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
Russian employment services fail to place the unemployed back in jobs amid current layoffs, as reported at Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov on December 20.
Russians have difficulty in naming the winners and the main events of 2008. As usual, bad news attracts more attention, and Russians are simply stunned by the main bad news, which is the economic crisis.
The presidium of the Presidential Council on Developing Local Self-Government met in Lipetsk yesterday. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acknowledged in his address that "not all problems had been settled during the transition period, namely - the municipal boundary description and municipal property delineation. These affairs are all too often muddled. As a result, the Government has to postpone the deadline for describing and fixing the boundaries of municipal entities and for settling municipal property disputes until January 1, 2012."
In Ulyanovsk and Tolyatti, mass rallies were held yesterday in support of a government decision to raise duties on foreign cars imported into Russia. They came after earlier protests staged in the Far East and Siberia against these protective measures that threaten to cut jobs there. Government policy has thus led to a large-scale conflict between the interests of different regions in Russia, and the opposition is warning of new social upheavals.
Another scandal is brewing over mortgages, which had been growing for six years. A flourishing business has waned overnight, and the future of mortgage lenders is grim.
Russian companies have estimated that their rescue will cost 3.5 trillion roubles, but the government does not have that much. First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has summed up the requests of a range of industries after a series of meetings with their officials: companies have asked for a total of 3.5 trillion roubles on top of the existing loan portfolio.
Yesterday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin virtually put an end to a heated debate about the tariffs for Russian Railways next year. He announced that tariffs on railway cargo transportation will be increased by 5% on January 1 and the average yearly growth will be 12.4%. Earlier in the week Russian Railways hoped for an 8% increase. In addition, the state will give the rail monopoly 50 billion roubles and will buy the company's additional stock issue for 41 billion roubles. Experts say the Government has to meet the railway halfway because of a sharp decline in freight traffic. To ease the burden, tariffs will be raised in stages.
On December 18, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to the Lipetsk Region where he chaired a meeting of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for the Development of Local Self-Government.
The appearance of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a Euroleague round 8 basketball game at CSKA sports centre did not bring success to the army team: as the game with Real Madrid was drawing to a close, the team seemed to lose its drive and was defeated by its main rival for first place in the group: 78-82.
On December 19, Vladimir Putin will have another meeting with heads of the Russian auto companies. They will meet at a KamAZ plant to discuss ways of supporting the automotive sector in crisis conditions. It is expected that car manufacturers will ask the Prime Minister to take urgent measures for stimulating demand and providing funds on easy terms. The previous meeting, which was held in May, initiated the decision to raise customs duties on car imports to 35%.
