Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “A report on the given subject”
Author: Kira Latukhina
The Prime Minister met with ministers to discuss crop harvesting and measures to boost the economy and protect orphans.
Mr Putin began his cabinet meeting with preparations for heating season in the regions with a thorough questioning of ministers on all sorts of subjects. The discussion first turned to things not connected with winter preparations.
Last week, First Deputy Prime Minister Victor Zubkov led a government delegation to Astrakhan to prepare the third summit of the Caspian Economic Cooperation Organisation in Baku. "How did you work? What does the city look like today?" the Prime Minister wanted to know.
"We approved the establishment of a group to discuss joint power projects," Mr Zubkov said, listing the items discussed. An understanding, he said, was reached on the international North-South transport corridor: the meeting decided to set up a special non-profit partnership. In addition, Russia supported several countries' proposals to use the resources of five Caspian nations to back financial projects. Participants also discussed the probability of creating a special international organisation in the future. "A good groundwork has been laid for the Caspian summit," he said, summing up.
Mr Zubkov said he was very impressed by Astrakhan. Together with foreign delegations, he attended celebrations that marked the 450th anniversary of the city. "All nations have contributed to the festivities. There was even a performance group from Iran," he said.
"What, did people sing and dance?" Mr Putin asked with surprise.
"Yes, they did," Mr Zubkov answered. "The city has changed beyond recognition - even its residents are slightly bewildered. The city looks clean and orderly. In the next two to three years, it will be a fine and handsome city, there is no doubt of that."
Mr Putin liked the news, but he was worried about possible delays with financing. "We have agreed that Astrakhan's development will continue," he said, personally reminding Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina and Regional Development Minister Dmitry Kozak. "Certain sums are already budgeted for this purpose and must be used on schedule," he said. "It is understandable that if some programmes are left unfinished, public money will be wasted and we will have to go to these programmes again, a process that is complicated and costly."
Last week, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin went to Washington to attend a G8 finance ministers meeting and a summit of the 20 most advanced economies in the world. Mr Putin was very interested in the results. Mr Kudrin said he was present at all key discussions, talked with other finance ministers, and discussed the stabilisation of financial markets. He said with a note of pleasure that Russia was ahead of some countries in using certain money instruments.
Those present at the summit agreed to take urgent measures to support banking systems and lend money to the real economy. They decided to unfreeze lending markets to restore confidence in the financial sphere and to close gaps in banks' balance-sheets with capital provided by the state to lending institutions. "This is an unusual practice, but we have no other mass investor," Mr Kudrin said. In Russia, subordinated credit amounts to 950 billion roubles.
Another measure was to guarantee household deposits. In Russia, retail depositors are guaranteed a refund of up to 700,000 roubles (or 75% of all individual deposits). In addition, the International Monetary Fund will support countries with insufficient gold and hard currency reserves. These could, for example, include CIS countries, Mr Kudrin said. Russia has enough reserves, he added.
"We are allocating resources, but only a small portion of the resources reach the final users," Mr Putin joined in. According to him, though the state has cash reserves, producers are complaining about the lack of financing. The Prime Minister therefore urged a speedier implementation of the decisions taken. "This week we are going to amend the budget, so please do not postpone the work and have everything settled with deputies in time," Mr Putin told the Minister. He asked him to pay particular attention to the defence sector, because, he said, it could not obtain resources by trading on stock exchanges.
The next speaker was Health and Social Development Minister Tatiana Golikova. In March, she said, the president signed a decree On Establishing a Support Fund for Children in a Difficult Life Situation. On October 16, the fund's trusteeship board will meet for the first time. After the meeting the Fund will receive the federally budgeted 5.2 billion rubles, money that is set for 2008-2009 and will be used to help and rehabilitate orphans and children with disabilities. The money will also help to co-finance regional programmes.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov reported preparations for an International Forum of Nanotechnologies scheduled for December 3-5 in Moscow. The forum will mainly discuss the practical applications of nano-products in business, industry and everyday life. Leading specialists from Austria, the United Kingdom, Finland, the United States, South Korea, Japan and China will attend the forum.
After hearing Mr Ivanov's report, Mr Putin addressed Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev. "We have done well," Mr Gordeyev answered, as he described the harvesting results. "We have produced more than a hundred million tons by clean weight." These figures, according to the Minister, are comparable with data from 1991-1992: no such indicators were reported earlier under a market economy. Also, for the first time in history, Russia has produced a record harvest of wheat: 65 million tons. Mr Gordeyev named the best regions: the Southern District, the Central District and the Volga District.
"The farmers deserve both our thanks and particular gratitude," Mr Putin nodded. He called for showing "special attention" to farming, particularly its machinery, livestock breeding, and dairy production. The Prime Minister said he was also concerned that the Ministry of Agriculture had not spent a kopeck on fuel and lubricants from extra funds allocated by the Finance Ministry. Mr Gordeyev promised to look into the matter.
