Igor Fyodorov, governor of the Nenets Autonomous Area, reported to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In the very beginning of his speech he said that the area has been developing steadily due to cooperation between branches of government.
"What do you mean by 'steady development'? What is your GRP growth this year?" Putin asked.
Having noted with pride that "the Nenets Area is an oil-and-gas region where oil and gas production accounts for 98% of the economy," Fyodorov admitted that this growth had slowed.
"The drop in our GRP is due to the reduced production of a number of oil and gas companies," he said. "They made some errors in geological prospecting and had excessive expectations from some wells."
"But what GRP do you expect this year?" Putin asked again.
"I think 136 billion roubles. This is serious, Mr Putin. We are the first in the country in terms of GRP per capita," Fyodorov said, adding that this figure is growing.
"By what amount?" Putin asked.
The governor looked a bit embarrassed: "Mr Putin, I don't want to deceive you – I need to clarify this figure. The prime minister must not be deceived..."
"Nobody should be deceived... It's just that you have worked for three years and have come here to report. You should have had your figures at hand," Putin reprimanded him, after which they switched to social projects. The governor spoke about the construction of schools and kindergartens and mentioned the big contribution of the oil companies.
"So, they are not being greedy, are they?" Putin queried.
"No, they are not. When authorities are not focused on money grubbing they usually receive a lot more in return. Rosneft is building a kindergarten for us. Gazprom is doing the same. I'm not talking here about what has already been built and done..."
Sergei Syomushkin
