme of our activities in the Far North because for all its severity, the Arctic has the most fragile ecosystem on our planet. The price of a negligent, careless attitude towards the Arctic is very high and the consequences disastrous.”
“All our plans will be carried out in compliance with the toughest environmental standards. A careful, civilised attitude to nature is a requirement of all development programmes. Active economic development of the Arctic will be beneficial only if we maintain a rational balance between economic interests and environmental protection for the long term, not just for 10, 15 or 20 years.”
“We will continue working to develop systems of communication, navigation and hydrography in the Arctic, primarily with the use of our GLONASS global positioning system. Our experts are already developing a multi-purpose Arctic satellite system that will monitor the environment of the Far North. In addition, specialists are working on a project to create the "North Pole" ice-resistant observatory platform.”
“Developing modern infrastructure along the Northern Sea Route is a major objective. We are launching a comprehensive transport project designed to ensure the dynamic development and exploration of our northern territories, resolve vital economic and social challenges and create new production lines and jobs. <…>The NSR and its major harbours will be integrated with other modes of transport. We are also planning to upgrade river, car and railway routes and communications, northern airfields, airports and polar aviation. We are going to considerably expand our ice-breaker fleet.”
“Next year, we will continue with our project to support Russian schools and will allocate another 60 billion roubles towards this purpose. Our goal is to bring teachers’ wages to the level of the average wage in all regions of Russia already in 2012. In the next three years, the federal budget will allocate 10 billion roubles to support pre-school education.”
“In 2012, we will provide additional 195 billion roubles to renew the material resources of medical institutions and raise the standards of medical assistance. We will also increase financing of the Healthcare priority national project to 145 billion roubles. The money will be used for additional payments to medical personnel, to purchase modern diagnostic equipment and medications, to improve prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and cancer – in other words, towards priority areas.”
“One of the most important goals of the federal budget over the next three years will be ensuring the country’s post-crisis development, creating conditions to modernise the Russian economy, building a stable infrastructure and improving Russia’s defence capabilities and security.”
“If we do not want to sequester the budget tomorrow, as some developed market economies are currently doing, which would deprive people of the most necessary things, would require us to take painful measures and to reject those citizens who are entitled to government support – if we do not want to do this, we should not inflate our spending today. We need to be very careful about this.”
“Undoubtedly, the establishment of the Popular Front also helped reinvigorate the United Russia party. I hope very much that our colleagues in the party understand this and will promote this process, because, on the whole, this new organisation is becoming more viable. We have used the Popular Front venue to discuss a wide range of issues related to all areas of life in the country. In point of fact, we have created a network of direct ties between the authorities and civil society institutions. It was a very important period in our work, and we will definitely continue to promote these initiatives and mechanisms.”
“The idea of the Russian Popular Front is to give a fresh impetus to Russia’s political and economic life, to ensure that new ideas burgeon at the regional, municipal and federal level and unconventional solutions are found to problems facing cities, regions and Russia as a whole.”
“I have no doubt that working together, we can change Russia and make it a stronger and more prosperous state, a friendly neighbour, a country that protects human rights and dignity and has reliable private property guarantees. I'm confident that acting in this manner, we are bound to achieve success.”
“The Export Insurance Agency will soon be launched in order to support the ambitions of small and medium-sized businesses that want to enter foreign markets. We expect to have more than $14 billion worth of export loans insured from 2012-2014. We will primarily provide support to domestic high-tech products that, I'm sure, are capable of competing in the world market.”
“In general, we will assist our scientists, engineers and innovation business by providing them with orders from major government corporations. In other words, we will create a market for them. This year 46 state companies will launch innovation programmes worth a total of 700 billion roubles, and will double their funding after two years.”
