Prime Minister Putin explores dairy market
Natalia Antipova, Leningrad Region
Vladimir Putin spent yesterday in his native St Petersburg, where he attended a conference on international law that marked the 140th anniversary of the 1868 St Petersburg Declaration that renounced the use of certain explosive projectiles in times of war. He used the occasion to stress that plans to deploy the third positioning area of a missile defence system in Eastern Europe were "directed against Russia's strategic potential and we cannot but give it an adequate response." He warned: "No one knows who the winner will be, but it is obvious that the world as a whole, and above all Europe, will be the loser."
After sorting out international affairs, Mr Putin went to the Leningrad Region, where he drank some goat milk and saw how field mushrooms are grown.
After arriving at Novosaratovka, home of the Prinevskoye stock-breeding station, the Prime Minister immediately headed for the goat compound.
- "I came here to see your setup," he told Mukhazhir Etuyev, the dairy farm's general manager. "A lot of powdered milk has been imported, and producers are in a tight spot."
- "Current demand is not what it used to be," Mr Etuyev complained sombrely, but then added on a more optimistic note that adult animals had all been brought from Germany and the Netherlands, while younger stock was born in Russia. He then walked Mr Putin to the section with goat kids.
- "Nice little guys," Mr Putin commented, looking at the kids approvingly.
- "We only leave females, since males are not in high demand. Female goats lead our sales, with people ordering them into 2012," the director boasted and, steering the Prime Minister past the cowshed, led him into a finished products room where sauerkraut (24 roubles per kilo) and field mushrooms awaited him.
- "They're so big," Mr Putin said in surprise, looking at the mushrooms and, seeing plastic cups filled with goat milk, wondered if he could taste the milk, suggesting that the governor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matviyenko, follow his example. She, however, whispered something in reply to him.
- "But it won't hurt me," the Prime Minister answered and sipped a bit.
- "Delicious," he said, smacking his lips. "And no off-putting flavour, or smell."
- "This is because it is of the highest quality," Etuyev said.
- "And what is this?" Mr Putin asked, pointing to another cup.
- "It's kefir".
- "Excellent," commented the Prime Minister after tasting it.
The only thing he did not taste was the mushrooms grown at the farm.
- "But it is the most nutritious mushroom! It can be eaten raw and tastes like poultry meat," Olga Selivanova, head of the mushroom facility, exclaimed, singing the item's praises.
It turned out that Ms Matviyenko liked raw field mushrooms. "At home I sometimes eat them by dipping them into mayonnaise - a real delight! I also like raw cauliflower," she said, describing her gastronomical preferences.
Mr Putin, meanwhile, continued to follow the milk chain and went to Gatchina, where he inspected a dairy factory with the very promising name of Galaktika. There, he chaired a meeting with representatives from the Leningrad Region's agro-industrial complex.
The farmers were happy beyond measure. After the meeting, one of them said with authority that Putin was "the Prime Minister who understands everything, just everything, and sees what needs to be done." Another confessed, "You feel that when he looks at you, he does not do it for nothing. If he says yes, it will be so, and if no, then it will not be." It came up that the farmers had asked for additional subsidies, but the Prime Minister told them to "tone down" for the present. It was a firm "no".