Prime Minister Vladimir Putin demanded that his ministers put budget funds to better use.
He started yesterday's meeting with his cabinet by presenting a bouquet of pale orange roses to Tatyana Golikova, Minister of Healthcare and Social Development, on the occasion of her birthday.
"This is a good beginning for our meeting," Putin commented.
Having changed to serious subjects, Putin asked his cabinet to focus on the goals that must be reached in the next few years and, above all, on fundamental changes in the economy.
Putin recalled that the crisis had substantially increased federal expenditures: 1.2 trillion roubles from the Reserve Fund were spent on anti-crisis measures.
"But 2009 was not wasted because we have overcome a decline in production and guaranteed the stable operation of the financial system," he observed.
"We have fulfilled the promises that we made to our citizens time and again. I'm referring now to the pension system reform, which has considerably increased their incomes," he said.
Putin then told his ministers: "Our reserves are limited, and the budget ran a deficit." In this context, he suggested that they should concentrate on overcoming the technical backwardness of Russian industry, enhancing labour productivity and resolving problems in healthcare and education. He specified that the government has allocated 2.9 billion roubles on modernising education and 450 billion roubles on professional education in general. Putin demanded that this money should be used as effectively as possible. "This will help us reduce the risks of fluctuation on world markets," he explained.
By Larisa Kaftan