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
The election of Dmitry Medvedev as Russia’s President appeared to be a big victory for controlled “sovereign democracy.” Operation Successor was planned and carried out so smartly that it looked almost like a miracle of modern technologies, or rather political technologies. They had no problem ensuring the required number of votes.
The presidential elections are over, and some readers will soon have to think about what to do with the former president’s portrait.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is at least an informal head of United Russia, met with the party’s leadership. With his annual report in the State Duma coming in April, Friday’s discussions could be described as a rehearsal for it. The conversation did not last long (just over an hour).
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Dmitry Medvedev’s election to the Russian presidency. Of course, there will be no lack of congratulations and expressions of loyalty from members of the political class. This is the core part of the “programme”. Equally obligatory in such cases is criticism – both direct and “wrapped up” in the same congratulations. In this case, it will be meaningfully reduced to stating “disappointment” in Medvedev’s first year and to deliberations about “missed opportunities” and “remaining chances”.
In 2009, pensions in Russia will be indexed four times, not three, as it was initially planned, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. The number of pension indexations will depend on the inflation level this year: If it proves higher than the planned target, pensions will be increased in line with a rise in prices. The current law on the budget projects the price rise of 6%-7.5%, whereas the Economic Development Ministry’s latest inflation forecast is 13%. In January, the prices rose by 2.4%, and the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) forecasts a 1.6% rise in February.
Three-year budget planning may be suspended in Russia and the quotas for financing the budget deficit increased. A government meeting on economic issues, to be chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, will discuss these proposals today.
The gradual devaluation of the rouble has mitigated the impact of the crisis on people, said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, thus supporting the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry’s actions.
Demand for souvenirs with the images of Russia’s top leaders has been falling in Moscow since the New Year. This reflects the general downward trend in souvenir sales as most people in the country cannot afford gifts even if they are adorned with the portraits of the country’s leaders. MK has looked into the situation in this specific segment of the market.
Vladimir Putin has shared his views on how to keep teenagers from smoking and alcohol
A conference of European ministers in charge of social cohesion sponsored by the Council of Europe and the Russian Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development will take place in Moscow today. It will be opened by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe TERRY DAVIS who told Kommersant’s MIKHAIL ZIGAR why Europe is disappointed with Russia.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the presidium of the council on the implementation of national projects and demographic policy yesterday. It was clear from his speech that the national projects, which have been mentioned less frequently recently due to the crisis (compared with the run-up to the presidential election 1-1.5 years ago) were still on the agenda in spite of the budget deficit. In fact, he indicated that the national projects would develop even faster during the crisis. Public health, in particular, will improve.
An audit conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office has found that most of the money contributed by the Russian Venture Company (RVC) to funds has been deposited with major banks. The Prosecutor General’s Office says it amounts to a “gross irregularity” and ineffective use of government money. Based on the results of the audit, Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika has submitted to Vladimir Putin proposals on further regulation of venture activities to enhance the responsibility of officials and questioned the practicability of the company continuing its activities. In the opinion of the Prosecutor General, the current activities of the RVC do not correspond to the company’s mission.
Civil servants will soon be driving around in Russian-made Volga and even Zhiguli cars just like ordinary mortals. As MK has already reported, Vladimir Putin ordered them to switch to domestically produced cars or foreign cars assembled in Russia earmarking 12.5 billion roubles for the purpose. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has already approved a list of car brands that could be procured for the state. We have tried to find out how realistic this plan is.
The Presidium of the People’s Democratic Union (NDS) will adopt an anti-crisis plan proposed by the movement’s leader, Mikhail Kasyanov, on February 25. Like the Solidarity movement, the ex-premier calls for the resignation of the Putin Government and an early parliamentary election in December this year.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday chaired a meeting on the preparation for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He effectively presented private business with an ultimatum: start financing Olympic facilities or surrender them to the state. Also, as our special correspondent ANDREI KOLESNIKOV reports, he was trying to find out, without success, where the displaced Sochi inhabitants would live.
The doping scandal at the recent biathlon world championship was touched upon at yesterday’s meeting of the Government Presidium. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged the need for the Government to control doping in sports. “I would like to draw the attention of the National Olympic Committee and the ministries and agencies, of the Government as a whole, to the fact that we have no right and will not put the responsibility only on the athletes. Organisers must be aware of their own responsibility,” the Prime Minister said.
One often reads that Dmitry Medvedev can become an independent and major political figure only if he sets himself up in opposition to Vladimir Putin. It is not hard to notice that those who speculate on this topic are mainly looking for breaches in Russian statehood rather than being concerned with strengthening it. The game they play is aimed at setting the President and the Prime Minister, the Kremlin and the White House against each other in order to achieve a paralysis of power Ukrainian style.
The economic crisis broke a cycle of creating ideological doctrines offered to the public through the country’s main political party. It can be acknowledged that the attempt to unite society behind United Russia’s programmes did not come to pass. Incidentally the idea of joining forces is more appropriate today than ever before, and only consolidation can alter the negative trends in the social-political sphere. By the summer the public will feel the full burden of change in their daily lives. However our politicians are not hurrying to offer new unifying ideals.
What caused the current global crisis and how has it affected Russia? How can we survive it? Can we come through the crisis changed, with a reinvigorated and dynamic economy? How can we guarantee the system’s stability, the conditions and framework of our path out of the crisis? I am grateful to the newspaper Izvestia for the discussion of the crisis and means of overcoming it, which is what has prompted me to write about these ten theses.
On February 18, the Right Cause movement will be officially registered as a political party. The party members decided to mark the occasion by introducing a new state holiday, Freedom Day, which the party proposes to hold on the day of the abolition of serfdom in Russia. But the opposition believes that “in Putin’s Russia, it is pretty odd to celebrate the abolition of serfdom.”
