This financial assistance is provided
to families for their first and subsequent child. The money
for the first child is allocated directly from the budget;
the money for the second can be allocated,
at the family’s request, from maternity capital.
And the financial support is provided to the family
according to its needs, as they say. I am talking about families
where one adult worker’s average income equals 1.5 times the region’s
subsistence minimum. Our country’s subsistence minimum equals the minimum
wage; it is estimated at an average of 11,280 rubles. 1.5 times
the subsistence wage per person, how much is that? 17,000 rubles. Roughly
speaking, 17,000 plus 17,000 equals about 34,000. This means, if
the family’s income is 34,000 for two adults, today, this family is
entitled to financial assistance equalling 10,000 rubles –
I repeat, this is an average number for the whole country.
This is the minimum subsistence level for a child.
We have almost adopted the decision at this
point; we have talked about this with the Government, with the Prime
Minister. The latter has recently delivered the Government’s report
to Parliament in the State Duma, and said that we would
increase the number of families provided with this assistance, with
this benefit.
How? Starting January 1, 2020, we will extend
this assistance to not only families with 1.5 times the subsistence
minimum per person, but also families with two subsistence minimums per person.
Essentially, this means, relatively speaking, two minimum wages: 11,280 plus
11,280 equals 22,000, 23,000 rubles. In total for two, about 45,000
rubles. If the family earns about 45,000 rubles, it is entitled
to compensation equal to the subsistence minimum
for a child in the region. This is on average 10,000
to 11,000 rubles. Not so bad really, I think.
Now to address the issue of the 50
rubles that I read about on the screen and that this woman
just talked about while describing her situation. Indeed, this first measure
covers children under eighteen months, while the second category, from
eighteen months to three years, was left out. Not left out, but was
granted 50 rubles worth of compensation. And the question was:
maybe we should spare the budget such expenses? The thing is, this is
not budget money we are talking about. In 1994, a decision was taken;
a Presidential Executive Order was signed. The situation was
extremely difficult, and employers were made to pay these 50 rubles.
This money did not make much of a difference back then, and now,
of course, it is means nothing – I mean, what are 50 rubles,
really?
So we have been searching for a solution
of late. I actually think it has been found already, in fact
the decision is ready. We will make the payments, in accordance
with the family’s needs, depending on their income, to families
with children aged from eighteem months to three years,
in the amount of the subsistence minimum
for a child. The only thing we still need to decide is
the level of income that makes a family eligible. Either one and a half
of the subsistence minimum per person, or two.
What was the mum's name?
Yelena Vinnik: Yekaterina.
Vladimir Putin: We can work it out with Yekaterina
right now…
Yelena Vinnik: Calculate.
Vladimir Putin: No, not calculate, but make
a decision. There is nothing to calculate, everything is clear.
Yelena Vinnik: Can we reach Yekaterina again?
Unfortunately, they tell me there is no connection
yet. They are dialling again.
Vladimir Putin: It does not matter. It is important
to agree on a benchmark amount to rely
on in the future to give this support to families with
children.
Look, if from January 1, 2020, we start
supporting families that earn two subsistence-minimum incomes and have
children under eighteen months, it means the programme will reach 70
percent of families. It will be noticeable.
On the other hand, it will be strange
to bring the eligibility cutoff down to 1.5 subsistence minimum
per person, once the child reaches the age of eighteen
months – this would immediately reduce the number of families
eligible for this support programme. So I believe –
and I have actually decided this for myself a long time
ago – we will have to extend it to all families with
an income of two subsistence minimums.
If you go back to the beginning of our
discussion, to the beginning of our conversation,
a colleague from the Emergencies Ministry said how much he makes,
even an officer in his position makes about 43,000, so such
a family will immediately become eligible (mum goes on maternity
leave and will not work).
Finally, I think that in the near
future we will simply finalise this decision. We have one more support
programme; it extends to regions with negative demographics, but there are
already 65 such regions. There, families also receive a benefit
in the amount of a child’s subsistence minimum for their
third child.
We will continue this programme, but I would ask
the Government to look at the regions of Siberia
and the Urals. This is something to think about. They are not
yet included in these 65 regions, but we still need to look
at what is actually happening with demographics there.
In principle, yes, this is a new solution.
Pavel Zarubin: Let’s go back to economic
issues. Many people link these difficulties with the Western sanctions.
By the way, the European Union again extended them today.
Sometimes, there are appeals to make peace with everyone. If Russia
complied with the West’s demands and agreed to everything, would
this benefit our economy in any way?
Vladimir Putin: First, what does it mean
“to make peace”? We have not fought with anyone and have no desire
to fight with anyone.
Second, what would this give us and what would it
not give us, and what would we lose? Look, according to expert
analyses, Russia fell short by about $50 billion as a result
of these restrictions during these years, starting in 2014.
The European Union lost $240 billion, the US $17 billion (we have
a small volume of trade with them) and Japan $27 billion. All
this affects employment in these countries, including the EU: they
are losing our market.
I quoted our losses. They are tentative. Nevertheless,
let’s assume we have accepted this. But we also received something. What
exactly? First, we had to change our thinking (and we did this)
to understand what we needed to do in the high-tech
economic sectors and how.
Our so-called import substitution programmes are worth
667 billion rubles. This compelled us to develop even those areas where we
lacked competence before.
I talked about this and can repeat it now.
Say, the RSFSR (the Soviet Union) and new Russia never had
domestic marine engine manufacturing. We bought these engines abroad.
It turned out that it was not enough
to manufacture engines, generally speaking. Marine engines are
a special story, a separate technology, a separate branch,
and a separate competence.
We learned that in just a few years. We made
our own engines that were not only not inferior but even superior to their
Western counterparts in some respects. We also made progress in many
other areas – for instance, transport engineering, power engineering,
not to mention agriculture.
Look, if ten years ago I or anyone else
in this hall had been told that we would be exporting agricultural
products worth $25.7 billion, like we did last year, I would have laughed
in the face of the person who said this. We would shake
hands and I would thank them for their kind but unrealistic
intentions.
Today this is a fact. Moreover, we want
to reach $45 billion in agricultural exports by 2024,
and I believe we can do this. Of course, it is still
a question whether we will achieve this or not, but we must work
on it; this is a realistic plan. So we were mobilised in many
areas.
Now to the question of whether some
things would be different if we give in and abandon our fundamental
national interests. We are not talking about reconciliation here. Perhaps there
will be some external signals, but no drastic change. Look, the People’s
Republic of China has nothing to do with Crimea and Donbass,
does it? We are accused of occupying Donbass, which is nonsense
and a lie. But China has nothing to do with it, and yet
the tariffs for Chinese goods are rising, which is almost
the same as sanctions.
Now, the attack on Huawei: where does it
come from and what is its objective? The objective is to hold
back the development of China, the country that has become
a global rival of another power, the United States.
The same is happening with Russia, and will continue to happen,
so if we want to occupy a worthy place under the sun, we must
become stronger, including, and above all, in the economy.
Pavel Zarubin: But voices in Europe are
growing stronger saying it is time to stop…
Vladimir Putin: Excuse me, but this is because
nobody really likes this. We have lost 50 billion, and Europe has lost 240
billion. This affects many economic sectors in Europe, in European
countries, so what’s good about it?
In fact, even though we have gained something
from these external restrictions, personally I believe that it is better
to live in normal economic conditions, going by some general
rules that everyone abides by.
Tatyana Remezova: Nevertheless, today the EU
will address the issue whether to extend sanctions against Russia
without examining it, which means the issue was automatically submitted
for approval.
Yelena Vinnik: Let us get back to our call
centre.
Natalya Yuryeva: Thank you, Yelena.
Our Centre has already received over 1,800,000
questions, and they continue coming in at an incredible
speed. Let us see where people are calling from. Where is this question from?
Call centre operator: The city
of Kursk.
Natalya Yuryeva: And this one?
Call centre operator: The city
of Tomsk.
Natalya Yuryeva: And what about this one?
Call centre operator: The village
of Kaskara, Tyumen Region.
Natalya Yuryeva: They are writing there is no
running water. The lack of running water seems unthinkable
in the 21st century. Let us listen to this
particular call: “Good afternoon, Mr President, my name is Maria, from
the village of Kaskara, Tyumen District, Tyumen Region. Construction
work in our village has been continuing for more than 20 years, but
we still have no water. There are over 300 residents, many kids, and we
have to go for water to neighbouring villages. But initially,
there was a water spout in the neighbouring village, which was
then dismantled. And now we buy bottled water in Tyumen.
At the same time, there is a water supply system
for the Tyumen Broiler poultry farm near us. We asked the mayor
to divert some, but the promise has not been kept. Mr President, you
are our only hope, please help us solve this issue with water. Thank you.”
Pavel Zarubin: Excuse me, look, I have
an idea. Let us contact Tyumen right now and find a film crew
there and send them to the village to see what is happening
there. And we will return to this issue, we will contact them
in the course of the programme. Do you agree?
Vladimir Putin: Wait, what region is this?
Pavel Zarubin: Tyumen Region.
Vladimir Putin: All right.
Pavel Zarubin: So, we are sending a crew now
and contacting Tyumen. We are sending a correspondent to this
village.
Vladimir Putin: However, I must say
a few words. Tyumen Region and Tyumen is a self-sufficient
region, it is a fairly wealthy region in the Federation. Very
strange. Is this some extremely remote village or what?
Pavel Zarubin: We will find out everything during
the programme.
Vladimir Putin: Fine.
Yelena Vinnik: Yes, because it is very strange
that there is no water there at all.
Over the 12 days when we received messages,
interesting things began to happen in the regions. Decisions
were made even before the Direct Line started; the authorities began
to stir and officials found time to meet and talk with
people. The Investigative Committee started noticing some details.
Thus, for example, the director
of an oil refinery already has been arrested in Belgorod Region;
workers there had received no wages for a year. In Kaluga
Region, there is a family living in a ramshackle home that,
I believe, dates back to the post-war period. The house was
found untenable in 2014. The Investigative Committee has intervened.
There are many places like this in Russia.
Pavel Zarubin: Including the so-called
“whale prison” in Primorye Territory. For six months, it has been
a top story in Russia. Therefore, we sent our film crew there.
As soon as Olga Armyakova arrived there, as soon as they
learnt that it may be a topic for Direct Line, amazing things began
to happen there.
Primorye Territory, Olga Armyakova.
Olga Armyakova: Good afternoon, Moscow,
or more precisely, good evening. It is almost 8.30 pm in the Far
East, already dusk, but do not let the darkness bother you. Our crew is
on the coast of the Sea of Japan, Srednyaya Bay. It is
unbelievably beautiful here.
However, we came here for another reason. You can
see the marine mammal adaptation centre, the one called
the “whale prison,” which the whole world is watching right now.
Almost 100 belugas and killer whales have been living here for about
a year. In these cages, you can see baby whales: they are very
curious – they are trying to get a look at our crew –
and playful: they tried to splash us with water several times,
creatures of fantastic beauty. They are beluga whales,
by the way. They were caught in the Okhotsk Sea
“for scientific and educational purposes.” This is the official
wording.
However, later it was reported that they want
to sell the animals abroad. Surprisingly the business people had
all the authorisations they needed, but the law had changed, and the export
of whales was prohibited. It was the beginning
of a difficult legal puzzle, and these amazing rare animals,
belugas and killer whales, fell victim to it.
Let me remind you that the President ordered
their future to be decided by March 1. Since then, expert
commissions have come here as well as scientists from
the Cousteau team; the entire country united in order
to save the beluga and killer whales. However, there had been no
breakthrough until today. It is an interesting coincidence or, in other
words, the miraculous effect of Direct Line; there is no other way
to put it. It is more important that right now two killer whales
and six belugas are being moved to the area
of the Shantar Islands to be released there; and this is,
of course, an international sensation.
Our camera crew were the only journalists who
could see the animals being prepared for resettlement. I suggest
we watch a report.
(Video report demonstration)
This is just the beginning
of a large-scale project, which, by the way, still
continues. Even though it is raining here. Scientists will be able
to assess the success of this special operation later.
The main thing now is to get it done. Let me remind you that nothing
like this has ever happened in the world.
Vladimir Putin: This is a well-known
problem, and it is generally clear why these issues arise. The killer
whales alone, as far as I know, cost about $100 million, so
there are many “interested” parties, so to say, and this is why solving
the problem is not easy. There are always issues when a lot
of money is involved.
But thank God, some movement has begun. We have Deputy
Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev on the line. Go ahead, please, Mr
Gordeyev.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev: Good
afternoon, Mr President, good afternoon, Direct Line participants.
In essence, the correspondent has reported
everything correctly. I would only add that a special group set up
by the Government has been commissioned, and we took control
of this issue because we understand the public relevance of this
problem.
The group is made up of specialists,
scientists, representatives from both federal and regional bodies,
Primorye Territory is also involved; we are grateful to the many
specialists from there. Under the scientists’ recommendation, the only
correct decision was taken, to transport the animals to their
habitat, where they were caught, to their natural environment.
The operation will take about four months.
We have instructed the Russian Research Institute
of Fisheries and Oceanography to monitor and conduct this
operation. So it will be done by specialists. Afterwards, when
the animals are placed in Shantarstakaya Bay in Khabarovsk
Territory, the specialists will continue monitoring them.
The priority is appropriate re-adaptation, as was said earlier.
Mr President, we are working around the clock, we
will conduct daily monitoring. The operation is indeed unusual but very
interesting, and it is also a fairly interesting scientific
experiment at the same time.
To prevent similar events in the future,
so the mammals are not caught in such numbers, the Government
decided to change the law, to prohibit catching them
for so-called cultural and educational purposes and allow
a small number of animals to be caught only for research
purposes and for the people of the Far North, which is
their tradition. This decision will be brought to the Government
level so the public can take part in it.
Pavel Zarubin: Thank you, Mr Gordeyev, we
understand you.
Mr President, we should have held Direct Line earlier,
then the killer whales could have been released sooner, although it could
be just a coincidence.
Mr President, we have a lot of guests here
today…
Vladimir Putin: Excuse me, please. I would
like to respond to some things that I just saw
on the screen. These are questions of a political nature,
so I do not want anyone to get the impression that we are
dodging these questions. This one is quite sharp: “Where is this gang
of patriots from United Russia leading us?”
I believe that when people take responsibility,
including for making decisions that are not very popular, but badly needed
by the country, it means that these are mature people who consciously
chose strengthening their country and improving people's lives
as the goal of their lives, and of their political
careers.
I would not call the people who were
at the helm in the 1990s a “gang.” But I must
note that during that time our social sphere, industry
and the defence sector collapsed. We lost the defence industry,
we practically destroyed the Armed Forces, led the country into
a civil war, to bloodshed in the Caucasus, and brought
the country to the verge of losing sovereignty
and collapse – I have to put this bluntly.
I would not say that all people who worked
in the 1990s are responsible for this, but surely, if this
happened, there must have been those who should be held responsible
for it. I repeat, I do not want to call them a “gang,”
but such is the result of their work. This is about the first
question I saw.
The second one: “When will the local authorities
be elected again?” If you are talking about local authorities, if you mean
municipalities, they are always elected. We do have an election procedure
through regional parliaments (this is stipulated by law). This,
by the way, is also an election, but, as a rule,
leaders of municipalities are elected by a direct secret vote
of the entire population.
Finally, one last question: “What kind of secrets
do the Interior Ministry employees know, that they are not allowed
to travel abroad?” Just a few days ago, I spoke with Minister
of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who also asked this question.
Indeed, Interior Ministry officials – maybe not
all of them, only some – do know these secrets, but not all; ordinary
employees do not. Therefore, we agreed that we would expand the geography
of possible foreign travel for Interior Ministry officials.
But in general, still, Interior Ministry
employees are endowed with special powers, and in this sense,
of course, they are in a special position. They have
to make an informed choice whether they want to work with these
restrictions or not.
Pavel Zarubin: Absolutely.
Mr President, let us talk to the guests here
in our studio, they have quite a few questions. We promised
to give them the floor. Olga Pautova, please.
Olga Pautova: Mr President, I suggest we
change the topic and move on from cities to villages,
because today we have a lot of farmers in our studio. Maria
Kandyrina, for instance, has a small dairy farm; her cheeses have
recently been awarded a gold medal at an international
exhibition in France.
Next to her is Boris Akimov. Back
in the day, he came up with the idea of the LavkaLavka
shop, where he would sell other farmers’ products; today, he is a farmer
himself. He told us he was now growing his own variety of garlic
and even producing Pereslavl parmesan cheese and jamon. Did you bring
us some to try?
Boris Akimov: No, everything is back
in the village of Knyazhevo.
Pavel Zarubin: Looks like we have to go
there. They say their products are in great demand.
Vladimir Putin: Jamon is a Spanish product,
parmesan is Italian. They are produced differently, using different techniques.
Boris Akimov: And now we have our own.
Pavel Zarubin: Is your jamon good?
Boris Akimov: So they say.
Pavel Zarubin: What do you think?
Boris Akimov: I am not one to brag. But
seems like it.
Pavel Zarubin: Then tell us about your problems
and ask the President your question.
Boris Akimov: Today, the government provides
way more assistance to agribusiness holding companies than to farmers,
about 90 percent of all assistance is provided to the 10 largest
Russian companies.
Meanwhile, these companies’ profits do not stay local,
but are rather in Moscow, or, even more often, abroad, in offshore
accounts. While small farmers, small businesses invest in the areas
where they live and work, thus becoming a driver of local
development.
I believe we have a concrete suggestion
on how these priorities could be adjusted somewhat. Europe has
a great example of promoting regional products. Take, for instance,
again, parmesan, or Parma ham, or champagne. They serve
as drivers for these areas, providing a great number
of farmers and small businesses with jobs.
Our idea is to launch a similar programme
for making regional products in Russia. I am sure this would
give many farmers and small businesses a boost, while the local
area would start developing as well; good for farmers, good
for consumers, too.
Yelena Vinnik: So what is your question then?
Vladimir Putin: Will they develop well,
by the way?
Boris Akimov: Basically, this is
the suggestion: we have many regional brands that are often forgotten.
Take the Breitovo garlic that I grow, for instance,
or Pavlovo chickens, or Murom cucumbers.
In other words, there are many products that can
be revived and become the drivers of the development
of this territory. It would be great to extend this programme
to the entire country.
Vladimir Putin: Once again, please, what
programme? Can you please explain?
Boris Akimov: A programme to develop
products of local, territorial origin. There is a place called
Pavlovo in Nizhny Novgorod Region. At one time, it was famous
for its Pavlovo chicken breed. These chickens were famous.
Today, every region has many interesting products that
could be revived, that could become economic drivers in their territories.
They
would create jobs and farmers would be employed.
Vladimir Putin: So, you are talking about
the development of local brands, so to speak.
Boris Akimov: Yes, the development
of product brands.
Vladimir Putin: I see. We basically have,
say, Vologda butter that is well-known at least in the country
and maybe even abroad. So, generally, this has not been lost.
I fully agree with you that the state
and the media should help with this, although the media will
want us to pay and then they will promote whatever we want. But,
of course, the state should provide support.
At the same time, I think what you said
about farmers and large farms are repercussions of the debates
on what the state should primarily focus on. And I agree with
you. I know about these debates and I know who pushed
for this. I am just kidding.
Jokes aside, this is the former governor
of Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachyov. He kept saying that large
commodity production was a driver of agriculture and indeed, it
provides the main commodities and this is true both for this
country and abroad. But we should certainly not forget about small
and medium farms, and I fully agree with you on this.
However, I think that you still have incomplete
information in this respect. What do I mean? Look, first,
the amount of commodity production at farms recently increased
by 45 percent. Overall, this is decent growth, and it would have been
impossible without state support.
Government support for agriculture totaled 254
billion rubles last year; this year, it is more than 300–303 billion. This
includes export support. Of the total amount, around 45 percent goes
to large companies, while smaller farms account for 16 percent.
Smaller farmers, who are rolling out more and more products, today account
for 12 percent of the market.
What does this mean? This means that the amount
of support they are given is greater than their market. And this
implies that the government is pushing them towards further development.
If, as I believe, this happens, in the very near future,
their share of the market will equal the level of support
they get, growing from 12 percent to 16.
Here of course, I fully agree with you,
the state will have to lend a hand and take the next
step, especially since there are areas of activity where smaller farms are
indispensable. Farmers, in general, are an absolutely organic part
of the agriculture industry.
As for brand support, you are again correct;
we need to think about this. I will ask Dmitry Patrushev [Minister
of Agriculture] to draft proposals.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, let us continue.
Vladimir Putin: So where is the cheese?
Boris Akimov: There will be cheese.
Yelena Vinnik: Leave your address with us after
the programme.
A lot of housing has been built
in Russia in recent years. The shortage of housing is less
important now and the issue has been pushed
to the background by another problem – now there is
a lack of infrastructure in new residential areas: there are no
kindergartens, schools, clinics, or public gardens.
I will just read a couple of messages.
Moscow Region: “Why, when building new complexes, residents' needs
for schools, kindergartens, or other infrastructure are not taken
into account? If you need children, you have to think about their living
conditions.”
Another one: “The infrastructure was never built.
There is no kindergarten, no schools, and the developer is
on the wanted list.”
Mr President, let us go to our call centre, there
are many calls on this subject, I know.
Natalya Yuryeva: Colleagues, for starters,
I will say that our call centre has just undergone a massive DDoS
attack from abroad. Apparently, this is the reason
for the disruptions in video calls we encountered.
But we have managed to repel it; the app was
restarted and we are continuing to receive calls. The total
number is already approaching 2 million.
We really do have
a lot of questions about infrastructure. In Vologda there is
a dire shortage of kindergartens, especially
in the Leningradsky, Okruzhnoi and Gagarinsky districts.
Rostov-on-Don: a problem with the new
Suvorovsky neighbourhood, where plans provided for gardens. They are now
being replaced with high-rise buildings.
Voronezh, the Protsessor neighbourhood. There are
many young families who were promised a school back in 2017, but
construction has been put off until 2028. Which school will their children go
to for the next 10 years? Who knows.
We also have a video call from Kseniya Bessonova
in Krasnoyarsk.
Kseniya, you are on air.
Ksenia Bessonova: Good afternoon, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Ksenia Bessonova: I call on you
on behalf of all the residents of the 3rd
neighbourhood, who need your assistance for a school,
a kindergarten and a park to be added to the neighbourhood.
Over 70,000 people live here, in Solnechny, mostly new builds,
and mostly young families with small children.
The schools that we do have are crowded with
three times more pupils than acceptable. The birth rate in our
neighbourhood was the highest in Krasnoyarsk, but the social
infrastructure is a real problem. The shortage of places
in our schools and kindergartens is estimated at over 3,000.
In 2018 we protected the area where
a school and a kindergarten were to be built when we
learned that residential buildings would be built there instead.
The residents held protests, and the residential construction
decision was called off.
But several months ago we learned that the city
authorities had issued residential building permits for the remaining
part of the municipally owned land in the third
neighbourhood where a park was to be created. The problem is
that there are no parks or public gardens in the new residential
neighbourhoods, that is, in the larger part of Solnechny. Our
children have nowhere to go outdoors. Please, help us.
Vladimir Putin: I see that Krasnoyarsk
Territory Governor [Alexander] Uss is taking part in this meeting via
videoconference. Let him answer your question. I believe that in this
particular case he should say how your problem will be settled. This must be
done by all means no matter how complicated it may be.
I would like to say the following
in this connection. This problem has not appeared because of changes
in the housing legislation. And it should have been settled
a long time ago.
The example you have provided suggests
the opposite, but such problems were usually settled
in the following manner: when the construction was co-financed
by the future residents, the joint development contracts
stipulated the construction of the social infrastructure, such
as schools, hospitals and kindergartens.
This does not seem to be your case, though. It is
clearly the fault of those who made the construction decision
at the local and regional levels. Even the regional
authorities are not to blame here, for such decisions are made
by the local authorities.
But, unfortunately, this problem will now become more
acute. I am talking about this in order to once again draw
the attention of the Russian Government
and the regional colleagues to this matter. Why?
Because we are converting to new forms
of housing construction linked with the decision to alleviate
the burden on the people, the risks, rather, so as not
to create new problems with unfinished construction projects. Now we are
shifting this burden and the risks onto financial organisations, with
state support.
I repeat, in the first case, equity
construction investors paid for this, one way or another.
In the long run, it was included in the overall housing
costs. Today, the state, namely, the federal Government
or the specific region and municipalities with regional support,
are supposed to build the social infrastructure under the law.
This is what the law says, but they still have no
source. The Government and Russian regions now have to create
a legal system that would make it possible to build the social
infrastructure along with housing, and that would also determine
the sources of financing for such construction. Now, let us
listen to the governor in this particular case.
Pavel Zarubin: Mr Uss, could you make it very
brief? Will you solve the problem?
Vladimir Putin: Yes, Mr Uss, go ahead.
Krasnoyarsk Territory Governor Alexander
Uss: Good afternoon, Mr President.
Indeed, the Solnechny residential area is far
from ideal, and high-density construction is a typical legacy
of the 1990s. It is located on the city’s outskirts and,
to be frank, it has never been a high-priority area.
At the same time, I would like to note that a school
and a kindergarten opened there earlier in 2019,
and I attended the kindergarten opening.
I was surprised to learn that land plots
suitable for construction, including these social projects, were allotted
to municipalities for commercial housing construction projects. If
so, we will modify this decision. At the same time, I would like
to note that the residential area is located on the city’s
outskirts, so we will probably find an opportunity to set up
a park there.
I would also like to say that this
particular residential area is included in our Housing priority project.
In this sense, modern urban development approaches can be implemented
there, although it is impossible to completely eliminate the legacy
that we have received.
Pavel Zarubin: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: I am sorry, but I would
like to address the governor once again. Please go there
and talk to the people. Please see what can be done
to expand the social infrastructure in line with this woman’s
request. If you need any assistance, we are ready to provide such
individual targeted assistance. I am confident that Krasnoyarsk Territory
can accomplish this task. In any event, please report on this
to me separately as soon as possible.
Alexander Uss: All right, thank you.
Pavel Zarubin: We had problems with calls
at the beginning, so let us give the call centre another chance.
Vladimir Putin: Let me also respond to some
text messages here, or whatever it is on the screen: “When will
officials have wages like average workers?” You know, I have seen
a lot of such questions. Let us imagine that a minister will
receive the wages of an average worker. It pains me to say
this, and I would very much like to… Do you remember this famous
joke: “We should work not so that there are no more rich people, but so that
there are no poor people?” I would like the wages
of an average worker to grow.
What can be the problem if we simply decrease
the wages of officials, ministers or even top managers
at large state companies? We will not find enough qualified experts. They
will go to private offices or move abroad,
and in the end this will affect the prosperity
of Russia and these average workers we are talking about, because
there will be no effective decisions, no development plans, and no one
to implement them. It is obvious that people should get wages according
to their qualifications, according to their professional
and personal qualities and, of course, according
to the results of their work.
However, I agree with you that
the difference must not be colossal. If we turn to top managers
at our large state companies, we will see some peculiarities here
as well. To tell the truth, I am also rankled sometimes
to see their incomes. By the way, I have said this many
times. But the thing is, their companies – and this is really
necessary – have many foreign experts, and the level
of their salaries is comparable to what the top executives get.
You see, if we decrease their pay sharply, they will have a deficit
of experts, like in healthcare, and the consequences can be
dire.
Nevertheless, let me repeat that the difference
must not be colossal. I agree with you. We should think about this.
Pavel Zarubin: Tatyana, a call, please.
Vladimir Putin: I am sorry.
Incidentally, in healthcare or education,
senior professionals receive ten times more, and I am not even
speaking about ministers, ten times more than an average employee
at a hospital or an educational institution.
Of course, this is unacceptable, and we must definitely focus
on this.
Pavel Zarubin: We have a call. Tatyana?
Tatyana Remezova: Thank you, colleagues.
We are receiving very many questions and calls
from outside Russia. Let us take a quick glance at them. This map
shows those who are trying to connect with us via OK Live. We have calls
from London, Paris, Zurich, Hanover and Hamburg. There are plenty
of calls from Moldova, Belarus and, of course, Ukraine. Here are just
a few examples, and some questions: “Mr President, you said
on April 27 that the procedure for granting Russian
citizenship would be facilitated for all rather than individual groups
of Ukrainians. When will you sign the executive order?” “Will we ever
make up with Ukraine? Will we ever restore ties with Ukraine?” A call from
Odessa: “Mr President, will you visit us in Ukraine?”
Right now, we have a call from Kiev. They tell me
that it is Ukrainian journalist Valery Shvets.
Valery, good afternoon.
Valery Shvets: Mr President, good afternoon.
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Valery Shvets: Do the Minsk talks have
a future after the recent elections in Ukraine? As we know,
Viktor Medvedchuk has left the negotiating group. He said he would carry
on independent talks on releasing detainees regardless
of the position of the new Ukrainian authorities. Has
Medvedchuk contacted you on the matter of releasing Ukrainian
citizens held in detention in Russia?
Vladimir Putin: First of all, we never lose
sight of these matters, especially when it concerns the problems
of people in distress, those who are in detention
or in other places that are no better than a prison.
It is true that Mr Medvedchuk was involved
in this process, both at the request of the former
President of Ukraine and on his own. But initially he was
charged with this job by President Poroshenko. It is also true that Mr Medvedchuk
takes all these problems personally, close to heart. He has been here
recently, when he again called for releasing the Ukrainian sailors
who had been detained during the accident near the Kerch Strait. He
also called on us to release several other people who have been
sentenced and are serving their terms in Russia. But these subjects
should be regarded as a package. Before addressing this matter, we
must think about those for whom we care, including Russian citizens, who
are suffering the same fate in Ukraine.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, we receive many
questions through the social networks.
Vladimir Putin: I am sorry; I just saw
a question from Yakutia, “When will there be a bridge across
the Lena River?”
This is a question that the Russian
Government must address together with Yakutia. This is an expensive
project. The problem is, there is nowhere to extend this bridge
and this future road. This is why we do not believe that there could be
a return on this investment. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to address
this problem as soon as possible in order for the city
to develop.
Now an unusual question: “Where have
the Chud people gone?” They have mostly become assimilated. Yes. However,
I am sure that they have not disappeared completely. In general, we
had many peoples living in the Russian Federation. Some peoples are
still there, some are not, but this is all part of our cultural code.
Yelena Vinnik: Let us continue. A question
we have received in the VKontakte social network,
on the economy: “I would like to ask about the plans
to further develop the Russian economy. Will there be a stronger
emphasis on a market economy? Will we go back
to a centralised economy or will we have a kind
of mix, which makes the Russian economy stagnate now?” Vasily
Buldakov.
Pavel Zarubin: I have a question from
a text message: “Do you understand that we will never have
a breakthrough with economists from the 1990s?”
Vladimir Putin: First, we have no economists from
the 1990s. Where are they? Name at least one. Maybe Alexei Kudrin,
but not completely; and he has also changed and I think he has
been drifting towards Sergei Glazyev, because he wants to open our oil
treasury and believes that we must raise the cut-off point
for oil revenues. However, his own colleagues, his pupils in a way,
oppose him and say it will result in inflation, and so on. Let
them argue.
But we do not really have any economists from
the 1990s. Some ideas, maybe ones regarding monetary policy, are there, we
can see that, but the economic system of the 1990s is no longer
there. Why? Firstly, we no longer have that level of inflation, which was
over 30 percent then, neither do we have that level of debt, which went
through the roof. We are not dependent on the IMF.
On the contrary, our foreign exchange reserves are growing, exceeding
500 billion dollars by now, and they continue to grow. We have
no debt – only, unfortunately, some isolated cases of wage arrears
or failure to pay salaries on time.
But none of this is even close
to the 1990s, when salaries were delayed for six months,
and military compensations remained unpaid for months. Pensions were
the only reliable source of income and even they were not paid
on time. They were minuscule and were not paid on time. But
there is nothing like that now.
However, perhaps something else is more important.
The most important thing is that there is no such thing
as a pure market economy or a pure command economy, but
a mixture of the two is quite possible, as the caller
said here, and versions of this can be found around the world.
In general, as soon as any economic
breakdowns begin, as soon as problems arise, the role
of the state immediately expands. But once savings increase,
and the situation calms down, the state immediately withdraws
from the economy. This happens everywhere, in all countries.
And it always happened here in times of crises.
Countries with mixed economies actually grow faster
than others: China, and partly India. In China now, the pace
of economic growth is slower than in India, but still it remains one
of the drivers of the global economy. And India, too.
What about the Western economies? Look, nobody
there objects to strategic planning in industry;
on the contrary, they tend to promote it. It is all there, so we
need to keep it in mind and use it too.
But the main thing that we need to pay
attention to, and yesterday we also discussed this with the Economics
Minister, and I completely agree – it is motivation.
In whatever system a person works, whether in a planned
or in a market economy, it is necessary to ensure motivation.
Only then will we be able to solve the tasks facing the country.
Pavel Zarubin: Let us continue. Natalya Yuryeva,
please.
Natalya Yuryeva: Thank you.
We are now in our programme’s control room where
the technical pulse of Direct Line beats. You can see how cramped
and noisy it is. The staff have a lot to do. They receive
all the calls, video questions and social media messages.
You can see how many people are now waiting
for their chance to put a question to the President.
We can see governors waiting. Some of them will have to answer
to the President today. I suspect they all are nervous.
Guys, please tell us where the requests
on this screen come from?
Remark: A young man from St Petersburg.
Natalya Yuryeva: And here?
Remark: A man from Magadan.
Natalya Yuryeva: Please, let us put Magadan on.
Remark: Attention, Magadan, let’s go.
Remark: We are on.
Vyacheslav Korchanov: Good afternoon, Mr
President.
Vladimir Putin:Good afternoon.
Vyacheslav Korchanov: My name is Vyacheslav
Korchanov.
Here is my question: the mass media
regularly tell Russians about another corrupt official being caught.
I recall Zakharchenko, the Arashukov father and son, among
others; and Zakharchenko’s nine billion is a lorryful
of banknotes. Could he really get them without help?
When answering previous questions, you spoke about
sources of funding. I have a question: where do these billions
come from and, most importantly, where will these confiscated billions go? Who
will be or is responsible for this rampant corruption?
As the guarantor of law, do you feel personally responsible
for this mess?
Vladimir Putin: Firstly, I, of course, feel
responsible for this mess. If I did not, you would not know anything,
like it happens in some countries still, or like it used
to happen here. You know, there is always an alternative. I am
often told “Perhaps we can hide this” or “Maybe we should close this?”
because there will be questions like yours.
I always have the same answer: no. If we
deal with crime, with corruption, with dirty money, we must, firstly, go
through with this, and secondly, do it openly. And we will do this
and do it openly.
Where does the money come from? Clearly, from
corruption schemes and from business. Incidentally, both sides are
to blame here: one group of people steal and the other
group take bribes. There are bribers and bribe-takers.
And the law says so.
Where does the money go? To public revenue,
to be sure. Of course, officials, and representatives
of law enforcement in particular, are in a special position
and they will always be under special scrutiny.
Pavel Zarubin: When you learned about those
stored billions, what words best conveyed your reaction?
Vladimir Putin: Sometimes it is better not
to say them out loud.
It is not a laughing matter, actually.
In fact, when you learn about these billions, there are no words, at least
none fit to go into print.
To reiterate: this must not deter us from
fighting this phenomenon. Incidentally, this subject occurs in many
countries, practically in all of them. Look at the United
States, for one, where corruption carries 70, 100, or even 150 years
of imprisonment. This is senseless, of course, but the work is
carried out in a sufficiently tough manner –
and in public. In this country, we will do the same.
Yelena Vinnik: In our country, there are
also proposals to punish corruption with life imprisonment.
Vladimir Putin: You see, the thing is you
can sentence a person to life, if he or she is advanced
in years, but dozens of years will not make that much difference.
Pavel Zarubin: One has the impression that
the authorities are stepping up the fight against corruption…
Vladimir Putin: What is important is not even
the years of imprisonment. The important thing is
the inevitability of punishment.
Pavel Zarubin: The authorities seem
to be stepping up the fight against corruption, but it feels
as though its scale is only growing.
Vladimir Putin: This is only how it feels.
In fact, the number of corruption crimes is declining.
And it is declining, I think, largely thanks to our consistent
and uncompromising efforts. And we will continue doing this
in the future.
Pavel Zarubin: We have promised to this
studio before the show that we will give them the floor.
Maria Gladkikh, please.
Maria Gladkikh: Hello, Mr President.
We know that we are living in the Internet
era. Actually, we are an Internet generation. All of us have
smartphones and our phones can help us order food or cinema tickets,
while the navigator will always show us the way. I see
a good-looking girl in this room, who is taking steps in this
direction.
Vladimir Putin: All girls are good-looking.
Maria Gladkikh: Right, all girls are
good-looking, but this girl in a blue dress is General Director
of the company Yandex, which, one can say, makes our life easier.
Good afternoon, Yelena. As I see it, you
have decided to keep on going because there are so many things
around.
Yandex Director General Yelena Bunina: Good
afternoon, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Yelena Bunina: This is what I would like
to say. Ours is a unique country. It is unique also because
the technological services created in Russia are more popular than
similar international services. Russia is actually the only country where
this is taking place on the open market without any harassment
of others.
But we want more at Yandex. We want
to become an international high-tech company that hails from Russia,
so that our country feels proud of us and the world admires our
cutting-edge technological services. This is becoming possible.
For example, our unmanned driving technology is
among the best in the world. However, we have a problem
with regulatory documents. In the United States, 1,400 self-driving
cars are now being tested on the roads, whereas we have only launched
the first five. Our legal procedure takes too long.
So here is my question. Do you think our state is
capable of taking our legal procedure one step ahead
of the other countries, so that we can surge ahead
in the new technological spheres and become better than anyone
else? Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: This is my dream
as well. But we should take the specific features of our country
into account, as you have said. I love Germany, but you know
the saying, “What pleases the Russian kills the German.” But it
can be the other way round as well. Suppose we start using drones
for postal deliveries, as several countries are already doing. Some
people here could use this service, which will be expensive at first,
while those who do not have the money will keep looking
at the sky for fear that something will drop on their
heads. No, any innovation must be well prepared.
On the other hand, we must accelerate
to a breakthrough speed. I fully agree with you on this.
That you have reached an agreement with your South Korean colleagues, who
will create self-driving cars based on your “brains” and products, is
a step towards making us proud of you. We are proud of you
as it is; yours is a good company. As for whether others
admire you or not… at the least, they respect you.
A few words about admiration: it is something
to be wary of. Everyone admired Huawei and now it has been swatted,
quite unexpectedly. Do you see what I mean? We should remember that,
regrettably, unscrupulous methods of competition are very often used.
As for development, you know this
terminology: we need to create “sandboxes,” and we are actually doing
just this. In Skolkovo, a testing ground has been built where these
unmanned vehicles are now broken in. Similar facilities should be built
in other regions – and expanded. But of course, we must do
it faster. Here I certainly agree with you.
However, there is something else I would like
to emphasise, something you also just mentioned. You said that we have
an open market, and it is not protected. But your company, Yandex,
wonderful as it is, is successfully competing on our market with
giants like Google. Yet, this is not without a touch of state
support.
Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, there is another
good question. You have partially answered it, but it is about summing up. How
should life be arranged in Russian technology companies so that our
programmers – who are the best in the world, as our
young programmers have won almost every world Olympiad – feel better than
in Silicon Valley?
Vladimir Putin: We need to create
a system of preferences, and we are working on this,
including tax preferences. As you may know, high-tech companies enjoy
a preferential status when it comes to making contributions
to the social funds.
There are other support policies, including direct
support: competition for markets, export support and so on. Because
we need our high-tech companies, including software developers, to grow
from the Russian level to an international one; otherwise we
will not achieve full success.
But what is especially important, and what
I would like to point out – and here we need to think
together with our colleagues from the Government – we need
to provide a market for our programmers, especially
in sensitive fields: governance, sensitive industries, say the energy
sector, the management system, the financial sector, in our
large companies – to guarantee sovereignty and ensure security.
And here we have to make decisions
at the Government level, which would… Indeed, they might not be very
market-based… someone has asked here if we have a market economy
or not, or where we are heading. But in this segment, we just
need direct Government support to ensure a market for such
services.
Pavel Zarubin:
There are many business people, and very successful ones, in this
studio today.
Nailya, please.
Nailya Asker-zade: Mr President, as it
happens, people in China are not only fond of Eskimo ice-cream that
you regularly present to the PRC President, but also our glazed
biscuits. We will hear this story from our studio guest, who arrived from
Penza.
He sells this and other pastries not only
in China but also in seven other countries, including Russia. He has
a family confectionery factory. Let me introduce Nikolai Kuzyakov.
Nikolai, what issues concern small
and medium-sized businesses today?
Nikolai Kuzyakov: Good afternoon, Mr President. I have
one question and one personal request to make.
The question is about the oversight
authorities. Thank you for what you have done and for extending
the oversight holiday. Indeed, there are fewer planned inspections, but,
regrettably, many more unscheduled inspections. Three oversight agencies
conducted inspections at my company last week.
As a result, they will probably levy
100-percent fines. If they fail to do that, their higher-ups will say that
the inspectors botched their job or that there is a corruption
component.
Small businesses say that, in principle, it is
all right that they come and inspect companies. But they should behave
like instructors, assistants and mentors. They should help us
and teach us so we could safely phone and consult them.
I have a question to ask you, Mr
President. Is there a way to induce the oversight authorities
to stop imposing fines or seeking out problems? Why cannot they help
small and medium-sized businesses develop?
And another thing. We met once before
and you said you would taste Vanya’s Sweets, when you came
to Penza. This is the first reason for you to visit us.
The second reason is that we have a strong ice hockey school.
The city of Penza has produced many national players. You play ice
hockey in Sochi. Our governor plays hockey, too. I have a dream:
to play with you on a rink in Penza.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your
invitation. First of all, I will answer a question I saw
there: “Are you a Muscovite or a Russian?” I am
a Petersburger. I was born in St Petersburg. It is
my homeland, which is saying something, as I see it.
The second question is about text messages used
for treating children. It would be better to know where this question
came from, because it must be connected with a problem somewhere, such as an outpatient
clinic or its absence, or even the absence of a rural
paramedic centre or an outpatient station. Unfortunately, it is
unclear where this question has come from.
Pavel Zarubin: It most likely concerns
the collection of funds for a user’s medical treatment.
Vladimir Putin: We need to consider it.
“This never happened under Brezhnev.” No, it never
did, but many other things that took place under Brezhnev ultimately led
to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Now to your question about inspections. First
of all, there are scheduled inspections. We introduced inspection
holidays, but the number of inspections held soared last year because
the period of holidays was over.
It is logical that the agencies making the inspections
augmented their plans to include the companies they had not inspected
for several years. This is why we have extended these holidays
for another two years. At the same time, the number
of scheduled inspections has decreased by some 11 percent.
What can be done to turn the inspecting
bodies and their inspectors into mentors, as you have said,
or even assistants?
Actually, you are perfectly right. This is what we
want; we would like it to be as you have described it. And this
is what we encourage the regulatory bodies, including the prosecutor
and tax authorities, to become.
We have proposed a number of measures,
including the so-called mirror register, to ensure additional
control. You have probably heard about this. If not, I will tell you about
it.
The idea is that not only the inspectors
or prosecutor offices keep a register of the inspections,
but the companies inspected keep a register as well.
In fact, this is what our businesses have proposed.
They will keep a register of who inspected
whom, the reason for the inspection and their results. This
information can and will be submitted to the prosecutor’s
offices, which will have an additional source of information about
the situation in this sphere.
Pavel Zarubin: Mr President, you said many times
that excessive pressure must be lifted from businesses and that there is
no need for excessive inspections. You issued instructions
and directives. What do you feel like when your instructions are not
complied with?
Vladimir Putin: Like anyone else who…
Pavel Zarubin: Where are the boundaries
of your patience?
Vladimir Putin: It is not a matter
of boundaries of patience; what we need is to achieve a set
goal. And then, frankly speaking, I have answered similar questions
many a time. The simplest thing I can do is raise
a ballyhoo, kick out, fire and throw the book at somebody.
All of these methods can be used in truly
outrageous cases, but I also feel responsible when somebody fails
to do something.
Yelena Vinnik: Let us give the floor
to our guests here. Again, I can see a lot of raised hands.
Pavel Zarubin: About the pressure
on business, sorry, I will continue. There is a person here with
us who has experienced this very pressure on himself. He spent several
months in the remand prison before being acquitted. Meet Alexander
Khurudzhi. And now he is also a public ombudsman
for the rights of entrepreneurs who are in custody.
Alexander, your question to the President,
please.
Alexander Khurudzhi: Mr President, good
afternoon.
First, I would like to thank you
for having supported me then. And the second point is very
important. The number of people ending up in pre-trial detention
is on the rise.
We have made progress in improving
the business climate; indeed, a lot has been done, but,
unfortunately, we have taken a step backwards, and a very big
one too, concerning criminal prosecution. Arrest remains the preferred
pre-trial restriction, house arrest at best, and, consequently,
a business owner cannot continue operating, loses the business, which
in most cases goes bankrupt, and people lose their jobs.
We have a specific proposal, and I know
that after Titov’s report you spoke positively of it. It is about changing
the approach to bail, making bail the predominant pre-trial
restriction rather than arrest.
This will reduce the cases of partners
or rivals “setting each other up.” So their number will decline from
the current level of 12 – by the way, not
a single person has escaped – and a procedure will be
worked out to determine the size of bail in each specific
case. There is international practice: it usually depends
on the suspect’s financial position. In our practice,
the alleged damage is picked randomly, and in 80 percent
of cases the court orders to compensate a fraction
of that amount.
Therefore, I have a really big request,
as a person who is faced on a daily basis with loads
of appeals from business people around the country to help them
and give them a chance to be released on bail. So far, none
of those released has fled.
Vladimir Putin: I would just like
to say, you cannot run away from us, we have a long reach. However,
unfortunately, they do run away, you know, and lie low somewhere abroad.
And our so-called partners do not seem to be in any hurry
to extradite anyone, even in absolutely obvious cases
of criminal offences, let alone civil litigation. But this is
a separate topic, and it happens that they do extradite someone.
You are certainly right to say that arrests
should not be overused, especially in cases of economic offences.
Here I fully agree with you. You have probably heard what I said
in my Address this year, and this is exactly what I said
then.
Can bail be used for pre-trial restriction more
widely? Yes, it can, and it should be. Along with house arrest,
or travel restrictions – all these options need to be used more
widely, I agree.
Yet, it is not possible to exclude arrest from
the options altogether – I understand that you do not mean that.
But this way wealthy people would be able to avoid arrest indefinitely
by paying, so that ordinary citizens now listening to us,
and millions of people are indeed listening, would say, hey, this
sounds like if he is rich, he can do whatever he pleases, then pay his way out
and avoid any responsibility.
This cannot be allowed either. Moderation is needed
in everything. And bail should certainly be more widely used
as a restrictive measure, I have no doubt.
One of the main problems today is long
remand. I have already asked the Prosecutor General’s Office
and the Supreme Court to analyse the situation
and make some proposals.
There are varying terms; but I would like
to adjust these terms and ask both agencies (the Prosecutor
General’s Office and the Supreme Court) to submit their
proposals by the end of the year, better still by late
November or early December.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, we also have
a request from business leaders to streamline the application
of Article 210 of the Criminal Code on criminal
organisations, because this article is being actively applied.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, I fully agree.
I do not even want to comment on this, just that I agree.
We absolutely need to work at the expert level here, including
the Legal Department and the Presidential Executive Office,
and the Duma members should also think about it.
The current legal procedure prescribed
by law is such – and by legal procedure I mean
a statement of the essence of the problem – that
almost anything can qualify as a criminal organisation, even
the board of directors of a company, if at least one
of the members has been caught violating the law. And this,
of course, is unacceptable; it is an absolutely obvious fact
and we need to deal with it and make changes
to the current law.
Pavel Zarubin: People have recalled
the 1990s several times today. In August, we will mark 20years since
the tragic events of August 1999, when militants led by Basayev
and Khattab invaded Daghestan. The local residents were
the first to stand up to them.
Today, we will not ignore Daghestan, of course.
We are in direct contact with our correspondent Alexander Sladkov
in Daghestan.
Alexander Sladkov: We are in Botlikh. Hello.
This is an area high in the mountains.
It is raining now. We were worried and wondered if we would be able
to show the surrounding stupendous beauty. But the clouds are
clearing up and you can see the legendary village of Botlikh
below.
There was fierce fighting here 20 years ago. This
hollow was engulfed in flames. After choosing this spot for our
report, we saw shell casings under our feet. Everything reminds you
of the war here. These mountains were seized
by the militants. Interior Ministry special forces, now
the Russian Guard, landed here.
This is Mount Alilen that was stormed
by the paratroops; blood was spilled here, there were casualties, but
the paratroopers took the height, and the infantry,
the gunners, and the airmen were shooting. But the first
shot was fired at the militants – there were over
a thousand of them, they were international terrorists led
by Basayev and Khattab (all sorts came here) – the first
shot was fired by the local militia.
We have here with us some participants in those
events, people, who despite the danger to themselves and their
families, despite the possible negative consequences, took up arms
and fought alongside the Russian police, security personnel
and the military.
Mr President, they would like to ask you
a question.
Question: Good afternoon, Mr President. We
remember the day you came to Botlikh by plane
at a very difficult time for us. In Botlikh, the local
militia was fighting and defending their land and Russia. And now
I would like to say the following. We saw wounded and dead
militiamen here. But even today – I would like to tell
you – they have no status as participants in hostilities.
I would like to ask you, Mr President, to resolve this –
not for us or for someone else, but for Daghestan
and Russia’s future, for the sake of our grandchildren.
One more question: Do you remember how,
in a military tent, we raised our glasses to victory? We were
all standing next to you and wanted to drink up, but you
said – later. Now Botlikh is flourishing; we have gas, running water,
and it is beautiful here. Allow us to raise our glasses to your
health and to victory. Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: As for toasts,
I hope we will be able to do this with you. In fact, it would be
interesting to find out whether our latest decisions on Botlikh,
agreed upon during my last visit to Daghestan, have been carried out
or not.
Regarding those events, they are
in my memory for the rest of my life.
I remember how the people of Daghestan acted. I remember
how all this happened. I remember people coming to me… It might be
unusual for the country to hear, but I will recall it, how
people from Daghestan addressed me and said, If Russia is unwilling
or unable to defend itself or us, give us weapons. I also
remember a different situation, when the village heads came
to our military – when the forces arrived – and said
why aren’t you using artillery? And the Russian commander replied,
your houses are there, it would be a shame to destroy them because it
takes generations to build houses in the mountains.
And I was struck by their reply: don’t feel bad, just do it.
And it was like this not only in Botlikh but
also in other villages too. For example, I remember Tsumandinsky
District where the local residents simply refused to allow these
criminals to enter their area. It was the same in other villages
as well; people took up arms and defended their towns, as you
said, they defended themselves, their birthplaces and the whole
of Russia against these international terrorist groups. These were
international groups that were, incidentally, well-armed and well-trained.
The Constitutional Court has passed a ruling
on this subject and said that the current law makes it possible
to adopt a decision of this kind at the regional
level. Well, I understand that the republic just lacks
the funds. So, I agree with you and fully support you, that this
decision must be made. This is a simple act: the militia members must
be put on the list of the law now in effect
in Russia, which will immediately give you and your militia comrades
the same status as veterans of military operations. I am
instructing the Government to do this and do it as soon
as possible. The problem is how to compile the lists. But
I do not think this will be too difficult. What I mean is that these
people, thank God, are alive and in good health, and you will
help us with it.
Thank you.
Pavel Zarubin: Let us continue.
Back in 1999, you went to Daghestan
as prime minister. The country was falling apart. Several months
later, President Boris Yeltsin resigned, shifting the responsibility
for the country on to you.
Vladimir Putin: What do you mean he shifted
responsibility? He resigned, and I agreed to become acting
president. I had to do this.
Pavel Zarubin: If you could go back 20 years,
would you make the same decision?
Vladimir Putin: I have said many times that
when Boris Yeltsin offered this to me, I replied that I was not
ready for it, that I never thought I would do this. But
ultimately, I agreed.
As you said, and as the veterans
of those hostilities have reminded us, the country was
in critical condition. Had the terrorists reached their goals
in Daghestan, it would have created system-wide problems for the whole
of the North Caucasus and subsequently for the Volga
region. This is something we must never forget. But we managed to avoid
it; we preserved our sovereignty and territorial integrity, partly due
to people like the ones we see on this screen today. Trust me,
it was vital to do this then. What mattered was not the combat might
of these volunteers, but their spirit and desire to preserve
the country. It was a milestone, an absolutely key milestone
event. I am deeply grateful to those Daghestanis and to Daghestan
for taking a stand, then and now.
Therefore, the only possible answer to your
question is, “Yes, of course.” Especially since we did this
by working together and with the support of the whole
country.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, let us listen
to those who are here in this room. They have a lot of questions.
Olga Pautova, please.
Olga Pautova: Many questions have to do with
healthcare. You could see at the beginning of this event,
my colleagues showed you hospitals that have many problems. People turn
to these hospitals for help, they want to get better.
I would like to look at this issue from a different angle:
some 1.3 million people who seek medical assistance in Russia every year
are terminally ill.
But this does not mean that we cannot help them.
I will give the floor now to Nyuta Federmesser, the founder
of the Vera Hospice Charity Foundation. Thanks to this
foundation, the country has learned about palliative care
for the terminally ill. Over the past three months, Nyuta has
been travelling across the country and visiting hospices. She knows
everything about the problems of palliative care.
Nyuta, please sit down and take the floor.
Anna Federmesser: Thank you.
Indeed, I have been travelling for three
months now. This story from Daghestan is incredibly touching – just
recently, I have visited Daghestan with the Russian Popular Front’s
project called The Care Region – which is why I cannot help but
digress from my question and comment on this. These people are
absolutely wonderful.
In Daghestan, no one needs a reminder that
people should pass away at home and that the elderly should be
at home, that this is natural and normal, because everyone there
takes people from hospital back home. Absolutely everyone, always. Even if
someone passes away at a psychoneurological residential care facility
that the relatives took them to back in their childhood, he
or she is taken back home.
I have to say that I saw a similar
wonderful facility with the Miloserdiye [Mercy] department
in the city of Buynaksk; it had a wonderful warm, homey,
truly Caucasian atmosphere. But at the same time, there is not
a single home-visit palliative care service in Daghestan. They are
trying hard to make it happen, want to make it happen and are
trying to. We tried as well. I am sure that we will continue working
with the governor and the authorities on this.
Just recently, a girl named Patimat was brought
there from Moscow. Her mother Marjanat wanted to move there as well,
but, let us put it like this, she stayed home in Makhachkala.
Unfortunately, only after our appeal to the local authorities was a home-visit
care service for her organised, because there is no such system there yet.
We will work on it in Daghestan and everywhere possible, because
it is very important. Thank you.
My question, however, concerns a completely
different topic. When you run around the country like this with three key
messages that you have talked about – that there must be accessibility,
trained experts and medication supply. It seems that palliative care will
become accessible, the experts will, hopefully, complete their training;
there will be medicines, the money for medication was allocated,
everything was purchased. But why is there such a great number
of patients not receiving pain management, why does this suffering remain?
Because there is one more factor that does not deal
with the healthcare system directly. This is the medical
professionals’ fear of using opioid analgesics. The Interior Ministry
says that there are not many cases of prosecuted doctors, medical
professionals. Not many cases, but there are some, nevertheless. That is how we
work, all of us – you make a public example of one person
who is punished, and thousands live in fear.
Prosecution of doctors – medical
professionals, not just doctors – is regulated by the Criminal
Code, article 228.2, section one. This is a very interesting article
establishing criminal liability regardless of consequences, whether any
harmful effects followed or not, whether they were dangerous or not.
This means, the drug did not find its way to the illicit market,
did not cause harm to health, but a mistake was made
in the procedure – a mere formality: say, the entry
was made at the wrong time, with the wrong pen, the entry
form was wrong, the ampoule fell down and rolled under the safe,
and it could only be retrieved the next day.
When you ask doctors, “Why are you not managing
the pain? There is a patient in pain there”, they reply with
“You know how it is with drugs.” I hear this all the time. We held
surveys via the Vera and Gift of Life foundations. We have been
talking about this for five years, really, each time with another agency,
and they keep telling us: “Yes, of course, we must decriminalise this
article, we definitely must.” But it seems to me that we need someone
on the inside when all agencies come together, who would finally
advocate this.
There are other offences in the Criminal
Code, such as 228.1 and 229, which concern selling drugs –
and this happens, unfortunately, truth to be told, some drugs find
their way to the illicit market. If the medical professional is
the one to blame, there are other statutes. If we must prosecute
medical professionals for formal errors, we will never solve
the personnel problem that today’s Direct Line basically began with.
Olga Pautova: Back
to the question please, Nyuta.
Anna Federmesser: My question is, essentially,
a request. I ask you to support the complete
decriminalisation of medical professionals’ liability under article 228.2,
because there are other articles for those who really are guilty,
and they must not escape justice.
It seems to me that for death to no
longer be described in Russia as a “merciful release”,
for people to pass away instead of dying in agony, one has
to, unfortunately, appeal to Direct Line again, sorry to say.
Vladimir Putin: Yes indeed, this problem is
known. You are right, decisions have to be taken. Look, if an ampoule
with a narcotic substance rolls under something, as you said, it
naturally has to be retrieved, if it simply rolled away. That is
the first thing.
The second thing. Unfortunately, there are
violations in this sphere as well; there are cases of these
medications finding their way to the illicit market, and we must
keep in mind that this happens. But you are absolutely right about
the fact that it must not destabilise the entire system’s operation.
And when something obviously gets lost, it is not
even about the ampoule rolling under something, it can even get stepped
on accidentally; sometimes, patients get prescriptions not according
to medical regulations – four injections instead of two
or three, which is a deviation from the regulation.
And doctors must not be liable for this, you
are absolutely right. But here, like in some other cases,
the solution, as I see it, is very simple; it does not even
require any major change.
One needs to keep a record of such
losses or when more is used than the regulation provides for,
in some document to be signed by not only the doctor
or the nurse, but, say, a hospital administrator
or the chief of medicine. We simply need to develop
a system for reporting and record keeping.
And if someone tries to cheat under this
system, or profit off it, this will be a criminal case that must be
dealt with separately.
And Ms Golikova [Deputy Prime Minister] is
on the line right now, she is listening, but there is no need
for comment. I ask her to pay attention to this
and take action, and develop a corresponding proposal.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, I would like
to say a bit more about the anti-narcotics article.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, just a second, please.
Before we started discussing narcotics, I did not
have time to write down the name of the village
in Orenburg Region where a school has not been renovated for 50
years. Will you be able to find its name later on?
Yelena Vinnik: Trudovoye village.
Vladimir Putin: Right, Trudovoye. I will
certainly discuss the matter with the governor, and, naturally, we
will try and help.
Anyuta has discussed doctor training programmes here.
This is very important for the sphere you mentioned and also
in general. When we talked about healthcare, it goes without saying that,
on the one hand, it is necessary to streamline the system
for training specialists and constantly improving their skills.
On the other hand, there needs to be oversight of advanced
training programmes and this entire process. As a matter
of fact, the Ministry of Healthcare is now dealing with this
matter.
Yelena Vinnik: Once again, speaking
of article 228 that deals with narcotics, many people have been sentenced
in Russia. And most of them say that police had planted
the drugs in order to prove their guilt.
Perhaps it is now time to introduce some
amendments to this part of the Criminal Code’s article that
stipulates liability for narcotics possession.
Vladimir Putin: Indeed, many people are sentenced
for violating statutes on narcotics distribution. Moreover, people
sentenced under articles linked with the illegal distribution
of narcotics and preparations and their precursors account
for some 26 percent of all prison inmates.
Should we liberalise this sphere? I do not think
so because this country, our nation and our people are facing
a tremendous threat. Anyone illegally possessing, transporting
and selling even small amounts of drugs must bear
the consequences for this, and there can be no liberalisation
here.
On the other hand, we need to establish
oversight of the operations of law enforcement agencies, so that
they do not violate the law in any way, so that they do not arrest
people for the sake of meeting preset targets, and so that
there are no incidents like the one involving that journalist that you
have mentioned.
By the way, the generals were dismissed
for this, and I hope that the required investigative
activities will be duly conducted to expose all the culprits who
created this abnormal situation.
I repeat, the most important thing is that
we need to establish oversight. Therefore, I will think about this,
and I will have another conversation with
the Prosecutor-General’s Office and the Interior Ministry.
Maybe, the Interior Ministry’s internal affairs division should set up
an independent specialised office that would monitor this sphere
of activity. And the Federal Security Service ought
to address this matter more actively.
Pavel Zarubin: Back to the calls.
A word from Tatyana Remezova.
Tatyana Remezova: Three new laws, pased this
spring, have sparked a lot of questions and criticism,
especially in the internet community. Here is one typical text
message about the law against insulting the authorities: “Do the officials
differ in any way from other citizens of our country? Are they grown
in incubators, or maybe delivered from Mars?”
This topic has also hit the blogosphere.
A popular social media person, a founder of the MDK project
with 10 million followers, which is a big audience, Roberto Panchvidze, will
join us by videoconference. We hope to see him
on the screen right now.
Roberto, hello. You are on air, please ask your
question.
Roberto Panchvidze: Good afternoon, Mr President.
My name is Roberto Panchvidze, I am
the chief administrator and editor of the MDK community.
Since I deal mainly with young people
and the internet, I will be more comfortable talking about
things I can relate to and what hurts us specifically.
On March 18, you signed a law
on disrespect for the authorities. Apart from the media,
this affects the internet. In our country, the internet is more
than a list of social media or services. The internet
in Russia is, first of all, people. People who have a need
to speak out, who feel a growing social tension, who are looking
for a place where they can let it all out.
So they have been doing this openly and, most
importantly, safely on the internet for some time. Now, because
of this law, we all as internet users are in great danger.
I would like to ask you to monitor the enforcement of this
law and take it under control, so the situation with that infamous
article No. 282 is not repeated. The prerequisites for this are
in place.
Just a few days ago, in Arkhangelsk Region
alone, this new law resulted in six people being penalised – six people –
because of their comments in a group on VKontakte. One
woman was fined because of her comment, I will quote it verbatim:
“They’ve got some nerve!”
I do not know what the situation with
the other five is, but I would say some clearly defined boundaries
are needed, some line drawn between insult and criticism, so that people
are able to fully understand and comply with this law,
and the authorities will not be able to abuse it. Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: I see what this is about.
This law is not about criticising the authorities.
On the contrary, it should be freer; people have the right
and must focus attention on problems, including those
in the functioning of government institutions. This goes without
saying.
The law has a different aim. It is designed
to fight the desecration of state symbols; in fact,
of our nation and each one of us, so that nobody could mock
the flag, the emblem and so on. This is what it is about,
and such things happen; we cannot let them go unnoticed.
Moreover, this practice is not confined
to Russia. Many countries even have criminal liability for this;
for example, it is punished by several years in prison
in Germany. In Russia, administrative liability has just been
introduced for this. There is nothing unusual here.
But something I must agree with you is that you
are absolutely right that no one has the right to abuse this law
in order to restrict people’s rights to criticise
the current government at any level, by the way.
Of course, we will monitor this. I will ask
the General Prosecutor’s Office to monitor this carefully.
Enforcement must be in keeping with the spirit
and the letter of the law.
Roberto Panchvidze: Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
Tatyana Remezova: There has been a big
response on the blogosphere: four million views on OK Live 4, so
the internet is with us, too.
Another blogger has just contacted us. It is pundit
and author Dmitry Puchkov, better known as Goblin
in the internet world.
Mr Puchkov, you have the floor. I understand
you have a question about the law on fake news.
Dmitry Puchkov: Good afternoon, Mr President.
Vladimir Putin:Good afternoon.
Dmitry Puchkov: My name is Dmitry Puchkov.
The growth of the internet
and social networks has destroyed many barriers that had previously
stopped all manner of lies, and now anyone can, pardon me, rave
and call it news: the end of the world is coming here
in Dzerzhinsk, or a man was buried alive. It is a trend
to call such made-up news “fake”.
It is well known that our people are credulous, often
naïve, especially on the internet. Young people readily believe any
fiction and argue themselves hoarse, saying, “I know it’s true,
I read it on the internet.” While in the West,
I agree, they even have criminal liability for spreading video clips.
For example, they can get real prison time in New Zealand.
Here is my question. Isn’t it time
to introduce stricter criminal liability for spreading fake news
in Russia?
Vladimir Putin: You know, we did not have any liability
at all. I think administrative liability was introduced, but
the problem is there and becoming increasingly urgent.
You mentioned Dzerzhinsk but there are other examples.
When we were sitting in my office, preparing for today’s event,
the heads of our main channels – both Channel One
and VGTRK – said they had receive calls about mines and bombs.
But this is not limited to TV channels. Companies, transport facilities,
shopping centres, including large malls, also receive calls and other
information to this effect. Incidentally, this leads to huge losses
and could trigger serious concern in society as a whole.
You mentioned Dzerzhinsk where information about
higher radiation or something else are being spread. But I would like
to emphasize right away so everyone understands what the problem is.
This is not simply about spreading information but about the deliberate
dissemination of fake information. This is what this law is all about.
Let us consider law enforcement actions, how this is
being handled everyday and then decide whether it is enough or if
something else has to be done in this respect. Thank you.
Tatyana Remezova: Thank you.
The DDoS-attacks on our call centre
continue, but we are dealing with them. As you can see,
the application works and we continue receiving video calls.
The law on a sovereign internet will
also come into force in Russia on November 1. Yet another
blogger with a million followers has gotten through to us now. He has
created one of the most popular YouTube channels with 7 million
followers. This is Amiran Sardarov.
Good afternoon, Amiran. You are on the air;
we are waiting for your question.
Amiran Sardarov: Good afternoon. Do you hear me?
Vladimir Putin:We do. Good afternoon.
Amiran Sardarov: One of the main topics
online today is the law on a sovereign internet. It may look
as if we are again trying to isolate ourselves from the outside
world with an iron curtain. Bloggers and users are perplexed. They do
not understand why this is being done. Can you tell us honestly why this law
was adopted?
Before you reply, I would like to say that
my shawarma is the best in Moscow. I invite all of you
to try it. Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: All right. Well done.
Tatyana Remezova: Everyone wants to feed
you.
Vladimir Putin: He took this opportunity
to promote his product and this was the right thing to do.
But what was his question?
Tatyana Remezova: About the sovereign
internet.
Vladimir Putin: About the sovereign
internet. Listen, this is not at all about restrictions
on the internet. We talked about the Chinese company Huawei.
The US decided to restrict its activities because most of its
servers are abroad. Naturally, I hope this will not happen; they will not
figure it out, because this would destroy their own system. But if we assume in theory
that these servers are switched off or their performance is affected, we
must, with this and other cases, ensure the reliable operation
of runet, the Russian segment of the internet. This is
the goal that is pursued by this law. This is the only goal. No
restrictions are envisioned. On the contrary, this law is designed
to ensure the sovereignty of our internet
and the opportunity for everyone to work in it:
individuals, bloggers and state organisations alike.
As for the invitation, thank you very
much.
Pavel Zarubin: Recently you signed
an executive order to simplify the procedure for obtaining
Russian citizenship, which many Donbass residents were long looking forward to.
The refugees from the people’s republics can be spotted all across
Russia, including Naberezhnyye Chelny in Tatarstan.
Our correspondent Yegor Kolyvanov.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Naberezhnyye Chelny, Tatarstan,
is on the line.
We are paying a visit to the large
Lyulkovich family, which is a blend of Russian, Ukrainian
and Belorussian roots. Before we get acquainted with them I would
like to show you this small room in a rented flat, which
the head of the family, Vladimir Lyulkovich, refitted
to use as a workshop. Here we can see work materials
and toolboxes on the improvised rows upon rows of shelves.
The thing is that Vladimir makes guitars – he is a master guitar
maker. I think you will agree that this is a rare occupation. Let me
introduce Yelisei – one of the nine children
in the family. The whole family had to flee Donbass
and seek refuge in Tatarstan.
Come with me. Yelisei, I know that you also went
to a music school in Naberezhnyye Chelny but then dropped out
of it. Why?
Yelisei Lyulkovich: We were having money
problems, which strained family relations
Yegor Kolyvanov: That is understandable.
Members of the Lyulkovich family, please say
hello to our studio audience and to Russia, which is watching
you.
Svetlana, we are now acquainted with Yelisei, so
please introduce your other children.
Svetlana Lyulkovich: This is Katya, Nastya, Valya
and my granddaughter Marisha.
Yegor Kolyvanov: We already have
a granddaughter.
Svetlana Lyulkovich: This is Jonnik, Jimik,
Richik, Vladik and Dasha.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Richard,Johnny,
and Jim – it is only natural that your father named you after
virtuoso guitarists.
The family arrived from Dzerzhinsk – now,
as it often happens in today’s Ukraine, the city is called
Toretsk – in 2014. Dzerzhinsk is located between Slavyansk
and Gorlovka. We all remember the news coming out of there
in 2014.
Katya, please show me what you have here.
Yekaterina Lyulkovich: This is a shell that
fell on the grounds of our school.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Fragments.
Yekaterina Lyulkovich: Yes, shell fragments.
Yegor Kolyvanov: The most telling argument that
explains why the family has moved from the area.
Vladimir, you have been trying to get Russia
citizenship since 2014, but, as far as I understand, you have
not managed to obtain anything better than refugee status. Why?
Vladimir Lyulkovich: Because I have
a large family. My wife had to apply for temporary refugee
status, which practically does not help in any way because of taxes,
so it is like a vicious circle. She had five minor dependent children
and it was difficult to declare income for tax purposes. Do you
understand?
Yegor Kolyvanov: Yes, you mean it was difficult
to legally get a job to certify her income.
Vladimir Lyulkovich: To get a higher
status you have to declare your income for the previous year. It
is a vicious circle she cannot break.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Of course, it is important
to explain that Dzerzhinsk was part of the Donetsk People’s
Republic for about four months but now it is under the control
of the Ukrainian armed forces, so officially it is not part
of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
You have a family of 11 and you are not
the only ones who came to Naberezhnyye Chelny from Dzerzhinsk. Who
are your guests today? Are these people your relatives?
Vladimir Lyulkovich: This is the husband
of our eldest daughter and his family, including his brother, his
brother’s family and their mother.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Do you have the same living
conditions here?
Remark: Yes, we have the same problems
and sometimes they are even worse. My brother and I had
temporary residence permits, and once both of us were fined
and held at a temporary detention centre for foreign
nationals.
Yegor Kolyvanov: Until you were granted refugee
status.
It is clear why the family does not want
to go back – Richard told me that at home they sent him call-up
papers.
Richard Lyulkovich: Every two months our
neighbour retrieves my call-up papers tucked in the door. They
come and ask where we are, where we are hiding and who knows where we
are. But we do not want to go back and kill our people.
Yegor Kolyvanov: It is clear why they are trying
to enlist you in military service.
The problem is clear. Your living conditions here
are difficult. The children go to school but, of course, you are
not eligible for other social guarantees.
You can ask the President a question.
Vladimir Lyulkovich: Good afternoon, Mr
President.
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Vladimir Lyulkovich: Mr President,
on April 29 you signed an executive order on simplifying
procedures for receiving citizenship for the residents
of some territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, who
live in the Russian Federation. But this law does not cover me,
my family and thousands of people from other territories
of Donbass, who live in Russia.
We are asking you for help in receiving
citizenship because, as you know, hope dies last. Please explain what we
could expect from you.
Vladimir Putin: I have already spoken about
this but would like to repeat it. You mentioned the April 29
Executive Order. There are also other regulations that allow Ukrainian citizens
living in Russia to receive citizenship under a simplified
procedure. I will see how this works in practice.
This is a regulation that was adopted recently.
I already know that there is a problem linked with demands
for certain documents that Ukrainian citizens can only get
in Ukraine. Clearly, this is a vicious circle. It is hardly possible
to resolve this problem. Therefore, I will see what adjustments
and additions should be made to the regulatory base so that this
problem is resolved in practical terms rather than based on papers
that are impossible to get.
Mr Minnikhanov [President of the Republic
of Tatarstan] is listening to this. I will talk to him
to find out what else should be done to resolve this problem
in your case, and as soon as possible. A decision
on your family and the family of your relatives will be
made quickly and then we will see in general what changes should be
made to the regulatory base to make this process as liberal
as possible for other Ukrainian citizens on Russian territory.
In fact, I have already said that this is not even limited
to those who are on Russian territory.
In reviewing this information, I came across
many questions from Ukrainian citizens who are not on the territory
of the Russian Federation. They are abroad, including
the territory of Ukraine. To receive Russian citizenship they
will still have to come to the Russian Federation. I can
hardly imagine how they would be able to simply contact our consular
offices in Ukraine and resolve this issue under current conditions.
That said, we will try to liberalise this process and make it
as accessible to Ukrainians as possible.
Pavel Zarubin: This question was received via
the VKontakte social networking service: ”You do not speak with Zelensky.
But you must understand that it is difficult for him; he is young
and does not have enough skills. You could make the first step.“
Vladimir Putin: You know, we have just watched
this video. I can say in this regard that he is a talented
person. I remember his performance on the KVN comedy show
in Moscow back in the mid-2000s. It was clever and funny.
But what we have just seen is not funny. This is not a comedy; this is
tragedy. And now that he has found himself in this position
and has become the president of a state, he must solve
these problems, especially as he repeatedly spoke about it during his
election campaign and made it his core theme.
But what is happening now? When visiting Paris, he
said he was not going to speak with the separatists, that is, with
representatives of these unrecognised republics. Then how do you solve
this issue? There are no cases in modern history when conflicts of this
kind have been settled without a direct dialogue between
the conflicting parties. This is simply not possible. Moreover, there has
been an increase in shelling by Ukraine's Armed Forces. However,
during the election campaign, he stated that the shelling would be
stopped and the blockade lifted. This is a direct violation
of the Minsk Agreements, which say that the economic ties
of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics with Ukraine must
be restored. Nothing is being done, and the blockade is only getting
worse. Making conciliatory gestures is the simplest thing to do.
The Ukrainian leadership needs to exercise its political will.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, I will go
on regarding our closest neighbour, Belarus. You have spoken on this
topic, though.
Vladimir Putin: I beg your pardon, but here
is an important question on the growing cost of housing
and utility services.
We will get back to this. I will not go into
detail, but I want those asking this question – and there are
plenty of such questions – to know that they remain under
the control of the Government and my personal control.
There are limitations to the growth in housing and utility
service rates, but efforts should be made to monitor compliance with these
restrictions at the regional level. I will task the Government
with establishing proper regulation in this sphere.
Here is a rhetorical question: “There is no way
back to socialism, and capitalism has not given me anything. Why did
they not ask the people?” To begin with, people were asked about this
in the early 1990s and although 74 percent voted
to preserve the Soviet Union (by the way, later
on nobody recalled this fact for some reason), the RSFSR Supreme
Soviet actually voted to dissolve it. These people were representatives
of the nation and this is how they voted. Incidentally,
as I see it, this question was asked by a leftist, maybe
a Communist Party supporter. But who dissolved the Soviet Union if
not the Communist Party? This is exactly how it was done. Both General
Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev,
and his then opponent, came from the Politburo of the CPSU
Central Committee. So what? What is the question?
Is it possible to return to full-scale
socialism? I personally think this is unlikely, simply unlikely, because
the country has changed. This is only possible through grievous domestic
conflict. Do we need such conflict? I do not rule out that political
forces with leftist views and socialist ideas can control the country
and the supreme political power.
By conducting an open political discussion
and addressing the people, the population, the voters, any
legal political force is capable of winning their sympathies
and establishing itself in the upper echelons of power.
Will this be good for the country? I do not know because it is
one thing to nationalise everything and another thing to make
nationalised industries work well. These are completely different things.
As for the elements of state influence and state
regulation, they are present in this country anyway. This is a separate
big discussion.
Yelena Vinnik: Let us continue about Belarus.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.
Yelena Vinnik: There are very many questions.
I will read them from the website. When will Russia and Belarus
unite in a real union state? There is a proposal to put
this question to the people and even to hold a referendum.
Vladimir Putin:The question of uniting
as a single state is not on our agenda today. The matter
deals with the implementation of the treaty that was signed many
years ago about the formation of a so-called Union State. This
is not a single state; this is not the same thing. But, indeed, there
are many elements there, up to the formation of a union
parliament, the introduction of a common currency
and the like. Some things were not done by Russia, Russia
delayed them, and other things were not done by Belarus.
I have now agreed with Mr Lukashenko that we will
return to this treaty and look together at what should be done
from what was not done and what should be adjusted accordingly. Now expert
groups formed at the level of prime minister and deputy
prime minister are actively dealing with this issue.
Incidentally, much has already been done,
for instance, on social issues, on the free movement
of goods and services and on social guarantees on both
sides. Much has been done but in my view, this is obviously not
enough. We can and must do a great deal more.
Pavel Zarubin: Let us get back to domestic
affairs. One of the objectives you set for our national
programmes was to promote air routes without stop-overs in Moscow. We
can see that things have started moving in this direction. They might not
be moving as fast as we want them to, but the domestic network
is definitely growing.
We are flying to Gorno-Altaisk where our
correspondent Dmitry Petrov is on the line.
Dmitry Petrov: We are at Gorno-Altaisk
Airport where an L-410 plane with 17 passengers has just landed. It made
the flight from Novosibirsk. Indeed, the plane is small but quite
comfortable and, most importantly, it makes regular flights to Novosibirsk
and Krasnoyarsk; these are direct flights, not through Moscow, as was
the case before.
The Gorno-Altaisk Airport was rebuilt
in 2011 after being out of operation for 20 years. They built
a new runway, which is one kilometer longer than the old one,
a new terminal and a new traffic control tower, and they installed
new navigation equipment.
All types of mid-range aircraft can land here.
You can see a Sukhoi Superjet in the parking area farther on. It
makes charter flights for one of Russia’s leading companies. It has
brought company employees who will spend their holidays in the Altai
Mountains. Closer to us, you can see a very small private plane.
On some days, the parking area is full
because several flights have been added. Of course, people are
enthusiastic about going to the Altai Mountains. This was primarily
done for tourism, so every year new flights are launched. Russians who
have dreamt of traveling to the Altai Mountains can finally have
their dream come true.
In 2011, when the airport reopened, it
handled 1.35 million tourists, and now the figure is over 2 million.
Today, in June, campsites in the valley along the Katun
River are full. Of course, Russians can now fly to the Altai
Mountains to feed on the energy of the place.
As for the local people, this means higher wages and new
jobs.
You can see the ground service staff maintaining
a plane. Many of them have only been working there
for a few months. Let us ask them.
Good afternoon. Tell us about your job, please. What
do you do to maintain the plane?
Remark: Maintenance includes checking all
the navigation systems and fueling it.
Dmitry Petrov: When will it be fueled?
Remark: The plane has just arrived,
and it leaves tomorrow, so it will be fueled tomorrow.
Dmitry Petrov: I believe airfare
to Novosibirsk is 3,800 – this is a bit closer, and 4,900
to Krasnoyarsk. How do people like these prices?
Remark: They think it is a bit too
expensive. This is too expensive for our people, of course. Wages are
not very high here, and we have to travel a lot everywhere.
Dmitry Petrov: But it is convenient.
Remark: It is convenient.
Dmitry Petrov: Look, new routes are launched
every year. Now there are five. This year we opened Yekaterinburg, Kazan,
Moscow, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. Will you be able to manage 25
flights instead of just five?
Remark: Yes, of course we will.
Remark: Airport capacity is 155 people per hour,
so we will, even if there are 25 flights.
Dmitry Petrov: And the local
authorities, the regional authorities, of course, have plans
to develop air links to remote districts, such as Kosh-Agach
and Ust-Koksa mainly; it takes all of 24 hours of driving
on mountain roads to get there, or only a 90-minute
to two-hour flight.
And, of course, people living in Siberian
and Far Eastern areas, where cities and villages are separated
by great distances, dream about the development of regional
aviation. Regional aviation alone can decrease these distances. And,
of course, everyone hopes it will be like in Gorno-Altaisk: new
airports with new runways, and new planes and, most importantly,
reasonable fares.
You know, some airlines in Chukotka, Kamchatka,
Yakutia and Khabarovsk Territory have set very high prices
for one-hour flights, like 20,000, 30,000, even 50,000 per passenger,
which is very high, to put it mildly. Everyone is hoping that
the systematic development of regional aviation will improve
the situation.
Vladimir Putin: Regarding this airport,
I know it well; to tell the truth, it was built
on my direct instructions, because the only way to fly
there was from Barnaul, and this did not promote the potential
for tourism. It is huge, really enormous there. And I am happy
to hear that tourism has increased significantly. This is exactly what we
wanted to achieve.
But with regard to air transportation, it is
in fact growing, it has grown lately. While the fact that airfares
or, that is, the cost of plane tickets is increasing, is not good.
The government, of course, is taking the necessary steps. What
are these steps? First, we have retained the VAT on all flights,
including those via Moscow. And the VAT on flights that do not
go through Moscow has been suspended – it is zero – to stimulate
interregional routes. This is a good measure in general.
However, other problems came up. They are primarily
related to expenses on plane maintenance at airports.
And I also believe that the cost of aviation fuel is
another big problem. What is the source of this? This problem really
exists because the government has begun to exercise a so-called
tax maneuver. In other words, we have begun to change export duties
on oil and petroleum products with increasing MET taxes on raw
materials extraction to compensate for possible losses to companies,
and to stabilise the domestic market. It was decided
to introduce a reverse excise tax, which means that some
of the earnings from oil wells or increasing MET taxes will be
redistributed to the oil refiners and thus the situation
on the motor fuel market, including diesel and petroleum
products, will stabilise.
But this was not enough, so the government had
to react to growing fuel prices manually and quickly
(the entire country was watching).
We came up with another mechanism: companies are
refunded some of the earnings they could have gained if they had sold
oil and petroleum products on the external market. We have
agreed that this year the cut-off price would be $55 per barrel;
and the difference will be subsidised from the budget,
and if the price of oil drops, the oil companies will have
to return the money to the budget, and the budget
will be used to fund its own items accordingly, including social funding.
Next year the price is forecast to be $50, I believe,
for a barrel of oil.
Why am I going on about this, what is
the problem? The problem is that these stabilisation measures
in the domestic market did not include aviation fuel; it is
as simple as that. Motor fuel was included, diesel and all
fuels, but aviation fuel was not. Last year the price increased by 9.5
percent, so it grew by 30 percent for aviation fuel,
and by 9.5 percent for airfare, on average. This has never
happened before. Growth was typically 2 percent annually. And now we see
almost 10 percent, 9.5 percent or even a bit more.
For example, 30 percent of the ticket
price at Aeroflot is the cost of fuel. I have discussed
this with the government; with those people in the government
who are responsible for this, and I would like to remind
them that this has been neglected and it must be adjusted. This goes
for aviation fuel and for bitumen as well, because we need
to build roads, and if we do not do this, the cost of road
construction will skyrocket as high as airplanes fly, and we
will be unable to implement our road construction plans.
Yelena Vinnik: Thank you, Gorno-Altaisk. Let us
hear from other guests of the studio.
Valeria Korableva, please.
Valeria Korableva: Mr President, if you do not
mind I would like to ask about international issues.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.
Valeria Korableva: We have spoken about sanctions
today and there is a man in our studio who is living under them.
Let me introduce him. He is the winner of the Leaders
of Russia contest of managers, Yevgeny Grabchak. His question is
about the leader of the country imposing these sanctions, Donald
Trump. Considering that the G20 summit is about to take place, let us
hear your question.
Yevgeny Grabchak: Thank you.
Mr President, I have been under individual
sanctions for several years now. This is why I am so interested
in international affairs, international diplomacy. The US President
has lately been engaged in a strange diplomatic game: Twitter
diplomacy. This is what my question relates to. He wrote on Twitter
more than once that he would very much like to meet with you. Do you want
to meet with him? And if you do, do you think the meeting will
benefit this country in any way? Is he capable of improving our
bilateral relations?
Vladimir Putin: Dialogue is always good. There is
always need for it. And, of course, if the US is interested
in it – I have said this many times – we are open
to dialogue to the extent that our partners are.
However, we understand, we see what is happening
in US domestic politics. Even if the President wants to meet us
halfway in some respects, wants to talk about something, there is a host
of restrictions related to the actions of other government
institutions. This is especially true now that the incumbent President
will be keeping one eye on the demands of the election
campaign that he has already started.
So I believe not everything will be simple
in our relations, considering that part of the US establishment
is exploiting Russia-US relations, trying to catch something
for itself in this turbid water and inventing, as was
mentioned here, groundless fakes by exerting efforts that are worthy
of better use. And on and on, always the same.
Therefore, as soon as our colleagues are
ready we will respond accordingly, all the more so since we have
a lot to discuss in international security and disarmament.
I am referring to the New START Treaty that is about
to expire and, in general, to the need to cultivate
normal interstate relations in all areas, including the economy.
After all, US companies are not leaving
the Russian market. They are working on it although the turnover
is not big. But, as I have already said, under Trump our trade grew
by $5 billion. It fell under Obama to $20 billion but under Trump, it
increased despite all the restrictions and sanctions.
As for sanctions, I think this is
a big mistake on the part of the US. I hope they
realise this eventually and fix it.
Pavel Zarubin: We have been working
in conditions of cyber attacks today; meanwhile The New York
Times reported that US intelligence agencies are trying to penetrate
Russia’s power grid. President Trump even accused them of treason. Anyhow,
these are their problems, while we are left wondering if it is indeed possible
to switch off the lights across the whole of Russia from
inside US territory. Do they have such a switch?
Vladimir Putin: You know, the modern world
is very interconnected and interdependent. I certainly heard about
the article in the New York Times and saw
the President’s reaction, calling them traitors.
I am not sure how we should interpret that –
if it means that they disclosed real information or it was a planted
story. But in any case, we have to respond one way or another;
we must understand what this is about.
This is what I want to say on this
matter. First, we suggested a number of times to our American
partners that we should begin a dialogue to develop some rules
in cyberspace including those affecting critical infrastructure
and mass media, but we have yet to get any rational response from
them.
At the outset of his political career
President Obama seemed to agree with that but he subsequently did not have
time to do anything about it. We also informed the current
administration about it. The response was generally positive but it did
not go any further either.
As to the operation of our
critical infrastructure including power and other areas, we must certainly
think about how to protect ourselves from any cyber attacks, from any
negative impact. We are not only contemplating this but also addressing it.
Yelena Vinnik: Let us get back to our call
centre.
Natalya Yuryeva: Thank you, colleagues.
Russia has made a tremendous technological
breakthrough in modern weaponry – there is the new Armata
missile system, the hypersonic Kinzhal, the prospective Avangard
missile system, laser weapons. All of this is certainly very impressive.
We are proud of these achievements, yet at the same time, it
makes us worry.
We have a video call on this topic.
The caller is Alexander Batrakov of Moscow. Alexander, you are
on the air, we are awaiting your question.
Alexander Batrakov: Good afternoon, Mr President.
Why does TV show so many new weapons? For which
war and with which adversary are we being prepared?
Vladimir Putin:Actually, it makes sense
to remember what the ancients taught us: If you want peace, prepare
for war. There is another famous maxim: Those who do not want to feed
their army will feed that of their enemy.
This is what I would like to say generally.
Firstly, Russia is not among the leaders in military spending. Look,
the USA is way ahead of us as they spend, if I am not
mistaken, $720, and now they are asking for an astounding $750
billion.
The People’s Republic of China comes second
with $117 billion in spending. It is followed by Saudi Arabia,
imagine that, which overtook us, Great Britain, France, Japan, and then
Russia in seventh place in absolute terms, I think we are
at the equivalent of $48 billion. The most curious thing is
that we are the only great military power – and this is
true – that is cutting military spending.
In 2017 it accounted for 3.4 percent
of the GDP (that is a lot for us), however, in 2018 it
was slightly above three percent, in 2019 below three (2.9 percent). It
will be 2.87 next year and 2.8 by 2021. If I am mistaken it is
only on the decimals, but there is a trend of cutting military
expenditures. No other big country is doing this, not a single one.
What is curious and what we should certainly pay
attention to and take pride in is that despite the modest
military spending we not only maintain military and nuclear parity, but we
are also two to three steps ahead of our competitors, because no
other country in the world has the cutting-edge weapons
technology that we have, I mean our hypersonic missiles.
This is something we should also take note of. This is
a fact that should make us feel proud of our country and feel
respect for the people working in defence and research,
the defence industry, and for those people who are working
to build up our military, who organise that process. We should take note
and thank them for it.
I read another message here which states,
and quite correctly, that the power of a country
in the modern world lies not so much in the Poseidons
and Peresvets or other weapons as in its economic power.
This is absolutely true, and this is
the reason we organise work under national projects, so
as to support our economic power.
Yelena Vinnik: I also have a message
that is somewhat military related.
A young girl writes from Ivanovo: My name is
Darya Rogozina; I am 13. I would like to serve
the Motherland as a naval officer but unfortunately, girls are
not admitted to the Nakhimov School, at least, not yet.
We have a different story in Krasnodar.
On direct line is…
Vladimir Putin: I am sorry to interrupt
you now.
I think regarding the Nakhimov School,
a decision is being considered for the possible enrollment of young
women.
Yelena Vinnik: Then we will tell Darya that she
will have to wait.
Vladimir Putin: I believe a new
location has been designated for this, and other things, in St
Petersburg. I may be wrong but having said this, I hope Minister
Shoigu will respond.
Yelena Vinnik: That is exactly how it is going
to be …
I suggest we go to Krasnodar and our
correspondent Pavel Krasnov. The Krasnodar Air Force School.
Pavel Krasnov: Good afternoon.
This is Krasnodar, greetings form the Krasnodar
Air Force School, the military pilot training centre.
Here in front of us is a flight
simulator combat plane Yak-130 for training. It is also called
“a flying desk” for future pilots.
We all remember the lyrics of the song:
“Airplanes always come first, and girls only afterwards.” But it sounds
somewhat insulting for today’s heroes because you see these charming young
women are cadets at the training centre, and they dream
of the Aerospace Forces.
And many of them also hope to ask
a question of their Supreme Commander. Just like that, because even
though these young women are still cadets, they have already tied their lives
to military service. So let us begin.
Hello, will you please introduce yourself and ask
the President your question.
Alla Sankova: Good afternoon, Mr Supreme
Commander-in-Chief.
I am Alla Sankova, a cadet
at the Krasnodar Air Force School. To begin with, allow me
to express my gratitude from all the female cadets at our
school to you and the Defence Ministry for the opportunity
to study and pursue the profession of a military
pilot.
Will you please tell us if we will be able
to participate in other forms of aviation besides military
transport? For example, fighter jets or assault aviation.
I think we are as capable as the men are.
Vladimir Putin: I think your wonderful,
beautiful braid will fit in a combat helmet. And I do not
see any restriction that could impede your service in the Aerospace
Forces, in its various forms including fighter planes. There are no
physiological restrictions for women, and I believe there should
not be any.
The only thing I would like you
to consider is assault aviation. The loads there are unbelievable.
When I myself flew on a fighter jet, and afterwards
on assault jets, I can tell you this: fighter aviation – yes, it
now has long-range weapons, they are aviation complexes that require
a very high level of professional training. Why can’t women master
it? Of course, they can.
As to assault aviation, where a pilot
flies as he watches with his own eyes the developments
in a battle, it involves constant loads up and down, up
and down. I am puzzled as to how men fly these planes
because the only thing that moves is their fingers, they are so pressed
into the chair that they cannot move their heads, cannot move anything,
they only operate with their fingers. I am amazed at how they do it.
This is why I feel you must explore everything
and then move to assault aviation. But, again, I do not see any
limitations here. The specialists and medics must be consulted. However,
let me repeat for the third time, there is nothing inaccessible
for women in military service.
Question: Good afternoon, Mr President. I am
a cadet of the Krasnodar Air Force Academy. Your life involves
constant flying. How far do you fly annually?
I also have a very interesting question:
would a woman be considered to be one of your plane’s crew
members?
Vladimir Putin: Of course, she can,
probably. But let me remind you that I use Rossiya Airlines aircraft which
are not part of the Aerospace Forces. That is one thing.
The second, regarding the distance
travelled. It is a lot, I do not remember, but from 2012 until now…
It is hard to say, but if I count how long I was
in the air, maybe it would be months of just flight time.
Yelena Vinnik: Thank you, Krasnodar.
Pavel Zarubin: On with the military
theme. The situation in Syria seems to be quieter. Will there be
a big deal with America?
Vladimir Putin: What do you mean
by “a deal”? This is not a commercial enterprise.
Pavel Zarubin: These days, deal is used
to call anything …
Vladimir Putin: No, we do not do deals involving
our allies or our interests or our principles. We can agree with our
partners on resolving certain urgent issues.
Some of the problems that we must address
together, primarily with our colleagues with whom we have made tangible
progress, that is, Turkey, Iran, and other countries involved
in the conflict, and above all the US, are related
to the political settlement and the formation of the constitutional
committee, the rules governing its work and getting that work
underway.
Can this be done or not? I think it can,
given the goodwill of all stakeholder countries. I have already
named them, but there are more countries in the region that are
involved, primarily Israel, Egypt, and the European countries that
are suffering from the flow of migrants and have a stake
in securing a settlement. To sum up, we must pool our efforts
and work together.
Yelena Vinnik: To continue the topic,
one more foreign policy question from Odnoklassniki. I quote: “The US
blamed Iranians of attacking tankers on the Gulf of Oman.
Will there be war between America and Iran” – they are asking you
for some reason – “and what will Russia do?”
Vladimir Putin: You said it – it is unclear
why they are asking me. Probably because there is no Direct Line with
my colleagues from Iran and other countries. We do not know
the answer but of course, we would not welcome a war. That said,
the US says it is not ruling out the use of force, either.
I would like to say straight out that this
would be, at a minimum, a catastrophe for the region,
because it would lead to an outbreak of violence and maybe
to an increase in the flow of refugees from this
region.
But I think this would probably also have
terrible consequences for those who would hazard such attempts because it
is very difficult to calculate what the use of force may lead
to. This is very difficult to foresee.
This is because Iran is a Shiite country
and it is believed, even in the Islamic world, that these are
people who are ready to go to extremes for the sake
of their own defence and the protection of their country.
It is hard to say what form these extremes would
take and whom they would affect. Nobody knows this but it would be very
bad for events to develop along these lines.
As for Iran in general, it is
in full compliance with its agreements with the IAEA, which oversees
nuclear technology. Iran is not in violation of anything and we
believe it is unjustified to impose any sanctions on it.
Pavel Zarubin: A lot of hands are
raised in the studio.
Maria, please, you have the floor.
Maria Gladkikh: Mr President, many topics have
already…
Vladimir Putin: A young man raised his hand
over there.
Maria Gladkikh: Yes, I will go to him
now. He has been raising his hand from the beginning.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, yes.
Maria Gladkikh: What is your question
to the President?
Ilya Kovalyov: Mr President, good afternoon.
I am the head of the autonomous non-governmental organisation
Investment Agency for the Social Sphere. We are working
on several projects, such as Football Russia. The project
includes building year-round covered arenas at universities
and schools. For example, there is a school with a worn out
football pitch. We build a covered all-season arena on this worn
pitch. The budget is not paying for this, neither is the school,
nor the region; they do not pay for construction or maintenance.
Over the last three years, we have built 23
arenas like this across Russia. After a while, we realised that
the programme was paying for itself and that it should be used
elsewhere.
Maria Gladkikh: What is your question? A bit
shorter, if you please.
Ilya Kovalyov: So, we realised that
the programme should be replicated. The Sports Ministry supports
this, and the head of the corporation
for the development of small and medium businesses
Alexander Braverman found the model economically viable and supported
it, too. However, later we found that there were strict administrative obstacles,
in particular, in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities with
a million-plus population. This means that our contracts cannot be
approved even at a low level, even though we are not demanding money.
Mr President, this is what people at the lower levels are saying;
I am not talking about top managers or governors: why would we need
private investment if we have budget funding?
What would we like to ask of you?
To see how this project is being implemented. We can explain and show
how it is done in Moscow, for example, and how to support
similar projects. We would like to cooperate with the Russian
Football Union, or someone we has not dealt with so far, to work
on this issue and do it in Moscow, St Petersburg and other
large cities. This is our request and proposal.
Vladimir Putin: I will speak with
my colleagues, with Mr Sobyanin [Moscow Mayor], the Acting Governor
of St Petersburg and others. As far as I can see,
the main thing for us is to provide for the continuous,
high-quality operation of educational institutions.
You need to cover your expenses, which means that
you have an idea how to use these facilities commercially. It is
important that this use does not interfere with the operation
of the schools or universities. But I will definitely speak
with my colleagues.
Overall, I believe that this is a very good
thing to do, and this would promote competition between schools. You
know, this is well-developed in some countries: competitions between
universities and schools. This is a very good area of work.
Ilya Kovalyov: Mr President, children
in the morning…
Vladimir Putin:Yes, I can guess. Access is
free in the morning and for a fee
in the evening. It is important that the morning does not end
at 10.00 at night. We should discuss all this with our colleagues.
I will do this, I promise. They have probably heard this
and will respond.
Maria Gladkikh: Mr President, let us move from
football on to culture because of a major event
of the week.
Practically all my friends, without exaggeration,
have already visited the remarkable exhibition that is currently running
at the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, while I have been too busy with
work to be able to, though hopefully I will make it before long.
The exhibition features Sergei Shchukin’s full collection of paintings.
Nothing of the sort has ever taken place before.
Vladimir Putin: Good. We will get back
to the Pushkin Museum in a moment.
There was an SMS regarding salaries
in emergency medicine. I would ask Ms Skvortsova to look into
how things stand in the regions, given that the name
of the region is indicated in the SMS. We must see what
the salaries are in emergency medicine.
Please go ahead.
Maria Gladkikh: Next to me is Director
of the Pushkin Museum Marina Loshak. I suggest giving her
the floor.
Ms Loshak, thank you for such an interesting
exhibition. It was enough for me to learn about it
on the internet to get excited about this historic event. What
is your question?
Marina Loshak: You know, yesterday we unveiled
an exhibition that is something of a landmark
in the history of Russian culture. The exhibition acquaints
visitors with an outstanding Russian citizen, collector
and philanthropist, who played a huge role in the textile
business and donated money for the upkeep of hospitals
and schools, a man whose name is celebrated in Russian history.
His home is located close to our museum. It was
formerly the palace of the Trubetskoy family, who invited him
to stay with them at their home. Hanging on the palace
walls were 50 Picassos, 38 Matisses and 16 Gauguins from his time
in Tahiti, the best of Monet and the best works
of 20th-century French art. The Shchukin exhibition
in Paris three years ago drew a record 1.25 million visitors who
queued at the museum from dawn till dusk and could not believe
that the best works by French impressionism – the pride
of the 20th century – were to be found
in Russia.
As I speak now I feel that Shchukin is
standing behind me and I am speaking on his behalf. His home is
not seen as a cultural landmark and, in my view, it is very
important that it be given this status. It is not important whether our museum
or the Hermitage or some other museum manages it, but it must be
part of the culture because it is a historical landmark
in which we are greatly interested, as this is exactly the kind
of memory that cements our society and our nation together, which
seems very important to me.
So my question is as follows: can
the dream of the director of the museum
and of a million-strong army of museum visitors ever –
I do not know when exactly – come true?
Vladimir Putin: Can we create a Shchukin
museum there?
Marina Loshak: We can create a museum
in the spirit of Shchukin. There are many solutions
and options.
Vladimir Putin: Could you name one?
Marina Loshak: One option is a Shchukin
family museum because all three brothers, except Sergey, were great collectors
and benefactors.
Vladimir Putin: I see. Where? There,
in his house?
Marina Loshak: It is a small house
at 18 Bolshoi Znamensky Lane.
Maria Gladkikh: This building belongs
to the Ministry of Defence.
Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.
Maria Loshak: Since 1941.
Vladimir Putin: Yes. I understand what you
mean now. I will go by what I have seen with my own eyes,
if you do not mind. Is it the one on the right-hand side
on the way to the Kremlin?
Marina Loshak: Exactly.
Vladimir Putin: Behind an iron fence.
Yes, it is a building complex that belongs
to the Ministry of Defence, where Ministry of Defence
departments are located and where communication systems were installed
after 1941. This area and these spaces were developed
by the Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry has been developing
the infrastructure year after year, for decades. I believe
people understand what the infrastructure of a military
establishment entails. It is primarily communication systems and they are
expensive.
Still, we can give them time to think it over.
I believe that the first step could be to instruct
the Ministry of Defence, and I hope the Minister can
hear me, to consider the option of how the Defence Ministry
itself…
Because the building is part of its premises
and so as not to uproot the Ministry from its property
and hand it over to the City Council or the Ministry
of Culture but to leave it for the Ministry
of Defence, it would make sense if the Ministry of Defence
oversaw this work itself and opened a Shchukin Museum there.
Marina Loshak: We could also participate…
Vladimir Putin: Not only you.
Marina Loshak: We are very much interested
in this.
Vladimir Putin: Under the supervision and with
the direct assistance of the Ministry of Culture, with your
participation and according to the Defence Ministry’s plans
and designs, and so on.
The more so because
this kind of activity seems to be far outside the scope
of the Ministry of Defence at first sight, though
the Ministry has a department like the Grekov Studio
of Military Art. Therefore, in general, this is nothing out
of the ordinary and the Ministry of Defence is
in a position to do this and can afford it.
To be continued.000000000000000000
Pavel Zarubin: Mr President,
the producers are telling me we are ready to connect
to the village of Kaskara in the Tyumen Region, where
there is no water. We sent a film crew there at the beginning of our
Direct Line. Let's see what is happening there.
Vladimir Putin: Just a moment.
I just read some interesting
information here. “Yeltsin realised at the time – it was
written – that Primakov absolutely had to head the Government.
Do you think it necessary for Mr Grudinin to head the Government
now?”
Primakov did not have bank accounts abroad;
he was not engaged in business. Yevgeny Primakov was an absolutely
clear and transparent person. Therefore, before making such personnel
decisions, as proposed, one needs to think carefully.
A candidate will have to withdraw money from offshore companies –
for a start.
Pavel Zarubin: Could you please show
the Tyumen Region on the screen.
Artur Mikhailov is ready
to start the videoconference.
Artur Mikhailov: Hello, we are
in the village of Kaskara. It is not far from the regional
centre, about 20–30 minutes by car. We got there quickly and had time
to talk with local residents, including Maria Kuznetsova, who sent
the video message.
Here is the problem
in a nutshell, so that everyone understands. Water is available
in Kaskara, but Kaskara is quite a big and old village, more
than 10,000 people. So in the old part, the water quality is
okay for drinking. But in the new developments, mostly low-rise
areas, which are home to over 3,000 people, there is no water supply.
People use wells, and even go to Tyumen to get their drinking
water. This is rather inconvenient.
But local residents believe
the solution to the problem is literally under their feet. We
are now standing in the place where a water pipe is buried. We
are here together. The local residents will better explain where it leads.
They also know better how acute the problem is. By the way,
the local authorities have just arrived at the site,
and a debate is unfolding, of which we were witnesses.
I suggest we let them talk now.
Everyone is present here – the local authorities and Maria
Kuznetsova, the local resident who sent the video. Hello!
The President can hear you.
Maria Kuznetsova: Good
afternoon, Mr President.
We have a big favour to ask
of you. Please help us with our water supply. We have lived in this
village for 20 years, and we still do not have running water. They
make new promises every year, but we are still waiting for them
to deliver on their promises.
Artur Mikhailov: I see that
you have brought water bottles with you. What kind of water is this?
Maria Kuznetsova: It is
the water we get after four-stage purification. We use it to make
tea. Look at it. Our children have to drink this cloudy water,
because the only other choice is to buy bottled water or to travel
15 kilometres to obtain clean water.
00
Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
Moreover, our village is located
in direct proximity to the Velizhany water intake system that
runs towards the Tyumen Broiler poultry farm. We have lived in these
conditions for 20 years.
Artur
Mikhailov: By the way, you can see the farm from where we
are standing. The pipe is where the Tyumen Broiler farm is located.
It is barely one kilometre away from here.
Pavel Zarubin: In other
words, a branch pipeline should be built from the intake system. Is
this the case?
Vladimir Putin: How far is
the village located from the regional centre?
Pavel Zarubin: It is only 20
kilometres away.
Maria Kuznetsova: We travel
to our relatives in the nearby village to wash our children
and to do our washing.
Remark: The water is
yellow.
Maria Kuznetsova: We have
to sink individual artesian or other water wells.
Remark: This is what
I would like to say. We have lived here for a long time,
and every one of us had to sink water wells. They have promised
to connect us to the water system by 2020. We would greatly
appreciate this.
Pavel Zarubin: We see your
problem. Let us listen to what the President has to say about
this.
Vladimir Putin: Ok,
I understand your problem.
Pavel Zarubin: There are members
of the local authorities there. Shall we give them the floor?
Vladimir Putin: Please, do.
Oleg Podenov: Good afternoon.
I am Oleg Podenov, and I live in this village.
At present, I get water
from an artesian well. A new water supply system is scheduled
to be built in 2020 or 2021. It will be connected
to the new buildings of Kaskara. We are preparing the documents
and discussing the plans. I believe people can wait
for a year or two…
Remark: We have waited 10 years…
Oleg Podenov: …and then
they will have clean drinking water. As of now, we are preparing
the documents. They will be approved by the local legislature
after discussions, that is, if it was not discussed 10 years ago.
Pavel Zarubin: Let's listen
to the President.
Vladimir Putin: Yes. What our
colleague said just now is also relevant; this is important information.
I take it that the village is not far from the regional
centre – 20 minutes or 20 kilometres, as you said, but very near
anyway. There is a water main there. Unfortunately, this is a problem
across the country. Unfortunately, millions of people do not have
access to quality drinking water. We have a whole programme
to ensure that people have access to clean and quality water.
In this particular case, it
sounds a little strange to me that the place is in close
proximity to a large and self-sufficient regional centre. Tyumen
is one of the donor regions, and there is quite enough money
there to resolve such problems. I do not know if there is
an objective reason to wait for a year or two
to do this. Honestly, I doubt it. In any case, to build
a water discharge system in the next two years would not cost
that much. Let us hear what the governor has to say. Go ahead please.
Tyumen Region Governor Alexander
Moor: Good afternoon, Mr President,
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
Alexander Moor: Indeed, supplying
water to residents of the Tyumen Region has always been
monitored by both the Governor and the government
of the Tyumen Region.
As for Kaskara, indeed,
the village does have a centralised water supply. The supply
system was built a long time ago, in 1974, when the local
poultry farm was built, and until recently it was managed by this
poultry farm. Earlier this year, it was transferred to the management
of the Tyumen Vodokanal water and wastewater services provider,
because water is supplied to Kaskara from the centralised system
of the city of Tyumen. So today, anyone can apply
for a technical connection, and this opportunity will be
provided to them. The system is indeed quite old,
as the residents said today. We are reconstructing the water
supply system not only with government money, but also by attracting
investor funds through concessions. Three years ago, in the city
of Tyumen, we concluded one of the largest concession deals
in Russia, for 23 billion, and now we are working
on another concession, planned for September-October, involving
the entire Tyumensky district – and Kaskara is part of this
district, to provide not only Kaskara, but also other villages
in the district with centralised water supply and wastewater
disposal systems.
Pavel Zarubin: So when will there be
water?
Alexander Moor: It was announced
at a local meeting that it would be in 2020, and one
of the meeting participants, as I understand it, wanted
to say just that. The water line from the city of Tyumen
to Kaskara will be built, and it will be possible to increase
the volume and throughput capacity of that line, so all
the residents of small house suburbs will be connected
to the centralised water supply. Absolutely no problems here,
the question is clear.
Pavel Zarubin: So they will have
water in 2020, right? Mr Governor, water in 2020, have we understood
correctly?
Alexander Moor: The water supply
system will be modernised in 2020. But applications for connection
can be submitted even now, because the management has been transferred
from the poultry farm to a professional market player, Tyumen
Vodokanal.
Vladimir Putin: You can consider
the application already in place. That is what people are talking
about. So you need to do it right now, not postpone it.
Alexander Moor: We need to apply
to Tyumen Vodokanal, and the connection will be made.
Vladimir Putin: Do it. This is
as good as done. I have just applied on their behalf.
I am asking you – do it as quickly as possible. Agreed?
Alexander Moor: We will do it, Mr
President.
Vladimir Putin: I hope this will
be done.
In general though, I would
like to tell my colleagues, the governors, that they must,
of course, join programmes that are being implemented
at the Federation level. But they need to use modern water
purification methods. We have large enterprises, including those in the defence
industry, and one of them, MITT, the Moscow Institute
of Thermal Technology, has made a remarkable discovery, a water
purification invention, and it is working effectively. But they cannot
expand into the regions. I am pointing out to my colleagues
in the regions that they need to use such technologies,
including the one I have mentioned.
As for this specific case,
I am asking you to resolve it as quickly as possible.
Pavel Zarubin: It is
a striking example, but there are many more such examples. It appears that
no matter what happens through the fault of village, city
or regional heads, you are the one who is held accountable. Is it
frustrating for you? Many new governors have been appointed this year. Has
this produced any positive effect?
Vladimir Putin: This must not
frustrate me, because this is my job. I have already said somewhere
in the middle of this programme that I feel responsible,
in part, for the fact that some of the goals set are
not achieved. Of course, I will not turn a blind eye
to the failures of ministries, departments or regional
authorities. Our colleagues must be held responsible for the range
of subjects that are directly within their competence.
I have seen a scrolling
line here that said, “Is Direct Line a special services’ show?”
I know that it is a loaded question. I can assure you that none
of Russia’s special services has anything to do with today’s
programme.
You saw how I was preparing
for today’s event, this Direct Line. Questions started coming
in a long time ago, and the direction of these
questions and the topics that are the biggest concern
for the people were clear to me. However, this is a direct
line to the nation, to our citizens, a direct line that is
intended to bring the bottlenecks into focus and to find
solutions to these problems, the possible methods of dealing
with them, sometimes right on the spot, during our dialogue.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President,
many programmes have been launched in the past few years to help
talented young people. We have a representative of the Leaders
of Russia contest. Is this contest an effective instrument?
Vladimir Putin: Yes,
I believe that it is an effective project. The Leaders
of Russia is not the only project of this kind.
By the way, we received over 200,000 applications for this
contest. Overall, we received more than one million, or more precisely,
1.5 million applications for various sourcing and training projects.
As for this social lift
project, the Leaders of Russia, it is an effective project.
A considerable number of those who have passed through this screening
system now hold the jobs of federal ministers and governors,
as well as deputy governors in nine regions. I believe two
of them are now federal ministers.
Pavel Zarubin: Let’s have
a quick round of questions with short answers.
Yelena Vinnik: Yes, we have been
on air for over four hours now.
Vladimir Putin: Let’s go
for it.
Pavel Zarubin: The Tyumen
Region: “When will the President stop bothering with minor questions?”
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Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin: Well, these are
not idle questions. I do not consider them to be minor if they affect
human lives.
Yelena Vinnik: One more
question: “All of us know how hard you work. Do you ever feel lazy? How do
you fight this feeling?” This question is from a school student Danila
Karyakin.
Vladimir Putin: First,
psychologists say, if I am not mistaken, that feeling lazy is
a normal human state that overcomes people when the body feels it
needs to take a break. You should learn to give yourself time
to rest. But the only method of fighting laziness is
to start working.
Yelena Vinnik: How can you force
yourself to work?
Pavel Zarubin: There is
an interesting film, “The President’s Vacation”…
Vladimir Putin: Sorry, but
I see a hand raised there. Please.
Yelena Vinnik: We will take
a microphone over there.
Natalya Kaspersky: Mr President,
I am Natalya Kaspersky, President of the InfoWatch group
of companies.
My question: What do you plan
to do in light of the Huawei scandal, attacks
on Venezuela’s energy system and the recent item
in The New York Times regarding possible US cyberattacks
on Russia’s electricity power grid? How can we boost the import
substitution programme in this sphere, because it is clear that we
seriously depend on these imports and the substitution project
is marking time?
Vladimir Putin: I see.
I have already spoken on this subject, but I can mention it
again. We are working on import substitution. As I have said, we
have allocated some 667 billion rubles for this, including for the high-tech
sectors of the national economy.
But the key idea I want
to repeat once again is that we must protect the critically important
infrastructure sectors, including with the assistance of such
companies as yours. We are trying to do this. We need to create
an internal market for such products. We will be encouraging this,
even if we have to resort to non-market methods.
Natalya Kaspersky: We need
to provide assistance to the procurers, because companies
and corporations are reluctant.
Vladimir Putin: I understand. We do not so much need to support the procurers
as, much as I dislike the word, force them to do what we
want. We must encourage them to buy Russian products. We are pondering
the possibilities here. I have issued instructions
to the Government. We will continue working on this.
Pavel Zarubin: I have been
informed that Governor Uss, governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory,
arrived in the microdistrict with no infrastructure at all. We
can put him on now, if you see fit. We can see what is happening there.
Let’s have a look.
(A fragment of a meeting
is shown on the screen.)
Pavel Zarubin: I don’t know
if they can hear us, but we can see that work is in full swing now.
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Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
Yelena Vinnik: They have
responded, they have.
Pavel Zarubin: Let’s continue
with our quick questions.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President,
shall we continue with the quick Q&A section or move
on to the guests in the studio?
Vladimir Putin: Let’s have some
questions from the audience, we have already been talking for four
hours.
Yegor Beroyev: I will try
to be quick.
Vladimir Putin:: Go
on please.
Yegor Beroyev: Yegor Beroyev;
I am an actor and co-founder of the I Am charity
foundation.
We work with mentally special people:
with Down syndrome, autism, other wonderful special needs which you are aware
of. I would like to speak with you about psychoneurological care
facilities. The head of such an institution is simultaneously
the client, the service provider and the sole guarantor
of the services provided. This results in a direct conflict
of interests.
Vladimir Putin: A client
and a service provider? How is that?
Yegor Beroyev: Yes,
a client and a service provider.
Vladimir Putin:I have no
idea what they can provide.
Yegor Beroyev: Everything
possible. They are the only caretakers for people living
in these care homes. This means there is a system, and it’s
completely corrupt.
In 2017, in Petrozavodsk,
you instructed your colleagues to reform the system, but regional
officials completely sabotaged your instructions; and adoption
of the law on distributed guardianship is our only hope now. You
know this law very well. Both the government and the State Duma
have been trying to adopt this law for two years now.
Now the law is hindered
by the State-Legal Directorate of the Presidential
Executive Office. We cannot understand its reasoning in this situation.
All our hopes today are on you.
I can assure you that society
needs this law, because, well, I have been working for eight years
and have travelled across Russia with my colleagues; we know that
people are living as if they were in prison. These people have no joy
in life like we do. They share underwear, they share toothbrushes; they
cannot go outside. We must solve this problem. Society needs this. We need them
more than they need us.
Vladimir Putin: Ok.
Yelena Vinnik: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: I shall
return to this.
Yegor Beroyev: Please do.
Vladimir Putin: I am sure
that the Presidential Executive Office’s State-Legal Directorate has no
element of corruption and as you may be aware, personally they
are very far removed from this problem. If this is the case, there are
some substantive arguments, if there are any at all. Maybe it’s
a simple administrative issue. I promise you that I shall return
to this subject.
Yegor Beroyev: Thank you.
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President,
should we continue with our quick questions?
Vladimir Putin:Yes, please.
Pavel
Zarubin: Let’s continue.
“There is an interesting film
titled The President’s Vacation, where the main character, without
his guards, decided to see real life in Russia. Would you like
to travel across Russia like that?” Alexander Yerastov, Vladimir Region.
Vladimir Putin: First, I do
travel across Russia.
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Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
Second, I would really like
to relax freely, unrecognised, but I understand that this is
impossible. So I have to make do with real life.
Third, it is one thing to have
a trip, even a long one like I once took in Zhiguli,
travelling for 2,000 kilometres in the Far East
and inspecting the road connecting Khabarovsk and Chita.
However, even if I go somewhere
unrecognised, it does not give me a full picture
of the situation in Russia, because you can only see specific
places and specific situations, while our country is large and not
everything is concentrated in one place. It is necessary to have
information from different sources in order to understand what is
going on in Russia.
Third, I do travel across Russia
and look. I can even, I am not afraid to mention this, see
what is happening in the regions through the newly painted grass
and benches. You know, I can see this. That is why I will continue
my trips, but I will have to take what holidays are possible.
Yelena Vinnik: We know you like
jokes and often quote them. Do you know any about yourself?
Vladimir Putin: Of course,
I have heard a lot.
Yelena Vinnik: Please tell one.
Vladimir Putin: No. Now
I have a colleague who does this professionally and much better
than I do. (Laughter.)
Pavel Zarubin: Viktor
Mitrofanov, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. “Officials inform you about what they
believe necessary, and it is often far from reality. Thus they knowingly
decrease your ratings and the public trust. When will you make them
stand by their words?”
Vladimir Putin: I think
that it is an exaggeration to say that all officials always provide
false information. Of course, this is not true. But perhaps it happens.
You know, to tell
the truth, during all these years in office, I have never seen
anybody knowingly trying to misinform me. I cannot remember any such
case.
Perhaps they are the ones who
are misinformed and they report their position to me when it is not
objective; or their proposals regarding some problem are not the best
solution. This can happen and happens quite often.
But what can we do in such
a situation? We need to gather opinions from many sources
and make decisions based on a consensus.
Yelena Vinnik: “What is Russia’s
greatest problem now?”
Vladimir Putin: I spoke
about this at the beginning and in the middle
of our conversation. Since the main goal we must achieve
in several ways within the framework of our national projects is
higher labour efficiency, which we must use to improve the living
standards of the people, one of our biggest challenges is better
labour efficiency. This is what we must get down to.
Pavel Zarubin: The topic
of officials is very popular. When will inefficient officials be replaced
with robots?
Vladimir Putin: Even if we
decide to replace some people with robots, we will need to ask
the Kasperskys for assistance, we will need to ask Yandex
for help because you need people to program robots.
Yelena Vinnik: If there are any
left.
“They are slinging mud at us,
yet you call them partners. Why are you so polite?”
Vladimir Putin: I would not
say I am very polite. However, first of all, even though I grew
up on the street, it was a street in St Petersburg, where
even the urban environment incites certain harmony. These are not empty
words; this is really so.
The urban environment
and architecture are very harmonious [in St Petersburg],
and they are bound to influence human development and our
understanding of harmony. It is my first point.
Second, the Hermitage,
the Russian Museum and the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre are
all part of the environment in which I grew up. Political
culture is part of our culture as well. If it is missing in some
people, it is their problem.
Third, I represent Russia, which
is a country with a rich culture. I must never allow myself
to forget this.
And lastly, the fourth
point. When the relationship between countries becomes critically complex
or turns sour, ties between these countries’ top officials are very often
the last resort for restoring relations, and this door must
never be shut. We must serve the interests of our nations.
I must never forget this either.
Pavel Zarubin: Alexander Kuznetsov
from Chelyabinsk asks: “Are you not tired of being President?”
Vladimir Putin: No. Otherwise
I would not have run for this term.
Yelena Vinnik: “When will
the railway section of the Crimean Bridge be built?”
Vladimir Putin: The work is
going according to plan, so the railway part of the Crimean
Bridge should be commissioned at the end of this year.
Pavel Zarubin: “Please tell us
the truth – are you an alien?”
Vladimir Putin: No. I have
evidence and witnesses such as my family, my relatives,
my children after all.
Yelena Vinnik: “Mr President, do you
sometimes feel ashamed and if so of what?”
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Direct Line with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin: This is such
a serious question. And it is not easy to talk about it
to a multimillion audience. Of course I am, like anyone
else, like any normal person, I hope. I have already spoken about
this publicly.
Frankly speaking, it is even hard
to talk about it now, but still. It was in the early 2000s;
I travelled a lot. The country was going through a very
difficult time. So we flew to one of the regions. It was
the end of the working day, late in the evening
and dark.
It was autumn, and there was
slush and mud everywhere, and I was to walk some distance,
walking in this slush to the car. Suddenly, an elderly
woman appeared in front of me, said something indistinctly
and suddenly fell to her knees, and gave me a note.
I promised her to read it.
I took it, gave it to the assistants, and it got lost.
I will never forget this. I am still ashamed of that. So now
I try to carefully study everything that is sent or given
to me.
You know, it’s not always possible
to resolve problems. Some are unsolvable. I am pretty sure, even
certain, as to what was written in that note, having read dozens
of such notes by now. Surely, something about helping a son who
is in prison, or something like that. But this is not the point;
the point is that it has been lost.
Pavel Zarubin: Thank you. Shall we
wrap up now?
Yelena Vinnik: Mr President, maybe
you wanted to answer some more questions?
Vladimir Putin: I would like
to say thank you for today's joint work together.
Yelena Vinnik: Thank you very much.
Pavel
Zarubin: Thank you.
