VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently surprised us again. He announced a crash programme to save Russia's auto industry. The industry will get funding, he said, and buyers, interest-free loans. Finally, left-hand-drive cars will be transported to the Far East for free, either Ladas or Logans. The decision has its flip side, though: high import duties will be introduced on foreign makes. The Far East, accustomed to low-priced used Japanese right-hand-drive cars, will have to change its habits. The news immediately stirred up local trouble. But here evidence becomes conflicting. Some speak of large crowds of protesters, others of a couple of hundred "tough guys" who converged for their rally on brand-new Cruisers.
Opening yesterday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin listed his latest anti-crisis measures: supporting Russian farmers by subsidising part of the loan interest rate and raising import duties on farm produce, encouraging demand for Russian cars by increasing state orders, developing the leasing market, and compensating citizens wishing to buy on credit a car in 2009 worth not more than 350,000 roubles for 8.6% of the loan rate.
All of Russia's major industrial companies have now turned out to be strategic. The Government is shelving the idea of a commodity-based economy, analysts are saying with a sigh.
Russia's biggest consumer lender said it would support its borrowers finding themselves in dire straits because of the financial crisis by rescheduling their debt.
On December 21, nine-year-old Dasha Varfolomeyeva, who had phoned Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during the December 4 live question-and-answer session and asked him to give her a Cinderella-style dress for the New Year, arrived in Moscow at his invitation. Dasha, her 14-year-old sister Anya and their mother Natalia from Buryatia landed at about 12 p.m. at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. Government staff officials were waiting for them, brandishing a sign "Darya Varfolomeyeva".
Over the weekend Russia was swept by protests against the rise of car import duties. The authorities took every measure to prevent a repeat of large-scale protests a week earlier. For example, an OMON unit from the Moscow area was flown in to control the demonstrators. The OMON force clubbed all demonstrators indiscriminately. However, the protestors did not confine themselves to economic demands and carried some political slogans, including the resignation of the Government.
The total capitalisation of the state-owned Sberbank and Vneshtorgbank, which conducted IPOs in 2007, has plunged by $99 billion this year. Naturally, this drop in bank capitalisation was caused by the global financial crisis, which became aggravated in September and expedited this process. The price of Sberbank and VTB shares has tended to decline since early 2008. This is hardly surprising in view of the global financial crisis, caused by the 2007 US subprime mortgage crisis.
Mass protests took place in several major Russian cities on December 14 and 15. On December 16 the authorities announced that the reductions of the Interior Ministry's troops (one of their tasks is riot control) would be put on hold.
The change of president was the highlight of domestic political life in Russia in 2008. Some people expected the new leader to stay the former course while others expected a drastic change of domestic and foreign policy. Both were proved wrong.
Vlast is summing up the year in Russian television, as it always does. Analyses of programme ratings have brought our columnist ARINA BORODINA to the conclusion that the Russian public is becoming more sophisticated in its preferences, though within limits set by the higher authorities.
