RBC Daily: "Vladimir Putin remembers 'wasting them in the outhouse'"
The prime minister’s discussion with metal-makers.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he regretted using this popular colloquialism about "wasting terrorists in the outhouse" but that people appreciated it. He said that several times he had to bet all or nothing and was ready to pack up and find a new job but that it all ended well for him. Putin talked about these things to the workers of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine (MMC), commonly known as Magnitka. He also explained why a person should keep his word and not put on airs.
Putin flew to the Chelyabinsk Region to help inaugurate a mill worth $1.5 billion. He hopes the mill will help automakers reach a 60% domestic content goal. Surprises are not uncommon for any visit by the prime minister, no matter where he goes. This time, the 22,000-strong Magnitka work force joined the Russian Popular Front in one go. "What should we expect from the front?" a worker asked a naïve question. The prime minister did not promise the world. He emphasised the need for political stability, adding rhetorically: "Who is going to invest in a country that is always shaking like a leaf?"
The tough metal-workers of Chelyabinsk were worried about the problems of everyday life, such as petrol prices. The average Russian family spends 10% of its budget on petrol compared with 1% for a European family. Putin doubted these figures but agreed that fuel prices were growing faster than the national average (9% against the background of a 5.1% headline inflation), and that this was not good.
Putin sympathised with a woman who complained that a bank demanded that she return 4.5 million roubles to pay off her mortgage. Putin asked her which bank, and she named Gasprombank. "The company's management is here listening, and the governor as well. I am certain they will support you. I'd even say they are ready to do so now," he replied.
Another worker asked Putin for advice on how to raise his son to become like him. The prime minister replied: "What do you need to do to become president? I believe the most important quality is integrity. I'm deeply convinced that without this fundamental quality you cannot become president, governor of a region or a top manager. This is most important...of course it also requires knowledge, professionalism, and the ability to build relationships with others. But without integrity none of this is possible. A person who is indecent, who doesn't keep his word, must not be allowed to head any group of people, let alone a country."
Putin admitted that several times he had to make choices and risk it all without knowing what would happen. He took a risk because he felt this was the right thing to do. "I sometimes thought: That's it! It's time to pack up and go find a new job. But oddly everything turned out fine for me," Putin recalled.
He said that people understood when he said "wasting terrorists in the outhouse," but that he had regretted saying, "I was upset...I said something foolish, which is unpleasant, because I can't say these things in my capacity." But his friend told him how a taxi driver had responded, "...there is a guy now who says the right things." Being prime minister in the 1990s Putin was convinced that everyone knew him because he was sitting so high, but he learned that there was a taxi driver who thought he was just "a regular guy." Putin concluded that one "must never put on airs."
Inga Vorobyeva
