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Old January 28th, 2021 #181
Alex Him
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Originally Posted by Paul Anthony View Post
My favorite Kalashnikov is the Bulgarian. My second is Russian. 3rd is the chinese mac90. Worst is Romanian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalashnikov_rifle



You ever shoot an AK? 7.62x39
I believe that you deliberately fill my topics with messages that are not related to them.



I ask the forum moderators to pay attention to this.

Moreover, I gave this person a link to a topic where he can ask me any question - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=227

I also asked him to be more careful in choosing topics for his posts - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=272

I don't know what else I should write to him so that he stops off topic.
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Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
Old January 28th, 2021 #182
Paul Anthony
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Originally Posted by Alex Him View Post
I believe that you deliberately fill my topics with messages that are not related to them.



I ask the forum moderators to pay attention to this.

Moreover, I gave this person a link to a topic where he can ask me any question - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=227

I also asked him to be more careful in choosing topics for his posts - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=272

I don't know what else I should write to him so that he stops off topic.
Well, I'm sorry for trying to start a conversation! Have fun talking to yourself!
 
Old January 28th, 2021 #183
Alex Him
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Well, I'm sorry for trying to start a conversation! Have fun talking to yourself!
May I ask why the topic "Question for Alex Him" is not suitable for your posts?


For any of your possible answers, I can suggest another topic for this "Some questions for VNNer" Alex Him"
__________________
Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
Old January 28th, 2021 #184
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May I ask why the topic "Question for Alex Him" is not suitable for your posts?


For any of your possible answers, I can suggest another topic for this "Some questions for VNNer" Alex Him"
Well I'm not going to bother now! Have fun by yourself Alex!!
 
Old January 28th, 2021 #185
Alex Him
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Well I'm not going to bother now! Have fun by yourself Alex!!
I can repeat for you - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...2&postcount=39
__________________
Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
Old February 2nd, 2021 #186
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Meeting with Government members



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, with members of the Russian Government.



January 28, 2021 - 15:20 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



During the meeting on enhancing the efficiency of social support measures for certain categories of citizens, the participants also reviewed a number of current issues.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported on the progress of the coronavirus vaccination campaign and discussions on introducing “coronavirus passports.”

Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov spoke about the measures taken to increase employment to the pre-pandemic level.

Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov reported on systemic support measures for the national industries.

The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, deputy prime ministers Viktoria Abramchenko, Alexander Novak, Alexei Overchuk, Marat Khusnullin and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minister of Healthcare Mikhail Murashko, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Alexei Kudrin and Governor of the Novgorod Region Andrei Nikitin.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Let’s get down to work. Mr Mishustin and I have already started, therefore … We will continue after our meeting.

We have several matters that we planned to discuss. However, I suggest starting with the most topical matters. First, I would like to ask Ms Golikova how vaccination is proceeding.

Mass vaccination was launched on January 18, 2021, and we have some ambitious plans here. Minister [of Industry and Trade Denis] Manturov has told me that the industry is producing even more preparations than had been planned. As I have said, our plans are ambitious. We have vaccinated almost 70 million people against the flu during the current vaccination campaign. Anna Popova has told me yesterday that the number totals 68 million. We should also attain similar figures in dealing with the coronavirus infection.

(Addressing Tatyana Golikova.) What is the situation like now?

Ms Golikova, you have the floor, please.



Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova:

Thank you, Mr President.

Good afternoon, colleagues.

As you have just said, Mr President, it has been almost two weeks since you gave the instruction to launch a broad vaccination campaign across the Russian Federation. The goal of broad vaccination is to achieve what is known as herd immunity, and according to our researchers, we need to achieve herd immunity for 60 percent of the population – that excludes young people under 18 and those who have had the coronavirus infection, that is, in fact, the number of people immune to COVID-19 will be higher. You have cited the flu statistics – 68 million people, and for the coronavirus, it should be about the same, if we exclude those who have not had the infection – 68.6 million people.

In accordance with Russian law, vaccination in Russia is free and voluntary.

We certainly know that some shortcomings can be expected when it comes to such a large-scale and urgent project, so we have organised our work in such a way as to monitor the entire process from vaccine production, through estimation of demand and the actual vaccinations to people’s feedback on the organisation of the process. We are monitoring each stage; we can see each region’s data change almost in real time. This way we can plan the process and adjust management decisions.

Now a few words about where we are today.

As you know, large-scale production of the Sputnik V vaccine has begun. Manufacture of EpiVacCorona has also started and will be scaled up by the end of February 2021. The Chumakov Centre has sent its CoviVac vaccine to the Healthcare Ministry for registration; we expect registration to be completed in mid-February, and the first batch of the vaccine to be rolled out at the end of March 2021.

The plan is to have about 17 million doses available for broad vaccination in the first quarter. We monitor each of the production facilities daily to see a complete picture of production volumes; we receive information from each manufacturer. A total of 8.2 million doses have been produced as of this morning. Almost 2.7 million doses have been delivered to medical centres.

I would like to say that we are operating on a just-in-time basis. The difference between the production volumes and the available doses for vaccination arises from the need to go through safety and quality control procedures in accordance with current legislation.

Vaccine appointments can be made on the integrated public services website. It is running in test mode, but on January 31, the full version will be launched Our goal is to build a user-friendly service for people based on the public services website.

I would also like to report that the number of vaccination centres is growing daily. When you gave us the instruction, there were slightly over 1,300 of them. Today there are 3,098 centres, and over the last 24 hours, 122 opened, because we are increasing the supply of vaccines in the regions.

(Tatyana Golikova went on to speak about the vaccination campaign in the regions, the operation of the public services website, volunteers’ work at call centres and medical institutions.)

Another topic I would like to briefly discuss is COVID passports. I would like to say that, according to the Russian law on immunization against infectious illnesses, today there is a single document – a vaccination certificate – that exists, and it does not matter what vaccination is in question. This type of certificate has now been approved by the Healthcare Ministry and is issued at vaccination centres. And, of course, the public services website can automatically create a QR code, and inform people about vaccination and other services provided on the website.

Moreover, I would like to note that at the moment, the WHO International Health Regulations Emergency Committee does not recommend introducing requirements to prove vaccination or immunity for international trips.

This is why we have already noted that, and I would like to repeat, especially for heads of regions, that it is not viable and even harmful to introduce any new documents in addition to those specified by current legislation, such as certificates. Introducing additional ‘passports’ or any other documents, as we can see, makes people angry, and in this case, they begin to regard vaccination as a mandatory process. Today this is unacceptable.

At the same time, I would like to add that the WHO has begun work on developing requirements for an international digital vaccination certificate. The WHO’s first recommendations are expected to come out at the end of the first quarter of 2021. The WHO has invited Russia to take an active part in this work, and, of course, our colleagues are going to participate.

Mr President, the goal you have set for us is serious, complex and very ambitious. We have certainly solved this kind of problems recently, but this is the first time we have to work on such a tight schedule, including the development of vaccines and scaling up production. But taking into account the experience that we have gained with the regions, at the interdepartmental level, I think that we can solve it, and we will cope with it. And my colleagues and I are working on this on a daily basis.

Thank you very much.






Vladimir Putin:

Ms Golikova, colleagues,

The objective data we have suggests that the actions we are taking to counter the spread of the COVID infection are consistent with the level of threat it poses to our citizens, and it is generally yielding positive results.

The pandemic is indeed gradually receding. The number of cases is decreasing; the number of people who have recovered, thank God, has steadily exceeded the number of new infections of late. In terms of the overall mortality rate, the situation is satisfactory, if things like that can be ‘satisfactory’ at all, but still, compared with other countries, this is true. We have about 12 cases per 100,000 people, and this is about one-fourth of the level in many European countries.

But, while we are at it, I would like to emphasise that it is too early to relax. When I meet with the regional leaders, I keep reiterating the need to observe all precautions and sanitary doctors’ requirements, to have reserves of COVID beds in hospitals and all the necessary means to fight the coronavirus, including personal protective equipment and medication. The same goes for transport.

We must act very carefully, helping people, and helping the economy. In this regard, I now have a couple of questions for Anton Kotyakov (we recently discussed the situation with employment at one of the meetings), and to Yury Borisov (on measures to support the economy). But these are special subjects, while in general, as far as our pandemic response effort is concerned, I would ask you, as before, to work in a coordinated manner both at the federal and regional levels, matching our actions with the level of threat that persist today.

Thank you.

My next question is for Mr Kotyakov. At one of our previous meetings, we discussed additional measures we might take to support the labour market.

Mr Kotyakov, please, what do you think about this?





Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov:

Thank you.

Mr President, colleagues,

In general, the situation on the labour market is gradually stabilising. According to Rosstat’s preliminary data, the unemployment rate continued to decline in December and constituted 5.9 percent. As you may be aware, unemployment peaked at 6.4 percent in August 2020. During this period, the unemployment numbers went from 4.8 million to 4.4 million people in absolute terms.

The employment centre has also noted a decrease in the number of officially registered unemployed which now stands at about 2.56 million. Again, this indicator was at its highest level, over 3.7 million, in September.

We believe that relaxed restrictions and organisations adapting to the changing pandemic situation were behind the decrease in the number of unemployed. It is also the result of the financial support provided during the spread of the coronavirus infection. As you may recall, it included easy-term loans, reduced insurance premiums for small and medium-sized businesses, and tax holidays for affected industries. Of course, the measures already taken to promote employment help bring down the number of unemployed. In particular, I am referring to the successful placement of reskilled employees.

Mr President, in accordance with your instruction, our goal is to have the employment numbers recover to their pre-pandemic levels by late 2021. To do this, we need to place at least another million citizens in jobs.

Currently, each region has an employment passport and an unemployed person’s profile. We clearly understand the specifics of each regional labour market, and we see a detailed snapshot of the unemployment structure, including the number of graduates, young professionals, people without higher education, and so on. So, each region now has a specific targeted programme for restoring employment based on territorial specifics.

In general, almost 21 billion rubles have been earmarked for employment recovery under local programmes in all Russian regions. Currently, we regard the federal employment promotion programmes as supplementary instruments for reducing labour market tension.

And the programmes, such as the social contract, for example, are also aimed at labour market recovery. To remind you, the social contract involves a comprehensive solution to job-finding issues for low-income people. Over 60,000 people will receive such assistance. This includes an internship and employment for disadvantaged applicants and so forth.

In addition, the Demography national project already provides for retraining at the federal level. At least 115,000 people can also learn the professions and skills in demand on the regional market.

We consulted the regions, experts and the business community: the adopted programmes will greatly impact employment market recovery. To this end – to reach the pre-pandemic figures – we suggest expanding the retraining programme that has already been adopted and introducing new measures on subsidising employment.

As I have already said, the personnel training programme has now been established at the regional and federal levels, but the demand for such activities is very high. People without vocational training are having the most trouble finding a job today, that is 60 percent of those who lost their jobs as of the end of 2020 had neither higher nor secondary vocational training. These are people who as a rule were doing odd-jobs or worked in the services sector. Such people find it hard to adapt to the changing situation on the labour market on their own, and they do not have the opportunity to get supplementary training using own resources.

This is why we are proposing additional retraining measures. The programme will be developed strictly according to labour market demand, that is with respect to the currently available and potential vacancies. This programme will let us additionally train 54,000 people.

As for hiring subsidies, this is a tailored measure. It is highly anticipated by the business community and the regions. We are proposing allocating a subsidy worth three minimum wages to the employer to hire those registered at employment centres before January 1, 2021. The company will receive the first payment in the amount of the minimum wage a month after the unemployed person is hired, the second minimum wage in three months, and the third – in another three months.

The employment centres’ priority task is to help the most vulnerable groups become part of this programme: women with small children, disabled people, and graduates.

Such subsidies will help companies support the new employees after a long break from work. This money can be spent on equipping new work places, covering the cost of training, as well as other expenses. The programme will make it possible to employ over 220,000 Russian citizens, and we believe that it will become one of the most significant direct federal support measures.

Why is it so important to launch it right now, Mr President? Because we see that the restrictions are gradually being lifted, the services sector, due to its traditional seasonal fluctuations in employment, is beginning to slowly recover, and this programme will allow for a faster recovery of employment and the creation of additional jobs.

We have discussed this programme with our colleagues, and it has received our common support. I am asking you to support us too, Mr President.





Vladimir Putin:

Yes, fine.

Thank you.

Today we will get to social issues once again. But first I would like to ask Mr Borisov to elaborate on the additional rules introduced at the beginning of this year to support local producers. I am talking about changes in the contract system and procurement by state-owned companies, the purpose of which is to establish a share or quota for domestic producers in our domestic market; the volume of this market was estimated at about 30 trillion rubles last year.

Please, Mr Borisov.



Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov:

Thank you, Mr President.

Mr President, as you are aware, mandatory minimum amounts of Russian-made goods and services, or quotas, have been introduced for government and corporate purchases this year.

What does this look like in terms of pricing? The domestic market’s capacity for goods and services that are traded under Federal Law No. 44 and Federal Law No. 223 amounted to 30 trillion rubles in 2020, as you said. Goods, without services, accounted for 8.5 trillion rubles, of which Russian-made goods are no more than a third, and the rest are imports. We hope that the quotas will break the established purchasing approaches, which are not always fair, from foreign suppliers and help Russian manufacturers expand and consolidate their presence in the domestic market.

This measure is particularly important at a time of demand crisis and constant sanctions pressure. At the same time, it is critical to prevent disruptions in supplies of domestic products. The transition to the new procurement rules must be as comfortable for consumers and manufacturers as possible. So, the quotas for Russian-made products for 2021 are set at the level of their actual procurement in 2020 with the prospect for subsequent increases in 2022–2023. For example, the share of purchased radio-electronic domestic products should be at least 45 percent, agricultural and road-building equipment 85 percent, X-ray machines and CT scanners anywhere from 30 to 80 percent, communications equipment from 50 to 90 percent.

Importantly, I want you to know the following: given their social importance, we intentionally did not establish quotas for medications.

We will monitor quota compliance using automated control via the Treasury’s unified information system. This will allow us, during the 2021 procurement cycle, to evaluate and, if need be, adjust quotas for each group of goods. Thus, quotas will always be a living and flexible tool for the Government.

Thanks to the Treasury’s automated system, we will monitor the government and corporate procurement process. In addition, to get an idea of how the quota mechanism operates in practice, we have set up a series of meetings with the governors, and held meetings and consultations with CEOs of major Russian companies.

Mr President, despite the fact that the new rules came into force only on January 1 of this year, I can cite a few figures that already indicate positive dynamics since the moment you signed the law on July 1, 2020.

Based on the value of goods supplied, the share of domestic products in public procurement increased from 49 percent in 2019 to 57 percent in 2020. In monetary terms, this is up 300 billion rubles: from 1.4 trillion to 1.7 trillion rubles. We hope that the share of Russian goods and services in public procurement will grow by at least seven percent, when the law on quotas comes into force this year.

As for corporate purchasing, unfortunately, we do not have indicative statistics yet, because customers have only been obligated to enter the country of origin of goods into the unified information system since January 1, 2021.

In addition, systemic measures to support the industry are still in effect. In particular, domestic goods are always given priority in state procurement by means of bans and restrictions on imports, these are the so-called “second one out” and “third one out” rules and price preferences. Corporate purchases are monitored by the government commission on import substitution, which coordinates purchasing by state-owned companies abroad. State support is provided to industrial parks, clusters and technology parks. Various subsidies and soft loans are made available to industrial enterprises through banks and the Industrial Development Fund. Exports receive various state support. The mechanism of special investment contracts has been upgraded.

Finally, I would like to note that the measures taken by you, Mr President, to provide emergency support to the industries most affected by the consequences of the pandemic – the automotive industry and the aviation industry – have prevented a dramatic drop in production and saved jobs.

Thanks to state guarantees, subsidies and leasing, we have managed to keep production volumes in the aviation industry at the level of 2019, fully retain the use of production facilities, update equipment, and most importantly, preserve the industry’s workforce.

The automotive industry was hit harder. Sales of new passenger cars in Russia fell by 9 percent in 2020, but this figure is significantly lower than the European average, where it is 20 to 30 percent. At the same time, sales of KamAZ vehicles increased by an average of 10 percent last year. Preferential car loans, leasing, subsidies for gas-powered vehicles and purchases of special vehicles from the reserve fund, including ambulances, school buses and paramedic cars, helped the industry to stay afloat. More than 17 billion rubles were allocated for special vehicles.

We have been meeting with the governors in the federal districts since December and have already held a meeting with the Northwestern and Siberian federal districts. On the whole, they show that a substantial decline in the regional industrial production indexes has been avoided as well.

The processing industry is beginning to recover. Last December it grew by 4 percent over the same month in 2019.

Mr President, we intend to continue implementing the afore-mentioned approaches to supporting Russian industry, which you have approved.

Thank you for your attention.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Borisov, at what level of local content a product is considered domestic?





Yury Borisov:

There is no universal rule in this respect. This issue is regulated by the Government resolution No.719. Naturally, it is impossible to establish the same rules on different groups of commodities. But resolution No. 719 provides for increasing local content every year. You know the example of the car industry well.



Vladimir Putin:

I ask this question with a reason because during the Davos forum yesterday I had a fairly large meeting with representatives of foreign companies, including those that are active in the Russian market. Everyone is well aware of what we are doing. In fact, this is in the interests of our national economy. We are seeking an increase of local content from the investors that are coming to our market. We are supporting them and, incidentally, even let them make state purchases, and offer them financial support. Some support measures are truly unprecedented – in European countries, the state does nothing of the kind in this respect.

I understand that a uniform approach is not possible in this respect. Nevertheless, all these rules must at least be transparent and clear to all our partners. This is very important. This is the first point.

There are also second and third points. We realise that our manufacturers have received big advantages since January 1, 2021. At the same time, there are some threats as well. We must monitor quality and prices to ensure competition in the domestic market. I would like to ask you to pay special attention to these things and to constantly monitor them.



Yury Borisov:

We are sensitive to these issues, and we are working on proposals for this. We will fine dishonest suppliers that agree to a commitment but then not abide by it. We will put them on black lists, thus depriving them of support at subsequent stages.



Vladimir Putin:

Criteria for local content share must be understandable. This is also a very important issue. You can state 70 or 75 percent but in reality it will not reach even 20 percent. So, this is also one of the aspects that I would like to ask you to follow up on.

All right, thank you very much.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64943






Meeting with permanent members of Security Council



Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of permanent members of the Security Council via videoconference.



January 29, 2021 - 13:45 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



Taking part in the meeting were Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, good afternoon.

I do not really have to speak about the importance and fundamental significance of the Far Eastern region for our country. And this is the reason why specific government agencies as well as the Government as a whole are constantly working toward the development of the Russian Far East.

Today I propose discussing a few matters related to ensuring Russia’s security in that area. The situation in the region is somewhat complicated. We are aware of all the threats. Let us consider them in more detail today.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64948






Law ratifying Agreement on Renewing the Treaty between Russia and the United States on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms



The President signed the Federal Law On Ratifying the Agreement on Renewing the Treaty between Russia and the United States on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Offensive Arms of April 8, 2010.



January 29, 2021 - 19:10



The Federal Law ratifies the Agreement on Renewing the Treaty between Russia and the United States on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms dated April 8, 2010; the Agreement was concluded on January 26, 2021 between Russia and the United States in the form of an exchange of notes.

The Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms was signed for a period of 10 years in Prague on April 8, 2010, entered into force on February 5, 2011, and is valid until February 5, 2021.

The Agreement provides for extending the Treaty for five years to February 5, 2026.

The Treaty is a package of documents, which includes the Treaty itself, a Protocol to it and annexes to the Protocol.

The Treaty establishes limitations and limit levels of strategic offensive arms (START); provisions concerning coverage, deployment, inspection, conversion and elimination of strategic offensive weapons; provisions related to confidence-building measures, information exchange, the use of national technical means of control and cooperation with third countries.

The provisions of the Protocol and its annexes specify the articles of the Treaty and provide the procedure for its implementation.

The Treaty applies to existing types of heavy bombers (HBs), intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), including non-nuclear ICBMs and SLBMs if created, as well as ICBM and SLBM launchers.

The Treaty stipulates that the total number of strategic offensive weapons available to the parties should not exceed:

700 deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and deployed HBs;

1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and deployed HBs equipped for nuclear armaments (each HB is counted as one warhead towards that limit);

800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers and SLBM launchers, as well as deployed and non-deployed HBs.

Implementing the Agreement will not require extra allocations from the federal budget.

Renewing the Treaty meets the national interests of the Russian Federation, makes it possible to maintain the transparency and predictability of strategic relations between Russia and the United States and to support global strategic stability; it will have a beneficial effect on the international situation, and contribute to the nuclear disarmament process.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64949






Telephone conversation with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev



January 30, 2021 - 16:40



During their telephone conversation, Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed the launch of the Joint Russian-Turkish centre in Azerbaijan for monitoring the ceasefire and any military activities in the conflict zone. The two leaders expressed hope that the centre’s efforts will contribute to the further stabilisation of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and the proper observance of the agreements enshrined in the November 9, 2020, Statement by the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan and Prime Minister of Armenia.

The two leaders also discussed some issues of Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral cooperation.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64950






Greetings on 100th anniversary of Yevpatoria Museum of Local Lore



Vladimir Putin congratulated staff of the Yevpatoria Museum of Local Lore on its 100th anniversary.



February 1, 2021 - 09:20



The message reads, in part:

“Founded 100 years ago, this museum has become a major creative and cultural attraction for the city’s residents and numerous guests and one of the centres of research and education in Crimea. It was created by true enthusiasts, researchers who strove to preserve the history of their native land and its spiritual heritage for posterity. Generations of employees diligently kept the traditions started by their predecessors, and contributed to the development of local history and museum business. Today you continue to replenish the museum’s collections and expand displays showing archaeological research, ethnography and numismatics, the heroic heritage of the Crimean War and the amphibious assault by Soviet marine battalion at Yevpatoria on January 5, 1942. You are implementing remarkable projects and educational programmes that bring together enthusiastic and interested people of every age, open to new knowledge.”

Yevpatoria is a resort city in Crimea whose history goes back to the 6th century BC, when the Greeks from Asia Minor founded the first settlement in Western Crimea, which later grew into a city-state (polis).




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64954






Meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia



Vladimir Putin congratulated the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on the 12th anniversary of his enthronement.



February 1, 2021 - 12:30 - The Kremlin, Moscow








The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64953






Meeting on the situation in the banking sector



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, to discuss the situation in Russia’s banking sector and financial market at yearend, as well as further development of the banking sector.



February 1, 2021 - 13:20 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, Chairman of Alfa-Bank Board of Directors Pyotr Aven, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of SberBank German Gref, President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Andrei Kostin, Chairman of Promsvyazbank Pyotr Fradkov, and Chairman of the State Development Corporation VEB.RF Igor Shuvalov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, good afternoon.

Today, together with representatives of the Government’s economic bloc, senior executives from the Central Bank and leading financial institutions, we will discuss the situation in the banking sector in Russia and its performance in 2020 as well as immediate and future development plans.

I would like to note that the country's banking system has played a very important role in Russia’s coronavirus relief effort. A whole package of support tools that we provided to enterprises, companies in the real sector of the economy, and Russian families during this truly difficult time, naturally involved banks, and you all are perfectly aware of this.

I am referring to the restructuring of loans to individuals and legal entities, both under the anti-crisis package and banks' own programmes. The banks' own programmes probably did even more than anything else; you will have a chance to speak about this today.

The programme to support lending to small and medium-sized businesses was also expanded. Last year, SMEs additionally took out over 600 billion rubles on preferential terms, which means an extra 600 billion rubles has been injected into the sector.

To ensure companies’ uninterrupted work and support their teams, we launched a programme of write-off and interest-free loans for the payment of wages. We provided businesses with about half a trillion rubles under that programme.

We also provided soft loans worth 240 billion rubles for backbone enterprises – we held separate meetings for almost every industry – enterprises contracted to multiple suppliers, contractors and subcontractors and whose operations have a complex effect on the whole economy and the entire labour market.

Today, I expect to hear a detailed report on the efficiency of these measures to support the economy, implemented with the involvement of banks, and to find out how convenient they have proved for enterprises and organisations.

And, of course, I would like to note such an important and popular tool as easy-term mortgages with an interest rate of 6.5 percent. Launched with the support of the state, this programme not only helped many Russian families resolve their housing problems, but also supported the construction sector and gave a strong impetus to mortgage lending in general. In 2020, about 1.7 million families were able to obtain flats with the help of a mortgage, and this number exceeds 2019 levels by 400,000.

On the whole, the level of bank lending to the economy did not decrease during the crisis but, on the contrary, increased by about 11 percent last year.

As I have already said, state support measures have exerted substantial influence here. But I would also like to note important and popular regulatory decisions by the Central Bank of Russia. These decisions simplified requirements for the work of banks, while maintaining the reliability of the credit and financial system. They have allowed banks to act flexibly and in a targeted manner during this complicated period.

Taking into account the situation both with individual clients and with whole sectors of the real economy, we have been doing all this together with you.

At the same time, it is obvious that such anti-crisis and extraordinary solutions can certainly be only temporary. I would like to recall that lending support programmes also have a limited duration. In this connection, I would like to hear today the position of the Bank of Russia on how you plan to conduct subsequent work to ensure the stability and dynamics of lending.





I would like to add one more aspect which, in my opinion, is very important. It goes without saying that the overall easing of the monetary policy should help us to weather the crisis confidently, but it should also propel the Russian banking sector – and basically, this has already happened – into an entirely different state, into a state of relatively low interest rates.

Of course, it is the right and necessary trend when loans for business development and expansion and for the creation of new jobs become more accessible. However, I would like to point out that not only interest rates on loans but also deposit interest rates are decreasing. You are aware of this, and we are aware of this as well. Therefore, other forms of financial investment, such as the purchase of securities, are being more widely used, which bear greater risks than bank deposits.

We must protect the interests of those who invest their money in the securities market but are not professional investors. We must reduce the risk this entails for them. What we do not need is another case like the defrauded homebuyers, do you agree? I would like you to pay special attention to this, and I would like you to speak separately on this issue today.

And one more subject, in conclusion. Over the past few years, banking has become one of the most highly technological sectors of the Russian economy. It is now possible to get a loan, make payments and receive other services online at the majority of large banks, without going to them in person, which is very convenient.

The so-called ecosystems are being actively created, and modern cutting-edge solutions are being used at nearly every stage of the bank-client relationship in both traditional and new, forward-looking banking services.

These truly radical changes are paving the way to a transformation of the banking sector. However, this process not only brings new possibilities for business and people, but also additional risks. In order to prevent or reduce potential risks, we must promptly, or even proactively adjust the regulatory framework in the digital sphere, addressing the problem of cybersecurity and stipulating mechanisms that would ensure the safety of the clients’ deposits when banks invest their funds in non-core sectors.

I would like to remind the Government and the Central Bank that they must keep these issues under constant control while at the same time taking into account the changes that are taking place in the world and the direction of global economic trends. Today we will also discuss the practical approaches that must be implemented in this sphere.

Let us get down to work.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64955






Vladimir Putin laid flowers on the grave of the first President of Russia Boris Yeltsin



February 1, 2021 - 18:30 - Moscow






On Boris Yeltsin’s 90th birthday anniversary, Vladimir Putin laid flowers on the grave of the first President of Russia at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

The President also paid respect to film and theatre actor and National Artist of the USSR Vasily Lanovoy and diplomat and statesman Yevgeny Primakov by laying flowers on their graves.







Question:

Today marks the 90th birthday anniversary of the first President of Russia. What does this date mean to you?





President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

It is not about me. It is about the country, our people, and our country’s future. Boris Yeltsin led the country during one of the most difficult periods in its history, one might say, a critical period when Russia’s existence as an independent, united and single state was at stake.

What made Boris Yeltsin special? He was never afraid to assume responsibility for what he did and for the fate of the country. Of course, one can always take a critical look at certain aspects of the life, steps or decisions made during such periods in history, or criticise for not making timely decisions. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, they say. But when things start snowballing, we are looking at a completely different situation, and Boris Yeltsin never shunned the burden of responsibility that fell on his shoulders or was laid on his shoulders by fate itself – we are now standing near his grave – or by God.

Of course, the country must remember people like Boris Yeltsin, and I, of course, remember him and will never forget him.





Question:

Today, the country said farewell to Vasily Lanovoy – a great actor and a moral compass for all of us. We are aware that you were close, and both of you took part in the Immortal Regiment marches. What did he mean to you?





Vladimir Putin:

We were not close, but we were good acquaintances. Indeed, in recent years, we always walked next to each other during the Immortal Regiment march.

I think outstanding artists like Lanovoy do leave an indelible mark in culture, and, one might say, in the lives of many people, because his characters certainly influenced the upbringing of entire generations.





I am very sorry that he has passed away. I would like to lay flowers on his grave as well.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64958






Meeting with winners of Teacher of the Year contest



The President had a videoconference meeting with winners of the 2020 Teacher of the Year national contest.



February 2, 2021 - 17:00 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, friends.

I am delighted to see you all.

First of all, congratulations on winning this wonderful, even legendary contest, Teacher of the Year. This contest was launched in the 1990s. Originally titled USSR Teacher of the Year, it was later renamed Russian Teacher of the Year. Of course, I would like to give a special mention to the grand champion, Mikhail Gurov. Mikhail, raise your hand. Glad to see you.

I know that the competition was fierce and each of you is, without doubt, a worthy contender for such a distinguished title. You have proved it with your work at school with your students; you have successfully completed the difficult stages of the contest and earned the well-deserved acclaim of your colleagues and the teaching community.

I am certain that this recognition will motivate you to soar to new heights, continue your professional development, master new skills and be a role model for your colleagues and students. Innovation, the spirit of leadership and knowing that you are part of one big team are the cornerstones of the education system.

Teaching is noble, creative, demanding and, most definitely, very responsible work that has always been held in great esteem. I can certainly say that it has always been this way in our country. It is school teachers and mentors who can fundamentally affect their students and determine what kind of people they grow up to be. A teacher is able not only to spark interest in knowledge and bring children’s talents and abilities to light but to instil the core values that will be a tower of strength for a person in their adult life. This is the noble mission and the purpose of the teaching profession which, as I said, is simply impossible to disrespect.

Despite the continuous technological progress, technology cannot replace face-to-face interaction (we have noted this many times recently) and communicate the depth and complexity of learning and teaching which are, indeed, a collaboration between a student and a teacher. Mentorship plays the essential and pivotal role in education and upbringing and, I believe, it will do for many years, it always will. This belief was reinforced once again during the remote schooling because of the pandemic.

I would like to use this opportunity and to thank you and all teachers for your work during this difficult period. I realise what an extra load you have assumed. You have tried to do everything you could for your students. Today, I want to say that Russian teachers in major cities, in towns, and in rural schools, have shown their best side. They and their children have accomplished what will serve the country in the years to come.

It appears that not everything was perfect, and the going was not always smooth, but on the whole, our entire country and the national education system are passing the tests in a worthy manner at all levels. I would like to note that the equipment, technology and resources that the schools have received in the past few years have helped the schools work through the pandemic-related difficulties.





Of course, I know that much is still lacking, and we will probably discuss this today. But, believe me, it seemed impossible only a short time ago that all of our nearly 40,000 schools would have access to the internet. But being consistent, we have accomplished a lot.

But again, we have to accomplish even more, especially at this stage. In this context, the state’s goal and its priority remain the same. I want to assure you that we will continue to do everything possible to see that our schools and education system will be truly modern, so that they can access broadband internet, so that every child is able to unlock his or her talent, find his or her way in the world of knowledge, so that he or she finds it interesting to study, and so that teachers feel the support of the state and society.

In this connection, I would like to recall that, in the next three years, we will spend almost 225 billion rubles on supporting the 800,000 classroom teachers who account for 75 percent of all school teachers. When making this decision, we were guided by the tremendous role of teachers in bringing up and developing the younger generation of Russian citizens.

Of course, we will also develop systems and platforms that help educators improve their professionalism, expand their competences and use the best experience and practices. The Teacher of the Year contest aims to merge and popularise these practices. And, we now have the tradition where the city of the previous year’s winner hosts the competition finals.

You are now at the Hall of Triumph of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Panorama. Today’s date is symbolic. I believe that all this is very symbolic and important. Regardless of what way of life a person chooses, he or she must know and respect the history of his or her country, value the heroic feats of our predecessors for the sake of the younger generation.

In conclusion, I would like to once again congratulate you on succeeding in this contest. You have achieved this success because you are sincerely dedicated to your work and your calling. I hope that you will continue to do this in the future, as well.

I wish good health and prosperity to you and your families, and I also wish you new successes.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, in conclusion I will say just a few words, proceeding from what Anton Gomozov said, namely, that a film could be made about our outstanding teachers. He said this would enhance the prestige of teachers, of their profession. Of course, we must always think about this and make steps towards this goal, matching our words with deeds.

This is what I would like to draw your attention to. As I said, in 1990–1991, the contest that you have won was called The USSR Teacher of the Year. Since 1992, it has been called The Russian Teacher of the Year. During the course of its entire history, including 1990 and 1991, the contest has been won by seven women and 25 men. Most often, the absolute winners were teachers of the Russian language and literature (nine people), maths (five people) and history, biology and music (three people for each speciality).

Now, in 2020, 85 people are competing in the final stage of the contest. And the number of women has increased: 57 women and 28 men – 85 people in all.

Now, how many of them are in the Hall of Fame? Not 85, but where are the remaining 85? Where are they? We do not see or hear them. I am absolutely convinced that all of them are brilliant specialists, wonderful teachers and educators.

Which specialists have reached the final? Seventeen of them teach history and social sciences; 15 – the Russian language and literature; 13– foreign languages, seven – maths; six – biology; five – physical fitness; four – physics; three – information science, chemistry and geography; and one – technology and one music. The contest was held in three stages: first, second and third. I am simply convinced that there were a lot of interesting episodes at each of these stages and very many interesting people.





Why am I saying this? When I looked through the relevant information before this meeting, I thought that the contest went on for a year and involved so many bright, interesting and beautiful professionals who remain unseen by the country. Many people know about shows such as Fort Boyard, and so on. This does not mean that we should hold the Teacher of the Year contest in a similar format, making all kinds of jumps and leaps all the time, even though five of the winners are physical education teachers.

But if we turn the Teacher of the Year contest into an attractive and brilliant show with good content, you and your colleagues will always be in the focus of public attention. This is indeed very interesting. I have already mentioned the subjects involved: history, literature, geography, biology and mathematics. We could make a separate interesting show for each subject and organise this contest so that people across the country will gladly watch it. And the teaching profession will always be at the forefront of our citizens’ consciousness, at the forefront of the public mind.

I will ask [Education Minister Sergei] Kravtsov to consider this possibility. I will also talk with our colleagues in the media who deal with this kind of content.

Just take a look at the Scarlet Sails festival we have created in St Petersburg for school leavers. It has become one of the world’s best festivals, actually one of a kind, which is why it has won top-tier international awards. But who trained these school leavers? Teachers did. Throughout the year, teachers could tell people about their profession and their spheres of activity, doing this in an attractive and interesting way and even involving their students. This could be a wonderful story which many people in the country would be delighted to watch online or on TV, enjoying what you are doing for your students and how you are doing it

I would like to wish this year’s winners all the best and to thank them for their work. Thank you very much.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64961






Telephone conversation with President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Argentine Republic Alberto Fernandez.



February 2, 2021 - 18:25



The two presidents had an in-depth discussion on cooperation in countering the spread of the coronavirus infection. Alberto Fernandez expressed his gratitude for the shipments to Argentina of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which is being actively used in the country’s mass vaccination campaign, noting its high effectiveness. It was agreed to encourage further contacts between the two countries’ relevant agencies.

Both presidents also spoke in favour of developing the entire range of mutually beneficial bilateral ties.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64962
__________________
Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
Old March 4th, 2021 #187
Alex Him
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I would like to know if you see pictures with Putin in this thread?

For some reason I can't see them now.
__________________
Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
Old March 5th, 2021 #188
Alex Him
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Join Date: Aug 2015
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Blog Entries: 219
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Judging by the fact that no one answers my question, everyone sees the photos well, then we continue






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Meeting with ASI General Director Svetlana Chupsheva



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting in the Kremlin with General Director of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) Svetlana Chupsheva.



February 3, 2021 - 13:40 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

You planned to tell me about the Agency’s performance, as well as about your cooperation with social organisations, if I rightly remember. Please, go ahead.



ASI General Director Svetlana Chupsheva:

Mr President, I would like to provide a general outline of our performance in 2020 and the results of the National Social Initiative pilot project.

Last year, we focused our attention on supporting the projects that enjoyed especially great demand during the pandemic. Working together with large digital and educational platforms, we launched an additional education service, which teachers, parents and, most importantly, pupils, could use during the period of distance learning. About half a million children received access to the internet and technical backup for continuing their education online during that period.

We provided assistance to several AI-based medical platforms.

Mr President, the most important thing is that these projects, which used to be minor start-up companies we presented at a meeting of the Supervisory Board and which you supported, attracted major investments last year and have won the trust of major investors. And now millions of our citizens are using their services.

One of them is the Uchi.ru project. You met with the founder of that educational startup, Ivan Kolomoyets, in Karelia in 2017. Last year, their revenue reached 3 billion rubles, and half of our pupils are using this platform for distance education. Mail.ru Group and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have joined this project as investors.

Other examples concern medical platforms. Sberbank has become a large investor of CoBrain. Botkin and five other projects have received about 1.8 billion rubles of allocations through the National Technology Initiative projects.

Mr President, you instructed the ASI Supervisory Board to launch the National Technology Initiative. Last year we managed to launch large projects that we can talk about and be proud of.

First of all, the first Russian-made Kama-1 electric vehicle was presented, and a pilot 5G network went live. We have launched the Smart Roads pilot test on the Avtodata platform, which means fewer traffic accidents and, accordingly, more saved lives. We have completed projects such as the Digital PDZ-Krymenergo and Digital PDZ of the Valdai District in Novgorod Region.

Last year, we also launched a platform for gathering ideas on improving the socioeconomic situation in our country. We did not expect to see that much interest in it. Our people have come up with 15,000 ideas, including ways of preventing the coronavirus pandemic fallout. We have been working on this idea alongside the Roscongress Foundation and TASS news agency, which helped us a lot. The main ideas, which received support of the popular and expert vote, were presented during the Strong Ideas forum, in which you, Mr President, thank you very much for that, took part and spoke with several project leaders.

We already have the first results, such as a digital Braille recognition platform. As you may recall…





Vladimir Putin:

I do.



Svetlana Chupsheva:

…A father with eight children… The project became widely popular after this function. Already 2,500 people are using this application, and 40 specialised schools are using this programme.

A project leader from Uzbekistan was asked to adapt it to the Uzbek language so that people in Uzbekistan could use this application as well.

The application is free. It can be adapted at the request of teachers and parents. Thankfully, the project is being implemented.

We also discussed the creation of a proper environment for operating autonomous sea vessels. Last year, already in December, immediately after the forum, the Government adopted the necessary legal and regulatory framework. Already today, in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we are testing out technological solutions on four types of vessels. We plan to have it adopted for use by the commercial fleet by August.

Many positive things are taking place in the regions, practices that are not widely known. This is where we are making very good use of the platform that you instructed us to launch, a platform for exchanging the best socioeconomic development practices between the regions. They were extremely handy for quickly providing assistance to small businesses and people during the pandemic. These practices are concerned with vocational guidance and medical aid. There are already more than 400 such practices which have proved their effectiveness. What is even more important, 186 practices have been re-introduced in the regions.



Vladimir Putin:

They are being spread about.





Svetlana Chupsheva:

They are indeed, because who needs to invent the wheel when there are ready-made solutions that can be implemented without any major outlays?

I would like to tell you about the National Social Initiative. We have been acting upon your instructions. Six months ago, you instructed us to analyse real-life situations that happen in the spheres of importance for the people, such as enrolling children in a kindergarten, finding a school or joining an interest group, requesting outpatient medical aid or getting a date for a planned operation, or searching for a job.

During the first stage we selected 10 basic real-life situations in healthcare, education and the social sphere. Seven governors asked to be allowed to take part in the project, the heads of seven Russian regions. We also reviewed these regions’ experience of improving the functioning of schools, outpatient clinics and hospitals, as well as social institutions. We were greatly helped by the FCC, the Federal Competence Centre for Labour Productivity. All of these facilities made good use of its efficiency techniques.

It is extremely important that the National Social Initiative is based on the same principles and mechanisms as the National Business Initiative. I would like to explain once again why it has been so successful.

First of all, it was for the first time ever, probably in the world, that programmes were drafted not by federal agencies based on business recommendations, but vice versa. Our businesses outlined problems and proposed and developed solutions, while the federal agencies acted as expert advisers, suggesting recommendations in some cases and offering a degree of resistance in others. But, ultimately, we got there.

The second aspect is very important. It is not only that business was involved in all the processes linked with the implementation of these decisions, because it is not enough just to draft some act or adopt some law – it was very important to understand how it was going to work. Feedback was organised in the regions and at the federal level, and not a single regulation on the terms of business operation or the business climate was adopted without consultations with entrepreneurs and working groups of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

And the third point, which is very important as well – motivation and an exchange of best practices in the regions were created. At that time, we launched a national investment ranking to assess the investment climate. Entrepreneurs told us what support measures a region carried out, what infrastructure it created, and when businesses were connected to networks and registered. This made it possible to drastically reduce all these procedures and time periods in five years. We no longer hear about this as a problem. Business people do not talk about this anymore.

It is very important that we went to the people when we started implementing the National Social Initiative. We talked to the people who had already gone through such situations and had the experience – both positive and negative. So we went with them through all these stages.



Vladimir Putin:

How did you make the selection?





Svetlana Chupsheva:

We worked with focus groups. Social non-profit companies helped us with this. The regions also made their suggestions, but, of course, we wanted to make the selection ourselves so it would be as representative and independent as possible.

In each region we had a group of 300 people in completely different situations. Together we divided everything into stages. Say it is necessary to register a child for kindergarten: what papers and documents are required; where to submit them, what is the deadline; how long will it take and what does this procedure look like? We analysed every situation in this way.

Importantly, as the focus groups were working, we already understood that the regions had great potential to reduce deadlines, excessive paperwork, and verification documents. We saw a gap in cooperation between the departments, structures and organisations, realising that cutting-edge technology will make it possible to resolve this problem, among others.

Last year you supported online sales of over-the-counter medicines. And here, too, having surveyed people who asked for healthcare aid, we can see huge positive feedback that this helped families with young children, families with elderly members, especially during the pandemic, because it is very easy and simple to get the necessary medicines. This is why, of course, such decisions are also very important for people, they play a huge role and help to get high-quality help, and this help will be easily accessible.

We could also see that situations differ from region to region. People come to us with the same problems, but we can also see that there are better management solutions that can be used in different regions as well. For example, because the waiting time for an appointment with a narrowly focused specialist, such as a cardiologist, is five days in one region and over 40 days in another. The same is true for signing children up for kindergarten: somewhere it only takes seven days, but in other places the wait can last up to two years.

That is why we also looked into this, both with people and experts working at various organisations, to figure out how to provide aid to people according to their needs.

Governors support us in this work. Together with experts and the people who are going directly through these stages, we have developed regional proposals as some standard target models.

There are also proposals that cannot be addressed without amending the federal legislation. This is why we will need your help, Mr President. Today we are working with federal agencies, with the Russian Government and, of course, in line with your instructions; we will be ready to present all these documents and initiatives as early as the first quarter of this year.



Vladimir Putin:

Are you talking about the social area of work?



Svetlana Chupsheva:

Yes.



Vladimir Putin:

Fine, let us see what this is about.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64963






Telephone conversation with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic. Both leaders continued to exchange opinions on topical matters concerning bilateral and international affairs.



February 3, 2021 - 16:40



They gave a detailed assessment to efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and prioritised expanded cooperation in the sphere of vaccination, including subsequent deliveries of the Russian preparation Sputnik V to Serbia.

The President of Serbia briefed Vladimir Putin on his assessments of the current situation in the Kosovo peace settlement, with due consideration for his contacts with foreign partners.

The Russian side reaffirmed its principled position regarding the elaboration of a well-balanced solution on the Kosovo problem that should be approved by the UN Security Council. It was noted that Serbia could continue to count on Russian support on this and other important matters.

Both leaders positively assessed the mutually beneficial Russian-Serbian cooperation and noted the successful implementation of large-scale joint energy, transport and high-tech projects.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64964






Working meeting with Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov



The discussion covered, in particular, the situation on the food market and the grain sector, as well as results of the country’s economic development in 2020.



February 4, 2021 - 11:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Reshetnikov, we have discussed monitoring the market of essential products several times. I know that the ministry has been closely involved in the monitoring. Initially, we agreed that, obviously, this control must be part of market procedures and market instruments and there must not be any administrative pressure. I would like to talk about this further. Also, I would like to hear about the ministry’s assessment of socioeconomic development in 2020. I believe that you already have the preliminary data on some of the performance indicators and, perhaps, even the final data. Go ahead, please.



Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, Mr President, indeed, the issue of prices is currently our priority. We had to deal with a spike in prices in the fourth quarter of 2020 – primarily, food prices. Right now, this is the biggest risk both for the growth of incomes and for macroeconomic stability in general. We took immediate action as per your instructions. The package of measures we adopted is based on two approaches. The first approach includes administrative measures such as agreements on indicative prices with both food producers and retail chains.



Vladimir Putin:

And you are offering support to food producers as well, aren’t you?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Absolutely, it is part of the whole package of administrative measures. The producers and the retailers are generally abiding by the indicative prices we specified. The Federal Taxation Service has been watching this and the Federal Service for National Statistics has confirmed this. The prices of sugar bounced back from the mid-December peaks and sunflower oil prices have stabilised.

But, of course, you instructed us to primarily focus on regulatory measures. Therefore, we adopted an extensive package of measures pertaining to economic regulation.

Regarding sugar, a programme of soft loans for sugar producers is stipulated, designed to expand the area under crops and sugar-processing volumes. We have resolved the second matter and introduced export duties on sunflower seeds, so as to keep them in the country and to facilitate production. In late 2020, we also introduced export duties on soy crops because soy is our main product. Understandably, this includes soy oil and soybean meal, used as fodder in the poultry-breeding and livestock-breeding sectors.

And, of course, we prioritised grain and introduced grain export quotas from February 15 to June 30. These quotas total 17.5 million tonnes, we charge prohibitive export duties on surplus amounts, while within the grain quotas they stand at 25 euros per tonne of wheat. At the same time, we introduced subsidies for bread bakers and millers. In effect, we have allocated five billion rubles for millers, so that they purchase food-grade grain and so on.

Earlier this year, we found out that these measures were not enough because global market prices of Russian wheat had soared by 20 percent between October and December, then by another 12 percent between mid-December and mid-January.



Vladimir Putin:

Unfortunately, the global food market situation is getting worse.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, you are absolutely right because several factors have simultaneously come into play. First, all major importing countries have expanded their food-reserve purchases. On the other hand, some grain-producing regions have issued unfavourable grain-harvesting forecasts. To be honest, there are sufficiently large speculative capital volumes. We can see that these moods and other factors have an impact on prices. As Russia currently ranks among the largest wheat exporters, our decisions also influence the market.



Vladimir Putin:

It is probably the largest.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, the largest.

So, what happened? We have analysed this entire situation, and the Government has decided to double wheat-export duties within the 17.5 million tonne quota. It has also introduced barley and corn duties because these aspects are interlinked.

Most importantly, Mr President, the situation shows that all measures will be kept in place until June 30. And, of course, producers want to know what will happen after June 30, and what their prospects are. They will hoard wheat, unless we provide them with a predictable scenario, and they will wait until all restrictive measures are lifted.

This is why we are currently developing a permanent mechanism, which will be launched on April 1 for an indefinite period. This price damper is to prevent the projection of fluctuations and high global prices into our domestic market.

How will this mechanism work? It will consist of two components. The first component is the export duty that will be subject to change based on predetermined rules. The way it works now is we conduct an analysis and charge the export duty on a case-by-case basis; therefore, exporters and producers do not always understand how much they will have to pay.



Vladimir Putin:

This is one component. And the other component is support for the producers. There must be a clear understanding of the scope of support available to the agricultural and processing industries.





Maxim Reshetnikov:

Mr President, you supported this idea and made it a condition that all the money we collect must stay in the agricultural industry because the purpose of this mechanism is not to recover budget funds but to ensure, on the one hand, that our domestic prices are stable, transparent and affordable and, on the other hand, that producers have the motivation to develop further and expand their cultivation areas, processing capacities, and so on. Therefore, the second component is a mechanism that will return all the money to the agricultural producers. Our ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture are currently considering a mechanism based on subsidies in proportion to area size.



Vladimir Putin:

Bearing in mind the Government’s policy expectations and actions, when do you think all these mechanisms that you have described can and should be developed? Did you say some time after June?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

No, the Prime Minister instructed us to develop this mechanism within a month and to obtain the Government’s approval.



Vladimir Putin:

Within a month?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, March 1 is the deadline we set ourselves because it must be launched on April 1.

Why, Mr President, do we have to resolve these not so much difficulties, as tasks. For example, we do not have our own grain market indicator. For reference, Russia is the largest grain exporter, but we urgently need to develop exchange trade, so that we have our own grain exchange with a significant turnover, and our own market indicator. We understand what needs to be done, and the Prime Minister has set the same tasks, so we will work on that. But before that, as soon as April 1, we plan to launch contract registration. I mean, we will also take one of the exchanges, and all exporters will register their contracts.

Why is this important? Because we could certainly take the customs service’s price, for example, as the indicative price. But that would come from old contracts, so by and large, that would be an irrelevant price – 230 or 240 in that old contract, when new ones are concluded at 300. We will not be able to protect our market. That is why it is so important for us to establish that indicator. And we are working on it now.

Furthermore, we have really gained a very strong foothold, from the exporter perspective. And we are working to ensure that exporters fulfil their contracts in any case, so that they do not let their counterparties down, otherwise someone will take our place in the world market, and it will be difficult to regain the positions.



Vladimir Putin:

I understand perfectly.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

But, Mr President, the main idea today is that, due to this damper, we can use the funds that we receive from foreign markets, and return them to our agriculture in the form of additional investment.



Vladimir Putin:

Good.

But, in the end, the consumers in Russia should feel that all the efforts the Government is making in this area are yielding the expected results for our citizens.



Mikhail Reshetnikov:

Mr President, this is our main task. This is what we are doing on a weekly basis, as per your instructions.



Vladimir Putin:

Please do not delay the elaboration of these measures, which you have just mentioned and which are expected by agriculture and food producers.

And the second, global question is about the 2020 performance results.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Mr President, allow me to report the main highlights.

The first point to start with is that the national economy actually suffered much less last year than we had estimated back in the middle of 2020. And now, as other countries are releasing their results, we see that we really got through last year significantly better than other major economies.



Vladimir Putin:

How big was the decline in Europe? Over 7 percent?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes. They are now adjusting the figures for specific economies. There are large economies that have seen a 9 percent contraction each; Germany, 5 percent, which is smaller. But Russia looks very, very confident amid other countries. The latest more precise figures from Rosstat are actually higher because some companies are a little late with reporting.



Vladimir Putin:

That is, in fact, our situation is better than in almost all EU countries, and better than in the States.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes. And this is a direct result of the measures taken.



Vladimir Putin:

Of course.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

I would like to mention the most important ones – the simultaneous easing of two state policies, the monetary policy, and the budgetary policy. Moreover, monetary policies included cutting the key rate as well as large programmes for subsidising business loan interest, and mortgages of course. Those measures have obviously worked. We reported to you about this.

The second point was the easing of budgetary policy. Unlike in other countries, when Russia’s federal revenues were shrinking, its spending was still growing. Last year’s federal budget expenditure grew by 25 percent. That also provided powerful support, which was especially evident in terms of people’s incomes. If we look at people’s incomes, their real wages showed an estimated growth of 2.2 percent, and social payments from the budget and social funds increased by 16 percent.

We still have a negative growth estimate for people’s real incomes, of course – down 3.5 percent – but that happens because of a decrease in entrepreneurs’ income, income from bank deposits and informal employment.



Vladimir Putin:

And the self-employed – the segment most affected by the pandemic.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, these affected industries. You instructed us to review the situation and take additional measures without delay.





Vladimir Putin:

Yes, do not delay, because it is also a very important point. People do need to understand their options, to know what will happen in the near future – what can be written off and what cannot, if there are any other ways to support them and what the Government is ready to do in this regard.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

This process is under special review. We met twice last week and are working on these measures.



Vladimir Putin:

Regarding the foodstuffs market, including the grain market, we should, of course, think about this. The same is happening on our energy market. Although Russia ranks among the largest producing countries, we are guided by data from foreign exchanges. The same can be said about grain.

Of course, we now need at least summary data on contracts, etc., as you have said. But, of course, we have to expand such tools here. I do not see why not, all the more so as Russia is the largest wheat exporter. Why cannot we have all this on our territory? We will work carefully and thoroughly, step by step. It is impossible to accomplish this overnight because it is a difficult process. This is understandable, and the matter has thousands of aspects. But we will never accomplish this, unless we start acting.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Mr President, we have worked on our mistakes to some extent, and we can see that this entire situation highlights additional opportunities because the existence of these exchange indicators will allow our agricultural sector to take out loans more actively and to expand trade.



Vladimir Putin:

This did not even amount to mistakes because we were simply unable to do this in the past, given that the country’s agricultural sector did not function so intensively and did not yield such impressive results.

And what about export subsidies?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

We have completed our 2020 export-subsidy programmes. In 2021, no additional export-subsidy measures will be required, considering such volumes and such global prices. This is true. But I believe that, on the whole, we will decide on the overall situation sometime in March or April and report back to you. Because crop expectations are very important.

For example, we have stockpiled unprecedentedly high reserves earlier this year, and we have just compared our statistics with the Ministry of Agriculture. In early December, such reserves totaled almost 82 million tonnes of grain. We have therefore set maximum grain export quotas at 17.5 million tonnes from February 15. These quotas totaled an estimated 3–3.5 million tonnes earlier this year.

This is the maximum amount that can be exported. Consequently, this will total 20–21 million tonnes in the first six months of 2021, as well as 60 million tonnes reserved for the second six months.

We will predict future harvests in March and April, and we will assess which export tasks we can accomplish, while realising that the provision of our domestic market is a top-priority task. The thing is that wheat accounts for all food-grade flour and livestock fodder.



Vladimir Putin:

Of course.



Maxim Reshetnkov:

These sectors are also huge, and they employ hundreds of thousands of workers.



Vladimir Putin:

I was referring to the overall range of support tools for non-commodity exports. What do you think about the government’s efforts in this area?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Mr President, first of all, as of the end of last year, the non-commodity exports added three percent. In other words, we are increasing our non-commodity exports even despite all these difficulties and the disruptions in the value chain and supplies. It means that the measures we took in the past (primarily as part of the national project) have been successful and the system is working.

Moreover, last year we implemented additional measures under programmes to support marketability. And the second mechanism was launched. In general, the same projects were propped up from both sides, including by agreements to protect and encourage capital investment because exports are not only coming from companies that already operate but from newly created production facilities as well. Of course, we expect that export volumes will continue to grow this year and next. Also, we slightly upgraded the export project to make it more target-oriented thanks to the experience that has been accumulated. A platform for exporters was developed.

Engaging small and medium-sized businesses in exports is a separate task. Of course, electronic platforms and other tools allow many more exporters, including from the provinces, to export. They could not even imagine doing this before these electronic platforms came about. Consequently, we can create substantially more jobs in exports.

Overall, our economic growth is around 15 percent dependent on exports, which is a significant proportion. Our policy of the past years was geared towards this result and the new measures are an extension of this policy. Consistency is key because these are long-term processes. This is why we are very carefully developing the entire toolkit that was created.





Vladimir Putin:

At one of the recent meetings, you reported that as of the end of 2020, the unemployment rate in Russia was even lower than you expected. What is the current state of the labour market?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, the highest unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, in August. I should stress that this statistic is based on polling.

We have come down from this peak to 5.9 percent. Again, this is objective data based on polls. This figure is not based on the unemployment records where the rate has gone up due to the fact that unemployment benefits are higher and more accessible now, along with other social support. The 5.9 percent is the objective rate. Our pre-pandemic unemployment rate was below 5 percent, around 4.6 percent.

You have set the task of restoring employment. We can see it happening. The manufacturing sector did not shrink last year, but actually added 0.3 percentage points. So, manufacturing is in the black, agriculture is in the black, and construction has almost recovered. It is clear that we still have some unavoidable problems in the extractive sectors, with OPEC +... But we are making every effort to address them, otherwise we would not have achieved such budget revenues. And so on.

It is clear that transport is in a disadvantaged position due to the travel restrictions.



Vladimir Putin:

With the volume of traffic.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Yes, but that will rebound as the epidemiological situation improves. And of course, our main task now is to support small and medium-sized businesses. As you said, help the affected industries, and without delay.



Vladimir Putin:

And transport is an affected industry.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

And transport, too.

Why transport is so important. Honestly, we always view subsidies to passenger transport such as commuter companies as expenditures. But in fact, those are investments in the employment market, where we cannot just go and create more jobs at any point. But if we provide transport and economic accessibility… And what about our subsidies for passenger rail transport? This means lower fares, and ultimately, people’s ability to get to work. That is why this is also very important. The fact that, on your instructions, additional funds were found for it in 2020 actually means additional support for employment, if you take a broader perspective on it.



Vladimir Putin:

What do you think is the most effective tool in this area?



Maxim Reshetnikov:

Well, let us consider the situation. We are now working on a new tool to maximise the involvement of employers in these processes. It is clear that we have a big investment programme, new projects, and such. But it takes time and extensive training programmes. At the same time, it is much more effective when we support employers who are ready to develop and expand, so that they could hire people from employment agencies maybe, and perhaps train them. We could subsidise them for a while, modest amounts to support salaries, so that they would continue to be interested in these people working.



Vladimir Putin:

We did so during the acute crisis amid the pandemic, we did exactly that.



Maxim Reshetnikov:

We are now working on proposals for expanding this programme, using that experience, working with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, with Minister Anton Kotyakov. Because we will definitely need a reserve of 150,000–200,000 jobs in order to cement this. We reported to you earlier, Mr President.



Vladimir Putin:

Yes. We need to see through these proposals, to have this entire toolkit ready for use, if necessary.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64965






Executive Order On Awarding the Order of Courage



Vladimir Putin signed Executive Order awarding the Order of Courage to Emergencies Ministry officers who died while extinguishing a fire in Krasnoyarsk.



February 4, 2021 - 19:00



The President resolved to award the Order of Courage to three officers of the State Fire Service of the Main Directorate of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry in the Krasnoyarsk Territory Anatoly Zhalnerchik (posthumously), Alexei Puzyrev (posthumously) and Maxim Ryabtsev (posthumously) for the courage and bravery shown in the performance of their official duty in extreme conditions.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64971






Meeting with permanent members of the Security Council



Vladimir Putin held a briefing session, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council.



February 5, 2021 - 15:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow






The discussion focused on state policy in the sphere of international humanitarian cooperation and interaction with compatriots abroad.

Taking part in the meeting were Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Today we will talk about the efficiency of state policy in the sphere of international humanitarian cooperation and interaction with compatriots abroad.





It is a big part of our job, and we understand how important it is, not only for those who live abroad, beyond Russia, yet feel a connection with their historical homeland, but also for all of us here for a large number of reasons. Today we will discuss all aspects of this issue.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64972
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Winners of 2020 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists announced



Vladimir Putin signed the Executive Order On Awarding 2020 Presidential Prizes in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists.



February 8, 2021 - 11:00


The annual prize for young scientists was established in 2008. It is awarded for contributions to advancing Russian science, for creating new equipment and technologies that can boost the innovative development of the economy and social sphere, as well as strengthen the national defence capability.

Presidential Aide Andrei Fursenko announced the winners’ names at a news conference.


* * *


Having considered the proposals of the Presidential Council for Science and Education, the President has resolved:

To award the 2020 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists and the Honorary Title of Holder of the Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists to:

Kirill Antonets, PhD (Biology), a senior researcher at the National Research Institute of Agricultural Microbiology, and Anton Nizhnikov, PhD (Biology), lead researcher at the same institute, for the discovery of amyloid proteins in plants and symbiotic bacteria, and the description of their functional importance;

Yevgenia Dolgova, PhD (Biology), a senior researcher with the Federal Research Centre Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Yekaterina Potter, PhD (Biology), a senior researcher at the same establishment, for formulating a new ideology to treat patients with malignant tumours based on a time-coordinated performance of innovative medication with nucleic acids and cross-linked cytostatic agents;

Vladimir Maksimenko, PhD (Physics and Mathematics), a senior researcher at Innopolis University, for the development of invasive and non-invasive brain-computer interfaces for monitoring normal and pathological brain activity;

Yevgeny Khaidukov, PhD (Physics and Mathematics), laboratory head at the Crystallography and Photonics Federal Research Centre with the Russian Academy of Sciences, for fundamental research into nanocrystals having anti-Stokes luminescence and the development of advanced technologies on their platform.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64976






Meeting of Council for Science and Education



On Russian Science Day, Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Council for Science and Education, via videoconference.



February 8, 2021 - 16:00 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



During the meeting, the President ordered the launch of the PIK reactor to full capacity and trial experiments at research stations.

The head of state also said that he had signed an Executive Order on measures to implement the state scientific and technological policy in the field of green development and climate change.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

We are not only in different rooms but in different parts of the country as well. I hope the technology is working well, and everyone can see and hear me.




On Russian Science Day, which we are marking today, I would like to invite you to hold a comprehensive discussion on the creation of competitive conditions for Russia’s successful technological development, including the creation of cutting-edge research infrastructure that would allow us to resolve the most complicated and even unique research problems.

Therefore, before we start our work, I would like to give the floor to President of the Kurchatov Institute Mikhail Kovalchuk. He is now in Gatchina, Leningrad Region.




Mr Kovalchuk, I am aware that you are beginning an important and even landmark stage in the implementation of the PIK high-flux research reactor. I remember visiting you at the reactor site in Gatchina, where I observed that everything had been organised in the best possible way. I also remember hearing foreign speech next to the equipment on which you and your colleagues were working.

Can you tell us more about the reactor, please?



President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre Mikhail Kovalchuk:

Good afternoon, Mr President, colleagues.

You mentioned the launch of infrastructure, and I would like to note the special significance of the so-called mega-units. These are a highly complex, unique tool allowing the entire scientific community to move in the right direction.

I would like to say that today we are launching a very important unit, while opening Science Day and the Year of Science. In fact, this is the first major Year of Science event. I would like to note that this unit was developed, manufactured, assembled and launched by Russian specialists alone. In this connection, I am very happy that Mr Alexei Likhachev, the CEO of Rosatom, is present here today because we have jointly accomplished this highly complex project.

We are launching a tool which, apart from being a unique unit for conducting absolutely transcendental scientific research, also serves as a basic unit for technological breakthroughs primarily in creating new materials and new technologies for the energy sector, and for developing entirely new medications and biomedical technologies, including nuclear medicine technologies, agriculture and much more.

I would like to say that the existence of such a unit always highlights a country’s technological level. Any state that wants to assert itself as a technological power tries to develop such a unit and to show that it can operate it. Countries that can conceive and develop these units form a very narrow, elite club, and Russia has always occupied a leading and crucial position there.

Our leadership is proved by the fact that there are no large-scale global mega-projects where Russia does not hold key positions. For example, first and foremost, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the European X-ray Free Electron Laser in Hamburg, CERN, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility where Russia plays a key role.

Moreover, most Western units, including particle accelerators, use physical principles that have been created by Russian scientists. For example, this includes converging particle beams inside colliders, the auto-phasing method and many others.

Today we come back here to launch this unique facility. And I would like to point out that the International Centre for Neutron Research was established following your instructions, Mr President, and many countries in the CIS and outside it have already shown interest. I am pleased to inform you that, firstly, just two days ago, we signed an agreement with our Belarusian colleagues on broad collaboration between the Belarusian Academy of Sciences and the Kurchatov Institute, involving a wide range of scientific problems, and, the plan envisages Belarus’s involvement in the work at the PIK research reactor.

Today, in accordance with your instructions, we will put our first five experimental stations into test trial mode. Two of these five stations have been developed with Germany’s contribution, that is, we created them together with our German colleagues. This is also important and gratifying to note today.

Starting the process of putting the PIK reactor into energy mode, we are actually opening a very important year. This year, we plan the physical launch of a world-class facility, a tokamak fusion reactor at the main site of the Kurchatov Institute. We have prepared it for launch, and will soon put it into operation. Next, we have prepared the NICA, which is also moving towards launch, so we have a lot of events coming.

I would like to remind you that tokamak is also a Russian word, just like sputnik, the Russian for satellite, which has become widely used today. A tokamak is a device that was invented in our country, at the Kurchatov Institute, and is now used all over the world.

In conclusion, I would like to say that in fact, today we are celebrating our common success: the success of the academic community in general, the success of Rosatom and, of course, of the Kurchatov Institute. Only thanks to our constructive, consolidated joint activities did we manage to reach the current level.

And finally, I would like to say that none of this would have been possible without the close attention and support of the state, primarily your support, Mr President. You began your remarks by recalling how you had visited here before. Indeed, on April 30, 2013, you also chaired a meeting of the Council here and actually gave the go-ahead and broad state support for the launch of this project.

In this regard, we have made the regulatory and technical preparations for the launch. Now I would like to ask for your permission to give the command to begin the process that will put one of the world's most powerful high-flux PIK reactors into energy operation and start trial experiments at the first five stations.



Vladimir Putin:

I see and you have said yourself that Mr Likhachev is next to you. I am very pleased that you are not annoying one another today and do not think that something has been stolen on the sly from you. (Laughter.)

Yes, I said this for a reason because this is what we will speak about today. We have certain problems in pooling efforts for the final result instead of pulling things apart to respective ‘little nooks’, although your ‘nook’ is certainly not little, this is obvious.

But before starting this work I would still like to address Mr Likhachev. Mr Likhachev, would you like to add anything?



Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev:

Mr President, of course, I would like to add something.

First of all, I would like to congratulate everyone on both the Year of Science and the Day of Science and to say that we have launched a unique project here. On the one hand, we seemed to have used our usual technology linked with the launching of an energy facility (the Leningrad Atomic Power Station is next door). On the other hand, it was still a different project. Considering the absolute priority of security and the absolute priority of Russian technology, we still mastered new knowledge and skills during its implementation. Both Atomtekhenergo and Atomenergo have taken steps that will allow us to reach an international level in the development not only of energy facilities but also research units as well. This is my first point.

And my second point. Mr Kovalchuk has already mentioned the international aspect. We are carrying out the PIK project. We are also working in the Dubna Joint Institute of Nuclear Research. In Dimitrovgrad, we are implementing the multipurpose fast-neutron research reactor project (MBIR). With the account of these facilities, we will actually meet the global demand for neutron research by the middle of the 2020s. This is important for both fundamental science and the development of atomic power engineering, the transition to the fourth generation already.

Needless to say, we always have some kind of competition between people or ideas. This is quite normal. But we have created an alliance and the Russian Academy of Sciences (Mr Alexander Sergeyev is present at our conversation) is an absolutely fully-fledged member of this alliance. We have joint development programmes, both practical ones, for instance, those linked to the Bolshoi Sarov, and fundamental ones related to research programmes planned literally for decades ahead.

So, I can just join this mood of so much achieved and still more to be done. In turn, I would like to thank Mr Kovalchuk for his true partnership and very mutually attractive cooperation.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Kovalchuk, please put the PIK reactor into energy mode and start the test experiment.



Mikhail Kovalchuk:

We have even made a commemorative golden key, which I am presenting to the shift on duty. Please start the process of putting the reactor into energy mode. You will now see on the screen how the power will grow.

Go ahead, please.



Engineer:

Control Engineer, please start increasing the power.



Engineer:

Confirmed. I am starting to increase the power now.



Engineer:

The numbers are going up.



Mikhail Kovalchuk:

You can see it on the screen, the numbers are going up, the curtains are opening, the active zone, most of it is starting to open slowly, and we can see an increase in intensity, and the power is going up.

I would like to report, Mr President, that the reactor is now close to regular operation. This has been a long and complicated process, but we have successfully overcome this stage. And it is our joint achievement.





Vladimir Putin:

I see.

Mr Kovalchuk, colleagues,

I am speaking to everyone, to your entire team. I wish you all successful and fruitful work. Once again, wishing you all the best on Russian Science Day, and of course, I invite you and your colleagues to take part in the Council meeting.

The Kurchatov Institute has solid traditions and specialists with an unprecedentedly high level of qualifications. You have surprised us, our country, more than once with your discoveries. I am confident that this step forward will benefit our great country.

Thank you very much. Good luck.



Mikhail Kovalchuk:

Thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues,

Mr Kovalchuk has just mentioned the attention the Government is paying to strengthening our country’s scientific potential. Indeed, this is long-term and systematic work. It has been going on consistently over the recent years. I am referring to the development of an advanced research infrastructure of universities and research centres, a support system for young talents and the involvement of our compatriots in scientific projects.

Time has shown that we have been doing the right thing, and timely too. Education and science, and Russia’s technological sovereignty, have become not only important, but to a large extent decisive, key factors in national security and the quality of life today.

And it is no coincidence that all the leading countries consider science as one of their strategic priorities. The dynamics of global change are growing before our very eyes. The pandemic is not only a test for humanity; it has also accelerated the widespread introduction of advanced solutions in all spheres of life.




Our policies in scientific research and technology and steps designed to support national scientific research must meet the challenges of a whole new level of complexity. Our goal extends beyond gaining new knowledge and making breakthrough discoveries. Importantly, technological progress must serve the people and be widely available.

Here is a case in point. Thanks to our researchers, Russia enjoys a leading position internationally (I am not saying anything unusual or new, we are all well aware of this) in terms of creating a vaccine against the coronavirus. Moreover, we are the only country with three vaccines of our own design. This is, without a doubt, a major success. But even more significant is the fact that we were able to build on it, to launch vaccine production and to start widespread vaccination. Thus, the joint efforts of researchers, domestic companies and the state allowed the people in our country and in other countries across the world to benefit from this scientific breakthrough.

Importantly, we need to apply similar efforts to achieve fast implementation and scaling of technologies and then use them to create competitive products in other areas that are critical for society and every individual. We are talking about accelerated digitalisation, solutions designed to protect the environment and to produce high-quality food, innovative environmentally friendly energy sources and state-of-the-art medical technology. Four years ago, we included these critical areas in the Strategy for the Scientific and Technological Development of Russia.

Ambitious research and technology programmes have been launched in agriculture and genetics, which are the areas where research can significantly improve the quality of life and life expectancy, and improve the health of the nation.

I propose discussing the implementation of these complex programmes during a series of special meetings to be held soon. Importantly, they have already made it possible to combine the capabilities of universities, research organisations, private businesses and companies with state participation, so that we can now quickly create and introduce innovative technology solutions.

In this regard, I believe we must use this approach in yet another sphere that is critical for society. I have just signed an executive order on launching a federal research and technology programme focusing on environmental protection and climate. The point is to develop and implement, in conjunction with businesses and the scientific community, domestic technological solutions that will ensure environmental safety, improve the environment, and make an effective contribution to overcoming the challenges posed by climate change.

Colleagues,

I consider an increase in the public authority, the recognition of the importance of research and the growing prestige of researchers among the younger generation a substantial integral result of our efforts to develop science.

I will quote some interesting figures now: according to sociological polls, almost two thirds of parents support their children’s decision to pursue science. Indicatively, since 2016, the number of such families has almost doubled. As for young people themselves, every tenth is ready to choose a scientific career. In terms of human resources, Russian science is really becoming one of the world’s youngest. Quite recently, we were concerned that it was getting old. The situation is changing and our young people are achieving important results in medicine, genetics, quantum physics and other promising areas.

Today, young scientists, winners of the 2020 State Prize in Science, are taking part in the session of our council. Experts describe their discoveries as a true scientific breakthrough. I will describe these works, these achievements with great pleasure and pride, as far as our format permits it today.

Vladimir Maximenko was the first to explain many complicated cognitive thinking processes, which made it possible to create new systems for monitoring the activity of the brain, as well as methods of early detection of serious neurological diseases and relevant rehabilitation.

A research team – Yevgeniya Dolgova, Yekaterina Potter and Anastasia Proskurina – have developed innovative medications and methods for treating oncological diseases. In effect, they have created a universal platform for the effective individual application of a wide spectrum of anti-tumour agents and technology.

Owing to a genuine breakthrough in microbiology and genetics, Kirill Antonets and Anton Nizhnikov have brought science very close to the development of effective methods for treating serious hereditary diseases.

The innovation by the team headed by Yevgeny Khaidukov paves the way to the development of new materials in industry and biomedicine. In particular, it makes it possible to replace damaged tissues with various polymers.

Friends,

I would like to sincerely congratulate all of you. Your example and the work of your colleagues show that we have a powerful human resources potential for the development of new, promising areas of science and for continuing the best traditions of the great scientific schools that were created even before the revolution, as well as in Soviet times.

To show our respect for all generations of domestic researchers, our trailblazers, we have proclaimed 2021 the Year of Science and Technology.

I am hoping the council members will take an active part in the events of this year, which should be aimed not only at promoting science. It is also important to conduct a large-scale education campaign to enable Russian citizens to know more about the daily work and achievements of our scientists and their tangible contribution to our national development. This is very important. I have already recalled Daniil Granin who told me that we say very little about science and the achievements of our researchers.

Let us move on to our agenda.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

I would like to thank all of you, colleagues, for the detailed, open discussion and your proposals.

Let me repeat, the competitiveness of the national economy and domestic companies depends on the level of technological and scientific development. Daily life, the wellbeing of every person and of course Russia’s security are directly linked to it.

We are seeing that global competition for technology and knowledge is rapidly gaining momentum all over the world. I said this in the beginning. In effect, there is nothing new in this statement. It is perfectly obvious that the country that gets ahead will determine the further development of all of humanity. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that scientific and technological sovereignty is a matter of Russia’s present and future.

We have everything we need to be in the lead in science, primarily, talented young people and strong scientific schools.

We must build up this potential. And we must not depreciate it, but unfortunately, this is the result of disunity, weak and limited communications between ministries, agencies and research centres that are supposed to work for a common goal in technological development.

When Mr Kovalchuk was launching the PIK, I started talking about this for a reason. In fact, our colleagues confirmed this during today’s discussion.

This explains the duplication and dissipation of funds that the state allocates for science, as well as the lack of motivation and reasonable, at least, expected results.

To move forward in the future, we must certainly leave behind this interdepartmental strife. We must act as a united front and pool our efforts. Only in this way can we carry out major innovation projects of national significance, which directly influence the life of every family and every citizen of Russia.

These projects include the development and large-scale production of advanced domestic equipment, including medical devices and materials for new medications, as well as the introduction of the domestic climate-monitoring technology that we also mentioned today.

I know that in the civilian sector, just as in the defence industry, we can manage to achieve equally important results by creating technology that nobody in the world has. We must consider the experience of organising very sophisticated technological projects in the defence industry.

In this context, I will mention specific decisions that may be implemented in the near future. We have spoken about them today. What I will say next is based on your proposals, colleagues.

First. I am asking my colleagues from the Executive Office jointly with the Government to prepare and submit for signature an Executive Order changing the governance mechanisms for state science and technology policy.

I will explain. Following up on your proposals, I also propose significantly changing the format of work and principles of membership in the Council for Science and Education, to include members of the Government and the Security Council. It has to do with some of our research projects being classified as secret, or top secret, and sometimes even as highly sensitive information. This is why we need to put together a team that will have authorised access to any projects, and thereby significantly strengthen the strategic decision-making mechanism for science and technology.

I also consider it necessary to set up a special government commission for science and technology development; this proposal was just made here. It should include personally responsible representatives from ministries at a level not lower than deputy minister, as well as representatives of the Security Council.

I hope this will improve the efficacy of operational management and interdepartmental coordination in making and implementing decisions on Russia’s science and technology policy.

Further on, I am asking the Government to prepare and adopt a new state programme for scientific and technological development. At the same time, we need to change our approaches to financing science from the state budget. This means ensuring the general planning and implementation of R&D projects, adopting uniform criteria for evaluating their results and conducting scientific and technical appraisal.

In addition, we need to create more effective incentives for private companies to participate in applied research together with state research institutes, universities and design bureaus, and to use Russian solutions to modernise production facilities and manufacture high-tech products. Everything that has been said during our discussion today is important.

And in conclusion, I would like to once again wish you all the best on Russian Science Day, all Russian scientists and our compatriots, engineers, students and schoolchildren, and all citizens of our country. It is our common holiday, in the full sense of the word, and again, we can only attain the goals of technological development together, by uniting our efforts.

And finally, one of our colleagues has a double holiday today. It is also his birthday. Let us congratulate the President of St Petersburg State University, Nikolai Kropachev, on his birthday. All the best. Happy birthday!



Nikolai Kropachev:

Mr President, it is our joint holiday today – it is the birthday of our university.



Vladimir Putin:

Wonderful. This means I also have a double holiday.

All the best to you!

Thank you all very much. Goodbye.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64977






Telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu



At the initiative of the Israeli side, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the State of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.



February 8, 2021 - 17:30



The presidents continued to exchange views on topical issues on the international and regional agendas, primarily in the context of the current developments in the Middle East.

They agreed on further contacts at various levels.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64979






Meeting of judges of general jurisdiction and commercial courts



Vladimir Putin took part in a meeting of judges of the Russian Federation’s general jurisdiction and commercial courts via videoconference. Attendees discussed the courts’ performance in 2020 and tasks for 2021.



February 9, 2021 - 15:20 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, Mr Lebedev, colleagues, friends.

I am very happy to welcome you ahead of the annual meeting; the agenda of such meetings always includes many important matters. I am confident that there are many matters on your current agenda that need to be discussed and, most importantly, require a detailed solution in the interests of strengthening the national judicial system and more reliably and effectively protecting the citizens’ rights and freedoms.

I would also like to thank you and all the Russian judges who created and implemented an optimal algorithm of activity in the difficult conditions of the pandemic.




We talk a lot about doctors, and we have every reason to thank them for their dedicated work. But I cannot help but mention that the country’s judicial system did not slow down during the difficult period when the infection continued to spread, something that commands tremendous respect. This is exactly what happened in some countries where up to 50 percent of all court cases were postponed until a later date. On the contrary, our system functioned smoothly without interruption.

The courts remained loyal to their lofty mission and worked to the best of their capacity, despite epidemic-related risks, while protecting the rights of citizens and the interests of society and the state.





Suffice it to say that more cases were reviewed last year than in 2019 because citizens and business persons started requesting judicial protection, and this confirms greater trust in court proceedings.

It is also important to note that the quality of justice remained high, despite the greater workload, and this aspect continued to improve. I would like to note that this is not just our assessment. According to the European Commission’s report, published in November 2020, Russian courts achieved some of the best results among Council of Europe countries. We have many questions for them, and vice versa, but this is an objective assessment. Notably, the European Commission’s experts unanimously decided that the Russian judicial system was more efficient, more technologically advanced, and the least costly for citizens.

Of course, our judicial system has demonstrated an ability to quickly adapt to absolutely new conditions. This is obvious. However, I would like to point out that it was an informed and voluntary choice of the judicial community itself, of the courts, because back at the very beginning of the pandemic the Presidium of the Supreme Court and the Presidium of the Council of Judges adopted two joint resolutions with recommendations for court procedures in the new conditions.

These documents included a list of categories of cases the hearing of which could not be suspended or postponed. As far as I remember, they include the choice of measures of restraint, parole applications, commutation of sentences and release on medical grounds. There are also cases related to the pandemic, of which there is a great number, for example, the cases of those who have no funds to repay their debt because they have lost their jobs or income because of the pandemic and the sanitary restrictions.

In other words, the Supreme Court and the Council of Judges have outlined for the courts the list of the most socially topical cases that cannot be postponed.





As for the other categories of cases, the courts were granted the right to decide independently whether to hear them without delay or postpone them until a more epidemiologically safe date.

The increased number of cases heard last year, which I have already mentioned, shows that Russian courts have not reduced their activities to a minimum but decided to do as much as they could. In fact, they did not divide cases into categories based on their importance, but accepted virtually all applications, acting on the principle that each situation that needs to be decided in court is crucially important for the person involved and his or her family. At the same time, they maintained the social focus of jurisdiction.

This is true not only of the courts’ daily work, but also of the development of a uniform judicial practice. The Supreme Court has issued a number of reviews and instructions for courts on the application of laws and the mistakes they must avoid. They provided especially detailed and comprehensive reviews of labour and social cases, that is, the most pressing issues at that time.

According to the review of employment-related practice, the Supreme Court has defended workers' rights in various dismissal disputes, for example, by prohibiting severe punishment of workers for absence from the workplace for good reason.

In this regard, I would like to underscore the importance of the continuous improvement of judicial activity underway in Russia. We regularly discuss this with the President of the Supreme Court. The most progressive and most relevant initiatives are generated in the judicial community.

I am certainly aware of this idea, the idea that a system can never reform itself. But I never agreed with skeptics who argued that the judicial system cannot develop itself. As we can see, it can, and quite successfully.





Promptly responding to changes in society and the world, and analysing socio-political trends, problems, and threats, the Supreme Court studies and generalises proposals coming from courts; it also develops and implements new ways of improving the quality of judicial practice.

Your initiatives help consolidate the people’s right to justice and its accessibility, and ensure the transparency and openness of the courts’ work. By the way, that transparency and openness were also maintained during the pandemic – we are especially grateful to you for this.

Judicial proceedings are also being optimised, and judicial protection is growing more effective. Appropriate measures are being taken to further enhance the principle of independence of judges, to evenly distribute their workload, although it is very heavy, and I know about that. Rules are being carefully worked out to enhance the role of the judicial process, to make the judicial process more rational, and the procedure for appointing judges even more transparent.

Colleagues,

I wish the entire judiciary in Russia good health and professional achievement, and of course, productive and rewarding work, including in the areas that I have outlined today.

Once again, I thank you for your attention and wish you all the best.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

Mr Lebedev, colleagues,

At the end of this part of your work, I would like to repeat something I have already mentioned in passing in my opening remarks, namely that in some countries, including European countries, about 50 percent, or even more, of the courts simply closed during the pandemic. This was not the case in Russia.

While complying with the sanitary doctors’ requirements, Russian courts used modern premises timely equipped with advanced technology, and that helped them set up their work in such a way that it remained efficient, transparent, understandable, and accessible for the public and the press. Please note that, according to the data I have, the number of registered personal accounts has reached almost 18.5 million. You managed to launch the work of appeal and supervisory courts of general jurisdiction in these difficult conditions. But you did it.

Most importantly, there were no outbreaks of COVID-19 in the judicial system itself. This means that the work was properly organised. For all that I want to thank you.

I wish you success.

Thank you very much.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64980






Greetings on Diplomatic Workers’ Day



Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to the current and former staff of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation on the occasion of their professional day, Diplomatic Workers’ Day.



February 10, 2021 - 09:00



The message reads, in part:

“Russia’s foreign policy service can be proud of its rich history. Relying on the glorious traditions laid by their predecessors, Russian diplomats are in the forefront of efforts to protect the national interest. They are making a tangible contribution to strengthening universal peace and resolving major global and regional issues.

“Much credit goes to the Foreign Ministry for its active and consistent efforts to achieve stabilisation in several hot spots and ensure constructive cooperation with the majority of our foreign partners, primarily the member states of the EAEU, CSTO, CIS, SCO and BRICS. I would like to make a special mention of the effective assistance rendered by the Foreign Ministry and its foreign offices to our citizens who have been abroad during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the current somewhat difficult situation, it is necessary to build up efforts to ensure strategic stability and security and protect the basic principles of international law and the UN’s backbone role in world affairs. The deepening of Eurasian integration and its interface with other regional integration associations remain a priority goal. Naturally, it is essential to be more active in upholding the rights and interests of our compatriots abroad and take efficient measures to strengthen the position of the Russian language in global culture.

“I know that you will continue doing your best; you will skillfully uphold the interests of Russia, promote its international prestige and influence, and help create favourable conditions for our national socio-economic development.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64983






Meeting with Government members



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, with members of the Russian Government.



February 10, 2021 - 15:00 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, deputy prime ministers Viktoria Abramchenko, Yury Borisov, Tatyana Golikova, Alexander Novak, Alexei Overchuk, Marat Khusnullin and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov. The meeting was also attended by Presidential Aide and Head of the Presidential State-Legal Directorate Larisa Brychyova, Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin, Minister of Healthcare Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, Head of the Federal Taxation Service Daniil Yegorov, and President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, good afternoon.

The main speaker today is Mr Belousov. Before we start discussing the agenda, I would like to return to the matter that one of the participants brought up at the recent meeting of the Council for Science and Education, namely the wages of research workers.

In 2018, the Government reported on the implementation of one of the May 2012 Executive Orders concerning public sector wages. At the same time, in my 2019 Address, I specifically brought to the attention of both federal and regional authorities the need to keep the achieved level of wages in the public sector, and that any kind of political chicanery was unacceptable there. This requirement is still valid, as we all understand.

At the same time, sometimes we see that little things can alter the essence of the bigger task. Just a reminder, that the point is not in reporting, but in ensuring a decent level of remuneration paid to healthcare professionals, educators, culture and social workers – the most important sectors for society and for the country.

However, very often we can see – at least, it happens occasionally, to put it mildly – that some of our services play around with the statistics, and we can see certain adjustments of formal indicators. What happens as a result? According to the reports, everything seems to converge. But sometimes things converge due to various tricks, for example specialists get transferred to part-time work, as was mentioned during our discussion at the Council meeting, to compensate them half-pay or quarter-pay. At the same time, their workload remains the same, or even more.

We have heard all this at a meeting of the Council for Science and Education. The discussion involved Anastasia Proskurina, a senior researcher from an institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who mentioned her 25,000-ruble wage, plus a 6,000-ruble bonus. As we understand, and I noted that too, even this sum total does not meet the guidelines set out in the May 2012 Presidential Executive Order.

In this connection, I would like to ask the Government and the regions of the Russian Federation to quickly and attentively analyse the situation with the wages of all public sector workers in all spheres and regions of the country. As we have seen during the pandemic, the modern digital and IT potential makes it possible to accomplish this with regard to every public sector agency and each specialist. In effect, we have this potential today. Consequently, we need to get a complete, objective and exhaustive picture.

I repeat, this analysis should not amount to some average pay survey, and this should not be done just at the level of organisations. I would like to ask you, yes, this work is, indeed, difficult, but we need to assess each employee’s situation.

And, most importantly, we need to draft and implement detailed solutions that will make it possible to eliminate the problems exposed. It goes without saying that problems are inevitable, but we have to analyse them all the time. Public sector wages must be transparent, understandable and fair; this is a key requirement here. We will discuss transparency some time later. And the oversight system for monitoring the situation should take into account the situation and incomes of each specialist, rather than average indicators.

Besides, I would like to ask you to monitor compliance with norms setting the wage ratio for employees and corporate managers. We have already done this with regard to higher education institutions. It is common knowledge that, to put it mildly, a rather substantial gap can exist here. At first glance, average wages can be rather impressive. In reality, though, some people earn a lot, while others are underpaid.

This reason considered, I am asking you to reassess everything linked with public sector wages. I would like to recall the May 2012 Presidential Executive Order once again. No one has abolished it, and its provisions have to be fulfilled, no matter what. I am asking my colleagues in the Government and in the regions to be guided by this aspect in their work.

Before we resume our work, I would like to hear a report by Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov. He and I have already discussed this matter in the sphere of science. I would like to hear his assessments and analysis.

Please, you have the floor.



(Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov reported on payments to researchers, including allocation of funds to research organisations and breakdown of wages, in accordance with current law, between researchers depending on their category, and also answered the President’s questions on the issue under discussion.)



Vladimir Putin:

I will now proceed to the main issue I planned to touch upon. As we know, researchers at such establishments are divided into five categories depending on their positions, and the higher the category, the higher the pay, of course. In principle, this is how it should be. This is the correct approach, of course. But what do we see in this particular establishment? We see that 30 percent of researchers there receive a higher pay than the economy average, and 70 percent receive less than the average.

I will not say whether this is good or bad, but the institute’s management has approved this scheme. At the same time, the basic pay is approved directly by the management, the director of the institute.

What has been the focal point of our discussions with the Minister, including today’s? It is that basic pay can be different for similar institutions even in one and the same region, as you have pointed out.

I understand that there should be a difference between regions. But if the situation is so unbalanced that basic pay differs even between establishments located on the same street, so to speak, this is a matter of concern. This is the first thing I wanted to say.

Second, we keep saying that researchers’ pay must be two times higher than the regional average. However, it turns out that wages are not computed based on the average for the economy. What are they based on, Mr Falkov?



Valery Falkov:

They are based on the average earned income.



Vladimir Putin:

They are based on the average earned income. As far as I know, this figure differs from the economy average.

Look here, when we say publicly again and again that the economy average is such and such, people, especially researchers who are as good at counting as we are, if not better, take this into account. Maybe we should say openly that wages are computed based on the average earned income, and explain what this means. There should be no dittology in this matter. Everything must be plain, clear and transparent. I would like to ask you to take this into account.

Next, we must, of course, think about improving the methods for calculating wages and percentages of average earned income. I will definitely ask the Finance Ministry and related departments to go over this matter again.

Next, I mentioned five categories of researchers, and the fact that members of higher categories must be paid higher salaries. This is obvious and this is the way it should be: the higher the qualification, the more a person should be paid. However, a lower limit must also be set, because if we do not set a minimum, then there might be certain directors or heads of organisations who will bring this lower limit down to the minimum wage. This is absolutely unacceptable in this area. When young professionals get a job, they must know how much they are going to be paid. The state must regulate this matter which should form the basis for grade-based wages. To reiterate, this must be done openly and transparently. Of course, wages must be based on regional specifics, because the cost of living varies across regions.

In this regard, I have one more remark to make, which we also discussed with the Minister. In relation to the heads of higher education institutions, the rectors, we have established a performance indicator that shows how many employees of a particular institution receive 200 percent of the average pay and how many do not. I think the same could be applied to research institutes and the like. Then, perhaps, this would encourage the relevant institutions’ senior officials not to use the funds on matters of secondary importance. I am not talking about chemicals or necessary equipment, but matters of secondary importance, at a time when they can maintain the proper and necessary wage level as required by the 2012 Presidential Executive Order.

This concludes my remarks. Please do what needs to be done and report back on the results.

Mr Mishustin, please pay attention to this.



Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin:

Will do, Mr President.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.

Let's go through a few items on our current agenda. Mr Murashko, could you please talk about the programme to modernise the primary care system and the progress with vaccinations.

In 2021, we plan to allocate 90 billion rubles for the development of primary healthcare. This is a lot, and moreover, we plan to invest a total of 550 billion rubles over five years. It is essential that not a single ruble gets wasted or spent on something else. All the funds should be used efficiently.

Go ahead, please.



Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko:

Good afternoon, Mr President, colleagues.

Primary healthcare is more in demand than any other part of the medical system. Outpatient facilities, polyclinics and paramedic centres are places that patients visit most often. On average, people make about a billion visits to primary healthcare facilities per year across Russia. Primary care facilities are the facade of healthcare.

First, I would like to report on our work last year. Our efforts were primarily aimed at rural healthcare. In 2019–2020, 1,396 paramedic centres and outpatient clinics opened, and 985 mobile care vehicles were purchased to improve rural healthcare. This plan continued over the past year despite the difficult epidemic situation.

But in addition to facilities and equipment, we continued to improve polyclinics’ performance. In 2020, as many as 6,000 of them, or more than 70 percent, began to use the new outpatient care model based on our thrifty technology concept that allows doctors to work more comfortably. This is a new economy, and patients spend less time at the polyclinic. Moreover, I would like to highlight that 2,877 of the total number of these polyclinics are children's clinics.

During a meeting on primary care modernisation in 2019, Mr President, you noted that primary care is of the essence for every citizen in our country. On your instructions, from January 1, 2021, primary healthcare modernisation programmes are being implemented in the regions. Those programmes were developed based on the real situation in each locality – we looked at each paramedic centre and each polyclinic, what condition they’re in, assessed their transport accessibility, and staffing problems. All regions approved these programmes by December 15.

As you said earlier, at least 550 billion rubles will be earmarked for the modernisation programme in the next five years, with 90 billion rubles allocated by the Government this year for building and renovating 1,054 outpatient clinics and paramedic centres, as well as overhauling 1,500 buildings; 27,000 pieces of medical equipment will be purchased, including, primarily, diagnostic equipment that outpatient clinics need for making timely diagnoses of infectious and non-infectious diseases.

There were plans to purchase 6,739 vehicles. As per your instruction, we, in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, purchased 2,000 vehicles in December which were already in service during the New Year holidays and took medical workers to patients.

Of course, the modernised facilities must be properly staffed. Personnel is the most important resource our healthcare system needs. This year, the specialist programmes saw a 3.5 percent increase in enrolment and there was a 13 percent increase in residency and postgraduate studies.

Support will be provided at the federal and regional level. This year, we expanded the support under the County Doctor programme for paramedical personnel and have also included midwives.

Agreements with the regions are now operational, and funds were made available to the recipients on January 1; 39 regions have started competitive biddings for the purchase of equipment, transport, construction and repair services for outpatient clinics and paramedic centres.

The governors should be mindful of the fact that everything planned for this year must be accomplished. The public has discussed the programmes and looks forward to seeing them implemented.

In addition to the facilities and resources available to primary care, the My Health service, which is currently being implemented, allows us to make healthcare user friendly and to improve communication with the public. It is under development. This year, we plan to expand its coverage, including by adding a mobile app. In addition to the personal account area, which can now be used for making an appointment for vaccination, it will offer capabilities such as making yearly medical check-up and doctor appointments, providing access to test results and issuing reminders about taking prescribed medications. This communication is important. According to specialists, it will improve the quality of observation, including for patients with chronic diseases.

I would also like to quickly report on another important task: vaccination, of course. In line with your instructions, vaccination is being carried out across the country, all regions are involved, and over four million doses of the two-component vaccine have already been delivered to the regions. Two million doses have been shipped and are in transit. Vaccination is underway with a total of 3,741 vaccination centres operating today.

I would like to say that together with Rosatom we have tested technologies to increase throughput and quality. In fact, quality during vaccination is ensured at all stages: from the start of production to delivery, storage and sending directly to a medical organisation.

And, of course, I would like to note that recently an article has been published containing the first interim data on the effectiveness of the phase three trials of the Sputnik vaccine. They have been published in The Lancet, a reputable medical magazine, and it has been confirmed that the effectiveness of the vaccine as a preventative medicine exceeds 91 percent and it is almost 100 percent effective in protecting against serious cases of the disease in those aged 18 and above. It is also noted that there were no serious complications; accordingly the level of confidence and quality control in this area are the highest.

Thank you very much. This concludes my report.





Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.

As you can see, The Lancet has confirmed its high status and, of course, its impartiality, because hundreds of thousands of jabs in Russia reaffirm its conclusions: impartial and highly professional. This not only enhances the credibility of our vaccine but also the credibility of this publication. Practice shows that this is true.



Mikhail Murashko:

I agree. Thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

The protection level of over 90 percent has been confirmed and safety has also been confirmed.

Ok, thank you very much.

One more question. Mr Siluanov, we recently discussed this at a meeting on the economic situation; we talked about the unprecedented number of people that have become active on the stock market during the past year – over 6 million, now close to 10 million, I guess. Russians have invested a total of 10 trillion rubles in the stock markets.

I am aware that this cannot be overregulated, like the market for food, for example, or other consumer goods. But it is clear that some problems do need to be addressed.

Speaking of the securities market – we certainly must think about it, and I asked you to think about it, think about how to protect people’s interests. Once again, we do not need defrauded investors 2.0 here, defrauded equity holders again this time, of course.

We realise that at any moment, all kinds of intermediary firms will start mushrooming and promising manna from heaven; maybe they already are.

Please, a few words on this.



Finance Minister Anton Siluanov:

Mr President,

Indeed, last year, people’s interest in financial market instruments has sharply increased. Your figures are good and relevant: 10 million people and 10 trillion in investments in financial market instruments. Banks hold about 35 trillion in deposits, that is, the figure is quite comparable. So we certainly need to seriously regulate this issue here.

The reason for this popularity is the low interest rates offered by banks of course, on the one hand, and on the other, the progress of digital technologies that make investment accounts simple and easily available. A user can now open an account and start trading with simple tools – a mobile device, a smartphone.

We must not allow the stock market to be able to mislead people; you have issued instructions on this. This is what we are focusing on now, to prevent aggressive marketing by financial intermediaries.

Compound financial instruments are now available on the market that are presented as an alternative to bank deposits and that boast higher return rates with allegedly the same level of protection. But this is not quite so. So, given the murky nature of these products with dubious yields (by the way, the return on investment for these products is not guaranteed, either) and with these risks in mind, we came up with a corresponding draft law and submitted it to the State Duma which will review it in February-March. This draft law protects our citizens from aggressive promotion policies on the part of the financial intermediaries and institutions which offer compound investment products to the public in our country.

The draft law provides the Bank of Russia with the right to set the requirements for the content and quality of this information. These new regulations will allow consumers to make informed decisions based on reliable information. This will undoubtedly improve the financial market’s health and head off scams based on get-rich-quick schemes.

At the same time, Mr President, we are interested in promoting a civilised financial market. The Government and the Bank of Russia are working on a strategy to expand the financial markets to 2030.

This strategy provides for developing special institutions, professional assistants and management companies who can provide advice on how to properly build a financial asset portfolio, to set investment objectives and advise which instruments come with the lowest investment risk.

We will continue to expand the established institution of investment accounts. We propose expanding the individual investment account maximum limits. Today, it is set at 1 million rubles. We propose increasing it to 3 million rubles and providing an option to withdraw funds from it in special life situations without losing tax deductions. That is, investors, our citizens, could use these accounts for investment purposes, but also have the option to withdraw funds from these accounts if they need to.

Instruments for long-term accumulation investment for 10 or more years will also be developed. This is also important. We are drafting regulations for investing in such instruments. On the one hand, this allows our people to be confident in the reliability of these instruments. On the other, it is a resource for the economy, a resource for investment because the financial market is one of the main sources of investment in the economy that we badly need now.

We fully realise that this investment must be made conscientiously, without aggression by mediators and without cheating. These regulations will be governed by the draft law that will be reviewed soon.

Thank you for your attention.



Vladimir Putin:

All right, thank you very much.

There is a proposal on adjusting and regulating taxes in physical fitness and sports.

Mr Matytsin, please tell us about the plans for tax deductions in this area. Explain to us what they are all about, please.

Mr Siluanov, when is this law expected to be adopted?



Anton Siluanov:

Mr President, according to our parliamentarians, this draft law will be considered by State Duma in March. We hope the Federation Council will also review it quickly and we will submit it to you for signing.



Vladimir Putin:

All right, I understand.

Mr Matytsin, go ahead please.





Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin:

Mr President, colleagues,

With your permission I will tell you about tax deductions as part of our programme on making physical fitness and sports accessible to people. This is one of the priorities of the Ministry’s effort to implement the Strategy until 2030.

The main way to achieve this is by improving the sports infrastructure. In this respect, the Ministry’s programmes provide for the construction of both large sports venues and easy-to-access outdoor sports facilities.

In 2020, we commissioned 135 sports facilities, including the first covered ice rink in Birobidzhan. We planned to do more: 37 facilities are about to be completed but the deadlines for commissioning them have been postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic. This year, we are constructing 174 facilities, 120 of which will be put into operation.

We consider it important to collaborate with the United Russia party project to build modular structures to be used as outdoor sports centres. This year, more than 100 such centres will be built in 78 regions worth a total of 2 billion rubles. It is important that party activists and the local residents have a say in selecting the locations and monitor the construction progress.

It is also important that most of these facilities are being developed in rural areas. We can see great potential there. Although very low-cost economically, these projects at the same time have the most positive social effect and attract people to rural areas. Such facilities have been opened in the village of Troitskoye in the Omsk Region, as well as in the village of Shamilkala (Daghestan) as good examples of such cooperation.

Public-private partnership projects are also a positive thing. We can see striking examples this year. For example, the Armada complex in the Novosibirsk Region, and a facility in Rubtsovsk in the Altai Territory. Gazprom has built an Ice Palace in Astrakhan. All of the projects were 50 to 100 percent financed through investment. It is important that once commissioned, these facilities will be open to various categories of people who can access them free of charge to practice various sports.

The Ministry requires companies that plan and propose sports infrastructure projects to establish public-private partnerships; this condition has become mandatory.

Moreover, we ask the heads of the regions, when they make proposals for the construction of large or small facilities, to work out this mechanism, and to plan how the facility fits into the overall sports infrastructure, what will its target audience be and who it will be managed by.

Interdepartmental integration is also an important component for ensuring accessibility. We believe that all national projects should be used as much as possible. Here are just two: Housing and Urban Environment, and Safe and High-Quality Roads. We believe sports facilities need to be included in the planning of urban infrastructure, and bike lanes need to be planned when designing roads.

It is very important that the work is targeted. In this regard, we are implementing interdepartmental programmes with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, because we can see great potential for engaging schoolchildren and students in sports. And here of course, a system of sports clubs at schools should be the key link, the basic element, if you will. By 2024, 100 percent of our schools should have these facilities.

In principle, the entire world experience shows that sports facilities are most effective and profitable when educational institutions run them.

Of course, it is also important to mention what staff will work in sports facilities under the Sport, the Norm of Life federal project. Over 7,500 coaches attended advanced training courses in 2020. By 2024, 50,000 coaches will upgrade their skills or attend retraining courses.

We are paying special attention to adaptive sport and easier access to sports facilities for all people. This year, over 48 adaptive sports schools received funding for the purchase of vehicles and computers. When building sports facilities today, we meet all requirements on making sport accessible to people with disabilities.

Non-profit organisations and grants are also important. This year we will allocate 165 million rubles to 25 organisations. The national running movement is a graphic example. During the year, young people held 89 events, involving 55,000 participants.

Non-profit partners are also cooperating with our business organisations and large companies like Transneft, Sberbank and Russian Railways. We consider this a very impressive, positive example to follow in developing corporate sports and making it accessible to employees in the manufacturing industries.

Tax deductions, as you mentioned, Mr President, play a very important role in enhancing the financial appeal of sports activities. Following your instructions, proposals have been made to amend Federal Law On Sport and the Tax Code. When the law is adopted, people will have the opportunity to save money with tax deductions on physical fitness and sports of up to 15,600 rubles per year. We believe this will promote the development of sports organisations.

I would like to make one more important point. We know that an adequate amount of sports infrastructure is a major factor. Currently, the average availability throughout the country stands at about 55.7 percent. However, we realise that this figure is an average. To understand clearly what facilities work and what services they provide, by the end of 2021, we will complete the creation of an integrated digital platform that will include all facilities and list all the services they offer.

In this respect, we also see a potential for developing sports tourism. It is very important for people travelling in Russia to have an opportunity to see online what facilities exist and what competitions they host. This will allow them to choose the sports they like.

Of course, large competitions are a great motivation for going into sports. I am referring to the Presidential Starts, The Leather Ball, The Golden Puck, The Orange Ball, sports contests and rural games.

The traditional Lyzhnya Rossii [the Russian Ski Track] will be held this week, on February 13, for the 39th time. Using this opportunity, I would like to invite all of you to take an active part in the event and to show our commitment to a healthy lifestyle through your personal example.

Thank you very much. This concludes my report.



Vladimir Putin:

Good. Thank you very much.

It is necessary to make all this work in practice. In general, this is certainly the way to go. Thank you.

Colleagues, to complete the first part, do you know what I want to bring up? I have already recalled this and reminded all my colleagues about Alexander III. Do you remember? I have already talked about this. He once said: “When Durnovo, the Minister of the Interior, reports to me, I understand everything. But it seems that he does not get it. When Vitte reports, he understands everything, but I do not. When Krivoshein (the Railway Minister at one time) reports, neither I nor he understands anything.”

Just a few words. Look, there is a regional average income, and for researchers we will double this average salary. It is necessary to explain what this is all about, so it’s understandable and transparent not only for the heads of the relevant ministries and departments but to the people. There is nothing complicated in this and I assure you that people will figure it out. But in this case they will not have the impression that they are being cheated by the authorities, that the authorities are telling them one thing but are doing another. There is nothing complicated about this. I would like to ask you to consider this circumstance and prevent anything like this from happening in the future.

After all, when we say that we have given the right to the heads of institutions to determine themselves how many employees they have on their payrolls – more than 300 or probably 250 people, we mean that this is up to the director in question. And this is correct, let him decide this. He determines the step from one category of employee to the next and decides how much they can earn. And this is correct as well. They also have some public organisations. This should be understandable and transparent in these institutions. Our dialogue with the people will improve a lot like this, and trust in the authorities will increase tremendously. That said, I still hope that everything is generally in order today, but the problems we are discussing must certainly be corrected now.

Let’s go to the main item. Let Mr Belousov take the floor. Go ahead, please.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64984






Meeting with permanent members of the Security Council



The President held a briefing session (via videoconference) with permanent members of the Security Council.



February 11, 2021 - 13:40 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Quite recently, together with our US partners we extended the New START Treaty. We had suggested this to our US partners a long time ago. I am pleased to note that the new US administration has fulfilled its campaign promises in this sphere. We praise this decision.

Today, I suggest that we discuss other steps aiming to curb the arms race and to facilitate overall arms control.

Let’s get down to work.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64985






Birthday greetings to Ivan Dedov



Vladimir Putin wished a happy 80th birthday to Ivan Dedov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a specialist in applied and fundamental endocrinology.



February 12, 2021 - 09:00



The message reads, in part:

“A doctor by calling, a prominent scientist and a truly dedicated person, you honestly and selflessly serve your chosen cause and professional duty. Your scientific discoveries, advanced methods and innovations largely facilitated a tremendous breakthrough in the development of high-tech medicine and the national healthcare system and helped achieve major successes in diagnosing and treating dangerous diseases. And of course, your fruitful and highly important work as the founder and leader of a large, world-famous endocrinology school deserves the deepest respect.”

For his special services to the nation, the President conferred upon Ivan Dedov the title of Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64986






Greetings to Russia’s Buddhists



Vladimir Putin congratulated Russia’s Buddhists on the Lunar New Year and the beginning of the White Moon.



February 12, 2021 - 10:00



The message reads, in part:

“This wonderful holiday, which many nationalities of our country have been celebrating for centuries, symbolises the awakening of Nature, fills the heart with joy and hope and inspires people to do good deeds.

It is notable that Russia’s Buddhist community has carefully preserved and passed their forefathers’ spiritual traditions and unique customs and mores from generation to generation, thereby enriching the cultural and social pattern of our multinational Fatherland with their indigenous and substantive educational and charitable initiatives.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64991






Meeting with President of National Medical Research Centre for Endocrinology Ivan Dedov



The President met with Ivan Dedov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the National Medical Research Centre for Endocrinology and Chief Visiting Endocrinologist of the Russian Ministry of Health, to discuss the centre’s current operation, as well as the COVID-19 response and relief efforts.



February 12, 2021 - 12:45 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Dedov, I would like to begin by congratulating you on your birthday. A lot has been achieved under your leadership; you have accomplished simply outstanding results in the field you have devoted all your life to. Over the last few years alone, I have just looked it up, over the past three years, you have supervised the training of 1,500 physicians, hundreds of residents, postgraduates, PhDs. Amazing! You have your own school.



Ivan Dedov:

Yes, thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you, so much.

Mr Dedov, during these difficult days of fighting COVID, the pandemic, you also carry on your regular work. Could you say a few words about this?



Ivan Dedov:

Of course. Thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

Please go ahead.





Ivan Dedov:

Thank you for your time.

In fact, the National Endocrinology Centre is indeed a unique institution today, unique in both structure and functionality. Almost any endocrinopathy, or endocrine system disorder, that can be found on planet Earth, is within the competence and practice of our centre. This covers every case from the rarest, orphan diseases in children to widespread, socially and economically significant multimillion cases of diabetes.

Speaking of the endocrinology service, I believe thousands of experts, endocrinologists are successfully carrying out their work because it takes a lot of effort to be responsible for 47 million patients with diabetes and other metabolic diseases, as well as children’s diseases. These are chronic diseases, as a rule. It requires the introduction of new advanced technologies.

I would like to thank you for initiating an entire range of very important projects, including genetic research and personalised medicine. All of them benefit science, healthcare, medicine, and the economy in general.

The thing is that for the healthcare system, personalised medicine is a paradigm of a new, different kind of preventive medicine. We can already determine risks using genetic markers, and neutralise them. Early diagnostics and individual treatment are also among these achievements.

Therefore, naturally, we have totally new opportunities, including the development of the Healthcare project. We have suggested our scenario for the development of the endocrinology service: starting with the primary care endocrinologists – they must remain in place and their practices should be different – to the next level of specialists and then to the national centre. This is very important.

It is also vital that genetics is currently an actively developing field. And we put these new technologies into the development of the endocrinology service.

Nowadays, people with diabetes are the most vulnerable patients, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They suffer from not only systemic damage to their blood vessels, but their erythrocytes are blocked by glucose and cannot bring the four necessary oxygen molecules to the tissues. In addition to this metabolic hypoxia, COVID patients suffer from lung hypoxia, therefore the mortality rate is so high among these patients.

We have hypothesised which innovative drugs we would definitely need today. We have actually proposed our own version of the most effective COVID treatment that should be applied from the very first days of the viral attack. Because nature has invented a completely amazing remedy for the entire animal world, including for humans – corticosteroids, the adrenal hormones. They regulate the immune system, but they also stop any allergic or other unwanted or harmful effect on the living organism.

When a patient is injected with corticosteroids, they stop the division of viruses, and of course, this storm, the release of cytokines. With this done, further treatment can be figured out. So, corticosteroids come first. Anticoagulants are added to prevent thrombosis, and then, of course, oxidants, ascorbic acid, because it is also used to build adrenal hormones, and so on. We are getting very good results in this regard.

Anyway, we have experience. One of our buildings has been doing excellent work on this.





Vladimir Putin:

At your centre?



Ivan Dedov:

Yes. We have also proposed protocols to manage diabetes patients, what medications are needed, how to curb this generation of red blood cells, which are already blocked. Glucose not only blocks red blood cells; it also blocks all cells wherever it goes.

In this sense, our approaches are broader and deeper, compared, say, with pulmonologists. But they are accepted by our colleagues.

I think it is safe to say that Russia, united from the President to volunteers, has achieved absolutely unique results in the fight against COVID. This is a fact. People do not really understand sometimes. They do not understand that they are crossing the red line voluntarily. It is just that our people have a big heart, they are generous and always ready to lend a hand. Historically, this is so. So naturally, they do not need to be told, they just go, even though there is mortal danger of losing their health there.



Vladimir Putin:

In the red zone.



Ivan Dedov:

Yes. Or even their life.

This is so typical for us; in this sense, Russia is a separate planet. You have said more than once – this is what keeps us going. And this historical spirit, blended through our history and culture, must, of course, be encouraged.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Dedov, but this is also due, among other things, to the contribution from people like you, your colleagues. Once again, I congratulate you on your birthday.





Ivan Dedov:

Thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64994
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Congratulations to Angelina Golikova on winning 2021 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships



Vladimir Putin congratulated Angelina Golikova on her victory in the 500 metres competition at the 2021 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.



February 12, 2021 - 20:00







The message reads, in part:

“Your triumph has conclusively proven your outstanding skill, excellent physical fitness and a true fighting spirit, and has become an important contribution to the development of remarkable traditions of our country’s skating school. My sincere appreciation goes to your coaches and trainers.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65008






Greetings to participants of nationwide mass ski race Lyzhnya Rossii



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants, organisers and guests of the 39th open nationwide mass ski race Lyzhnya Rossii [Russian Ski Track].



February 13, 2021 - 09:00



The message reads, in part:

“It is gratifying that the tradition of holding these wonderful and very popular competitions has carried on uninterrupted for many years. From year to year, tens of thousands of people of different generations from across the country take part in them. This winter event unites those who sincerely love skiing, are keen on physical fitness, and set an example for others with their commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64996






Condolences on the passing of Yury Vlasov, Olympic champion, many-time champion of the Soviet Union, Europe and the world



Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to the family and friends of Yury Vlasov, Olympic weightlifting champion and many-time champion of the Soviet Union, Europe and the world, following his passing.



February 13, 2021 - 18:00







The message reads, in part:

“Yury Vlasov was a famous athlete, an Olympic champion and a person of character, strong will and purpose. Thanks to his exceptional diligence and self-discipline, he realised his remarkable potential and added several bright and truly epic pages to the national and global history of weightlifting, achieved a great deal as a public figure.”

Yury Vlasov died on February 13, 2021 at the age of 85.

Yury Vlasov won an Olympic gold in 1960 and a silver in 1964, four gold medals at world championships and six at European tournaments. He also set 31 world records, including three in powerlifting, and 41 national records. After finishing his sports career, Vlasov became a writer and was president of the Soviet Weightlifting Federation (1985–1987). In 1996, he ran for the president of Russia.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65009






Congratulations to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi



Vladimir Putin congratulated Mario Draghi on assuming the office of Prime Minister of the Italian Republic.



February 15, 2021 - 12:00



The message reads, in part:

“I hope that your work as head of government will promote the constructive development of Russian-Italian relations and bilateral cooperation in various spheres for the benefit of our nations and in the interests of strengthening stability and security on the European continent and all over the world.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64999






Meeting with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin



Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Rosneft CEO and Chairman of the Management Board Igor Sechin to discuss the company’s performance in 2020 and its activities during the coronavirus pandemic.



February 15, 2021 - 14:05 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Sechin, as far as I know, you have reviewed nearly all aspects of the company’s performance in 2020, and you can report on them now. Of course, I would also like to ask you how the company’s operations were organised during the period of coronavirus restrictions, as well as about your involvement, including and first of all, the involvement of your employees in the vaccination efforts.



Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin:

Mr President, I would like to begin with the most important aspect, vaccination and the provision of the necessary medical assistance to our personnel. As I have already told you, we have organised this work at the company. In a word, we have organised isolation units and observation facilities for the incoming shifts. The duration of shifts has been extended and the number of medical staff in the production areas has been increased. This helps us to deal with the problems of the current period.



Vladimir Putin:

Have you extended the shifts so as not to replace personnel too often?



Igor Sechin:

Quite correct, Mr President. Our personnel have a 14-day observation period prior to their shifts.



Vladimir Putin:

Quarantine.



Igor Sechin:

Yes, so that if there are any doubts regarding their health we can place them in isolation units under medical observation, while those who are healthy can start working, and the duration of shifts has been extended, of course.

Considering that there are registered vaccines and in light of our contacts with the Government, with Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and the Healthcare Ministry, we have sent a request to the Healthcare Ministry to reserve enough vaccines for 300,000 people. This matter is under discussion, and we are using the time left before vaccination to organise, together with the healthcare authorities, the necessary logistics, the delivery of the vaccines and the vaccination procedure itself, with the presence of doctors, medical check-ups and post-vaccination monitoring. Therefore, we hope that 100 percent of our personnel will receive the vaccine in March, that is, all those whom the doctors allow to be vaccinated.



Vladimir Putin:

Good.



Igor Sechin:

Now regarding the 2020 report, we have recently presented our public reports in accordance with international standards; it is extremely positive for the company, and I must tell you that, despite the dramatic impact of the pandemic, Rosneft has actually shown a profit for the year, the only global major to show a profit so far.

We have published our consolidated financial statements. In 2020, the company posted 147 billion rubles in net profit, in contrast, as I said, with a number of international majors, including respected companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Total (they closed the year in the red). Despite the deterioration in the macro environment, this result allowed us to create a reserve to pay dividends for the last year in the amount of 50 percent, just as you instructed us.

So, the only company from the global oil and gas sector that is still profitable today is us.



Vladimir Putin:

Truly the only one?



Igor Sechin:

As of today, yes. I’ll accept that some other leaders may appear once other companies release their end-of-year results, but right now this is the case.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Sechin, you have made a profit despite our production-cutting agreements with OPEC, OPEC Plus.



Igor Sechin:

Even with the Government directives to cut production, and all the events related to the pandemic, and the shrinking consumption, we were able to find solutions, to reduce operating costs, overhead costs, despite the reduction in capital expenditure, and still make a profit. It is not as high as in previous years of course, but nevertheless, taking into account the situation we are in, we still have 147 billion rubles, approximately $2.2 billion, which allow us to pay dividends for the past year.

At the same time, we were able to further reduce the financial debt by almost $10 billion. In addition, last year was a record year for us in terms of discovering new oil and gas fields. We discovered three very large fields, the three largest fields in the world – two in the Kara Sea, named after our victorious marshals – Marshal Georgy Zhukov and Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, as well as the Zapadno-Irkinskoye field in the north of Taimyr.

According to the international analytical agency Wood Mackenzie, these new discoveries are the largest in the world, with their average resource potential exceeding 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That is almost twice as much as those of our closest competitors, which were also discovered last year. And in general, by the end of 2020, the organic increase in reserves at Rosneft’s active assets amounted to over 700 million tonnes of oil equivalent in international categories.

According to the reports, 2020 production volumes totalled 256.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent. As you have already noted, this figure takes the Government’s production limitation directives into account. Despite this, with due consideration for the latest adjustments that were made, we were able to expand the output of liquid hydrocarbons by 1.4 percent; and oil and gas production are up 0.2 and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Rosneft increased the volume of production drilling by 9.1 percent against the previous year.



Vladimir Putin:

Where did you drill most wells?



Igor Sechin:

First, we expanded the Samotlor oilfield. As you remember, we discussed investment incentives with the Finance Ministry. Acting on your decision to support the Samotlor oilfield in terms of water cut, we expanded our drilling volumes there. This made it possible to increase and maintain local production levels and to fulfil investment agreements, signed with the Finance Ministry. This enables us to maintain our pace for developing oilfields and social stability in single-company towns linked with our production facilities.



Vladimir Putin:

What are your company’s average wages? Of course, this figure always leads to many questions; nevertheless, we have to be guided by certain average levels.





Igor Sechin:

In principle, they depend on workers’ qualifications and on their work at the oilfields and refineries.



Vladimir Putin:

I see.



Igor Sechin:

On the whole, average monthly wages exceed 80,000 rubles. Workers are paid handsomely. High-category drillers and professional managers, as well as skilled employees, hold on to their jobs, and we have extremely low staff turnover rates.

In 2020, we opened 2,600 commercial wells, including 1,800 highly effective horizontal wells, the number of which is up 6 percent on 2019. On the whole, horizontal wells account for 44 percent of all wells drilled. This is a very good indicator, all the more so as horizontal drilling makes it possible to boost the efficiency of hard-to-extract deposits and depleted deposits.



Vladimir Putin:

How far do horizontal wells extend?



Igor Sechin:

We have set our own records; for example, some wells on Sakhalin Island are up to 15,000 metres long. This is world record-breaking. The average length of horizontal wells is three to four kilometres.

We have set some records in terms of commercial speeds for drilling horizontal wells. The industry’s maximum daily drilling rates were 27,542 metres.



Vladimir Putin:

Is your drilling logistics centre located in Moscow? Where is the centre that manages all these processes, physically?



Igor Sechin:

The operational control is done from Moscow, and all active production, injection and auxiliary wells are managed from here, we use satellites to manage them and monitor their condition.



Vladimir Putin:

And the drilling process?





Igor Sechin:

We have a large contractor of our own, RN-drilling. Rosneft performs about half of the drilling services with its own resources, while outsourcing the other half to Russian contractors on the market. This allows us to be in the market, monitor the reference prices for drilling services, and maintain the efficiency of our own facilities, too.

Having our own resources hedges us against risks and failures in difficult conditions. In this sense, it is certainly a necessity in this industry.

As I said, we are reducing unit operating costs; in production, they came down 9.7 percent compared to 2019, to $2.8 per barrel of oil equivalent as of now. This is one of the best indicators in the global industry. As for general and administrative expenses, those have gone down by almost a third, and interest expenses, by 15 percent.

We continue to work with our international partners. We signed a deal with the Norwegian company Equinor on an exploration and production project in the Irkutsk Region, bringing in an investor and a technology partner, one as experienced as Equinor, and expanding our resource base for oil supplies to the APR countries.

Major international investment banks and analysts are predicting a general shortage of energy resources and an increase in their cost due to the depletion of the resource base, watering of deposits, shrinking yields as well as the new tendency among oil companies to transition to green energy and reduce investment in oil and gas projects driven by the falling demand. So, by developing these new fields, we will try to satisfy the deficit that may arise in the market.

In addition to upgrading our resources portfolio, we have completed several reconfiguration projects to boost our efficiency. Since my previous report, the company has closed a series of deals to build an asset portfolio for the Vostok Oil project in the northern Taimyr Peninsula, and acquired a new deposit with a substantial synergistic effect in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. All the deals were fully approved by the internal and external audits and recognised by independent international experts.

Hopefully, the result will change the company’s image. Vostok Oil was highly praised by analysts and attracted more investors who bought company shares, which led to an increase in our capitalisation. Since early 2020, when information about the project first became available on the market, our stocks have even outperformed the general market decline, showing a 3 percent gain.

As I already noted, discovering the Zapadno-Irkinskoye deposit with over 500 million tonnes of recoverable oil reserves was a momentous event for the Vostok Oil project. Following the drilling of a prospective well, Zapadno-Irkinskaya 31, we achieved oil influx. Well testing continues. Following the drilling of the second well, Zapadno-Irkinskaya 32, we confirmed the oil potential of the other bank of the Yenisei River. This creates a promising outlook for our further work. We are in the middle of an engineering survey for the purpose of designing and building the essential facilities. A construction project of an outbound system for delivering oil to the Sever Bay has been submitted to the Main Directorate of State Expert Review. We are surveying routes for mainline pipelines to deliver our product to the Sever Bay.

This year, we plan to conduct a 3D seismic survey on an area of 500 sq km, as well as to continue exploration well and horizontal well drilling in order to establish production technology in the region.

We have not forgotten about the message you sent during the World Economic Forum in Davos concerning the need to combat global warming. We passed managerial decisions to monitor measures to prevent greenhouse gas emissions and minimise the carbon footprint of our main production facilities. The company’s strategy includes achieving a leading position with respect to greenhouse gas intensity among similar international companies. We plan to become a leader in curbing emissions and reach a near-complete utilisation of associated petroleum gas. We conducted meteorological research that allows us to provide the Vostok Oil project with local wind power generation – where possible, of course. There will be special wind farms that will be integrated with Vostok Oil.





Vladimir Putin:

Have you managed to curb associated gas flaring over the past few years?



Igor Sechin:

We are working on this constantly. Right now, the average level of associated gas utilisation is 83 percent. We plan to reach 95 percent within the next two years.



Vladimir Putin:

Good. It was below 60 percent only recently.



Igor Sechin:

Yes, we are working constantly. At certain deposits, it is possible to dispose of 90 percent of associated gas. The average rate, as I already mentioned, is 83 percent. We will finally solve this issue in the next two years.



Vladimir Putin:

Excellent.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65000






Telephone conversation with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the Saudi side’s initiative.



February 15, 2021 - 17:55



The parties discussed the expansion of Russian-Saudi ties in various fields, including in the context of the 95th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which will be marked this February. They expressed mutual interest in building up cooperation in trade, the economy and investment. Countering the spread of the coronavirus infection was another topic considered, including the possibility of using the Russian vaccines in Saudi Arabia.

Vladimir Putin and Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud also exchanged views on the implementation of the OPEC Plus agreements. They underscored their willingness to continue close coordination between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the interests of maintaining stability in the global energy market.

Regional issues were also touched upon, in particular, the situation in Syria and the Persian Gulf zone.

The parties agreed on further contacts at various levels.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65002






Congratulations on 45th anniversary of manufacturing the first KAMAZ vehicle



Vladimir Putin congratulated the staff and veterans of the KAMAZ Group of Companies and its Director General Sergei Kogogin on the 45th anniversary of manufacturing the first legendary KAMAZ vehicle.



February 16, 2021 - 09:00



The message reads, in part:

“The construction of the KAMAZ Automotive Plant is rightfully considered one of the most ambitious and popular projects of the national automotive industry and an important contribution to strengthening the state’s economic and industrial might and defence capability. The enthusiasm and selfless work of designers, workers, engineers, and representatives of other professions who arrived on the banks of the Kama River from all over the country made it possible to accomplish all tasks as quickly as possible. On February 16, 1976, the first vehicle rolled off the main assembly line.

It is pleasing to note that the current generation of KAMAZ workers is carrying on the wonderful traditions of its predecessors in a worthy manner. Just like decades ago, extremely dedicated professionals, loyal to their careers and place of work, continue to do their jobs there. They generate bold ideas and truly innovative approaches and introduce advanced and largely unique technologies, including those for future manufacturing of unmanned remote-controlled vehicles. The enterprise’s management tirelessly prioritises efforts to improve the skills and professionalism of young specialists and to resolve topical social problems of employees.

KAMAZ now ranks among one of the leading world-famous manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks. Your vehicles actively operate in the construction, housing and utilities sector, at industrial and agricultural enterprises, and they account for a substantial share of the Armed Forces’ vehicle fleet. And, of course, we are genuinely proud of the famous and invincible KAMAZ-Master team which is our common asset.

I am convinced that you will continue to work conscientiously, set lofty and ambitious goals, score successes and manufacture vehicles meeting the most advanced safety, reliability and environmental standards, and that you will consistently promote your KAMAZ trucks on the global markets.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65010






Meeting with Acting Governor of Khabarovsk Territory Mikhail Degtyaryov



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Acting Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Mikhail Degtyaryov.



February 16, 2021 - 13:50 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The discussion focused on the socioeconomic situatio in the region, environmental matters, and efforts to help defrauded homebuyers.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Degtyaryov, I am aware that you have many questions, including the one concerning the environment. You want to talk about the Amur River.



Acting Governor of Khabarovsk Territory Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Yes.



Vladimir Putin:

Let us begin with that, before moving on to other subjects.



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Mr President, I would like to submit our presentation to you. It includes a proposal for adding the Amur River to the Environment National Project. We propose creating a separate federal project to prepare an action plan to save the Amur, similar to that of the Volga and Baikal projects.

The Amur River feeds millions of people in our country, as well as in neighbouring countries. There are some environmental problems, primarily those related to the spring floods and, secondly, pollution, including by industrial effluents, plus fish stock replenishment, considering that so many people work in the fishing industry. This is why we have formulated our proposal to the Government and you for creating a separate federal Amur project.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Degtyaryov, this is a very important, relevant and extremely noble cause. You have mentioned the Volga and Baikal. Everything regarding them, including the sources of pollution, is quite clear to us. What about the Amur?



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Mr President, some of the sources of pollution are located beyond Russia, and so we propose creating a cross-border project together with our neighbours, because there are sources of pollution in the People’s Republic of China as well.



Vladimir Putin:

In this case, we should discuss the matter with our neighbours and friends, so as to be able to launch a joint project. I am emphasising this deliberately.





Mikhail Degtyaryov:

This is exactly what we planned to propose.

And the second project – keeping in mind that the Khabarovsk Territory is a border region – concerns the development of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island. There have been initiatives from our Chinese partners and neighbours. We, in turn, have built a bridge to the island, and suspended further work for now. We have reviewed all your instructions and propose returning to this matter later this year, but starting with a smaller one – a freight-and-passenger crossing to Bolshoi Ussuriysky – in order to step up trade and passenger traffic. Until now, we did not have a single freight-and-passenger crossing. We have only one border checkpoint at the Khabarovsk airport, one at the river port and in one of the districts of the Khabarovsk Territory.

Therefore, we propose and we ask you to support this project and start small, at least open checkpoints for passengers and cargo with room for future development, including, perhaps, duty-free zones and, possibly, a dry port. Traffic with our neighbours is growing. And Khabarovsk residents are a little jealous of the neighbouring regions.



Vladimir Putin:

This can certainly be done. But both in the first and in the second case, we will need documents, proposals drawn up, design estimates. Which of those do you have now?



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

We have prepared letters; the project is being reviewed by the Russian-Chinese commission. Well, we would also like your approval to intensify this work.



Vladimir Putin:

Ok. Let’s look at them now.

How is the overall situation?





Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Mr President, I would like to personally thank you for your trust and for sending me to the Khabarovsk Territory, as you said then, a region with very active people, and this has been confirmed.

(Further on, Mikhail Degtyaryov spoke about economic issues; payment of benefits for children under the April and May Presidential executive orders; reducing the transport tax in the region; supporting talented schoolchildren, cultural figures and young scientists; the unresolved problem with defrauded homebuyers; flood relief efforts; the need to increase spending on territorial public self-government; support for local initiatives; and socially-oriented public organisations.)



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Mr President, allow me to address you regarding Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the industrial centre of the entire Russian Far East. We responded to a request made by the residents of Komsomolsk-on-Amur who had collected signatures and sent a petition to you according to the law, asking for the city to be granted the honorary title of the City of Labour Glory. On behalf of all city residents, I would like to ask you to personally support this initiative and grant the title to that glorious city.



Vladimir Putin:

Ok, we need to think about it, we will most certainly consider it. Komsomolsk-on-Amur is indeed the industrial centre of the Far East and a city of distinguished people who work hard to perform tasks of national importance in various essential areas such as improving Russia’s defence capability, and industrial production. So, I do understand what you mean, there is no question about it. We will review this matter in the most favourable manner.



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Mr President, also on behalf of all the people living in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, I would like to personally thank you as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief for placing additional orders with the city’s companies. I am referring to the six corvettes for the Navy and an additional order for Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft. The only manufacturer of the fifth-generation Su-57 is also based in Komsomolsk, of course. Thank you on behalf of all the workers at these factories.



Vladimir Putin:

Please pass my best regards and words of gratitude to the workers at these factories for the results that they bring. The entire country is proud of these companies’ products. Not only are they our pride but also a significant contributor to Russia’s defence capability. So please pass on my best wishes to them.

I can see that you are quite well informed about the main issues and problems in the major areas of work. So keep your eyes on the ball. Now let’s discuss each of these matters in more detail and try to find solutions.



Mikhail Degtyaryov:

Thank you, Mr President.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65007
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Meeting with State Duma party faction leaders



Vladimir Putin had a meeting, via videoconference, with the heads of the four parliamentary groups represented in the lower house of Russia’s parliament.



February 17, 2021 - 12:45 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



The meeting was attended by LDPR faction leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Communist Party faction leader Gennady Zyuganov, leader of A Just Russia faction Sergei Mironov and leader of the United Russia faction Sergei Neverov, as well as State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, Mr Volodin, colleagues.

Today we are holding a regular meeting with the leaders of the State Duma party factions. In accordance with the established procedure, I propose discussing a broad range of issues, which you yourselves consider to be relevant and important both for the national development strategy and the current economic, socio-political and social situation.

Of course, we will also hold a separate discussion on our law-making priorities, considering that this session will conclude the five-year term of this convocation of the State Duma.

First of all, I would like to say that all these years the State Duma has been working intensively and professionally. Despite the complicated situation last year, you have not slackened your activity but even gathered momentum, adopting over 550 laws, which is more than the year before, when you adopted 530 laws, as far as I remember. At the same time, you held detailed discussions on each of these draft laws.

I know that there are currently over 1,000 draft laws in the State Duma portfolio, including extremely important, systemic ones, which must be adopted without delay to ensure the implementation of our economic programme, improve the business and investment climate, protect the labour and social rights of our citizens and, in general, strengthen the Russian state.

I am referring first of all to the laws that are designed to ensure the implementation and legal development of the constitutional amendments adopted at the national referendum. In fact, this amounts to an essential, detailed, and at the same time, very delicate adjustment of our entire legal framework and nearly all sectors.

Much has already been accomplished here, the Law on the State Council and some other acts have been passed, among other things. I would like to once again thank the deputies of all parliamentary parties for their active involvement in this work which has great significance for the people and the country. I would like to say once again that you did not stop working even for a minute during the pandemic; I know there were losses among the deputies, but you constantly fulfilled your direct duty. I would like to ask you to continue to oversee all high-priority matters in the future.

We are all aware how important it is that everything works as planned in real life, so that all new constitutional guarantees concerning demography, healthcare, education, culture, science and the economy incentivise the development of all these spheres, help improve sectoral legislation and, most importantly, their practical enforcement, and so that they become an unconditional reference point for legislators and all agencies, state-power tiers, and civil society institutions in their everyday activities.

I am confident that, in the next few months, you will organise your work in such a way that nothing is left for later, so that you pass a high-quality legacy to the new State Duma’s members without any unresolved issues needing to be dealt with in the future. I hope that specific plans of legislative work will be implemented on time in the course of joint work by representatives of all parliamentary parties.

Colleagues, the parliament’s tasks require well-thought-out and painstaking work on the part of all deputies and senators; and they should also assess the situation in a balanced and objective way. However, I realise that the upcoming election campaign will inevitably lead to more heated discussions and whip up inter-party competition and political activity. There is nothing new here, this has always happened in this country, and this takes place everywhere.






In this connection, I would like to note that, of course, the federal parliamentary election has tremendous significance for Russia, for our state’s sustainable and effective development, for the successful accomplishment of those highly important tasks that are reflected in national projects. All of them pursue the main goal of improving the quality of people’s lives, elevating it to an entirely new, much higher level.

This direct request is an unequivocal instruction to all state-power tiers. Instead of merely waiting, the people are rightfully demanding tangible and visible results and changes. By the way, special heightened responsibility rests with the Big Four parties. While relying on the support of millions, they must set the pace for the future election campaign, conduct it in a constructive and substantive manner and demonstrate in-depth and mature discussions. Rather than merely, excuse me, quarrel with one another, they should show their approach and their national development options. And, what is particularly important, it is necessary to maintain dialogue culture even with the most irreconcilable opponents.

We all are interested in the elections being open, honest, decent and competitive. It is equally important for our major parties and for the public forces that are not represented in parliament but plan to participate in the elections. Most importantly, it is important for voters, undoubtedly.

It is they, our voters, who will determine the outcome of the election campaign. It is Russian citizens who will make their choice and we must protect this choice from any attempts at external interference. We cannot and will not allow any attacks on Russia’s sovereignty and our nation’s right to be in control on its own soil. I know that we share this approach and see eye to eye in this matter.

I believe that, as before, you will take a firm and uniform government stance. My opinion is that this patriotic unity is necessary, especially for the major parties with their own traditions, ideology and tangible influence in society.

This authority needs continuous maintenance, not only through cooperation with party supporters but also through a dialogue with those who are not politically minded or perhaps have views different from ours, and from the views of each and every one of you and your party structures; those who are critical. This is where your experience in parliamentary, public and political work proves indispensable.

I would like to finish my opening remarks here.

Now let us begin and share opinions in an open discussion as usual.

First of all, I would like to pass the floor to Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Then I suggest we hear from Gennady Zyuganov, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Sergei Neverov and Sergei Mironov. Then we will have time for an open discussion and talk about the most important and essential matters for the country, perhaps with each of you separately.

Mr Volodin, please.





Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin:

Mr President,

We have 1,222 draft laws in the State Duma legislative portfolio. It is clear that 2021 is a special year, given that elections to the 8th State Duma will be held in September. This obliges us to concentrate as much as possible on our work and to consider the bills that our citizens are waiting for.

Considering that one of the main items on our agenda is implementing the Presidential Address – it is of the essence to improve people’s welfare, the quality of life, and the economy – we are making every effort to implement the initiatives from the President's Address to the Federal Assembly and provide a legislative framework for its implementation. In this regard, one of our main priorities is to adopt laws concerning the implementation of the Address.

We still have five bills to consider, of which four have already been adopted in the first reading, and we will reach 100 percent implementation of the Address in terms of its legislative support. Considering those 40 points that were designated for implementation by parliament, we still have 12 percent of the plan to work on.

The second item on our agenda, and another priority, is certainly the implementation of the new provisions and norms that Russians have supported by voting on the Constitution.

We have adopted 22 laws and amended 155 federal laws. We have five more laws under consideration. This is a lot of work, but we plan to complete as much as possible during our spring session, with the understanding that it is a high-responsibility task, concerning the quality of life as well as people’s rights.

This is especially relevant now, when we can see foreign countries, primarily the United States with their satellites, trying to interfere in our affairs and influence politics, among other things. The decisions that we are now considering concerning amendments to legislation in accordance with the adopted amendments to the Constitution will allow us to more effectively protect our country's sovereignty.

Jointly with the Government, we have compiled a list of 39 high-priority bills for the spring session. Fifteen of them have already been passed in the first reading, with the aim of, by July, completing work on those matters that have to be reviewed and approved first.

You have noted correctly that, politics notwithstanding (understandably, the election exerts its influence), but we should try to do our best to devote all the remaining time to addressing specific matters. Everyone here shares this task, although many formats are subject to change in connection with the pandemic, and we are doing everything possible to pass the laws that are needed by this country and to make the decisions that the people expect, despite all difficulties.

Quite possibly, it would be correct to note that, despite global developments and the latest US presidential election, considering the extent to which the world has changed and the fact that national legislation is not being implemented, we have to do our best to prevent similar developments in Russia.

Above all, we are referring to the situation regarding major IT companies that virtually annul the legislation of all countries and address freedom of speech matters at their own discretion. We have to protect these fundamental rights, and we have reached a consensus on this matter: We have to do everything possible, so that the people of Russia can freely express their will, and so that everyone can exercise his or her right.

Mr President, thank you for always finding the time to discuss matters that we see as highly important, despite your packed schedule, considering the fact that the Duma passes laws, and the President signs these laws that then enter into force. We therefore hope that, today, we will get answers to many questions that we wanted to discuss with you.





Vladimir Putin:

Working on draft laws is always our collective endeavour. The President, the Government and the Presidential Executive Office make their contribution to the work on nearly every draft law. Overall, as I have said in my opening remarks, work proceeds in a positive and intensive manner, as we can see from the number of laws adopted and their increasingly high quality, which is very important.






What you have said regarding the so-called platforms, the IT companies, presents a major challenge, and not only to us alone. You can see what happened in the United States. This is a watershed running across the world as a whole, an ideological watershed, which is absolutely obvious. I have said this before, but I can repeat it now: if they behave like this in their own country, how will they treat others if they think themselves exceptional? This is a serious matter, and we certainly need to think about it in advance, this is the obvious thing.

As for freedom of speech, the situation is perfectly clear to us as well. The so-called double standards have manifested themselves so vividly recently that we have no doubt about how our so-called opponents will behave towards us, no doubt at all.

Just take a look at Ukraine, where three leading channels have been shut down at the stroke of a pen. And everyone keeps silent, while some have even given them an approving pat on the back.

How can we comment on that? The only thing we can say is that they are using these instruments to attain their own geopolitical goals. This is also true for Ukraine. Why are the developments pivoted on Nord Stream 2? They want Russia to pay for their Ukraine geopolitical project, that is it. In fact, this is a rather primitive and simple thing. We have become aware of this long ago, but this is the world we are living in.

Or take a look at what has happened in Latvia. They have clamped down on 16 of our media outlets, but the only reaction to this is silence. Why have the Western truth seekers not provided any assessments of what is happening to freedom of expression there, in Europe? No, there are no evaluations, as if this is how it should be, because they are allegedly fighting propaganda. As if what they are doing is not propaganda. What is it then? This is an instrument of attaining their geopolitical goals, in this particular instance, with regard to our country.

We must take this into account. I would like to say once again that this is nothing out of the ordinary. I believe we have been observing this, seeing this happen for a long time, but the recent events have especially vividly confirmed the correctness of our views and assessments.

However, let us continue our discussion.


<…>


Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on Gennady Zyuganov's remarks) You have touched on a number of issues that are obviously very important. The growth of unemployment during the pandemic – it is not big but it is still here and we are seeing and recording it. I speak about this all the time and encourage the Government to do what is necessary to reach pre-crisis levels. In general, the situation is improving and has proven to be better than preliminary forecasts. But you are right. It is clearly necessary to focus on this all the time.

Of course, I know that the Communist Party is always concerned over issues of privatisation. I have also spoken about this. Probably, our approaches to this matter do not always coincide, but at any rate I believe we share the common view that privatisation for the sake of privatisation is unacceptable for us, especially the way it was carried out in the 1990s in some areas. It must be beneficial for the economy; it must improve the economic structure. We must proceed from the premise that any step in this context must create a better, more efficient owner de facto, in practice rather than formally. But obviously, this must be done in a certain environment so as not to give away what costs millions and maybe billions for next to nothing. This is the bottom line for us.

When we talk face to face, I will be willing to discuss this issue in more detail. If you have some specific concerns in this area, I am ready to discuss them.

<…>

As for the holiday (Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23) – this is not just about a memory that we received from God knows where and not a victory that was achieved by some unknown soldiers. Our fathers and grandfathers earned this and spilled their blood to grant us a future. No doubt, we have always cherished and will remember this. Now we are looking into the crimes that were committed against civilians (during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945), like genocide. This is perfectly clear. I believe this is the right direction.

My approach to this is well known. I have discussed it with you more than once. Of course, we must go forward, pool our efforts with other nations, including the European nations, despite all the difficulties and circumstances of today. The past must not pull us backwards.

But there are things that we cannot and will not forget, and genocide against the civilian population and the Russian Federation is a dark page, but it compels us to look with open eyes at current events and build our policy for the future to prevent a repetition of anything like it.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s remarks) Just a few words about family businesses. This is an accurate and interesting remark, and we have already discussed this. Indeed, there are small businesses and sole proprietors, and it is possible to organise family businesses based on the current regulatory framework. But you are right, there are things we should consider.

Food certificates. We have already discussed this, and the Government did too, in line with my directive. There are upsides to it, and there are certain issues that need to be reviewed, but we can absolutely give it more thought. It may not be as important now as it was at the height of the pandemic, but we can discuss this nonetheless.

You mentioned the development of universities. We are increasing support for regional universities in many areas mindful of the fact that we need good skilled specialists in Russia, so they do not concentrate exclusively in the capital cities, where they eventually run into employment problems.

You are a knowledgeable specialist on the Orient, including Turkey. As you have said, barbarians came from the East and destroyed the Christian Orthodox empire. But before the barbarians from the East, as you well know, the crusaders came from the West and weakened this Orthodox Christian empire, and only then were the last blows dealt, and it was conquered. This is what happened… We must remember these historical events and never forget them.

Our national identity is a critically important matter that you always raise. I have recently discussed it publicly, and I would like to add something, because I believe this is a matter of fundamental importance.

You have just said there was nothing bad about the term the “Soviet people.” It was a unifying name, something that united the country. Today, we are living in a different environment that is free of ideology. The Russian people are a state-forming nation and they form the foundation of a multi-ethnic Russia. In this sense, the Russian people are interested in preserving the country where they are the main constituent force.

However, in order to preserve Russia, which is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, it is important for all ethnic groups, even the smallest ones, to know that this is their Motherland with no other for them, that they are protected here and are prepared to lay down their lives in order to protect this country. This is in the interests of us all, regardless of ethnicity, including the Russian people. If we look at it from this perspective, we will realise that Neanderthal nationalism under the banner, ‘Russia only for Russians’, is bad for Russians and Russia itself and rocks it from within, which we must do our best to prevent.

Given these circumstances, we must ensure that the culture of each ethnicity, its history and the origins of each ethnicity are respected and developed in our country, including the culture and history of the Russian people, which is a unifying factor. We were able to achieve this understanding of the importance of shared living on a single vast territory in almost all regions. This is our greatest asset and common heritage, the common result of our joint painstaking efforts over the past several decades. We certainly hold this dear and will cherish this in the future as well.

Thank you for bringing up this issue.

<…>

Two important aspects mentioned by Mr Zhirinovsky are, of course, “black realtors” and the sale of shares. It is necessary to look at this issue more carefully. I will instruct the Government experts to work on this.

As for demography, I have nothing to add in this context. You have said the right thing. I am referring to the need to take the babies from mothers who decide not to have abortions. These babies must be taken there and then. This is a difficult problem both morally and economically. Let us think about this separately. It is a very complicated issue, and it is not so easy to resolve it.

Of course, everything must be done to persuade a woman to keep her baby. This is the way to go. But I think this should be done a bit differently. It is necessary to simply help women, including those who bring up their children by themselves. I think it is better to follow this path and to allocate adequate funds to support a woman who was left on her own for different reasons. Let us not analyse these reasons now. As for taking the babies from women, opening children’s homes again and then resolving all the ensuing problems, I think this is a fairly difficult option and is hard to implement.

<…>

Migrants are a very important issue. Of course, we must work on the labour market, providing jobs primarily to our citizens. You are absolutely right in saying that this is not a simple matter. You know all these problems from different sides, and this topic has been rightly raised.

But as for our partners, we are trying to do what you said. We are trying to develop within the EAEU the relations that would create jobs and make sure that our division of labour meets our own interests and those of our partners. We want to develop high technology and complementary cooperation. If they have great conditions for agriculture, especially for crops that we grow with difficulty or not at all, we must certainly use all these advantages. This is exactly what we are trying to do, including within the EAEU.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on Sergei Neverov's remarks) Of course, the volunteer movement, which we have supported in the past and will support in the future, is important. I am very pleased that it is not just expanding and attracting more people of all ages, of course, mostly young people, but also the fact that volunteers work in various areas. They go to places where their help is particularly needed, where people need additional support not only from the state, but from other people who care about certain issues and want them to be resolved.

The volunteer movement is based on these moral qualities, benevolence, and a desire to provide help freely to anyone who may need it. We will continue to do our best to support the volunteer movement.

Specific proposals were made, including on protecting minimum income from write-offs. It is imperative to look into this in detail and see it through to the end.

Let us also work with the Government separately regarding the transfer of employment centres and determining their standards at the federal level. I will instruct the Government accordingly. Thank you.

With regard to pensions, this is a huge separate issue. The Government has it under control. Thank you.


<…>


Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on Sergei Mironov's remarks) You came up with a number of interesting proposals and ideas as well.

With regard to social matters: payment benefits on top of pensions for those who worked in rural areas and then moved to urban areas, we must look at this by all means, I agree. It does not matter whether a person lives in a rural area or not. What matters is that he or she had worked for a certain period of time in a rural area. We will definitely look into that.

With regard to the state taking upon itself the payment of alimony, I mentioned this myself at some point, and the Government had reviewed this issue. It is still on the table, but some experts are concerned that those who should be paying alimony will stop doing so altogether. Nevertheless, the issue is still under revision and is being studied at the expert level in the Government.

With regard to maternity capital, unfortunately, there is a lot of fraud with cashing it in. The more options for using it, the more loopholes for fraud. But this does not mean that we should not think about how to use these resources more efficiently. Let us think about this, too.

Concerning the provision of housing for orphans, there are many problems here, but some are of a purely administrative and bureaucratic nature, and we definitely need to give it more consideration.

The issues that you raised are important, I will definitely look into payments to military retirees and whether their pensions are properly adjusted to the developments in the civilian sphere. We did that before. I instructed the Government to look into it, but now, since you brought it up, we will return to it again.

Colleagues, we have had a very intensive discussion in this group, ranging from the Eastern Roman Empire to the present day and important economic, social and political issues. I have taken notes for myself. I will definitely instruct the Presidential Executive Office and the Government to work through these issues. I hope we will be returning to them during our current work so that all the issues you have raised are not forgotten and are resolved for the benefit of your voters, the citizens of Russia.

At this point, I suggest ending our meeting in this format and, if you like, and, as far as I can see, you do, I could discuss matters with each of you separately behind closed doors.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65013






Telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.



February 17, 2021 - 18:10



Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan discussed some practical aspects of the implementation of the November 9, 2020, Statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the agreements reached during the trilateral summit in Moscow on January 11, 2021.

Some current aspects of Russian-Armenian cooperation were also touched on. The parties agreed to continue contacts at various levels.Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan discussed some practical aspects of the implementation of the November 9, 2020, Statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the agreements reached during the trilateral summit in Moscow on January 11, 2021.

Some current aspects of Russian-Armenian cooperation were also touched on. The parties agreed to continue contacts at various levels.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65025






Telephone conversation with President of Paraguay Mario Abdo Benitez



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Paraguay Mario Abdo Benitez at the initiative of the Paraguayan side.



February 17, 2021 - 18:35



The presidents discussed cooperation on countering the coronavirus. Mario Abdo Benitez thanked the Russian President for the decision to supply Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to Paraguay.

Both sides expressed their readiness to render full assistance to the further development of Russian-Paraguayan relations in various fields, in particular in the trade and economic sphere.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65026






Telephone conversation with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the initiative of the Kazakhstani side.



February 18, 2021 - 13:10



The presidents had a friendly discussion of key issues on the bilateral agenda, focusing on political, trade, economic and interregional cooperation. They paid special attention to the efforts to combat the coronavirus, including the possibility of using and launching the joint production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Kazakhstan.

Since Kazakhstan is holding the rotating chairmanship of the Eurasian Economic Union, the presidents also discussed strengthening interaction within the framework of that integration association.

They agreed to maintain contacts at various levels.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65028






Meeting with permanent members of Security Council



Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting with permanent members of the Security Council, via videoconference.



February 18, 2021 - 13:40 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







Taking part in the meeting were Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin.

Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disasters Relief Yevgeny Zinichev was also invited to attend the meeting.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues, and hello.

Today, we will review some matters pertaining to additional measures to prevent and eliminate flash floods and wildfires in 2021 and to conduct cleanup operations. We are aware that 2020 was a hard year in this respect, and that a difficult situation with flash floods persisted in various regions of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Sakha Yakutia, Khakasia, Altai Territory, Vologda and Tyumen regions. The most demanding circumstances regarding wildfires shaped up in the Republic of Sakha Yakutia, Trans-Baikal, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories, Irkutsk Region and the Chukotka Autonomous Area.

On the whole, 2020 statistics and objective data show that the complex of measures aiming to contain flash floods and wildfires mostly made it possible to minimise environmental damage and material losses in most of the Russian regions on 2019 and earlier years, all the more so as all these measures were implemented in a challenging period of time linked with the spread of the novel coronavirus.





At the same time, various matters regarding the organisation of fire-prevention measures, their subsystems, as well as their operation and the prediction of dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena, remain unresolved. We have to continue upgrading the Joint State System for Preventing and Eliminating Emergencies, its territorial and functional subsystems, to implement preventive measures and to duly maintain modern technical equipment levels of fire-prevention and rescue forces and their combat readiness.

Let us discuss all of this today.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65029






Telephone conversation with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



February 18, 2021 - 16:05



Both parties underscored their desire to further expand mutually beneficial Russian-Turkish ties in various fields and prioritised the implementation of major joint energy projects.

They reviewed prospects for expanded cooperation in the field of containing the spread of the coronavirus, including possible supplies of Russian vaccines to Turkey and the organisation of their production there.

The presidents continued to discuss the situation around Nagorno Karabakh in the context of implementing agreements, formalised in the statements of Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders of November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. This implies coordinated Russian-Turkish actions in the interests of the region’s socio-economic development. They expressed satisfaction in connection with launching the work of the Joint Russian-Turkish Centre for Monitoring the Ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh.

The sides touched upon the Syrian peace settlement and reaffirmed their mutual commitment to an uncompromising struggle against international terrorist groups entrenched in Syria in the context of Russian and Turkish efforts to stabilise the situation in Idlib Governorate. They voiced their intention to continue facilitating the intra-Syrian political process, including within the Astana format.

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan also noted the importance of establishing, with UN support, interim institutions of state authority in Libya to ensure long-term normalisation in the country.

The President of Russia offered his condolences to the Turkish leader in connection with the recent tragic death of 13 citizens of the Republic of Turkey in Iran.

The sides agreed to maintain further contacts.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65033






Greetings on opening of 14th Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to participants, organisers and guests of the 14th Winter International Arts Festival in Sochi.



February 18, 2021 - 18:00



The message reads in part:

“For many years now, your festival has been enriching the cultural life of this country and other states. Participation in this event has become a wonderful tradition for talented Russian and foreign performers and famous creative teams. By bringing together outstanding representatives of opera, ballet, theatrical and cinema arts at its venues, the festival creates a special and inspiring atmosphere and provides guests with a joyful opportunity of meeting up with real art.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65030






Meeting with Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin.



February 19, 2021 - 13:10 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Chikhanchin, I would like to begin our meeting with matters pertaining to the organisation of monitoring and control of budgetary funds flow. I understand that there will be many more subjects to discuss, but I suggest that we begin with this particular one.



Head of the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring Yury Chikhanchin:

If I may ask you, please take a look at these slides.

Mr President, first of all, I would like to say that we have already launched, by and large, a mechanism for monitoring and controlling the flow of budgetary funds. Treasury and anti-monopoly support, monetary support at the customs and tax service, banking support and our monitoring mechanism have already been introduced. Together with the ministries and departments I have already mentioned, we are also working actively with the Government, in particular, with its Analytical Centre to create a system of assessing contract execution risks, regarding both contractors and customers, and mechanisms to reduce such risks.

We are operating closely with the interdepartmental working group on countering illegal financial transactions, the one you have established, to coordinate joint measures for the cases at hand. As of today, we are monitoring the flow of some 2.5 trillion rubles, some 36,500 contracts and about 20,000 contractors and customers.

What have we achieved in 2020 in terms of preventive measures? Working together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service, we have identified some 270 cartel agreements, terminated contracts with mala fide contractors worth some 29 billion rubles, and prohibited some 100 contractors from working on contracts because they failed our inspections.

The focus of our attention in terms of national projects remains on roads, education and demography where, in our opinion, the risks are high today.

Regarding roads, we are currently working with the Transport Ministry and are jointly assessing specific risks and ways of minimising them. I believe that we will eventually work with other ministries on this project.

In an effort to directly thwart criminal activity, we have helped open about 1,000 criminal cases; we have located, impounded and frozen about 125 billion rubles. Violators have voluntarily handed in 5.5 billion rubles, and more than 20 billion rubles has been returned to the budget.

While assessing the overall mechanism, I would like to note what we have accomplished. In the past two years, the number of fly-by-night companies has plunged about five-fold, due to our joint efforts. Cashing in of money is down 35 percent, and capital export has decreased three times over.

We intend to work at both the federal and regional levels. We are working very closely with a number of regions, in particular the Novgorod and Tula regions. For example, we have exposed kindergarten construction contracts in the Republic of Khakassia where prices were overstated two-fold. With the Prosecutor General’s Office, we are now investigating the contracts and those who ordered them.



Vladimir Putin:

Khakassia?



Yury Chikhanchin:

Yes, Khakassia.

I would like to say a few words about several national projects.

We are working to prevent and thwart violations in healthcare.

In terms of preventing violations, we have achieved specific results on some criminal cases. We have persuaded authorities in Bashkortostan to cancel a contract for building a surgical facility, and its dishonest executor is now listed among other mala fide executors. A similar situation has shaped up in the Stavropol Territory where we have cancelled a contract worth 1.5 billion rubles. Unfortunately, we have also opened criminal cases regarding a tuberculosis hospital for children in Vladikavkaz and some medical centres in Novosibirsk.

We are now focusing particularly on the funds allocated to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. In conjunction with the Central Bank, we have developed a number of criteria and introduced a special code number, which the banks use to inform us about suspicious transactions involving these funds. This allowed us to identify a crime in the Irkutsk Region. The regional healthcare minister was arrested, and 30 million rubles in stolen funds has been seized as well. Much the same kind of work is underway in St Petersburg. I am referring to the construction and retrofitting of medical centres. A certain affiliation was spotted there, and we are looking into it in conjunction with the Prosecutor General’s Office.

I would also like to discuss several demography-related issues. In particular, we are now working, in conjunction with the FSB, the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee, on a case – trade in infants under the guise of surrogacy maternity services. I believe this is bad for our demography.

Second, we have exposed criminal groups involved in prostitution and human trafficking. On the second issue, in addition to our colleagues from Russia’s law enforcement agencies, we are also working with Turkey and the UAE to track down the beneficiaries and participants of these dealings.

There is a similar situation regarding the environment. I would like to cite the following example: in conjunction with the FSB, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Agency for State Property Management, we are now working to stop the misappropriation of state property, in particular, mineral water wells in the North Caucasus. I think they will return to the state soon.



Vladimir Putin:

Good.



Yury Chikhanchin:

With regard to the social sphere, I would like to draw your attention to the following: after people started receiving pandemic-related benefits, certain ‘law firms’ began to make money out of it. Now, in conjunction with the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee, as well as the Moscow Government and the Moscow Region Government, we have exposed several such companies, and they have been closed. The Prosecutor General's Office is currently checking about 30 companies.

We continue to keep track of property transactions, especially the ones involving easy-term mortgages.

I would like to say a few words about the state defence order. In general, we have seen proof of the wisdom of your decision to create a system of monitoring the state defence order. Working together with the Defence Ministry and law enforcement agencies since the law came into effect, we have reduced the number of fly-by-night companies in the sphere of state defence orders by 37 percent and the number of shady transactions by some 40 percent. Overall, the number of suspicious transactions has been reduced to one-third. Of great assistance in this respect are the banks that have been assigned to work with the state defence order, first of all Promsvyazbank. It should be pointed out that the number of the bank’s transactions involving state defence orders has increased by approximately eight times and the number of clients has more than tripled.

Regrettably, crimes have been committed in the sphere of state defence orders. Based on our information, over 120 criminal cases have been instituted, damages worth 9 billion rubles exposed, 2.4 billion rubles seized, and 1.5 billion rubles paid back voluntarily. We are now working with the Federal Security Service (FSB) on several schemes involving the state defence order.



Vladimir Putin:

As far as I am aware, one of them involves splitting up contracts, followed by asset stripping.



Yury Chikhanchin:

Yes, we see that large contracts are being split up into smaller ones, which makes them more difficult to monitor. We are working closely together with the FSB on this scheme.

I would like to say a few words about individual sectors, in particular, forestry.

The situation has been gradually changing during the past two years, and the law enforcement agencies have become more active in this sphere. We are working together with the FSB, the Interior Ministry, prosecution offices and the Investigative Committee, and much more energetically after the State Council meeting devoted to forestry.



Vladimir Putin:

So, it was not in vain?





Yury Chikhanchin:

Work is ongoing especially actively in Siberia, in particular in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, under the guidance of the plenipotentiary envoy. Criminal cases have been opened in the Tomsk and Irkutsk regions, including corruption-related ones. The proceedings launched in the Far East and the Urals have to do with the smuggling of timber. Efforts in the Northwestern Federal District are designed to identify foreign beneficiaries involved in these shady schemes.We continue working in the fisheries sector, where over 30 criminal cases have been opened with our assistance. I would like to say a few words about the ‘crab case’, the high-profile one. We continue working on it; over 20 proceedings have been initiated, and we are now investigating foreign involvement together with our financial intelligence colleagues in Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States. I believe we will find the money and hand it to the state.



Vladimir Putin:

You mean customs duties and tax arrears?



Yury Chikhanchin:

Yes, tax and other arrears.

I would like to spend a moment discussing the energy industry. Here too, work is underway in conjunction with the FSB, the Interior Ministry, the Prosecutor General's Office, the customs and the Ministry of Energy, focusing primarily on the companies that abuse trust, raise tariffs and send money abroad. About 100 criminal cases were initiated in 2020, damages amounted to 11 billion rubles, and 9.5 billion rubles were seized. Most importantly, the Ministry of Energy believes that these efforts made it possible to limit increases in tariffs. This, of course, will relieve some social tensions.

I would like to say a few words about combating corruption. Again, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, primarily, the Prosecutor General’s Office, we identified the most important corruption-prone areas which include federal and municipal procurement, state property and budgetary funds. Corrupt officials can be found wherever there are affiliations, preferences and conflict of interest.

What is our work based on? Primarily, it includes suppression and preventive measures. Here, in conjunction with the Presidential Executive Office, anti-corruption commissions at the ministries and a panel of judges, we checked over 75,000 civil servants who are currently employed or seeking employment. Several hundred applicants for public posts have been denied employment based on our materials.

In terms of suppression, we have conducted over 5,000 financial investigations and opened about 500 criminal cases in which we are involved. We have exposed assets worth 35 billion and have already recovered assets worth 38.5 billion in corruption cases.

I would like to say a few words about combating drug trafficking. Here, we are working on the financial component with the State Anti-Drug Committee, in conjunction with the Interior Ministry, the FSB and the prosecution service, as well as our colleagues from other countries. Usually, drugs come from abroad and money goes abroad as well. We are now working with over 30 financial intelligence services as part of just one case. Criminal cases have been initiated with our participation in a number of countries, in particular, Belarus, Moldova and Spain.

We are facing the following risks. Drug traffickers use electronic payment systems and cryptocurrencies. In conjunction with law enforcement agencies and the Academy of Sciences, we have first of all developed a digital service that allows us to analyse crypto transactions. This enables us to track cryptocurrency transactions and, most importantly, we are now working on attributes and criteria which could allow us to single out crimes amid the flow of transactions. Criminal cases have been opened. We are working closely with our colleagues from other countries, such as Finland (financial intelligence), Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Belarus, Malta and others. This project is monitored by the Government, and the Ministry of Digital Development is helping us see it to completion this year.

I would like to say a few words about working with financial institutions. They are the main providers of information for us, and the situation is as follows. We have drafted 13 bills with the Central Bank, which were adopted into laws and enacted. The operation of eight shadow platforms has been curbed. The share of high-risk banks decreased by about 60 percent; some had their licenses revoked, others were punished in other ways. Banks have applied the criteria they had helped develop to prevent the misuse of about 190 billion – from being either channelled into suspicious transactions or withdrawn from the legal economy. The volume of suspicious transactions has been reduced by more than half over the past two years.

But the underworld is casting about for new mechanisms. We have ousted them from banks, so because they have no chance with banks, they are using notary services – have notaries sign various transactions. A new law has been enacted, allowing notaries, from 2021, to refuse to notarise transactions they find suspicious. Last year, they identified such transactions worth about 25 billion.

Fraudsters also continue using the judicial system for illegal purposes, such as attempts at false bankruptcy.



Vladimir Putin:

To secure court decisions, right?



Yury Chikhanchin:

Yes. Promissory notes, bankruptcies, things like that.

We have taken part in more than 5,000 court hearings as a third party with total claims exceeding 600 billion. And I must say that this work is yielding results: about every tenth case, the court rules against the applicant, and this again means we have prevented the misuse of about 70 billion through the courts.

Because people’s incomes have dropped somewhat, various firms have emerged that offer ways to make quick money. In particular, we have worked together with the Bank of Russia, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Interior Ministry and the FSB to terminate the activities of a foreign company, Antares Limited, which offered investment in cryptocurrency.

We are working with our colleagues from nine countries to identify the beneficiaries; the suspicious website has been blocked. We are now figuring out how much money has been withdrawn, how, who, and how many. This happened in the Siberian Federal District and in the Far East.

In the European part of Russia, we have encountered a slightly different approach. Some pseudo-brokers were selling various financial services. We joined forced with the Prosecutor General's Office, also with the Bank of Russia and our colleagues from abroad (from about a dozen countries, in particular Cyprus, Estonia, and Finland helped us), and we identified about 350 foreign websites, and Roskomnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) blocked them.



Vladimir Putin:

Are foreign online platforms also used here?





Yury Chikhanchin:

Yes. They are doing the same thing. In both the first and second case, the people are based abroad, and they cannot even be traced.

I would like to mention our efforts against the financing of terrorism. We are working in this sphere primarily under the guidance of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee. Working together with lending institutions based on the methods we have developed with the FSB and the Interior Ministry, we have exposed over 2,300 private individuals and over 1,000 legal entities suspected of being involved in terrorism-related financial activity. We have frozen the assets of over 1,200 individuals and 1,600 legal assets in non-judicial procedures within the framework of the interagency commission that has been set up at your instructions. Twenty foreigners have been denied entry into Russia and over 250 terrorism cases have been opened, including 150 that are related to financing of terrorism. Working together with our colleagues in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, we have identified some 1,200 persons involved in terrorism and have frozen their assets as well.

We are working together on concrete cases involving the local cells of international terrorist organisations. I would like to say that together with the Interior Ministry, the FSB and our Turkish colleagues, we have picked up the financial trail and the persons who were involved in the terrorist attack in Istanbul in 2017. A criminal case has been opened in Turkey and in Russia with our assistance.

In addition to what I have already said, I would like to draw your attention to the following risks. We are working hard to minimise the risk of sanctions that may be imposed by foreign countries and international organisations against private individuals and legal entities. There are two possible ways.

First of all, we are working with other members of the anti-money laundering system to prevent criminal and suspicious funds from being transferred to foreign countries where they can be used as a reason for investigation by financial intelligence and other security services and, subsequently, for sanctions.

And second, if we fail, we try to join forces with our foreign colleagues to settle each particular case without any delays. If we find elements of a crime, we transfer the relevant materials to our law enforcement agencies for launching criminal proceedings. If not, we try to prove that this is ordinary business activity and that no legal action needs to be taken against our private individuals or legal entities. As a rule, we find common ground with our foreign colleagues, who accept our opinion.

What tools are we using to resolve these problems? First of all, this is a personal account of oversight bodies. It is being used by several dozens of thousands of financial and non-financial organisations that supply us with information. We transfer online information on any new risks, new typologies and new crimes and they quickly respond by sending us quality information. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, we are seeing how law abiding they are: each of them has a panel with several segments that show if they are violating anything by switching on a red signal. As a rule, they quickly correct any mistakes and we do not have to visit financial organisations to check up on them. This works remotely.

And second, we are now launching a personal account of law enforcement agencies that also work online: exchange information on the operational environment, respond to specific inquiries and situations, and receive training. I think we will try to integrate all the law enforcement agencies in this system in 2021 and later government bodies that are involved in the anti-laundering system.

We are closely cooperating with our International Learning and Teaching Centre that allows us to teach the public and increase its financial literacy. We educated 1,500 civil servants and more than 26,000 experts on financial institutions. We are also training our foreign colleagues, primarily from the Eurasian group and the CIS: Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. We provided education for over 2,000 people.

We are also using out International Network Institute that has 40 educational institutions from seven countries. They have the same educational programmes, the same manuals we compile and give to our colleagues. We are writing them in cooperation with them as well. We have about 4,000 students from 30 countries. These are our tools.

Now we are actively working to increase financial literacy of the population together with the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry. Needless to say, we are primarily working with our foreign colleagues. There is plenty that we are doing.

I would like to thank you very much for supporting the creation of the International Centre for Assessing the Risks of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism. The Government has allocated additional funds for us and I think we will launch this mechanism with our CIS colleagues fairly soon.

This is how we worked in 2020 and plan to work in 2021, if you support us.



Vladimir Putin:

Ok.

“Transparent blockchain” – what is it?



Yury Chikhanchin:

“Transparent blockchain” is exactly the mechanism that will allow us to see all the movements of cryptocurrency, and expose any attempts to hide behind it. It is ostensibly inaccessible, and makes it possible to hide the true beneficiary but I think this mechanism will let us reveal everything.



Vladimir Putin:

That’s good.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65036
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Telephone conversation with President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro.



February 19, 2021 - 18:00



The two presidents addressed current issues concerning the development of Russian-Venezuelan strategic partnership in a constructive and friendly manner. Particular attention was paid to cooperation regarding coronavirus response. Nicolas Maduro thanked the Russian President for the supplies of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Venezuela, which began in February.

He also gave an update on the developments in the republic, including in the context of external pressure exerted on Venezuela. The Russian President expressed support for the efforts of the Venezuelan authorities to strengthen the country's sovereignty.

When discussing bilateral agenda, the sides confirmed their mutual disposition to expand mutually beneficial ties in various sectors.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65039






Meeting with Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin



General Director of the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities Dmitry Rogozin reported to the President on the corporation’s performance in 2020 and plans for the near term.



February 20, 2021 - 10:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Rogozin, let us have an in-depth discussion on the corporation’s performance in 2020. The issues we will discuss include carrier rocket launches, the state of the orbital group, your plans, fundamental space research, and, of course, the financial indicators. Please, go ahead.



General Director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin:

Mr President, last year we posted good results overall. For a second year running since 1993, there were no accidents. This is certainly a positive indicator – I hope we will continue in the same manner – of improved discipline in the sector as a whole and the reliability of our rocket and space technology.

We have launched 17 space mission rockets, and the Defence Ministry launched seven combat missile systems. This is 24 launches altogether, and all of them were successful. Many launches have been postponed until this year, mostly the commercial missions of our partners who stopped their production facilities in Europe last spring, and so we had no payload to launch. But we will complete these missions this year.



Vladimir Putin:

How many launches did you complete?



Dmitry Rogozin:

Seventeen plus seven.





Vladimir Putin:

And how many do you plan this year? 29?



Dmitry Rogozin:

We plan to launch 29 space missions alone. This is because of the missions we could not accomplish last year.

Moreover, we plan to complete several important missions. For example, we will resume a lunar exploration programme after a 45-year pause. In October, a Luna-25 moon lander will be launched from the Vostochny Space Launch Centre. And after that, as you are aware, we will increase robotic Moon studies, to be followed by a manned mission, which I will report on today.

Next, we will send two modules to the ISS. They have already been delivered to Baikonur. We are completing their electricity tests and plan to launch the largest of them, the Nauka multipurpose lab module, in May.

One of the important launch missions is, of course, the ongoing trials of the Angara carrier rockets. As you know, we resumed their flight trials in December. We have ensured all the technical specifications the state customer wants. This year, we plan to launch one heavy-duty and two light Angara rockets. We will subsequently increase the number of launches. In this context, we are expanding the production at our Polet facility in Omsk, where serial production of the Angara rockets should start in 2023, meeting the requirements of both the Defence Ministry and Roscosmos for these heavy carrier rockets.

Another important mission planned for this year is the launch of a space-borne imaging radar. This is our first radar project. To see how important this is, just take a look at the Northern Sea Route. Rosatom is developing the NSR as an operator, and we view it as a unique transit route. However, to be able to use its eastern part from Yamal to the Pacific Ocean, we must see everything that takes place there. There are extremely dense fogs in that region, and so traditional remote Earth probing satellites cannot reliably monitor the ice situation there. But a space-borne radar can detect the smallest detail round the clock, in winter or dense fog. We are actually creating navigation maps for the captains of our icebreakers escorting cargo ships, who will be able to use them to choose the best route in real time.

Therefore, I believe that we are going to have a very busy but also very interesting year in this sense.

We have definitely approached the start of a new manned programme. The Orel spacecraft, which I have reported to you about, is a new strategic manned mission that can deliver up to four persons to the Moon. We will start its static tests right away, in February. In other words, it has been fully assembled, in metal, and we are working on the test programme.

The socioeconomic orbit group comprises 89 spacecraft. This year we started introducing new GLONASS satellites.



Vladimir Putin:

How many of them do you have in orbit?



Dmitry Rogozin:

We have 28 GLONASS craft, 23 of which are in orbit, with the rest either undergoing tests under the supervision of the chief designer, or having been put on standby. When a satellite’s service time runs out, the one on standby takes over.

And the last spacecraft of the previous generation, GLONASS-M, is on earth. The GLONASS-K2 and GLONASS-K vehicles have an increasing share of Russian-made electronics. Mr President, just as I promised, by 2025 our GLONASS vehicles will be 100 percent Russian-made, as stipulated in the import substitution programme.





Vladimir Putin:

And their service time will increase.



Dmitry Rogozin:

Yes, of course, up to 15 years, at the least. As it is, they are even now working longer than their service time. This is good. As I said, if one of them shuts down, we have stand-by vehicles on the ground and in orbit, but these aircraft have proved to be extremely reliable.



Vladimir Putin:

What about their accuracy?



Dmitry Rogozin:

Their accuracy is 2.6 metres, and they cover 100 percent of the Earth’s surface. Of course, they show better results in the northern hemisphere, because the group has been configured like this, but the new-generation GLONASS-K2 satellites and the development of ground-based infrastructure, that is, signal calibration systems, will allow us to improve accuracy to 1.3 metres in the next few years. This is good.



Vladimir Putin:

This is very important for transport, especially for maritime transport.



Dmitry Rogozin:

Yes, this is very important. Mr President, it is extremely important that all types of vehicle, including aircraft and maritime transport, brought into Russia in any possible way, be it leasing or purchase, are equipped with the GLONASS system.



Vladimir Putin:

Tell me about your financial performance.



Dmitry Rogozin:

Our financial results are as follows: the cash execution of the budget is 94 percent, and execution of the state defence order, 100 percent. By and large, we are gradually decreasing our overdue receivables. Overall, our revenue was roughly the same as the year before, but our revenue due to output diversification has increased dramatically. The delivery of power equipment produced at our plants has almost doubled to 12 billion rubles. In other words, we are not selling the surplus of our production – we repurpose such production, just as you instructed. In fact, acting within the framework of the anti-sanctions policy, we now deliver pump turbines and various reinforcing bars to Gazprom and Gazprom Neft, gas compressor units to the Amur Gas Processing Plant, and so on. This important project is proof of our diversification and the sector’s development as a whole.

Of course, I would like to say the following about our engine manufacturer Energomash, especially since you have recently visited Khimki to open a transport interchange there, for which I am deeply grateful because it was really a request of the Energomash staff. So, Energomash as a holding company manufactures a large number of power units for our oil and gas producers.





Vladimir Putin:

What about your project in Moscow?



Dmitry Rogozin:

The [National Space Centre] project in Moscow is ongoing, and I am ready to take you on a tour any time. We are already building walls, that is, construction has reached the above-ground level. We will start building the main facility soon. In principle, the Moscow authorities promise to complete construction in late 2022 or 2023, and the final touches will be made in 2024, when we will settle down in the National Space Centre. I am especially grateful to the Moscow Government for building transport interchanges, opening new metro stations and building bridges across the Moskva River to prevent traffic chaos.

We are planning to move 8,000 workers from the Khrunichev Centre to the new building. At long last, the Salyut Design Bureau will have not just jobs but high-tech work places for doing their highly skilled jobs. I am actually dreaming about that day. My colleagues have asked me to thank you for approving this project. In addition, 12,000 workers from our other leading design bureaux in Moscow will move into the new building as well. As for the 90-hectare plot that has been left unused for a long time, we are building a technopark there. It is our joint venture with Moscow, which Roscosmos has joined on your instructions and where we now hold a controlling stake. The Moscow companies that are working for the aerospace sector will be located in the park with all the incentives and bonuses approved by the Moscow authorities.



Vladimir Putin:

Good.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65041






Greetings to the 11th Congress of A Just Russia political party



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to delegates and guests of the 11th Congress of A Just Russia political party.



February 22, 2021 - 10:00



The message reads, in part:

“A Just Russia is one of the highly-respected political powers in the country. Over the past years, the party has gained considerable experience of participating in election campaigns and won the support of a sizable share of the population with its positive action, its responsible, constructive and consistent policies. The party’s legislative initiatives, focused on protecting people’s rights and interests, improving the quality of life, strengthening the institution of family and educating youth, invariably inspire great respect. Certainly, I should particularly praise your ambition to consolidate patriotic, socially oriented parties and public organisations for the purpose of finding efficient solutions to the key tasks of Russia’s development.

I believe that the unifying process the party started will help you to successfully work for the benefit of your country with even more energy and be a strong competitor in the upcoming elections.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65067






Meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko



Vladimir Putin met with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.



February 22, 2021 - 15:30 - Sochi






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Lukashenko,

I am very happy to meet with you again in person, which is rare and very valuable under the present circumstances.

Our interaction tools have been running smoothly. We do not have a single day when our colleagues do not speak to each other or resolve some particular issues that face them.

But I am pleased to say that the level of interaction in our strategic partnership and alliance is being reaffirmed. Russia remains Belarus’ biggest trade and economic partner at about 50 percent. We are the largest investor: your Russian partners have invested over $4 billion in the Belarusian economy.

We are pursuing large projects in energy. Suffice it to mention the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, which, as we know, is being successfully implemented. I would like to highlight that the President of Belarus is personally focused on this major project.

We are also working hard in our traditional markets, including agriculture. Foodstuffs from Belarus enjoy great popularity in Russia as they are invariably of high quality and normally fresh and affordable.

Of course, we have strong relations in culture. There is actually no need to list our contacts. We are a very close as people and nations. Culture, language, religion, a shared history which is rooted not only in the fairly recent and heroic past during the Great Patriotic War, but also goes back centuries, this is what unites us. And it is good that we are encouraging these efforts today as well.

I am happy to note that many young people in Belarus choose Russian universities and colleges to study for their careers and get a good profession.

And lastly, interaction at the regional level. Each year we hold meetings with the leaders of the regional administration bodies. This work is crucial because the bulk of our relations has been built up and continues to be built up at the level of regional interaction. This includes economic ties and personal relations. These fairly extensive ties are proceeding in the border regions exactly in this way – from person to person, from one family to another.

We have a lot of work on today’s agenda.

I am very glad to see you. Welcome.

I hope we will be able to spend at least some time together and relax after today’s working hours, and I would like to invite you to do some skiing.





President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko:

Thank you, Mr Putin.

You said the key phrase at the beginning, that it is indeed rare that heads of state meet and speak privately these days. I think we will keep this communication format running.

Even our appearance – clothes and other things, serious talks in casual clothes – shows that we are close. Our peoples are very close as well as our countries, so we can discuss serious issues in any form.

There is no need to invent anything – you and I have done a lot, and our governments have been working together up until now. I think we have identified 33 areas; you remember the roadmaps we worked out. During our first meeting in Sochi, we agreed to upgrade and modernise these roadmaps, and our governments would work on this.

The governments did indeed do very much, both the Russian and the Belarusian governments. They upgraded the format, and Ambassador Semashko reported to me today that six or seven roadmaps remain of the 33 that our governments are working on. These new roadmaps have different names now after rebranding. Most are ready to be signed< so we have a plan.

I am definitely very grateful to you for the support you have given to the Belarusian economy. I should say that this has been done for a good reason, it is not a waste of money. Belarus has a GDP of about $70 billion, and as you said, about half of our foreign trade is tied with Russia. We are Russia’s number four partner in terms of trade. It seems like an average European country, yet it ranks fourth for giant Russia. So, you can imagine how much raw materials and component parts from Russia we use in our $70 billion GDP.

This is why I am thanking you. You should know that you have not frittered your money away. We invest in back-end production thus purchasing a tremendous amount of component parts and raw materials from Russia, and that amount is ever growing.

If we implement all the planned projects that we have approved for the coming five years, imports form the Russian Federation will increase dramatically. Even though we will commission a nuclear power plant, which would mean five billion less in natural gas purchasing, we are set to build the Grodno nitrogen fertiliser complex, which also means natural gas consumption; this is why we could still increase gas consumption.





Vladimir Putin:

One billion more.



Alexander Lukashenko:

Even slightly more than that.

The new complex is estimated at $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion. We have experience in this area with a similar plant, and it works for us; this is why we want to increase the output of nitrogen fertilisers. We are ready to implement this project with Gazprom if you give the instructions.

Thank you very much for access to education and universities. Although we have a good level of education, young people proactively apply to universities in the Russian Federation to secure a good education. I have one such young man in my family, as you know.

We often discuss the coronavirus issue and your achievements. I keep saying we also have some achievements in vaccine production since Soviet times. But you already have three registered vaccines and more in development. We are also on this track: we will have our vaccine by the autumn, we have specialists for that, but currently we are purchasing yours.

At home we often say the subject of vaccines testifies to the highest level of science in the Russian Federation. But science does not exist without proper education. This has had a powerful effect on our youth in terms of education in the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, young people from Russia also come to us; thank God, we have no barriers here.

Thank you for responding to my request and reopening rail traffic between our countries, increasing air traffic and making it possible for citizens of both Russia and Belarus to travel back and forth. I think soon we will also reopen automobile traffic.

We have few problems with this; we are not closed in this respect. Under our agreement, you sent in sent specialists, and they found that the morbidity rates in our two countries were almost identical. Luckily, the morbidity has begun to drop. We hope by autumn or even by summer we will approach a zero rate.

I am very grateful for the invitation, for a chance to be able to come to the mountains, even if only for a short time, and breathe fresh air in these tumultuous times. Thank you.





Vladimir Putin:

You mentioned financial support. You are absolutely right; this is crucial but it is not the main thing. The key is working together and cooperating in the real sector of the economy. Trade has indeed fallen somewhat during the epidemic, by about 15 percent. Nevertheless, it totalled $28.5 billion, which is a pretty big number, a considerable amount.

As to our joint efforts on fighting the coronavirus, this is progressing successfully. We delivered the first batch last year, and the next deliveries are due in February and March. But most importantly, in my view, is that we are launching it at your company…



Alexander Lukashenko:

We began production with your technology in March.





Vladimir Putin:

Absolutely correct. What is important is that the technology has been transferred. So far, we have not closely cooperated this much with anyone…



Alexander Lukashenko:

It is substantial support. Without it, we would have had trouble with vaccination.

We have already vaccinated almost all doctors, and now we are vaccinating teachers and retail workers – those who have the most contact with people. This is why it is such substantial support.





Vladimir Putin:

And the overall result is, to put it modestly, satisfactory. According to an objective indicator, we recently had 12 new cases a day per 100,000 people whereas now the number is smaller, I believe, around 10.



Alexander Lukashenko:

The Russian vaccine is the most efficient one; it is acknowledged throughout the world. It is the most efficient vaccine, no matter how they troll and dig at it.





Vladimir Putin:

This is true.



Alexander Lukashenko:

Two or three people of every hundred of those vaccinated can experience a mild illness. We had one person, I will not mention his name, who fell ill after being vaccinated with the Russian vaccine. He was sick for a day and a half altogether.





Vladimir Putin:

Right.



Alexander Lukashenko:

There was just one case.





Vladimir Putin:

It comes as a mild infection.

But I meant to say that we have about 10 new daily cases per 100,000…



Alexander Lukashenko:

That is very little.





Vladimir Putin:

Whereas in the south of France there are over 70 cases per 100,000 people. This is a disturbing number.



Alexander Lukashenko:

Of course.





Vladimir Putin:

You see, this is objective data, which says that we should join efforts with our European colleagues, among others. We are trying to do that; we are open to cooperation. Our Gamaleya Centre has a contract with AstraZeneca. I am pleased to note that we will be joining efforts with our European partners as well, we will be working together.

And with Belarus – that goes without saying. Let me repeat, the technology has already been transferred, and according to the reports I receive, production is being rolled out.



Alexander Lukashenko:

You promised that Belarus would be the first country, and you did this.





Vladimir Putin:

And it happened like that.



Alexander Lukashenko:

Thank you for this.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65046






Greetings on Defender of the Fatherland Day



Vladimir Putin made a video address to congratulate veterans, the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces and all Russian citizens on this holiday.



February 23, 2021 - 09:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Comrades, friends, dear veterans,

I would like to congratulate all of you on this holiday, a symbol of courage and loyalty to the Fatherland, which our people celebrate with pride and respect for all defenders of our home country, including those who are protecting the borders of Russia today.

Our most heartfelt gratitude goes out to our veterans, a generation of remarkable people who have taught us, their descendants, to win and to never give up.

We remember this message. We remember the heroism of Russian soldiers who fearlessly defended their homeland, standing up against the hardest blows of our enemies.

There are many unforgettable examples of our forefathers’ heroism in the centuries-long history of Russia, and this is why we have strong traditions of patriotism and a tradition of inseparable connection between the people, the state and their reliable defenders, the Army and the Navy. This union has been forged over many centuries. And it remains important and relevant to this day.

All of us bear a responsibility for our Fatherland, for its successful development. But this feeling has a special meaning for those who have chosen a military career. The foremost objective of their lives is to ensure the stability, sovereignty and national power of our country, and to defend society and each and every citizen of Russia.

It is not easy at all to measure up to the high requirements of the military profession and military duty. This is why military service has always been the choice of tough, courageous and strong-willed people. And we know, we are absolutely sure that such people are serving in our Armed Forces. You have proved this many times over, both during military exercises and in combat.





In this modern world we must be alert and ready to respond to the most complicated challenges, acting efficiently, resolutely and effectively. Our Army and Navy can do this. We are proud of their combat capability, training and skilful use of modern knowledge and the latest weapons.

Evidence of the strengthening prestige of our Armed Forces is the growing interest of our young people in military professions. Increasingly more young people view service by conscription as important for themselves and what the country needs. Many conscripts remain in the army or enrol at military schools, choosing the defence of the Fatherland as their lifetime profession.

I have no doubt that the majority of them make this choice by looking at their commanders. Officers are the backbone of the Army and Navy. Comrades, you are responsible not only for combat capability, interoperability and discipline, but also for the very spirit of military service, where team spirit and mutual understanding are truly invaluable. I know that our officers have always set and continue to set an example of high professionalism, chivalry, tenacity and honour.

Comrades, I would like to thank you, to thank all the military and civilian personnel of our Armed Forces for doing their military duty honourably.

Please accept my heartfelt greetings on this holiday. I would like to wish you health and all the very best.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65047






President laid wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier on Defender of Fatherland Day



The President paid tribute to fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall.



February 23, 2021 - 12:00 - Alexander Garden, Moscow







The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, combatants and military service veterans as well as students of the Moscow Suvorov Military Academy, the Moscow Higher School of Combined Arms Command and the Military University of the Defence Ministry.




















The ceremony ended with a ceremonial guard march.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65048






Telephone conversation with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.



February 23, 2021 - 17:00



The presidents continued their discussion of the issues raised during the Russian-Belarusian talks in Sochi on February 22 of this year.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65049






Federal Security Service Board meeting



The President held a meeting of the FSB Board.



February 24, 2021 - 14:40 - Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, comrade officers,

This year, the meeting of the Federal Security Service Board, which usually meets in an expanded format, is being held in a restricted format. But this does not downplay its importance. Unfortunately, we have to comply with the current epidemiological restrictions.

Therefore, I would like to welcome and address not only those present, but also all your colleagues, your local staff and the heads of regional and other departments.

I would like to thank all of you for doing your jobs professionally and precisely, and for your readiness to achieve all your goals in non-standard conditions without reference to current circumstances. I would like to emphasise that the matters of state security, the protection of our citizens from internal and external threats are always in the focus of attention of the country’s leadership, which regards them as a priority, and I would even say top priority.






We can see that there is no reduction in the scale of global challenges, such as terrorism, cross-border crime and cybercrime. Against this complicated background we also have to deal with the so-called containment policy towards Russia. Actually, this is something we have been well aware of for a long time. This is not competition as a natural part of international relations, but a consistent and highly aggressive policy aimed at disrupting our development, at slowing it down and creating problems along our external perimeter and contour, provoking internal instability, undermining the values that unite Russian society, and ultimately, at weakening Russia and forcing it to accept external management, just as this is happening in some post-Soviet states, as we can see.

This is not an exaggeration. In point of fact, you do not need to be convinced that this is the case, because you know this very well and possibly even better than anyone else. It is enough to read the publicly available strategic documents and the extremely direct statements made by officials in a number of countries. They are not even trying to conceal their unfriendly attitude towards Russia and several other independent and sovereign centres of global development.

But the point is not the aggressive rhetoric, but real, practical actions. A targeted information campaign is being waged against Russia with various peremptory and unsubstantiated accusations. Even absurd and anecdotal conspiracy theories are being used. For example, take the recent attempts to question our achievements in medicine, in the fight against coronavirus.

By the way, many of our partners are very friendly about our results in this area. They are ready to cooperate with us, and we also welcome this kind of attitude. We understand that global problems can only be resolved by joining efforts.

Nevertheless, as you know, a lot of attempts have been and are being made, thank you for the information you supply to the country’s political leaders, about provocations planned in this sphere. But we have long been accustomed to this and we are prepared.

They are trying to shackle us with economic and other sanctions, to block large international projects – those our partners are also interested in, by the way – to directly interfere in public and political affairs in Russia, in its democratic procedures, and of course, special services’ tools are being used against us.

Again, this kind of policy towards Russia is absolutely futile. We are ready to conduct an open dialogue, to find compromise solutions so we can deal with the most difficult problems, on the basis of mutual trust and respect. But one thing is unconditional for us, and that thing is Russia’s sovereignty, its national interests, the security of our citizens, and our people’s right to determine their own future. And these values, the foundations of our development must be reliably protected.





In this regard, relying on the foundation already laid, on the service’s growing capabilities and potential, we need to ensure an even higher quality of work in all the main areas. Its effectiveness and efficiency must correspond to the nature and dynamics of the threats that we face.

First of all, the fight against terrorism, the most acute and dangerous threat, calls for constant concentration and well-thought-out prompt preventive actions.

The last organised armed gang committing crimes in the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia was eliminated in December 2020. This is a significant result. We are also conducting long-range operations, including air strikes against terrorist bases in Syria. I would like to once again thank those who participated in these operations and those who continue to do so.

At the same time, I would like to note that 72 terrorism-related crimes were prevented last year. This is 25 percent more than in 2019 when 57 such crimes were averted.

Certainly, these statistics show that in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is possible to expose criminal intentions at the preparatory stage, during their preparation and therefore to save people’s lives and safeguard their wellbeing. I would like to thank you for this and to motivate you to conduct such high-quality work in the future.

But these statistics also show that the terrorist chain is trying to resume its activity, no matter what. Consequently, it is important to expose and eliminate terrorists, including the so-called deeply-hidden “sleeper” cells and to analyse and predict the overall situation and to heed the fact that ring-leaders and terrorist ideologues always change their tactics and look for sources of finance, and that they use new methods to conduct propaganda and recruit young people. I am asking you to focus on exposing the contacts of terrorist groups and foreign secret services. You know this very well, unfortunately, they use everything, including terrorists.

And, of course, we need to increase the counter-terrorism protection levels of public places, vital facilities, social institutions and to more effectively coordinate the overall work of the Federal Security Service and other law enforcement agencies under the auspices of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee.

Efforts to counter extremism are another high-priority aspect. These two trends are interlinked. Protection of the constitutional system, civic peace and inter-ethnic accord in our society is a highly important task. You should also pay attention to efforts to thwart any outside attempts to encroach upon the Russian people’s right to determine their future.





This year we are going to hold elections to the State Duma. The citizens’ constitutional guarantees of electing their representatives freely based on democratic procedures must be protected from any provocations.

We must continue working strictly within the legal framework while relying on support from our citizens, setting a clear line between political competition that is natural for any society, including ours, competition between political parties, ideological platforms and different views on national development and actions that have nothing in common with democracy and are aimed instead at undermining the stability and security of our state, at serving alien interests, the interests of those who are financing such activities from “over there,” as people say, to ensure that they serve not ours but their interests.

In this connection, I would like to mention the effective and precise actions of our counterintelligence agencies last year. As a result, they cut short the activities of 72 career officers and 423 agents of foreign intelligence services.

It is important to continue upgrading the protection of our confidential information, to prevent any leakage of classified military data or information about advanced technology and forward-looking designs of our research centres and defence industry enterprises. As you know, there are things we must protect.

Overall, the protection of Russia’s economic security is becoming an increasingly essential and important task. In 2020, we cut short the activities of 87 criminal groups in this sphere.

I would like to ask you to continue acting in this efficient manner, together with the other concerned agencies, in order to help maintain the economic and financial stability of the country and to make use of your competencies to support and protect Russian businesses and companies from criminal encroachments and unfair competition on the global markets.

In the same consistent manner you should also combat corruption in the economy and at all levels of power. I would like you to pay special attention to preventing the embezzlement and unauthorised use of budgetary funds, first of all, allocations for the construction of strategic facilities, state programmes and the state defence order, as well as for the efforts to counter the coronavirus infection.





All these funds must be disposed of rationally, in strict compliance with the goals for which they are allocated, and in the interests of Russian citizens.

The FSB Border Guard Service is to be dealing with a wide range of tasks, including as part of our common efforts to lower the risks of transmission, spread and potential import of new strains of the coronavirus infection.

In this context, I would like to note that the number of people detained for crossing the border illegally or violating the border control regime remains striking. Therefore, it is important to work on improving the border infrastructure, to equip border patrol guards with modern equipment – primarily in the areas where there is a threat of border crossing by terrorists and illegal migrants or where criminals may try to build trans-border drug trafficking and smuggling channels.

Cybersecurity requires new approaches. Global digital space has become a ground for rigorous geopolitical competition. Last year, if we take only those regarded as the most dangerous, the number of attacks on Russian websites, including government websites, surged by almost 350 percent.

In these circumstances, we need a long-term and meticulous strategy to protect our national interests in the digital space, based on forecasting, recognising potential risks to the public and the state and, of course, relying on the most advanced technology and technological solutions. We must also work with our partners from other countries on developing the international information security system.

Colleagues,

There is one more thing that I must talk about. I would like to specifically thank workers of the FSB Central Archives for their hard and significant work. Last year, when we marked the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, many unique documents were declassified and released for the first time. Those materials consist of evidence of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices, including crimes against civilians, and the truth about the courage and heroism of security officers during the Great Patriotic War.

I believe that by continuing this work, we are making an important contribution to preserving historical memory and preventing attempts to falsify history.

Of course, speaking about the results of 2020, I cannot but say to this audience that doctors and the agency’s other healthcare professionals deserve high praise. I know that at the onset of the pandemic, hospital departments and health resorts affiliated with the Federal Security Service were promptly repurposed, and hospital bed reserves were created. All the FSB departments received and continue to receive timely supplies of personal protective equipment.





Considering the continuous and fast-paced nature of your work, those measures made it possible to curb the critical spread of this dangerous infection and ensure quality treatment and prevention for FSB officers, their family members and agency veterans.

We will continue to improve the system of social benefits for FSB officers, to develop healthcare, and resolve housing and other social issues.

Comrade officers,

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank the personnel of the Russian Federal Security Service for their honorable service. I am certain that you will continue to perform your duties in a professional and efficient manner.

Thank you and congratulations to everybody present and all FSB officers on Defender of the Fatherland Day that we celebrated yesterday.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65068
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Meeting with President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov



Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov who arrived in Russia on a working visit.



February 24, 2021 - 16:40 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The two presidents discussed prospects for developing bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian areas, and joint efforts in the Eurasian integration associations.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Japarov, I am very glad to see you.

Despite all the difficulties and restrictions we are still able to meet personally, to touch base.

To begin with, I would like to congratulate you once again on assuming the office of the President of Kyrgyzstan.

Our countries have built not only warm and close relations. These are allied and preferential relations. I am very glad that today Russia occupies the first place in your country’s trade and economic ties. We are hoping that you will manage to normalise the domestic political situation.

We have a big agenda. I know that the plans for your visit include many events and meetings at practically all levels: government executive bodies, the Government, and the parliament. I am sure this will promote the development of our bilateral relations.

We helped Kyrgyzstan in its efforts to counter the epidemic. Incidentally, I would also like to express my satisfaction with your successes on this track. You have managed to curb the spread of the epidemic and reduce the number of new coronavirus cases. I know that our Kyrgyz friends would like to take additional measures on cooperation in this area. We will do everything we can, we will continue to support you. You know about the measures that were taken earlier.

The Cross Year of Kyrgyzstan in Russia and Russia in Kyrgyzstan was launched here last year. Unfortunately, due to this pandemic we were unable to hold all of the 200 planned events of different level and quality. I am sure that as the situation stabilises and sanitary-epidemiological indicators improve, we will catch up with all this, including our humanitarian cooperation. There are many interesting and promising opportunities in this respect.

To sum up, we will be glad to work with you in all these areas. I would like to say again that we are hoping the measures you plan to take inside the country, including amendments to the Fundamental Law of Kyrgyzstan, will facilitate stabilisation in the republic and will certainly promote our bilateral interstate ties.

Welcome once again. I am happy to see you.





President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov:

Thank you, Mr President. I am delighted to greet you.

I would like to express my deep gratitude for the congratulations on my election as President of the Kyrgyz Republic and for the invitation to visit the Russian Federation.

Of course, this visit to Russia as my first foreign visit in the capacity of President of the Kyrgyz Republic is proof of the high level of bilateral relations between our countries. We intend to continue strengthening our strategic partnership and allied relations.

First of all, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to you for supporting and providing all-round assistance to the settlement of our political crisis. We are resolved to continue our cooperation with the EAEU, the CIS, the CSTO and the SCO. This is our foreign policy and economic priority.

We are especially grateful to you for providing support during the difficult time of the pandemic. I would also like to point out that the effectiveness and safety of the Russian coronavirus vaccine has been recognised by the international community. I hope that we will launch a vaccination campaign in our country soon as well.

We are always ready for cooperation with the Russian Federation. It would give me great pleasure to use this occasion to invite you to make an official visit to Kyrgyzstan at your convenience.





Vladimir Putin:

Thank you very much.

I would like to mention one more issue which I regard as extremely important for our bilateral relations, that is, the preservation of the state status of the Russian language. This is important to us…





Sadyr Japarov:

This is also important to us.





Vladimir Putin:

Yes, this is also important to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan, because this offers them certain advantages on the Russian labour market: they do not need to take additional tests and they avoid additional problems upon arriving in Russia. I would like to commend your attitude to this matter. As I have already said, this is important to us, to both sides. I would like to express the hope that both sides will continue to pursue this line. For our part, we will do our best to help the people of Kyrgyzstan realise their ambition to study Russian in their home country. We have certain plans in this sphere, and we will be working on them as well.

Thank you very much.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65069






Meeting with Head of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Sergei Katyrin.



February 25, 2021 - 14:10 - The Kremlin, Moscow



Mr Katyrin reported to the President on the CCI’s performance and preparations for its 8th congress.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Katyrin, I know that preparations are underway for the next congress of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.



President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin:

Yes, Mr President.

This convention is quite a landmark event for us. In accordance with the CCI charter, we hold regular congresses every five years, so this, of course, is an event for which we are preparing very carefully. Naturally, we are summing up the results to report on what has been done over the past period, making plans for the next five years and electing the governing bodies.

Speaking of what has been done, Mr President, you attended the previous congress and made a number of suggestions. Among other things, we have been working on the implementation of those suggestions.

The first one was to develop a CCI system that would be as close to entrepreneurs as possible. You know that under the Law On Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Russian Federation, we are the only association of entrepreneurs that not only unites them and represents their interests, but also provides services, including on behalf of the state, such as issuing certificates of origin of goods, confirming the goods were manufactured on Russian territory and so on.

We are now represented in more than 330 cities and municipalities in Russia; this is an opportunity to get as close to businesses as possible. We continue to work on this system and give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to get the services as close as possible and, accordingly, to use all the opportunities that chambers of commerce and industry can provide.

Law-making activity is the second highly important aspect for us and for entrepreneurs. We have 22 committees and 13 councils. These are public associations that involve entrepreneurs, administrators and researchers – those that work themselves and help us work in the sphere of law-making. Each year, we help pass over 100 bills and provide our findings on about 70 bills. We also draft about 15 of our own bills and duly submit them to the Government and the State Duma.

We have tried to organise this systemic work so as to collect information and requests from entrepreneurs all over the country. Consequently, one of our main tasks aimed to engage the entire country’s business in this law-making and regulatory work through a system of chambers and our local subsidiaries and offices.

We receive about 2,000 regulatory documents and assess their regulatory influence. Of course, not all sectors are represented here in Moscow; we do not produce coal or crude oil here. Therefore we regard it as very important for those regional representatives working directly in this sector to be able to tell us their viewpoint, so that we can convey it to those drafting various regulatory documents. We submit our findings accordingly.

I would like to say that, in this respect, we have reached mutual understanding with the Ministry of Economic Development, which organises this work, and with those agencies that draft various legal acts. We reach understanding in most cases, even when we do not support specific acts, and when we issue our comments and proposals on how, in our opinion, it would be better to formulate those documents.

Another aspect on which you also voiced your requests at the congress is the development of our international ties. Today, we have established 76 operational business councils with 76 countries. They involve representatives of the Russian business community and those from the relevant state. They compile materials, including those for inter-governmental commissions. They also work on specific projects that they support and on problems arising in economic ties with any specific country. This concerns customs regulations, phytosanitary control and many questions that are addressed to us. Our colleagues also make quite a few requests and proposals with regard to our foreign partners.

Our representatives are working in 41 countries, 10 of which are regional offices that are part of our regular operation, and the rest are our representatives emeritus who, on our behalf, protect, by proxy, our interests in a particular country. This is one of our major areas of operation as well.

We are working closely with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation, and the Eurochambres. We have an advisory board of heads of chambers of the CIS countries and the Eurasian Union.

As per your instructions, we represent Russia’s interests in the SCO and BRICS’ business councils. This year we chaired them, just like all our departments. Our colleagues told us it was a success, but, unfortunately, we had to do this in digital format.

We do a lot to help the regions bring in investment and support investment projects in the regions, primarily, business projects.

We have broken it down into several areas of focus. First of all, we have organised and hold regular presentations of the regions at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Almost half of our regions took part in these presentations. We invite all diplomatic missions that have trade missions, foundations, banks, and Russian and foreign companies and we present a region, while the region provides an outline of its investment projects.

We also pick investment projects and present them to the industries that may be interested. We run presentations on agricultural projects, industry, and so on.

We believe we are doing quite well in our cooperation with the Industrial Development Fund. Out of all the development institutions, today, this is, perhaps, the most transparent institution for the entrepreneurs. We pick investment projects for it through our regional network, finalise them and present them accordingly. The majority of the projects gets the support of the expert council, the financing gets properly organised, and the projects then go ahead.

Another important field we are engaged in, and it is actually one you recommended us to expand, is the development of arbitration procedure. You know well that our arbitration courts are the oldest in Russia – the International Commercial Arbitration Court and the Maritime Arbitration Commission at the CCI. Last year, we marked the 90th anniversary of the Maritime Arbitration Commission. The International Commercial Arbitration Court is only two years younger.

Last time I reported to you that our International Commercial Arbitration Court annually hears more cases than the Stockholm or London courts. Only the court at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris handles more cases than we do. And if we add arbitration proceedings between our regions, that will be many times more than our foreign colleagues deal with.

One-third of judges in the ICAC are our foreign partners, including those from the London and Stockholm courts. In turn, our colleagues are represented in the London and Stockholm courts. This makes the ICAC one of the most respected courts.

But, working on your instructions, we began to develop a network of regional branches and representative offices in order to expand and also move as close as possible to entrepreneurs. We have already opened ICAC branches in 19 regions of the Russian Federation, and one branch of the Maritime Arbitration Commission in St Petersburg, and are carrying on as planned. More than 250 arbitration cases between regions have already been considered by regional branches. That is, they have already started working. I cannot say they have reached full capacity, there is still potential available, but we also plan to develop the network.

Speaking of ICAC authority, I can say that – well, except 2020 of course, when we considered fewer, somewhere around 160 international cases – before that, we considered about 250 cases a year. Out of those, 10 percent, sometimes even more, were cases involving non-residents of the Russian Federation. Applicants from other countries come to our ICAC to sort out their problems, in a Russian court. This is proof of the court’s high prestige, and proves that it works quite effectively on such cases.

Mr President, I cannot help but mention our work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This came as a test for everyone, us included. Not only did we organise hotlines, but all our chambers started catering to the interests of entrepreneurs. We handled 120,000 entrepreneurs and consulted them on matters within our remit.

We received 80,000 requests for documents about force majeure circumstances and acts of God. This amounts to 80,000 document packages, not just requests but document packages, and we have to tell everyone why we can or cannot issue them.

We acted in strict compliance with the regulatory framework that exists in the country and in strict compliance with the decisions of the Supreme Court’s plenary session. Consequently, we were afraid to issue documents that might be refuted in court. Naturally, we have issued only 6,000 such certificates despite these numerous requests. This concerns domestic affairs and those between Russian enterprises. We received about 1,500 requests on foreign affairs, and we issued 500 certificates on force majeure circumstances, on acts of God and those dealing with international matters. We reviewed about 100 such requests during the pre-COVID period and issued about 10 to 20 such certificates. And now, we received 1,500 requests and issued 500 certificates. This, too, amounts to entire document packages.

We made a decision from the very beginning and issued all documents free of charge, although we had to maintain an entire army of lawyers in the regions and here, in the centre. We even had to hire extra lawyers for working with international requests, although we have a sufficiently large legal department, the International Court of Commercial Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and all the rest. Nevertheless, everyone had their own deadlines, and everyone wanted to obtain documents very quickly, and we received a great deal of requests. We therefore organised the relevant work and involved other lawyers.

Naturally, we worked very closely with the Government during this period of time. We submitted three packages of proposals when different regulations were taking shape.

I would like to point out that thanks to the Government we organised webinars in the federal chamber, that is, we communicated with entrepreneurs all over the country, and invited a whole variety of services, ministries and departments to take part in them. Central Bank representatives spoke there several times, explaining all provisions, what financial tools to use and how to use them. Rospotrebnadzor also explained different positions frequently. Representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade also spoke at our webinars – practically all of them attended. I must say that none of those whom we addressed and invited to our webinars ever refused to participate. All the government bodies and services displayed understanding of their importance.

Speaking about this aspect of work, we tried to organise explanatory webinars as soon as the Government came up with some decisions. We tried to instantly give entrepreneurs an opportunity to ask questions, receive answers and respond accordingly.

We have a Business Barometer – an anonymous poll of entrepreneurs. We organised four stages of the Business Barometer of the Country and received feedback from entrepreneurs on the adopted measures. We immediately forwarded this information to the relevant ministries, departments and the State Duma and received their response.





Vladimir Putin:

So you did not just help entrepreneurs to understand better support measures and use them effectively but also helped the Government receive feedback from the business community.



Sergei Katyrin:

Absolutely. This was our job.

Generally, we are conducting this project – the Business Barometer of the Country. It is covered by the plan that you endorse. We already had eight stages of this project. We are using it to find out the attitude of entrepreneurs to corruption, reveal the most corrupt areas and what they are all about. In each case, we send this information to the governors, State Duma deputies and the Government. This is a tried-and-tested tool.

Family business is another special project which we covered in our written report to you. We are working on it. We have held three nationwide family business forums, which brought together family companies from all over the country. In conjunction with the Government, we are now working to make it a law.



Vladimir Putin:

The State Duma deputies have come up with a proposal about this as well.



Sergei Katyrin:

Yes. We overlap with them in this regard.

By the way, I think many deputies learned something new when we presented family businesses at the State Duma. We brought in companies, and they showed their products. It was a photo exhibition, of course. Unfortunately, there is no way to present everything live. The family business owners came to the State Duma to meet with the deputies and discuss things with them. It was two years ago. We held two such meetings, and then the pandemic broke out

We want these to be regular meetings, so that, in addition to our family forum, which the State Duma deputies and members of the Government attend, [family businesses could come to the State Duma as well]. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov participated in the most recently held forum, took part in the discussions and talked with the family business owners. I hope he learned many interesting things from what the family companies had to share. We hope he will help us promote this project, which we believe is quite important.

To reiterate, we would like it to become a law, so that family business and everything related to it become a legal concept.



Vladimir Putin:

How many delegates do you expect to attend the congress, Mr Katyrin?



Sergei Katyrin:

Unfortunately, this time it will be an online event.



Vladimir Putin:

But still.



Sergei Katyrin:

We have elected 340 delegates. Back when they were elected, we still hoped we would be able to hold an in-person congress with properly distanced seating, so we picked the largest conference hall in the World Trade Centre to make sure we could seat everyone.



Vladimir Putin:

Social distancing.



Sergei Katyrin:

Yes. We had 340 delegates. On February 26, they will gain access using a secure electronic digital signature. They will be able to express their points of view on all matters under discussion and to vote accordingly. It will be secure voting. I hope the Ministry of Justice will also attend, and the elected delegates will be able to participate in the congress and make decisions on all items on the agenda.



Vladimir Putin:

I wish the delegates all the best and productive work.



Sergei Katyrin:

Thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65071






Telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.



February 25, 2021 - 19:10



The discussion focused on the situation in the republic. Vladimir Putin spoke in support of maintaining peace and order in Armenia and resolving the situation in a lawful manner. The President of Russia urged all parties to exercise restraint.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65072






Meeting with permanent members of Security Council



Vladimir Putin chaired an urgent meeting with permanent members of the Security Council, via videoconference.



February 26, 2021 - 14:30 - The Kremlin, Moscow







Attendees included Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Security Council Chair Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Activities, Environment and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Today, we will discuss the situation around the Nagorno Karabakh peace settlement. I would like to hear your assessments regarding the work of Russian peacekeepers, units of the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief and border guards. We will also discuss cooperation with international organisations in this field, as well as with our foreign partners.

Let us get down to work.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65076






Telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz at the initiative of the Austrian side.



February 26, 2021 - 16:15



Vladimir Putin and Sebastian Kurz had a detailed discussion of efforts to check the spread of the coronavirus, including possible deliveries of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to Austria, as well as its joint manufacturing. In this connection, they agreed to maintain further active contacts between both countries’ relevant agencies.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65077






Greetings to military personnel and veterans of Special Operations Forces



Vladimir Putin congratulated military personnel and veterans of the Special Operations Forces on their professional holiday.



February 27, 2021 - 09:00






Vladimir Putin:

Comrades,

I greet you on your professional holiday, Special Operations Forces Day.

I would like to sincerely thank you for your impeccable service, and your unwavering loyalty to your military duty and your oath.

Russia’s Special Operations Forces were established in response to the challenges of the time, to serious changes in the nature of military threats and methods of warfare.

You have successfully gone through the difficult stage of formation and combat coordination, relying on the unique school of the Russian special forces as well as the cutting-edge approaches to military strategy and tactics.





We have a good reason to say now that Russia, our Armed Forces have unique capabilities for solving problems of particular importance and complexity. We have seasoned, experienced fighters who are ready to act in a non-standard situation anywhere in the world, if their country’s interests and security require such action.

You have proved this more than once winning not by numbers, but by your skill; you have launched crushing blows at terrorists, and risked your lives to protect civilians.

You maintain constant combat readiness, and I am sure that you will be able to stand up to any combat mission, even that of the most challenging nature, because Special Operations Forces members are brave and unfaltering people with unbending will, true patriots of their Fatherland.

Once again, I thank you for your military service.

I wish you and your families success and health. Best wishes to the honoured veterans who stood at the origins of the Special Operations Forces.

All the best to you, comrades.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65079






Congratulations to Alexander Bolshunov, winner of the 2021 World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf



Vladimir Putin congratulated Alexander Bolshunov on winning the men’s skiathlon event (15km/15km) at the 2021 World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf.



February 27, 2021 - 18:00







The message reads, in part:

“You have withstood the fiercest sports competition and once again convincingly proved that you deserve to be first in a most important and prestigious competition. You have definitely delighted your coaches and mentors, and all fans of cross-country skiing in our country with your victory.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65082
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Meeting with Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova, who briefed the President on the Agency’s performance in 2020.



March 1, 2021 - 13:15 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Ms Skvortsova, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency has very many fields of interest and areas of work. All of them are very important for the healthcare system and even for certain large economic sectors, and all of them are highly important and interesting.

I know that you have prepared a report on the Federal Medical-Biological Agency’s 2020 performance results. Please, go ahead.



Head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova:

Mr President, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency caters for 3.5 million residents of this country, primarily employees of over 700 organisations with extremely hazardous working conditions and risks, their family members, and the population of 20 closed administrative territories, 39 satellite towns and science cities. They are located in 54 Russian regions and at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Of course, throughout 2020, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency, just like the entire country, was largely occupied with the novel coronavirus infection.

Our Agency set itself several tasks.

First, we aimed to prevent the infection from spreading and to contain it at the strategic facilities with which the country’s activity is linked and to prevent the infection from spreading on territories for which the Agency is responsible. In addition, the Agency assisted all Russian regions and residents, coordinated the work of the blood donor service, the procurement of anti-COVID blood supplies and also conducted research.

I would like to start by saying that together with our partners, Rosatom, Roscosmos and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we developed a package of measures to counter the epidemic which allowed us to ensure the uninterrupted operation of all the facilities such as nuclear power plants, to support 15 space launches from our three launch sites and to support the entire scope of search and rescue missions, even during the strict lockdown in Kazakhstan. We were also able to resume training sessions for our country’s national teams in July, without any risks, and avoid spreading the infection across the seven federal bases where the teams trained.

This was primarily due to the fact that we focused on early diagnostics by expanding the network of PCR laboratories on our territories, by 300 percent in the period since March, from 14 to 52 labs. The Rosatom state corporation helped us adopt the technology with which we significantly increased the workflow of each laboratory and reduced test processing times.

As a result, we achieved one of the highest testing rates. Our system had an average figure of 320 per 100,000, and for some strategic facilities over 1,000 per 100,000. That provided for the timely implementation of the entire scope of epidemic control measures and treatments. Consequently, the cumulative mortality rate across all our territories and facilities was only 0.9 percent, which is far lower than the average rate in both Russia and the world in general.

I would like to note that in January, we launched a vaccination campaign. Besides doctors and education workers, we certainly prioritise essential workers at Rosatom, our cosmonaut crews and members of the national sport teams who are to compete in the Olympic Games in July, August and September, in Japan and China.

Our second area of focus is building a COVID-19 relief network. We opened 53 hospitals for coronavirus patients, in almost all our territories. To ensure high quality medical care, we set up a network of reference centres with a headquarters at the Burnazyan Federal Medical and Biophysical Centre, and eight district COVID-19 centres based at our district centres. Each of these district centres has a rapid-response mobile crew that can be sent where needed within two hours and provide methodological, organisational and simply hands-on medical help.

Our combined units of 50–100 people have helped the regions to curb large outbreaks, such as in Yeruda, a village in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. We have collaborated with the Defence Ministry there. Our units supported the healthcare system in Crimea by working several months in Simferopol and Yalta, last summer and autumn. Overall, our combined units have helped 17 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Telemedicine has played a huge role. During the epidemic, we conducted more than 105,000 telemedicine consultations, including over 25,000 for patients with the novel coronavirus infection. We evacuated the gravest cases, a total of 900 patients, with more than 200 of them being transported by air ambulance.

Of course, Mr President, our mandate is to coordinate the blood service, so we specifically monitored blood banking and the delivery of the necessary blood components to medical facilities through the integrated database.

Unlike other countries where the number of blood donors and donations has sharply decreased due to the pandemic, we have not experienced any reduction in the volume of blood and components donated, but rather there was an increase of more than 15 percent compared to 2019.

In April 2020, we opened a national coordination centre for the banking and clinical use of immune plasma. The centre has been coordinating this effort across Russia, and it issued methodological recommendations for all regions to follow. We have accumulated more than 22 tonnes of anti-COVID plasma.

Now back to something I actually started with. The Agency’s most important function is, of course, R&D projects. We began working on this at the end of January. The first thing to do was to develop test systems. Our first test system was ready in March. Now there is an entire series of test kits for PCR diagnostics, antigen detection, and isothermal amplification, and enzyme immunoassay for antibodies. Every fifth test now uses a system provided by the Federal Medical-Biological Agency.

Now, we have also developed special technologies, test systems for detecting virus mutations with just an ordinary swab test, in response to concerns regarding the virus variability and the need to detect several of the most significant mutations. The new tests not only confirm the presence of the virus, but also identify the strains that we need to be alert to and that require special attention.

I would like to note the following two new preparations.

First, we have developed a unique preparation hinging on the use of micro-RNA components that block certain RNA virus sites and those sites responsible for copying the virus molecule, or the so-called RNA-polymerase site. We called this preparation Mir-19 because the micro-RNA component is, first of all, completely safe for humans, and it does not affect the human genome or human immunity levels. At the same time, it is extremely effective at destroying the virus. Experiments on animals show that their virus-carrying capacity plunges 10,000-fold. It also prevents the gravest forms of the coronavirus infection, including pneumonitis conditions and acute respiratory distress syndromes against the backdrop of the coronavirus infection.

On December 30, we obtained permission for clinical trials because the entire pre-clinical stage was already over. These clinical trials were launched immediately following New Year celebrations. The new patented molecule is absolutely unique, and we are therefore conducting this phase particularly thoroughly because we have to prove that the preparation is absolutely safe for humans. We will complete the first phase by mid-March and will then start working with patients and also launch the second phase.

If you allow me, I would like to mention the second aspect, namely, the development of a new technological platform for creating next-generation anti-COVID vaccines. We are developing a vaccine for dealing with virus mutations when accumulated mutations in the receptor-binding domain of the S-protein might prevent anti-bodies from bonding. The new vaccine we are developing influences other protein components of the virus, rather than the S-protein. First of all, it helps expand cellular and cytotoxic immunity, rather than humoral immunity through the activation of anti-bodies. As a rule, antibody immunity lasts for months, and cellular immunity lasts several years. Certain experimental projects show that this immunity may last 13 to 17 years.

We have now obtained this medication’s initial formula and are currently getting ready for clinical trials. We hope very much that we will launch clinical trials in the second half of 2021.

This area of focus is currently completely on trend when it comes to international interests. The World Health Organisation meeting on vaccines confirmed the trend of developing next-generation vaccines early in case this virus’s mutation will prevent us from using the vaccines based on antibodies. Therefore, we hope we will be ahead of the game.





Vladimir Putin:

Good. If everything goes well, these vaccines will be ready later this year, won’t they?



Veronika Skvortsova:

Yes, starting in July.



Vladimir Putin:

Are you talking about clinical trials?



Veronika Skvortsova:

Yes, clinical trials.



Vladimir Putin:

How long do they take?



Veronika Skvortsova:

The first and second phase will be combined as currently authorised by the vaccine trial protocol. If we test it on a large pool of patients, the trials will take several months as was the case for Vector’s vaccine and Sputnik V.



Vladimir Putin:

As far as I know, all of the test systems used in Russia can rather easily detect the virus regardless of the strain, is that correct?



Veronika Skvortsova:

Yes, absolutely. We tested all our systems, including for their ability to detect S-protein mutations. I should mention that the choice of promoters (the active part of our test systems) was so accurate that they essentially disregard mutations and, therefore, work with any strain.

Moreover, the additional test system we developed will allow for selecting the mutations whose carriers require more careful observation because their incidence may be more serious than in others.



Vladimir Putin:

It was reported to me that our current vaccines are effective against the strains that seem to be causing dismay in Europe and not only in Europe. The trials of these vaccines against the virus show that our vaccines are effective against these strains.



Veronika Skvortsova:

Yes, we found 3,500 mutations in Russian patients. These are single-nucleotide variants which are neutral and do not affect the course of the coronavirus disease. They are represented in single cases, except for seven mutations which were found in more than five percent of our population. Four of these seven mutations were discovered in the spike protein, but neither was found in the receptor domain. This means that the receptor domain in our population is unchanged, and all of our vaccines, both Sputnik V and Vector’s vaccine, are effective because antibodies can bind with this site as normal, without any alterations.

There are also three mutations in deep nucleocapsid protein but it is a completely different story that is unrelated to binding.



Vladimir Putin:

Good, thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65080






Congratulations to Mikhail Gorbachev, president of International Non-Governmental Foundation for Socioeconomic and Political Studies



Vladimir Putin congratulated Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the International Non-Governmental Foundation for Socioeconomic and Political Studies, on his 90th birthday.



March 2, 2021 - 09:35



The message reads, in part:

“You are rightfully considered to be part of the constellation of bright and outstanding people and preeminent statesmen of our time who have had a major effect on national and global history.

It is indeed tremendous that your huge professional and life experience, your energy and creative potential provide the basis for taking an active part in the much needed public awareness efforts and for contributing to the implementation of international humanitarian projects.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65084






Meeting on coal industry development



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, on coal industry development.



March 2, 2021 - 16:45 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko, deputy prime ministers Alexander Novak and Marat Khusnullin, presidential aides Igor Levitin and Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov and Minister of Energy Nikolai Shulginov, as well as some regional heads and CEOs of major coal industry and transport sector companies.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues. I can see that everyone is here.

We are in various regions of our country. I hope that our equipment will function smoothly, and that we will be able to work fruitfully.

Today, I suggest that we discuss the situation in the national coal industry, a key pillar of the national fuel and energy sector. It has great significance for the socioeconomic development of entire Russian regions; we have five coal-mining regions. It is also important for the labour market, for securing employment to hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens and securing their incomes. We have a total of 11 million residents in these regions. Of course, the industry employs far less. However, a total of 11 million people live in these regions.

We regularly address this subject in various formats. In the past few years, we have drafted a number of strategic documents reflecting the coal industry’s plans and tasks. First of all, they include the programme for coal industry development through to 2035, as well as decisions of the Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector that met in Kemerovo in the summer of 2018.

Today, I suggest reviewing the implementation of our tasks. And, of course, we will discuss subsequent steps to develop the coal industry, with due consideration for the transport sector projects because it is impossible to ensure cost-effective operations, unless they operate in unison. Russia’s traditional and new coal-mining centres have substantial capabilities. And, of course, proceeding from global coal demand trends, we have to assess current and future developments.






I would like to note that Russia has been producing over 400 million tonnes of coal per year since 2017. Over 50 percent of this amount is exported elsewhere. Coal export volumes have soared by over 33 percent in the past eight years.

For further sustainable development of the industry, it is necessary to constantly analyse the market and make plans both for the next three to four years and for a longer period, based on the strategic challenges and long-term prospects of the global coal market. We understand what this is about.

Today, the main coal sales are happening in the Asia-Pacific. Last year, 122 million tonnes of Russian coal were supplied to the region.

At the same time, there is an additional demand in the Asia-Pacific that Russian companies could meet. And it is important not to pass up this opportunity; flexibly using the logistics capabilities of our transport system, we should increase the export capacity of the domestic coal industry. And this, I emphasise, means new jobs and higher incomes for people employed in this industry and Russia’s transport sector.

We have already launched plans to develop the Eastern Operating Domain and to expand the capacity of the BAM [Baikal-Amur Mainline] and Transsib [Trans-Siberian Railway], which go to the seaports in the Far East. Today I am expecting to hear a report on how this work is going.

As for the long-term prospects of the global coal market beyond the current decade, I know that there are different forecasts in this regard. It is no secret that some of them suggest a significant market contraction, including due to technological changes in the global fuel and energy sector, as well as the active use of alternative fuels.

We also know what is happening with this: Texas froze because of the cold weather. And the windmills had to be thawed in ways that are far from environmentally friendly. Maybe this will also cause adjustments.

In any case, it is necessary to carefully study all possible scenarios in order to guarantee the steady development of our coal-mining regions even with a decrease in global demand for coal and with a decline in the global situation.

In particular, it is important to use the export revenues of the coal industry to strengthen and diversify the economies of coal-mining regions. And of course, this resource should really work to improve the well-being of people and to create modern, comfortable living conditions.

A separate, highly important task is certainly environmental protection, improving the environment in coal mining and transhipment areas. These issues also need constant monitoring.

All these issues require the coordinated, joint work of businesses, regional and federal authorities. Instructions in this regard have already been given more than once. Today I am asking you to report on the progress, including on the implementation of the socioeconomic development programme for Kuzbass, the country's leading coal region.

Let us get down to work.





<…>


Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, I would like to thank you for our joint work today. I would like the Government to analyse and make use of all the proposals voiced today, including those made by representatives of the regions and our colleagues from the coal companies who have spoken here.

This is what I would like to point out in conclusion of our meeting.

First of all, today we paid much attention to the development of the Eastern Operating Domain. In point of fact, we keep returning to this subject. Today we spoke about it in detail, listening to how this project is being organised and the potential risks. We must carry out this work as precisely and smoothly as possible.

Therefore, based on the discussion we have had today, I would like to ask the Government to provide a clear construction timeframe and the extension parameters for the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway. We started talking about this back in 2018, and today we can see that the problems are still with us. We must do what I have mentioned, stipulating the throughput and carrying capacity, not of the railway line in general but of its individual sections, as well as the maximum weight of trainloads before and after we finish this project. I would like to ask you to provide this schedule. I know that there were disagreements about this before the meeting; I am asking you to provide a quarterly schedule until the end of 2024. Please, submit it to me and formalise it in a government enactment. Yes, and do please show it to me, because unless we strictly regulate this matter, the problems will remain.

I would like to remind you once again that the quantity framework for the expansion of the Eastern Operating Domain has been approved. Mr Belousov has reported on this today. The next task is to set a concrete timeframe for the work. This is important both for the implementation of regional development programmes and for the coal companies’ investments. Our colleagues from these companies have pointed this out just now.

Second, I would like the Government to strictly coordinate the implementation of the development plans for the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as the obligations of the parties involved in this work.

I would like to ask you to ensure, before July 1 this year, the signing of relevant agreements (I understand the companies do not object to this) between the coal companies and Russian Railways. These agreements must run up to 2024 so they have a clear idea of how much they can take out. The agreements must be based on mutual responsibility. I do not know what rules underlie them now: carry-or-pay or some other regulations but this does not matter. What matters is that the commitments of the coal companies and the carriers, including the volume of coal, loading stations and destinations must be determined precisely.

I would like you to pay special attention to the export potential of our leading coal region, Kuzbass. By 2024, we must ensure (even though this is not what we agreed on before, but I agree with Mr Belousov) at least a 30 percent increase in coal shipments to the east over 2020. Please stick to this target. Yes, we adjusted it compared with what we had planned before but this is life, it’s understandable. That said, the plans for shipping Kuzbass coal must be based on an understandable and transparent foundation. I heard today that this is what seems to happen in reality. If this is the case, well done. If so, there is no need to change anything. This must be based on the shipping volumes to the west and the domestic market, as my colleagues said today, and also based on existing port capacities.

I am also instructing the Government to present additional proposals on expanding the eastern section of the Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM). We need to increase eastbound coal shipments from Yakutia. The governor mentioned this today as well. I would like you to review mechanisms for funding this project, including from the National Welfare Fund as the Minister of Economic Development suggested today, if this is necessary, of course. In any event, I would like to say that I will not object to this in any way. Please present your proposals, if necessary.





The third point. As I said in my opening remarks, we must diversify the economy in the coal-mining regions. Mr Siluanov made a convincing speech today to this effect. It is necessary to achieve priority development of other economic sectors and services with a view to stabilising the regional labour markets and preventing critical dependence of people’s lives on one industry alone.

I want the Government to identify the benchmarks and closely monitor the employment dynamics in the coal-mining regions. Everything must be done in a timely manner. Please focus on creating jobs in the non-coal mining sectors and on bringing in more private investment. As we have just heard, the companies operating in this industry have no objections to that.

As I noted earlier, it is important to use the proceeds from coal exports to develop non-coal mining sectors in regions like Kuzbass. Again, our colleagues have no objections to that. It is good that the coal companies are receptive of this idea.

I want to add here that other enterprises are also willing to invest in the coal-mining regions’ economies and to work in priority development areas. If these tools can be used, please go ahead and use them. We heard about such examples today.

One such company plans to invest in the construction of a logistics centre in Kuzbass which will create several thousand new jobs.

Of course, we must support these initiatives, adjust the regulations to fit the businesses and regions’ needs and find new and appropriate solutions.

I also want you to approve the programme for the socioeconomic development of the Kemerovo Region by the end of March. This should include investment in the region’s transport, utilities and other infrastructure, and promotion of the tourism industry, which includes Sheregesh that we discussed today. It also includes a new motorway to bypass Kemerovo and the expansion of the Sheregesh resort in line with today’s proposals, as well as building new social facilities, which was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Colleagues, there are many questions. Please systematise them and present them to me soon as proposals to expand the industry that is critically important not only for the coal-mining regions of our country, which is home to 11 million people as I said earlier today, but also for the rest of our vast country.

Please, finalise what we have agreed on today as soon as possible, put it in the form of regulatory acts, and submit it to me. I want to see this. These will be Government decisions, but I want to see them.

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65085






Greetings to Sofia Nadyrshina on winning 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships



Vladimir Putin congratulated Sofia Nadyrshina on winning the parallel slalomevent at the2021 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in Rogla, Slovenia.



March 2, 2021 - 23:00







The message reads in part:

“Your victory comes as a worthy reward for all the years of your persistent training, for your tremendous talent and invariable desire to succeed. Although you are still young, you scored the best result in the struggle against strong and ambitious rivals, and you made your fans happy by winning another gold medal for the Russian team on the final day of the competitions.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65094






Extended meeting of Russian Interior Ministry Board



Vladimir Putin attended an annual extended meeting of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Board.



March 3, 2021 - 14:15 - Moscow



The participants summed up the results of the internal affairs agencies’ operational performance in 2020 and charted specific guidelines for 2021.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Kolokoltsev, comrades,

I would like to greet you at the annual extended meeting of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Board.

I know, and we have already discussed this matter with the Minister, that the event will now continue in a modern format. Incidentally, this sufficiently convenient format makes it possible to involve many people in various places. But such is the demand of the times.

Nevertheless, we will, as usual, discuss the results of the past period, and we will determine the high-priority areas of our subsequent efforts.

I would like to note right away that the internal affairs agencies successfully accomplished their tasks in 2020. Despite difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they acted skillfully, efficiently, and smoothly. I am referring to efforts to maintain public safety, the fight against crime and systemic and purposeful work to improve the situation on the roads and that in the migration sphere.

At the same time, Russian citizens are expecting greater efficiency from all government tiers, as well as all state agencies, including the law enforcement agencies.

I hope that you will make full use of your operational and human resources and technological potential to attain new frontiers in boosting public safety and reliably protecting people’s rights, freedoms, and property. In particular, you will fight the criminal threat more resolutely and aggressively.

During the period under review, there was an increase in the number of crimes solved, especially grave ones. The activities of some dangerous crime rings were thwarted.

However, the trend is not as positive in other spheres, for example, in IT, which I have already mentioned and which we discussed with the minister just now. The number of IT crimes has increased more than 10 times over the past six years.






Of course, information technologies are developing rapidly, and we, unfortunately, cannot keep pace with them. All of us definitely agree that the future belongs to e-commerce and the development of a global network of online services. The relevant technologies are upgraded and are changing by leaps and bounds, and, sadly, the sphere of operation for all kinds of criminals is expanding at the same time.

Your job is to effectively combat this criminal challenge and to protect our citizens and honest business people who are learning to use the digital advantages. This includes promptly informing them about ways to protect themselves from cybercrime, as well as improving the professional skills and technical equipment of the Interior Ministry agencies. Of course, you must also improve your interaction with the banking community and internet and mobile providers.

Overall, the number of solved cybercrimes and other crimes must increase every year. I would like to stress that what we need is not better statistics or reporting, but real improvements achieved through hard work on the ground. This is a fundamental condition for the implementation of the main legal principle – the inevitability of punishment, and hence people’s belief in justice, the law and the ability of the state to protect their safety.

Of course, every case and every situation you come across, when you see that people need your assistance, must be subjected to a thorough, detailed and prompt legal analysis.

At the same time, I can see that what was happening last year due to the pandemic has impeded the possibility of promptly investigating and solving crimes. And besides, the nature of criminal challenges is changing, as you have pointed out just now. Cutting-edge technologies have reached into all corners of our lives.

In this connection, we must consider the possibility of adding new methods of collecting evidence to the criminal proceedings, including cases when the people involved cannot attend them in person.

Furthermore, I would like to note the increased efficiency of crime prevention, and first of all – we are constantly talking about this – among young people. I repeat, there are certain positive trends here as well. At the same time, you need to join our colleagues from other departments to monitor the internet, to step up tracking down those who involve minors in illegal actions online.

Incidentally, the fact that minors are being drawn into illegal unauthorised street rallies is actually a violation of the law, and under the law, we absolutely must respond to this.

Unfortunately, we all know what the internet is and how it is used to promote completely unacceptable content such as child pornography, prostitution, and driving minors to suicide. But when they use whatever pretext or rhetoric to cold-bloodedly use children to achieve some selfish goals, we must never forget that these are our children, and we need to act in such a way as to avoid creating additional threats to their lives and health. Actually, you are doing just that, and I would like to thank you for this. And I ask you never to forget about it.

The fact that every fourth crime committed by adolescents is a serious or especially grave crime is an alarming signal for absolutely everyone, for the whole society. Special attention should be paid to this.

In this regard, let me remind you that on February 1, a law was enacted requiring the owners and providers of social media and other internet resources to identify and block content prohibited by law. Failure to comply with these requirements will be punished by serious fines. And here it is important to ensure effective law enforcement practice, clearly distinguishing between a free exchange of information and the dissemination of content destructive for society.

The role of local police officers in preventive work is noticeably increasing. They should be in control of the situation on their territory, talk to the local residents more often, identify urgent conflict situations in a timely manner, and work more intensively with so-called risk groups. Moreover, since last year, the local police officers have been given additional powers, as you well know, to suppress all kinds of illegal behaviour. They need to use these new powers competently and, most importantly, in a timely manner. Otherwise, the lack of proper response from them, or neglect of their duties can lead to a tragedy.

The fight against extremism should be given the most serious attention. Please resolutely stop any propaganda of nationalism, xenophobia, religious strife and violence and bring to account the instigators who escape and hide away, and when caught red-handed, show remorse, although they seduce people into illegal actions.

In addition, I have already noted at the recent FSB Board meeting the importance of ensuring public order and people’s safety during the preparations for and holding of the upcoming State Duma elections. The constitutional right of the people of Russia to freely elect its representatives must be guaranteed and effectively protected.





Comrades,

I will highlight such a key area of the Interior Ministry’s activity as traffic safety.

There are fewer road accidents, particularly in mass transit, largely thanks to the measures taken over the recent seven years. And, what is extremely important, the road traffic fatality rate is steadily decreasing: this figure went down practically by another five percent last year.

Please go on doing all you can to have as few road accident casualties as possible. Concentrate your efforts on ensuring the safety of pedestrians, on the relentless fight against drunk driving and speeders. These three sore spots are the main factors of road traffic fatalities: 27 percent of the dead are pedestrians, almost the same number – 26.9 percent – died because of drunk drivers, and 23.2 percent because of crossing onto oncoming traffic.

Conferring on the Interior Ministry the power of exercising state control over vehicle inspection starting this year is a new, serious resource for improving traffic safety.

And, of course, you should keep under close control the most problematic sections of motorways, improve road markings, develop remote traffic control systems, and cooperate effectively with your colleagues in other federal departments and regions under the Safe and High-Quality Roads national project.

Your priority tasks include further decriminalisation of the economy and anti-corruption measures. It is necessary to more actively reveal and curb embezzlement of budget funds, including allocations for countering the coronavirus, and illegal export of capital abroad.

At the same time, I would like to ask you to seriously toughen procedural and departmental control over the justification and legality of the grounds for instituting and investigating business crime. There are still problems in this area. It is necessary to react promptly and strictly to such abuses and maintain permanent open contacts with the business community.

In this context I would like to mention migration policy, a very sensitive issue for sectors of the economy and for society as a whole. I must say that the situation in this area has become better organised and more transparent and its legislative regulation is more effective now. At the same time, there are still risks in this area, such as the penetration of criminals into the migrant workers’ environment.

I would like you to continue to take a balanced and responsible approach to the admission of foreign work force into our country, being guided by the real requirements of our national economy and giving priority to protecting the interests of our citizens in the labour market.

All the activities of migrant workers must be conducted in strict accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and universal international standards. Those who violate them – I am referring not only to the workers but also to their employers – must be punished appropriately.

The efforts to counter drug trafficking must be raised to a new level. Indeed, in the past decade, the number of officially registered drug users has decreased by over a quarter, which is a good figure. The number of underage drug users has gone down by almost 45 percent. I would like to thank you for this result.

However, these figures must not make us complacent. We must continue consistently eliminating the clandestine production of drugs and drug trafficking channels.

Efforts must be redoubled to combat the online popularisation and trafficking of drugs, which I have already mentioned in passing, especially considering the additional powers granted to the police for this purpose in 2021.

Of great assistance in these efforts will be the State Antidrug Policy Strategy until 2030, which was adopted late last year. I hope that comprehensive implementation of the events stipulated in that document will help us to reduce the level of the drug threat and hence to save the health and lives of thousands of people.





Comrades,

A great deal has been done during the past few years to improve the material and technical base of the Interior Ministry. When coordinating the federal budget for 2021–2023, we stipulated the allocation of an additional 21.3 billion rubles to the ministry, among other things, for increasing the wage fund of the ministry personnel in 2021.

The state will continue working to create decent working conditions for people at the Interior Ministry agencies and to enhance the standards of legal and social protection of their personnel.

In this connection, I would like to say that strict punishment will be meted out in accordance with the law to those who are trying to hinder, let alone aggressively hinder, the work of Interior Ministry agencies and the implementation of the personnel’s duties.

Our legislation has always had legal norms on the protection of the Interior Ministry and other agencies’ personnel in the course of their duties. They have been reinforced recently. In addition, we are actively working on a draft law to protect law enforcement personnel and their near and dear ones from any threats, including in the social networks. The state will definitely fulfil its duty and will ensure the safety of those who are protecting the law, as well as the safety of their families.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank the Interior Ministry personnel for carrying out their duties. I have no doubt that you will continue to fulfil your tasks professionally.

I would like to wish you every success in this.

Thank you.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

Mr Kolokoltsev, colleagues,

I have looked through the materials that were prepared for the board meeting. The number of crimes recorded is about the same as last year, it has hardly changed, so we will assume it has remained at the same level. We record a decrease in the number of crimes against the person, murders.

What is especially gratifying, and I draw your attention to this, is that the number of crimes involving firearms and explosives has decreased. I ask you to continue to focus on this, together with the FSB and the National Guard, to closely monitor the circulation of firearms and explosives, to keep it under control.

It is also important that the number of crimes committed under the influence of alcohol has decreased: down 4.3 percent in the North-West and down 3.9 percent in the Siberian District. I hope that this is, among other things, a result of our anti-alcohol campaign work as well as the entire range of measures applied by the state.

Crimes committed under the influence of drugs are down three times from the 2012 level; their number continued to decrease over the previous year. Once again, drug-related crimes have decreased by two-thirds from 2012, and this is a direct result of your work, among other things, the result of your work.

At the same time, we really have to note a rise in recorded crime in some constituent entities of Russia, in big cities, in large regions. I do not have to list them now because you certainly know about it, the Minister knows about it. I ask you, I earnestly ask you to pay more attention to this and find out why this is happening, identify the reasons, find them, and respond accordingly.

I have mentioned a reduction in crimes committed under the influence of drugs, but still, one-fourth, or 25.2 percent of the total number of serious and especially grave offences involved drug trafficking. This suggests that work in this area is far from complete; there is still a lot to be done, and I ask you to pay attention to this.

I mentioned in my opening remarks, and the Minister was just saying – as in the previous year, malicious activity with the use of telecommunication technologies has contributed to the rise in the number of especially grave and serious crimes. This trend is found in all federal districts, in all regions of the Russian Federation. Naturally, we must keep this in mind and react accordingly. I hope it will be so.

Once again, I would like to thank you for your performance last year and wish you success. All the best.

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65090
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Old March 14th, 2021 #195
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Meeting with We Are Together campaign participants



Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the participants in the nationwide mutual assistance campaign We Are Together.



March 4, 2021 - 16:20 - The Kremlin, Moscow






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Friends, good afternoon. I am delighted to see all of you – everyone who is present here at the Kremlin, as well as our colleagues on screen, and your associates who come from around our vast country, as I understand it.

I would like to congratulate you on a whole year of your joint work in this wonderful, noble and highly appreciated field of supporting those who badly need a helping hand. It is especially gratifying that someone has been doing this during the most difficult time in recent years, one of the most challenging periods of our time – during the pandemic. It has been almost a year since you teamed up and began working. It is especially pleasing that the unification was actually prompted by a call from the heart, as I understand it.

When I watched what and how you were doing everything, who was joining you and in what formats, you know, it was impossible to look at it without strong emotions. It was a drive that united people with very different views – politics no longer matter here – different ages and professions.





I was happy to see how business representatives have radically changed their agenda over the past ten to fifteen years, their attitude to civic engagement. After all, as far as I remember, 10,000 companies have joined your campaign and helped you. And many of them are not large corporations, not even medium-sized, but small enterprises that have also encountered a difficult situation. Nevertheless, they both provided hands-on assistance – to be honest, that part made me especially happy – helped with driving and other things, as well as donating money although they, too, needed support.

The state also provided support, maybe not that much, but still, it did. I hope that it was effective, in any case, we were constantly working with those people. But all this together has helped to reach out to such a large group of people, 5 million people in need. That was a lot. There were many people who needed support, and they received it from you. Directly from your soul, I might say. As they say in such cases, it is worth its weight in gold. As many as 10,000 companies, and 5 million people. And the movement itself united 200,000 people – it was a huge army, an army of people who voluntarily, at the call of their hearts, joined in this work.





I congratulate you all on a year of joint work. I want to express my hope that, although the pandemic is slowly subsiding, as you can see – we will probably talk more about it today –nevertheless, we still have many challenges, and they are quite dangerous. This means your work is going to be in demand, and your support is needed. I hope that you will continue doing this.

And I think that you will agree with me, I just know this both from experience and from talking to people engaged in this type of activity – I think you will speak about it yourself – it always enriches those who do it, enriches you. This work is one of the most effective and vibrant ways of self-realisation, of self-expression, and self-affirmation in the best sense of the word. It is great that you have reinvented yourself this way. I congratulate you on this and wish you all the best.

Now, let us get down to work.


<…>




Vladimir Putin:

Last night, as I was working late at the Kremlin, an acquaintance of mine, a colleague from another country who was in Russia on business, came to see me. He shared some impressions with me, “You know, Moscow surprised me,” he said. I asked why. “Moscow is alive.” I said “What do you mean? Of course, it is.” “In our big cities, the largest European cities, there are almost no cars or people in the streets, and everything is closed,” he told me.

We believe we can achieve the final victory over COVID only if we join efforts, including in the international arena. Clearly, we still have many problems to deal with, and we will discuss them later, but the fact is we have managed to overcome the challenges at hand far more effectively than many other countries with fairly well developed healthcare systems. This is clearly so. Some expected us to get hit hard or even fail, but thanks to medical workers, thanks to people like you, we ended up where we are now.

Look, the numbers are constantly decreasing which is the result of the joint efforts of the state, the volunteer movement, specialists, medical workers, nurses and ambulance teams. All of that taken together produced a certain anticipated result. So, once again, I want to thank you all – everyone whom I just mentioned, or maybe forgot to mention, but who have taken and are still taking part in this work.





<…>


Vladimir Putin:

We discussed certain internet restrictions extensively. The internet has become part of our everyday lives. By and large, it must comply not only with laws and formal legal regulations, but also the moral laws of our society, otherwise society will implode.

Unfortunately, we have to deal with more than just calls to take part in unauthorised rallies. We are all adults here, and we are aware of it, why not face it? What can be found in cyberspace is child pornography, child prostitution, and the promotion and distribution of drugs among children and adolescents. They are encouraged to take to the streets and brawl with the police, and then hide behind children thus putting them on the spot.






What does it mean? It means using children as an object, it means using children as a tool for achieving someone’s selfish objectives, and it is always a source for using children to earn profit. Strange as it is, including by urging a minor to commit suicide. And there they find a way to profit off it too. It is amazing. I see that my colleague opened his eyes in surprise and made an understandable gesture with his hands. These were exactly my feelings when I learnt about it.

And when the police catch up to these monsters, can you imagine, they turn into totally different people. They surf the internet, pretending to be tough like Rambo, and urge a girl or a boy to jump off a roof, – and they concoct a whole story to entice him or her to do it. But as soon as the police arrive, they literally crap their pants. Such bastards sitting there, you know. Like an insect no one feels sorry about crushing. They urge girls and boys to commit suicide. And in doing all this they also earn money by posting ads and doing other things.

We cannot let anybody do this. I really hope that the overwhelming majority of our people understand this danger for the future of the country. If not, we will always be rocked from the inside.

A scientist, so well-known to all of us, whom we are proud of, Dmitry Mendeleyev, could make calculations, as we know, quite well. In the early 20th century, he calculated that if Russia went on developing at the same rate and in the same way as it developed in the early 20th century, then its population would reach 600 million people by the year 2000. And how many people do we have now? Upheavals, revolutions and wars.





This is why your movement that you called We Are Together is, in fact, extremely important. Yes, it is a lofty, specific and highly relevant cause, and the very idea of coming together will create a favourable foundation for Russia’s future development.

And when we are talking about children, of course to some they are an object for exploitation, to some they are a tool for achieving selfish goals, to some they are a source of earning money and making profit, but to us they are an absolute treasure. That is the truth.

It is always a problem if a young person, a teenager, cannot find his or her place, cannot understand where he or she is, what he or she is doing or should do, what the real values are. However, this is not his or her problem, as a rule; it is a problem of the adults and society. It means that we have failed somewhere.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

You have just mentioned the vaccine. As of late, we have been actively discussing this, and we are rightfully proud of our researchers who have developed these medications. According to specialists, it would be impossible to cope with the national and global COVID-19 pandemic without them. Indeed, we have every reason to be proud because our vaccines are the safest and most effective in the world.

I have already mentioned this data: AstraZeneca is a very good company whose vaccine is 61 percent effective, and our vaccine has an efficiency of 91.6 percent. Pfizer is being used. To the best of my knowledge, 16 people died in Switzerland following vaccination. Some European countries have stopped administering Pfizer vaccines, due to fatalities.

Thank God, we have not recorded a single grave case here. Ten percent of people who have been vaccinated may suffer from high fever on the second day, but protection and safety levels are high. We have developed the second and third vaccines. And the medicines are very good and meet world standards and levels. Avifavir and some others are rather expensive, but everything is issued free of charge.

Of course, I know that we have problems with this – it can’t be otherwise in such large-scale work. But we have to give credit to regional and federal authorities because our colleagues respond rather quickly and rectify the situation.

Far from all countries, even those with a well-developed medical system, issue these medicines free of charge.

Regarding the vaccination campaign, over two million people have already received the first and second vaccine components having had two jabs. And approximately the same number, a little less, but also more than two million have received their first jabs. We will continue to expand this campaign. It goes without saying that this is the key way of combating the pandemic.





Some matters are not linked with production, although I have repeatedly noted this publicly. There is nothing to be ashamed of, and we need to expand production volumes. We simply never had the required amount of equipment for manufacturing vaccines in such huge volumes. We are expanding production, and we will continue to do so, we will manufacture the vaccines. Production has already been launched outside the Russian Federation, that is, at idle facilities that are available there.

But there is also a problem with logistics, with distribution. Our vaccine does not need to be stored and transported at minus 70 like Pfizer – it is very difficult to transport and difficult to store, at minus 70. But we cannot use an ordinary refrigerator either, we also need minus 18, I think, although it is much easier to ensure than minus 70. Nevertheless, there are issues with logistics and with the deployment of vaccination centres. Some of the regions – nine, I think – have not even started vaccination yet. I know about all this, and the Government knows, and the Healthcare Ministry is quite active in this field. We will continue to do this.

But the verification work, both on the part of the Russian Popular Front and on your part, I mean the We Are Together movement, is highly appreciated and is badly needed, bearing in mind that we certainly need feedback on what is really happening, what exactly is happening where, how this work is organised, how it is going and what results we already have. I ask you to keep doing this, to make further efforts.

When I said that our colleagues had some problems with other vaccines, that was not gloating, not at all. On the contrary, we wish them success. Pfizer is a global company with a remarkable scientific research base, and it will address this for sure, one hundred percent sure, they will be improving their product.

We work with AstraZeneca; you have probably heard about this. They have proposed a joint project with our Gamaleya Institute to develop a joint product and improve the level of protection ensured by their vaccine. We welcome this joint work.

Only by combining efforts, I am saying this for the second time at this meeting, can we achieve the desired result around the globe. The result we need is of a truly global nature, a global result. Bearing in mind the modern means of travel and the number of people who move beyond the borders of their national territories, we must be sure that population immunity has been formed in just about every country.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

You have just mentioned the vaccine. As of late, we have been actively discussing this, and we are rightfully proud of our researchers who have developed these medications. According to specialists, it would be impossible to cope with the national and global COVID-19 pandemic without them. Indeed, we have every reason to be proud because our vaccines are the safest and most effective in the world.

I have already mentioned this data: AstraZeneca is a very good company whose vaccine is 61 percent effective, and our vaccine has an efficiency of 91.6 percent. Pfizer is being used. To the best of my knowledge, 16 people died in Switzerland following vaccination. Some European countries have stopped administering Pfizer vaccines, due to fatalities.

Thank God, we have not recorded a single grave case here. Ten percent of people who have been vaccinated may suffer from high fever on the second day, but protection and safety levels are high. We have developed the second and third vaccines. And the medicines are very good and meet world standards and levels. Avifavir and some others are rather expensive, but everything is issued free of charge.

Of course, I know that we have problems with this – it can’t be otherwise in such large-scale work. But we have to give credit to regional and federal authorities because our colleagues respond rather quickly and rectify the situation.

Far from all countries, even those with a well-developed medical system, issue these medicines free of charge.

Regarding the vaccination campaign, over two million people have already received the first and second vaccine components having had two jabs. And approximately the same number, a little less, but also more than two million have received their first jabs. We will continue to expand this campaign. It goes without saying that this is the key way of combating the pandemic.





Some matters are not linked with production, although I have repeatedly noted this publicly. There is nothing to be ashamed of, and we need to expand production volumes. We simply never had the required amount of equipment for manufacturing vaccines in such huge volumes. We are expanding production, and we will continue to do so, we will manufacture the vaccines. Production has already been launched outside the Russian Federation, that is, at idle facilities that are available there.

But there is also a problem with logistics, with distribution. Our vaccine does not need to be stored and transported at minus 70 like Pfizer – it is very difficult to transport and difficult to store, at minus 70. But we cannot use an ordinary refrigerator either, we also need minus 18, I think, although it is much easier to ensure than minus 70. Nevertheless, there are issues with logistics and with the deployment of vaccination centres. Some of the regions – nine, I think – have not even started vaccination yet. I know about all this, and the Government knows, and the Healthcare Ministry is quite active in this field. We will continue to do this.

But the verification work, both on the part of the Russian Popular Front and on your part, I mean the We Are Together movement, is highly appreciated and is badly needed, bearing in mind that we certainly need feedback on what is really happening, what exactly is happening where, how this work is organised, how it is going and what results we already have. I ask you to keep doing this, to make further efforts.

When I said that our colleagues had some problems with other vaccines, that was not gloating, not at all. On the contrary, we wish them success. Pfizer is a global company with a remarkable scientific research base, and it will address this for sure, one hundred percent sure, they will be improving their product.

We work with AstraZeneca; you have probably heard about this. They have proposed a joint project with our Gamaleya Institute to develop a joint product and improve the level of protection ensured by their vaccine. We welcome this joint work.

Only by combining efforts, I am saying this for the second time at this meeting, can we achieve the desired result around the globe. The result we need is of a truly global nature, a global result. Bearing in mind the modern means of travel and the number of people who move beyond the borders of their national territories, we must be sure that population immunity has been formed in just about every country.


<…>





Liza Alert search squad coordinator Oleg Leonov:

Last year the Liza Alert search and rescue squad marked its 10th anniversary. For ten years now, our volunteers dressed in orange have been searching for people in the forests. We are happy that we can be seen and that our shade of orange has become the colour of the We Are Together joint volunteer movement.

Of course, it became more difficult for us to work during the pandemic. We worked in permanent groups and avoided mixing with each other, wore PPE and limited contacts between the team members as much as possible. Restrictions were introduced for the entire country, but as for us it meant an early forest season. People went to their dachas earlier and went for walks in the forests. The number of requests grew a lot over 2020. We processed 31,988 requests, which is 26.6 percent higher than in 2019.

Moreover, in 2020 we worked to fulfil your instructions that we had initiated. The first instruction was about creating a common federal base of ‘John Doe’ patients. Today such a base has been created at the Main Information and Analytical Centre of the Interior Ministry and the trials of it were launched on March 1.

The second instruction was on determining the location of lost people who have mobile phones on them. Today the draft law on this is in the State Duma in the second reading. The work on it continues with hiccups, but it is progressing. This is a very important topic, because it is very important to pass the law with our amendments: then it will become a truly effective tool for saving people. If the draft law is adopted, we will be able to save about 6,000 human lives in Russia per year.





Vladimir Putin:

I would like to comment on this, Oleg, briefly. First of all, about the second reading of the draft law you have mentioned. Of course, I will speak with the head of the United Russia party fraction as the leading political force in the parliament and I am ready to speak with my colleagues from other party fractions as well. I am sure that if there are no hidden problems there that I know nothing of, then, of course, the deputies will support this law you have mentioned in the second reading as well as its amendments, because the job you do is without doubt very important.

Do you know what I have been thinking? Doctors will understand me, and not just doctors. During the pandemic, especially its acute phase, a lot of spheres related to current routine medical care have been suspended slightly due to the fact that many medical workers and institutions have switched to countering COVID-19.

Your case is not directly related to medicine, but there are still problems that are not related to COVID-19 but are also very important; searching for lost people being one of them. Of course, during the pandemic we could simply say: no, it is dangerous, we should not do this, we will not do this during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’d better stay at home. Of course, we should wear masks and comply with certain requirements of public health physicians, which is clear. But people who get lost in the forest cannot wait. This is an extraordinary situation. The fact that you have not abandoned your job and continued to help people is, of course, very good and is worth a lot. I would like to thank you for this, especially on behalf of the people you have saved and whom you have helped. Thank you very much.

I would also like to go back to your request. The issue you have raised: amendments in the second reading. I understand, I will be speaking with my colleagues at the State Duma today.

Thank you very much.


<…>





Tomsk City Duma Deputy Vladimir Samokish:

By and large, it is impossible to understand what volunteering is all about by taking a detached look at it. What you really need to do is immerse yourself, participate and spend your time and energy doing this and only then will you understand what is volunteering. For me, this is the discovery of this year. Of course, you can do charity work, be involved in social work, or help people in any other way. But the moment you come across volunteers, you understand how wonderful these people are, how united they are and how they understand the needs and aspirations of people, how cool they are, and you want to admire them.

I believe that volunteers are our discovery of the last year, and I am absolutely convinced that for all of us they can be an example to follow, no matter who you are: a student, a businessman, a pensioner, and so on.

As a deputy, and one with a fair bit of experience, I believe that there should be more active volunteers in all government bodies, at all levels of government, both in the State Duma and in the legislative assemblies of the Russian regions. Because it is precisely their personal involvement, it is their active position that leads to the idea that in power they will also be effective and useful.





Vladimir Putin:

What I would like to say about this is that first of all, I still disagree with one of your theses. You said that the volunteer movement, volunteers is the discovery of the last year. Volunteers have manifested themselves most vividly, perhaps, last year, bearing in mind that the task that the volunteers dealt with turned out to be very acute, extremely in demand for the country's life in a literal sense of the word. Still, the volunteer movement appeared a little earlier, this was associated with major international events, including sports, where people of different ages, mostly young people, of course, did their best. I mean the Olympics, the 2018 World Cup, and some other events of a political nature. But during this period of time, during the fight against COVID, the fight for the lives of people – here, of course, it manifested itself especially clearly and was most in demand, this is most definitely the case.

As for the fact that volunteers should take a greater part in political life, I am in favour of this, I already mentioned this. I think that the point is also that the volunteer movement includes people of different views and different convictions, therefore, when they get into political organisations, they can and will be carriers of different approaches to solving problems faced by the country or a region. This, in my opinion, is very important. It is necessary to give people of different views and different convictions the opportunity to be in power, so that in the course of an open, not destructive, but open, honest struggle of opinions, the most acceptable solutions for the country to move forward are found. This is extremely important, it is in great demand, and it must be done. This is the first thing.

And second – after all, volunteers do this work answering the call of their hearts, in order to solve those tasks that they consider so important, and in the way that seems to them the most effective. Namely, they have an understanding of what to do and how to get it done. It is with this motivation that people should come to different levels of government.

This year, we will have elections not only to the State Duma, but also to the regional parliaments in 39 regions. Therefore, of course, I strongly support this idea, I will also speak to the leadership of United Russia, and I am ready to approach the leaders of our other leading political forces from different political spectra, so that they pay attention to this. The initiative is really good.


<…>





Clinical psychologist from the Perm Region Alfiya Denisova:

From the early days of the pandemic, we began to analyse how people felt. A lot of people began to feel anxiety and fear and needed psychological counselling. In order to help with this, the We Are Together movement launched a counselling hotline and chatbots in Viber, VKontakte and Telegram. Methodological work was carried out by the Centre for Emergency Psychological Aid of the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Professional Psychotherapeutic League.

As the incidence rate grew we noted that the number of people in need of counselling was also growing. More than 8,000 volunteer psychologists have helped us provide this aid; it was given to over 200,000 people at these websites.

I would like to note the work of all psychologists on other hotlines as well, both federal and regional.

Despite the decline in the number of cases, the demand for counselling remains. This work will continue both at the federal and regional levels. The main tasks of the regional divisions will be psychological education and training volunteer psychologists how to work in emergency situations, because these can arise. We must have human resources of volunteer psychologists to work in such situations.

When analysing the entire range of psychological services and the market for them, we found cases where unqualified aid was provided. Unfortunately, there is a grey zone of services, where people who do not have a basic education in psychology have attended some courses or training and started providing services, which they call psychological. Of course, we cannot regard them as psychological, because they are unqualified. This help will not bear results, but, on the contrary, can harm people.

We are concerned about this situation and believe that it needs to be regulated, so we want to ask you to please take note of this, because our people who ask for psychological support have the right to quality assistance provided by qualified specialists.





Vladimir Putin:

We have certain standards in training teachers and in medical psychology. There are retraining courses for those who have got higher education in this profession.

What you have said is, to be honest, somewhat unexpected. There are many charlatans everywhere, there are also those who are not charlatans, but people who think they have achieved a lot and know a thing or two, although they do not have the necessary basic education. What can be done in this respect? Perhaps, to start licencing certain activities, in this case psychological counselling. We should think it over to avoid unreasonable restrictions, but on the other hand, to have certain requirements for this activity, which is undoubtedly very much in demand and growing in terms of the scope of the services provided.

Now, more and more people turn to specialists. It is really very good, it is the right thing, because when a skilled person offers a helping hand and moral support in various life situations, to say nothing amid the pandemic, just in general, it helps. And in the emergency that we faced last year and which is still continuing to our regret, it is especially important.

Of course, if a person is at home during lockdown and the anxieties and problems are growing, we should look at things without bias and we are trying to do so. And people’s income has gone down a bit and living has become harder because of certain types of restrictions and with less communication with their nearest and dearest. All this has a serious impact on anyone’s psychological condition. And, of course, the support of a specialist is highly in demand.

This is why I want to express my thanks to you and all your colleagues. We are dealing with the problem that you have mentioned. I just do not have a ready-made solution at the moment. I am trying to be careful not to announce anything here that is not ready for a final decision, but we will work on it.


<…>





Chief Physician of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional AIDS Centre Solomon Apoyan:

We are in a laboratory that was deployed in just one week when the pandemic began. Its specialists conduct over 3,500 COVID tests daily.

People diagnosing COVID-19 cases are standing behind me. We also study COVID test systems being manufactured worldwide. I am very happy to say that Russian-made test systems are more accurate than most foreign test systems we have studied.

Our facility regularly tests over 1,500 volunteers for the coronavirus.

Mr President, despite the pandemic, no one has told the Russian Popular Front to stop addressing the questions received during your Direct Line. Volunteers from the We Are Together campaign have also joined in to deal with millions of appeals.

For example, over 400 people in the Nizhny Novgorod Region who took part in your Direct Line event have received targeted assistance from our volunteers.

You held your news conference in December 2020. In all, 344,000 questions were received during this news conference. Mr President, all of them have already been sorted out, including 8,000 questions coming from our region.

We provide assistance on all questions whenever possible. If we are unable to help, we refer them to state agencies and address these questions together with them.

Quite recently, I visited an old woman together with district administration officials and helped install electric wiring at her place.

Mr President, you mentioned the call of the heart several times today, and I wrote it down. The We Are Together campaign is a kind of test for gauging our love for humanity. All of us know a lot about test systems, and I can say that our national test system did not let us down once again.

Mr President, summing up my remarks, I can see that everyone is asking for something, and I would also like to make a big request: Please hold your upcoming Direct Line earlier this year because we are already running out of appeals, and we have nothing to work with.

Thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

I would like to say something in this connection, Mr Apoyan. First, special words of gratitude go both to you and to all those who are helping me to actually answer the hundreds of thousands of requests and questions sent in during Direct Line.

Here is what I have noted, and I think that you will agree with me: I asked official agencies, quasi-official in fact, to work through those requests received during Direct Line. But that is also volunteering, actually, because it is not so much about helping me, or me at all, but helping those people who sought my help. In this case, I think you could well say thank you to me because these problems have reached you through me.

As far as I can imagine – this is what we are discussing – all volunteers indeed work at the call of their hearts, I will repeat this again, but one needs to figure out what to do. So when real requests come, in this case, to your humble servant, the head of state, it becomes clear where the people are dissatisfied. It is simply unrealistic to answer millions of questions even with the help of my assistants, employees and even the entire Government, but when thousands of people are involved in this work, it becomes quite obvious that we can do it. In fact, first of all, this is not about helping me, but about helping people who ask me for help. This is kind of obvious, but I would still like to point this out to you, Mr Apoyan, and once again thank you very much for your work.

As for the timing, I will also think about it.

Thank you so much.



Solomon Apoyan:

Thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

As for the test systems, ours are indeed among the best in the world, this is true. At the first stage – as a specialist, you know this better than I do – there were issues with the reagents and with the time patients had to wait for the results, but they are improving. Our test systems, I can say this with confidence, detect almost every strain of the coronavirus. They determine them all, and reliably enough.


<…>


Vladimir Putin:

I suggest we move on to the concluding part of our meeting. I would like to thank all of you for today’s joint work and the meeting, and, of course, for everything you have previously done. I want to express hope that this work will continue and, as we say, will not go through bureaucratic channels, but will come from the heart and soul.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, I want to wish all women present here, all women in the audience who are taking part in our work today, and simply all our women, a happy holiday

As a matter of fact, this holiday is not only for women; it is celebrated by everyone like we celebrate February 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day. We, men, also join in the holiday with great pleasure because it is also part of what we discussed today. It gives men an opportunity to present themselves well.

I want to congratulate you and wish you all the best. As bureaucrats say in such cases, by congratulating you, I want to congratulate all our wonderful women.

Thank you again, everyone. Good luck.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65096
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Old March 15th, 2021 #196
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Meeting with permanent members of the Security Council



Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council.



March 5, 2021 - 13:30 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Today, we will discuss a number of issues on the international agenda and efforts to safeguard Russia’s interests in the field of international economic cooperation and in the political sphere.

We will hear reports that have been prepared on this score. Let’s get down to work.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65099






Birthday greetings to Valentina Tereshkova, pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union



Vladimir Putin sent birthday greetings to Valentina Tereshkova, pilot-cosmonaut and Hero of the Soviet Union.



March 6, 2021 - 11:00







The message reads, in part:

“Your life and professional career deserve the deepest respect. You are the world’s first woman to have conquered space who wrote heroic and unforgettable pages in our nation’s history.

It is gratifying that through the years your knowledge, experience and earnest desire to be involved in the future of our Fatherland have been essential for important public and legislative activities.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65102






Greetings to Alexander Bolshunov on silver medal at World Ski Championships 2021 in Oberstdorf



Vladimir Putin sent a message congratulating Alexander Bolshunov on his silver medal in the 50 km Classic cross country ski race at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021 in Oberstdorf.



March 7, 2021 - 20:00







The President’s message reads, in part:

“Despite the difficult and dramatic situation on the ski track in Oberstdorf you kept fighting till the end, displaying a fighter’s character, worthy of a winner, and you became the true hero of the race.

I am certain that fans both in Russia and abroad appreciated your mastery, stamina and willpower.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65108






Congratulations to Russia’s women on Women’s Day



Vladimir Putin congratulated Russia’s women on International Women’s Day.



March 8, 2021 - 09:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow






President of Vladimir Putin:

Dear women of Russia,

My best greetings to you on International Women’s Day, a holiday filled with joy, warmth and goodness.

Today, sincere words of tender, heartfelt gratitude are heard in every home. We are saying them to our mothers, grandmothers, wives, sisters, daughters, girlfriends, and colleagues at work. These long-standing traditions of celebrating March 8 put everyone in a special mood. They symbolise the advent of spring and assert the role of women in our life, in preserving the genuine values that have always been and, I am sure, will remain an inspiring moral guideline.

You are bringing into this world harmony, tenderness, beauty and the strongest, purest and selfless feeling – unconditional motherly love. You devote yourselves without reservation to your children, their development and upbringing. You are worried and concerned about them, proud of them, rejoice at their achievements and you do everything you can to help them to become successful, worthy people.

Caring for children and the warmth of home comfort which you are always striving to create for your family require difficult everyday work. Naturally, it deserves the highest recognition.

And you always manage to cope with everything in some mysterious way. You reach summits in the most diverse areas of human endeavour. You evoke invariable respect for your commitment, reliability and responsible approach to the matter. Today offers an opportunity to thank you for these qualities that are vital for any profession.

I would like to extend special greetings to female medical workers. In the hardest conditions of the pandemic you are displaying goodness and professionalism and you continue doing all you can.

I would like to thank all women – doctors, paramedics, medical nurses, all those who are saving the lives of and nursing the patients back to health in red zones, as part of emergency teams, in hospitals and outpatient clinics.

We have known for a long time that sympathy, care, and an attentive and kind attitude are sometimes as important as medication. You are giving exactly this kind of assistance to your patients – a true womanly, heartfelt support.





Dear women,

March 8 is the day of triumph of love, admiration and gratitude. We are overwhelmed and united by these wonderful emotions.

I would like to convey once again my heartfelt greetings to you on this holiday! I wish you good health and success – success in everything, and mutual understanding with those who are dear to you. And, of course, I would like you to have as many reasons for smiles and joy as possible.

Be happy!




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65105






Greetings to participants in Figaro National Acting Award ceremony



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants of the 11th Andrei Mironov Figaro National Acting Award ceremony.



March 8, 2021 - 17:30



The message reads, in part:

This vibrant project has been uniting the country's creative community through its noble mission for many years. Actors, directors, and public figures choose the worthy awardees and celebrate their merits with this prestigious award.

I am confident that the Figaro Award will continue to contribute to cementing and popularising the best traditions of Russian drama, and will inspire you to reach new heights.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65109






Meeting with Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov to discuss plans for holding the Year of Science and Technology.



March 9, 2021 - 13:40 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr Falkov, 2021 has been declared the Year of Science and Technology. What is your vision for it as the head of the relevant agency?



Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov:

Thank you, Mr President. I have prepared a short presentation.

First of all, I would like to thank you for declaring 2021 the Year of Science and Technology. I would like to mention that the VTsIOM public opinion centre recently held a special poll on the Year of Science and Technology. In particular, it asked about the importance of developing science and technology in the country. The respondents ranked it 9.2 on a 10-point scale. In other words, an almost absolute majority noted the fundamental importance of this.

As for us, we looked at the situation from the viewpoint of national goals and we have prepared a plan. A special feature of this year will be that we have assigned a theme to each month; we looked at the country’s history and current areas of scientific endeavour. It is obvious that the theme for April is Space Exploration. The theme for May is New Challenges and Threats. Security; Spatial Connectivity and Development for July; Environment and Climate for August; Genetics and Quality of Life for September, and so on. We will end the year in December with The Individual and Society.

I would like to add that when we considered a symbol for the Year of Science, we looked at the country’s history and, of course, its connection to the current age. We have chosen the armillary sphere for several reasons.

First and foremost, an armillary sphere crowns the main tower of the Kunstkamera, the cradle of Russian science currently known as the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. On the other hand, the sphere is a stylised model of an atom. As we know, the nuclear project largely predetermined not only the world order but also the development of our country in the 20th century. And thirdly, it is a reference to the present if we look at it at an interdisciplinary angle.

I would like to elaborate on one issue: there are some other data on the VTsIOM survey. Involving talented youth in the sphere is a priority goal of the Year of Science and Technology. The state has been doing a lot in recent years. As you know, the reputation of scientists is growing. According to the same VTsIOM survey, 59 percent of respondents said that last year the reputation of scientists in Russian society increased. Of course, this is mostly due to our success with the vaccines, but we can see the same movement in other fields as well.

However, there is a systemic problem related to the fact that unfortunately we do not have one clear definition or regulated legal status of young scientists either in the federal or regional law. There are different interpretations in bylaws, which impedes focusing state support measures.

This is why we have held consultations with our colleagues from the Government and the Presidential Executive Office and have composed a request for you. We would like to ask you to support us in amending the law on science so that it would envisage the definition and the legal status of young scientists as a set of rights, obligations and, which is very important, guarantees. We believe this will set right the system of state support measures for young scientists and increase the efficiency of their implementation.

This is a moment of principle importance. If we have your support, we will try to make amendments to law as soon as possible and help young scientists during the Year of Science and Technology so that this job and sphere become even more prestigious.





Vladimir Putin:

Good. I believe the state should take care of scientists of all generations and all ages, but I base this on the fact that beginners in research need special support from the state because they are beginners and are just taking their first steps.

You know, I have looked through your plans. As I see, in August you plan to focus on the climate and the environment. This is a most important field for all people in general around the world and in Russia. Would you please elaborate on this?





Valery Falkov:

Yes, I would like to inform you separately, I prepared another short presentation. We are launching a new ambitious scientific and educational pilot project to create carbon testing sites.



Vladimir Putin:

What is that?



Valery Falkov:

Carbon testing sites are special territories and areas. We chose seven pilot regions that are geostrategically different regions, including Kaliningrad Region, Sakhalin Region, the Chechen Republic, Krasnodar Territory, and Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk and Tyumen regions.

What tasks do we want to accomplish in this case? We want to develop methods for measuring the fluxes of the main greenhouse gases – this is fundamentally important – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and so on. Why is this important? Because today all countries, as part of the decarbonisation of their economies on the climate agenda, are working to have their own systems for recording greenhouse gases.

For our country this is a matter of national security. It is important to have our own non-discriminatory system for measuring the balance of greenhouse gases, that is, how and where they are emitted and absorbed.

Through such testing sites, created in different regions and in different localities, with the participation, on the one hand, of experienced scientists – as defined in your Executive Order, we surely rely on the full power of our academic institutions and leading universities. On the other hand, so that this is not a purely academic matter, we have invited private investors, and we have a number of companies such as Gazprom Neft, SIBUR, Sinara, and a number of others that have already responded, and they are ready to invest in these testing sites.

And thirdly, young people generally have major environmental demands today, we understand that work here will be in demand among young people, so we also want to teach at the same time so that students can study and practice here. Moreover, not only students of environmental management and ecology, biology, or soil science departments, but it is equally important that the topic of decarbonisation is an economic topic, therefore future lawyers, legal regulators and economists will also be involved.

I will report to you later. We would like to build several dozen such test sites all over the country. My colleague governors, as soon as they learn about it, are eagerly joining us. We have enough resources and support from businesses. I just wanted you to know, because it is crucially important, that as many people as possible are involved.

Each such test site will also have a so called “carbon farm” because experts say that it is going to develop into an entire industry providing a lot of jobs by 2030. There are forests being cultivated especially for absorbing greenhouse gases.

We will try to work in this area dynamically with other regions and authorities.





Vladimir Putin:

No doubt, decarbonisation is a most important activity not only in the world but in this country too. It is only important not to use it as an instrument for achieving some mercenary economic or other objectives, not to use this to our country’s detriment.

And I agree with you that we undoubtedly need to attract not just, as we call it, true scientists, but also practical people, who understand what is happening in real life.

We know what the European countries and the southern United States faced quite recently when windmills froze and defrosting them required huge quantities of energy from sources that in some places was forbidden for power generation as a matter of principle.

This is why it is very important to combine scientific knowhow and the needs of the contemporary economy, look into the future and cooperate.

No doubt, it should be done together with colleagues not only inside the country, but also, primarily, with the EAEU and CIS states, and generally with all the colleagues interested in the results of the joint work.

It is a very interesting field.





Valery Falkov:

I will keep you posted. This is how we see it. The sites are open and our colleagues, foreign students and researchers, all of them should be aware that we are making calculations based on scientific data, and these calculations can and should be trusted, and we will exchange them. And it seems to me that this will be generally for the benefit of the entire humankind because science, as always, pursues global objectives.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65110






Congratulations to composer and National Artist of Russia Alexander Zatsepin



Vladimir Putin congratulated Alexander Zatsepin, composer and National Artist of Russia, on his 95th birthday.



March 10, 2021 - 14:00







The message reads, in part:

“Your talent as a musician and composer, as well as your determination and truly inexhaustible energy, allowed you to achieve creative success and to create wonderful masterpieces that have won truly nationwide love. Famous stage artists have been performing them for many years, and these masterpieces, featured in films and animated cartoons, make audience happy by introducing them to real art.”

Alexander Zatsepin has composed over 90 soundtracks and more than 300 songs. He has also written several musicals and scores for plays, and has created a number of instrumental pieces.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65135






Telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel



Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel at the initiative of the Luxembourg party.



March 10, 2021 - 15:15



Vladimir Putin and Xavier Bettel discussed topical issues on the bilateral agenda, noting the traditionally friendly and constructive nature of Russia-Luxembourg cooperation, including in the context of the 130th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, marked just recently. Both sides reaffirmed their mutual striving to expand political contacts, trade and economic, and cultural and humanitarian ties.

Special attention was paid to cooperation in the area of countering the spread of the coronavirus infection, including possible prospects for supplying Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to Luxembourg.

Vladimir Putin and Xavier Bettel also touched upon the current status of the dialogue between Russia and the European Union.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65132
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Launch of construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant’s third unit



Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan took part in a videoconference ceremony to launch the construction of the third unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the Mersin Province of Turkey.



March 10, 2021 - 16:25 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The ceremony was also attended by CEO of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexei Likhachev and Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez.

The power plant is being built by Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation under an intergovernmental agreement signed in 2010. In all, the power plant will have four units with a total capacity of 4,800 MW.






CEO of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexei Likhachev:

President Putin, President Erdogan,

You started the construction of the Akkuyu NPP, the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, three short years ago. Today, we are starting full-scale construction on the third unit.

I will briefly go over the milestones of this largely unparalleled project. An intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on building a nuclear power plant was signed on May 12, 2010. In 2017, the project was restarted with an intensive development effort.

From 2017 to 2019, key contracts and agreements were signed covering the supply of fuel, the purchase and sale of electricity, and connection to the national power grid of the Republic of Turkey.

The coronavirus pandemic came as a serious challenge for us all. However, despite tough quarantine restrictions, we managed to keep the construction active. For Rosatom, protecting the health of everyone involved in the construction – a multinational team – remains a priority.

President Putin, President Erdogan, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the government of the Republic of Turkey and the heads of the regions and districts for their full support of the Akkuyu project which allowed us to regularly send in rotational teams of Russian specialists to the construction site. We are also grateful to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Labour for helping our employees with the special visa requirements.

To reciprocate, the Akkuyu Nuclear company took part in the initiative advanced by President Erdogan to support the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services amid the pandemic. We also helped medical institutions located near ​​the construction site.

The threats from the pandemic are gradually receding, and the quarantine restrictions are being relaxed, which allows us to pick up a genuinely unprecedented pace in implementing the project. The foundations for the reactor building at the first and second units have been built, a melt trap has been installed based on the design, infrastructure is being built, and preparations are underway for the construction of a compound for the specialists who will work at the nuclear power plant.

This year, a number of key projects will be performed at the first power unit. In particular, the reactor pressure vessel will be assembled, the inner containment vessel tiers will be mounted on the second unit, and the melt trap will be installed at the third unit by the end of the year.

We are seeing continuous interest from Turkish businesses in this project. Over 400 Turkish companies are involved in the project. They deliver materials and equipment, render services and carry out various jobs. The value of the orders received by Turkish suppliers has already exceeded $2 billion.

What should we emphasise? The general contractor of the facility is a joint Russian-Turkish venture with equally divided shares, fifty-fifty. It has a high level of localisation. The large-scale involvement of Turkish companies in the project is facilitating the construction of a nuclear industrial cluster in Turkey, where Rosatom can cooperate on other projects.

Esteemed presidents,

This project is truly unique.

To begin with, today, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is the largest nuclear construction site in the world. Three power units are being built simultaneously now.

Second, this is the world’s only nuclear power project built under the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) concept.

Third, we just celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, and are still excited by the emotions of this holiday. Akkuyu is the world’s only NPP construction project that is headed by a woman, Rosatom’s Anastasia Zoteyeva.

Over 4,000 people will operate and maintain this nuclear power plant. Since nuclear power engineering is a new industry for Turkey, we immediately offered assistance for personnel training. Young specialists with Russian diplomas in nuclear education are joining the Akkuyu project team. In all, 143 young Turkish engineers are already working on the construction site and 107 students continue their studies in Moscow. This figure will be growing every year.

Let me emphasise that Rosatom is building this NPP in Turkey under a reference project. We are currently operating similar plants in our country, so Turkish specialists have the opportunity to study the equipment and structure in practice.

Ladies and gentlemen,

With consideration for sustainable development goals, Rosatom always remembers its social responsibility both in Russia and abroad. In this project, we are cooperating with education institutions in the Gulnar District and thevillage of Kocaeli.

They say in Turkey: “One stone cannot be a wall.” Likewise, the successful development of this Turkish nuclear project is the result of a concerted effort. Only by pooling efforts, with our national leaders, Turkish industry and the support of society will we be able to quickly and effectively build a nuclear power plant that will become one of the foundations of the republic’s energy security.

I would like to congratulate everyone on the start of the construction of the third power unit and thank the presidents for their personal attention to this issue.

Thank you.





Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Fatih Donmez (retranslated):

President Erdogan, President Putin, Head of Rosatom Mr Likhachev, representatives of local municipalities and the media,

Welcome to the ground-breaking ceremony for the third power unit!

Today, we are marking another milestone in our project. The construction of this nuclear power plant is progressing at a fast pace. We are one step closer to the goal of building this nuclear power plant. I look forward to carrying out all the subsequent phases in conjunction with you after today’s phase is completed.

Turkey will be introduced to a whole new source of power. Led by President Erdogan, Turkey is rapidly moving towards new heights and horizons. Turkey’s energy capacity will greatly increase once this project is completed. Plans are also in place to increase energy efficiency, which is one of our key economic goals.

Notably, the contribution of imported technology will taper off due to wider use of local technologies and capabilities. Eventually, we would like to produce an uninterrupted supply of power regardless of the season and deliver it to all Turkish regions. This will help us avoid such negative incidents as power outages or failures.

President Erdogan has always made the point, and we support this approach, that minor details and Turkey’s needs must be taken into account when generating uninterrupted power and supplying it to the end customer, and when building nuclear power plants like this one. Thus, the construction and commissioning of this nuclear power plant will cut these risks in Turkey by 10 percent.

Here, I would also like to talk about the environment, namely, zero emissions. This NPP will be an eco-friendly operation. It will save 9 million hectares of forest. That is, our environmentally friendly approach will help preserve nature.

I would also like to mention the contribution to the employment situation. As you know, large numbers of people have been involved in this project, depending on its particular stage.

All the above will play a role not only in the power generating industry, but also in other sectors of our economy, such as the defence industry and the space industry. Other sectors of the Turkish national economy will also benefit from the opportunities that will become available thanks to this nuclear power plant.

We will try to create an appropriate foothold and a platform on a national basis for the experience that is necessary for the development of innovative technology. On a separate note, this represents excellent opportunities for Turkish youth.

I would like to convey my special thanks to President Erdogan and President Putin, as well as everyone involved in this project, such as government services, people and organisations.

I would like to thank all participants. I wish you prosperity and successful completion of this project.



President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr President, friends,

First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on the start of one more important stage in the implementation of a large-scale joint Russian-Turkish project, the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Turkey.

In a few minutes, President Erdogan and I will launch the pouring of concrete into the foundation of the NPP’s third unit. In all, the Akkuyu NPP will have four units with reactors with a total capacity of 4,800 MW, which will be able to produce up to 37 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

I clearly remember, as we already mentioned today, how Mr Erdogan and I took part in the ceremony to launch the construction of the first unit in April 2018. I would like to express satisfaction with the combined efforts of the Russian and Turkish professionals – nuclear experts, engineers and workers – which ensured the construction of the nuclear power plant in accordance with the agreed schedule. At the same time, we are dealing successfully with the most complicated design, assembly and technological objectives.

Even well-known difficulties linked with the coronavirus pandemic failed to hamper the consistent implementation of the Akkuyu project; we have also noted this today. I would like to point out that top-level onsite sanitary-epidemic safety and healthcare standards are maintained for employees directly involved in the project.

Turkey’s first Akkuyu NPP should start operating in 2023 when the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey will be celebrated. The Turkish leadership and Mr Erdogan set this task when this project was launched. We also attach great significance to this; the President of Turkey and we have agreed to continue providing the necessary assistance and support to the Akkuyu project.

We are certain that its implementation will make a serious contribution to strengthening the energy security of the Republic of Turkey, and that this will facilitate its subsequent economic growth. The project will provide Turkish consumers with inexpensive and environmentally friendly electricity.

A powerful boost will be given to the development in Turkey of an entirely new sector – the nuclear power industry, to strengthening the country’s research and production potential and to the creation of new jobs. By the way, over 8,000 people, mostly Turkish citizens, are currently working at the construction site.

Today, Rosatom operates a centre for training the future NPP’s technical personnel at Akkuyu. As has already been mentioned, Russian universities train nuclear engineers for Turkey. Over 100 Turkish students are currently studying in Russia, and they will eventually obtain jobs at the Akkuyu NPP. Over 200 Turkish students will graduate in 2021. So, there will be enough national specialists trained for the Turkish nuclear industry before the nuclear power plant goes on stream.

I would like to point out that Rosatom, as a recognised leader in peaceful nuclear development, is applying the most advanced engineering solutions and economically effective and reliable technology during the plant’s construction. At the same time, it also ensures the strictest safety and environmental standards.

I would like to note that the Russian side is actively engaging not only Russian but also Turkish professionals and businesses in the plant’s construction and subcontracting. The implementation of a considerable number of contracts necessary for the future plant has been localised in Turkey, which is yet further proof of the commercial advantages of this project for all parties.

Friends,

In conclusion, I would like to express gratitude to our friend, the President of Turkey, for his initiative to hold a special ceremony for this event.

I would also like to thank all those involved in the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and to once again express confidence that the successful implementation of this truly flagship project will not just advance our energy cooperation to a fundamentally new level but will also facilitate the further development of the multifaceted Russian-Turkish partnership and will help strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between our people.

I would like to wish all of you every success. Thank you.





President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (retranslated):

Mr President, my dear friend, ministers, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to convey my heart-felt greetings to all of you.

I would also like to thank the President of the Russian Federation, my dear friend Mr Putin for joining the ceremony for the launch of construction remotely. I would like to thank all of our guests for coming here and personally attending this ceremony.

Today we are experiencing well-deserved pride for what we have accomplished. Today we are launching the construction of the third power unit at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Now we will quickly move forward with this construction and start laying down the fourth unit. This strategic plan is aimed at diversifying Turkey’s energy supply.

Despite the impact of the coronavirus on the entire world, we continue to grow. Last year many countries faced a serious economic decline. Meanwhile, our economy grew by 2.7 percent. We believe this year our economic growth will be even higher.

Considering this economic growth, we must ensure stable energy supplies on beneficial terms. This is why we are striving to develop and increase the number of various energy projects. In this context, the efficiency of power engineering, green energy and renewable energy sources are very important. Renewable energy sources generate 63.7 percent of all energy in Turkey today. Thus, in the past few years, we have established 4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of new generating capacity.

An independent power industry is our main objective in making Turkey strong. Probing and seismic studies conducted in the Eastern Mediterranean inspire us with hope.

Energy policy is of special importance for us, and our goal is to make electricity generation completely emission-free.

We want to add nuclear energy to our electricity generation mix. This NPP will provide us with additional opportunities in this respect. The plant’s construction provides jobs to 16,000 people. Once it is put into operation, it will provide permanent jobs for 4,000 people. Now, 186 of our students, who have received an education for six and a half years, have returned home and will work to develop the nuclear energy industry in Turkey. They will continue working for this benefit.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,

We plan to bring the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant online in 2023. The plant will eventually have four reactors. We are working day and night on all four reactors. In 2023, when we celebrate the centenary of the Republic of Turkey, it will become a “nuclear energy” country. Thus, 10 percent of all energy generation – 65 billion kWh – will be produced by the nuclear energy industry. To ensure the proper performance of our nuclear plant we must focus on it and take a comprehensive approach. We are doing this and confidently moving forward.

Needless to say, we are not compromising on safety in any way. The Akkuyu NPP will have all the necessary safety equipment. Our designs meet IAEA quality and safety standards.

As my colleague said, this is one of the symbols of cooperation between Russia and Turkey. We will continue developing new projects together. Both President Putin and I have shown a strong inclination for this cooperation.

Our dialogue concerns not only bilateral relations but is also aimed at ensuring security in the entire region. Russia and Turkey are conducting a dialogue on the issues of Karabakh and Syria. We have found opportunities for a common language and we are motivated to develop our dialogue.

Recently, there have been difficulties in tourism and economic performance due to the coronavirus, and if it is the will of Allah, we will manage to eliminate the harm this year. We want Russian tourists to travel here and in this context, we are being guided by considerations of safe travels.

I would like to thank Mr Putin in the first place and all those who contributed to implementing this project. I would like to thank our companies and departments, their executives and technical and administrative personnel for their contribution to this project. I want all this to be useful for everyone.

I would like to greet all of you with love and respect once again. Stay healthy!





Fatih Donmez:

President Erdogan, President Putin. I am here with the directors of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, journalists, the people’s deputies, and executives from the Mayor’s office. Not all of them have been able to speak on the stage. Not all ministries or companies are personally represented here. But we are ready for the ceremony to launch the construction of the third unit. We are waiting for your instructions.



Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

My dear friend, Mr Putin! Go ahead please.



Alexei Likhachev:

Allow us to start the operation of the third generating unit at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.



Vladimir Putin:

I am giving you the all-clear, go ahead!

Congratulations once again!



Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

I hope to meet with my dear friend very soon.



Vladimir Putin:

It’s a deal; we haven’t met for some time. We must do this soon.

Congratulations to you again!

All the best.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65133






Meeting with Government members



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, with members of the Russian Federation Government.



March 10, 2021 - 18:30 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy prime ministers Viktoria Abramchenko, Yury Borisov, Tatyana Golikova, Alexander Novak, Alexei Overchuk, Marat Khusnullin and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Healthcare Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev, Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities Irek Fayzullin, Minister for Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunkov, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov and Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Zarina Doguzova.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Alexei Chekunkov's report on the socioeconomic development of the Far East and the Arctic is the main item on today’s agenda.

But as usual, we will start with the current issues. This afternoon, Mr Mishustin and I had a meeting, and he briefed me on his trip to a number of Siberian regions. We agreed that he would share his impressions and the results of this work in Siberia in more detail not only with me, but with our colleagues as well.

Mr Mishustin, if you don’t mind, let's start with you. Please go ahead.



Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin:

Mr President, colleagues,

My working trip to five Siberian regions ended last week. I would like to brief you on the results.

We went to the Altai Territory, the republics of Altai and Tuva, and the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions. Three of them are on the list of the territories with the most complicated socioeconomic situation. Individual programmes have been compiled for each of them, and the Government allots a billion rubles for each region every year.

I would like to mention the Kemerovo Region specifically. We discussed in detail the socioeconomic situation and the state of the coal industry there. Under your instructions, the Government expedited and completed the drafting of the socioeconomic development programme for Kuzbass. It has been approved. The programme will run for four years and over 51 billion rubles will be allocated for its implementation. The programme provides for building key social facilities. Under your instructions, we reviewed investment in transport, public utility infrastructure, and tourism. This will allow us to create jobs in industries that are not related to coal mining, and, hence, to diversify the economy of Kuzbass. You have repeatedly drawn our attention to this, including at the meeting a week ago.

In addition, in Kemerovo we held a meeting on transport support for the delivery of coal from the region, including the development of the Eastern Operating Domain, including the expansion of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway. With this, we followed the instructions you gave the Government. The Transport Ministry has already prepared a draft quarterly schedule for construction with indicators for carriage and traffic capacity and the maximum average weight of a freight train to the smallest detail. We will adjust this documentation in the wake of our discussion in Kemerovo and report back to you.

Now I would like to say a few words about the other Siberian regions we visited. A number of important decisions were made in each of them. All of them are aimed at improving living standards and the situation in the economy, social sphere, science and education.

Funds will be allocated for completing the construction of a school and kindergartens in Tyva to accommodate all children this year. Two schools in Barnaul and a building for a lyceum in Gorno-Altaisk will be built under a public-private partnership.

We will continue providing schools with modern technology and equipment. Schoolchildren and students in big and small cities, rural areas and even difficult-to-access locations will receive more opportunities for education and communication. On your instruction, all schools in the country must have internet access by the end of the year. This is important, especially for rural schools, and this task is under the special supervision of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media.

We have also visited Novosibirsk and toured Siberia’s largest sorting centre operated by Russian Post. It will become a key element of the international e-commerce routes connecting Europe and Asia. It is a state-of-the-art complex with an area of ​​40,000 square metres boasting a processing speed of 1.5 million mailings per day. Letters and parcels will no longer be sorted exclusively in Moscow, but will be promptly sorted at centres like this to speed up delivery. People in all corners of our country will be able to use this service more widely. This is the reason for creating a network of hubs.

We also held meetings with employees of major research centres to discuss their work-related problems. Just like the school education system, they lack modern equipment, labs, and renovated premises to conduct research and permanently accommodate students.

The situation is much the same at the Novosibirsk Specialised Education and Research Centre for Gifted Children. Mr President, as you are aware, there are five such centres. Three more will be built in the next three years. They will be properly equipped so that future scholars and researchers can develop their talents and do research. Such centres need steady financing, including for boarding. So, a law was drafted, which we will promptly submit to the State Duma so that the deputies can review it during the spring session.

We are using public-private partnership to accelerate the renovation of major research centres. An investor is willing to invest in the construction of new buildings at the Novosibirsk State University campus, including for the Specialised Education and Research Centre that I mentioned earlier.

During the trip, we discussed unique projects to fight cancer and dangerous infections, including the coronavirus, as well as the Siberian researchers’ other achievements. We discussed the research community’s concerns, primarily, funding the research to identify innovative breakthrough cancer treatment methods, which is being conducted at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics. We will allocate an additional 800 million rubles to this end.

Young researchers need help to improve their housing conditions. We are upgrading the programme for housing certificates to make university teachers eligible for them as well. We will make this procedure more accessible and convenient, and draft the necessary amendments for this.

Mr President, when I met with the researchers at the Institute of Nuclear Physics, they recalled with warmth your visit and asked me to convey to you their best regards. So I am fulfilling their request as promised.

In Siberia we also had several meetings with representatives of the industry, the agro-industrial sector and tourism. They presented a number of proposals and we will meticulously study all of them.

I would also like to report to you today that according to the Finance Ministry, Norilsk Nickel has paid its fine in full. Thus, it has given up its claims. I would also like to tell you, Mr President, that this issue is closed at this point.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.

Mr Mishustin, your visit was very eventful and substantive. I hope for the implementation of the agreements that were reached during this visit with your colleagues from the Government and the regions you have visited. Naturally, it is necessary to attract the required investment to these regions to reach these specific goals, including the improvement of the living standards for the residents of these regions.

You have described the plans for developing Kuzbass. In general, this is a very positive concept, and, I think, a promising form of work. I am referring to the drafting of individual development programmes with account for the peculiarities of the different regions, including in this case those you visited. I believe this is a good approach, and we must follow how it goes in Kuzbass. We have this experience and can draft individual development plans for specific regions.

We discussed this issue when we met today. I am referring to the disparity in utility rates, primarily electricity rates. We know the gap is very big and this is often the case even with neighbouring regions. I would like you to note this and study all these issues with a lot of attention, as we agreed this morning.

Regarding receipt of funds from Norilsky Nickel, I believe that we can state with satisfaction that the company is fulfilling its obligations. We hope it will stay that way.

As agreed, I would like to ask you to spend this sum total on improving the mid-term and long-term environmental situation in Norilsk and the adjacent region. Certainly, it is hardly possible to make effective use of such resources in one and the same vicinity because environmental problems do not accumulate in one area and because they encompass larger territories. It therefore appears that we can use this funds to solve environmental problems in the entire region, all the more so as this amount, or 146 billion rubles, will eventually be transferred to Norilsk. Let’s organise our work in precisely this manner.

I would like to thank you and all colleagues who have visited Siberia for this work. I hope that all agreements that have been reached will be duly fulfilled on time.

Thank you.

In this connection, I would like to ask Mr Novak about how he regards the agreements with colleagues in the OPEC Plus format, bearing in mind that our main oil production facilities are located in Siberia.

Please, you have the floor.



Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak:

Mr President, Mr Prime Minister,

As per your instruction, we continue to coordinate the actions of 23 oil-producing countries in order to stabilise the situation on the oil markets. A regular meeting was held on March 4, the discussion was difficult, although constructive. Different opinions on the situation and possible subsequent actions were voiced. The parties therefore approved the following package of agreements.

First, OPEC Plus countries agreed to retain January 2021 oil production levels throughout April. Earlier, it was believed that oil output would increase by 0.5 million barrels in April. Saudi Arabia also announced its decision to extend additional oil production cut totalling one million barrels daily.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia did that in February and planned to partially reinstate oil production in April. That way, they have also extended their oil production cuts.

Second, in accordance with the agreements reached, Russia can increase oil production by 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April. This is our quota. If the aggregate volume of production was increased by 500,000 bpd in April as planned, we would have been assigned this quota, which means that we have retained it. This has been done above all thanks to our position regarding the more favourable epidemiological situation in Russia, because we are lifting quarantine restrictions and we also need to satisfy a growing demand for oil products.

Third, we have also agreed that there will be compensation for the shortfall due to some countries’ failure to fulfil their quotas. This issue has been coordinated as well, and the OPEC Plus countries will do this before July.

Fourth, the next meeting has been scheduled for early April. We will discuss oil production volumes for May.

Mr President, I would like to point out that these agreements, which are positive for us, with the main players on the oil market have been reached thanks above all to your support and the attention you are constantly paying to this matter. Of course, we are also grateful to our partners for their constructive approach.

As a result of these agreements, the recovery of oil production in Russia will be 890,000 bpd when the agreement comes into effect. This is 45 percent of the maximum reduction figures agreed in May and June last year. In other words, we will recover nearly half of the production shortfall in April.

A faster recovery of oil production compared to the OPEC Plus schedule will allow us to market an additional 3.5 million tonnes of oil. I am referring to the additional 130,000 bpd we will produce and the February-March agreement regarding the production of additional 65,000 bpd. Overall, the additional income for the industry will be about 125 billion rubles, which means additional revenue for the Russian regions and the federal budget, extra supplies to our oil refineries for the domestic market and to meeting the growing demand, as well as new contracts for related industries.

If I may, I will say a few words about the current market situation.

As of today, the market is more stable, thanks to the OPEC Plus deal and the general revival in demand, among other things.

The demand is gradually recovering. Let me remind you that last year it was falling by 20–22 million barrels per day in general. Over this period of time, it has recovered by 15–17 million barrels per day. This year we expect the general recovery of demand at about 5.5 million barrels per day. The final recovery of the pre-crisis demand level is expected in 2022.

There is a deficit on the market at the moment, meaning a lack of resources, which makes it possible to exploit the rest of the resources accumulated during the pandemic, especially last year when the demand plummeted. We expect that this year the accumulated resources will decrease to the average five-year number.

We can also see prices growing. If last year prices fell to $20 per barrel (last April), this year the price for Brent already exceeds $65. The current price for today is $67 per barrel. The average price since the beginning of the year is about $60.

At such a level, we expect additional income to the National Welfare Fund at about 2.5 trillion rubles, at an average annual price of $60.

Speaking about prospects, there are positive and negative factors influencing the market. For example, positive factors include the beginning of vaccinations in many countries: as of March 1, vaccinations have begun in 71 countries. The demand is reviving in the Asia-Pacific: we can see that the consumption of oil products in the APR countries is higher than the same month last year by almost a million barrels. And in a positive way, many countries have adopted stimulating packages to drive their economies towards recovery.

Speaking about negative factors, or uncertainties, I would like to note the quarantine measures that are still in force in Europe. Despite the start of vaccinations, many countries maintain some restrictive measures. The mobility of population is still low. If we talk about commercial transportation, for example aviation, this level is at 60 percent of the pre-crisis level, so there is still potential for growth and recovery. And we note as an uncertainty that OPEC Plus non-member countries can also increase production as a result of rising prices.

In conclusion, Mr President, I would like to say that we will continue to monitor the situation on the markets. We will also maintain interaction with our partners regarding the restoration of the market in order to increase the output as demand continues to grow, and in the future to increase investment. This, of course, will have a positive impact on the implementation of national goals as per your instructions.

Thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.

What did you say the global market deficit was?



Alexander Novak:

The current price of Brent is $67 per barrel; on average the price has been $60 since the beginning of the year.



Vladimir Putin:

Not the price, what is the deficit on the global market?



Alexander Novak:

I am sorry, I did not catch you. The deficit is about one to two million barrels per day, that is, the reserves are being depleted by one or two million barrels every day.



Vladimir Putin:

Given this production rate and our increase in production, when will the balance be reached, in your opinion?



Alexander Novak:

One of the main indices that show the balance on the market is the lowering of the reserves to the level of the average five year amount. Last year, when oil demand fell sharply and supply had not yet fallen, the reserves accumulated in March, April, May and June were above the average five-year amount by approximately 230 million barrels per day. As of now, they have reached 140 million barrels per day. That is, if there is a deficit of one or two million barrels per day, then we will reach the average five-year indices in 70 or 100 days. Then the market will be considered to have been restored. At the same time, there will be no need to maintain the deficit, but we will need to maintain the balance between supply and demand and target supply as the demand grows.



Vladimir Putin:

Ok, good, thank you very much. It was hard work and overall fruitful, so thank you.



Alexander Novak:

Thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

There is another big problem with a permanent seasonal character in Russia that is related to the fuel-and-energy complex. This year many regions in the Russian Federation have abnormally low temperatures. This is also true now in the central part of Russia.

How is the winter heating season going in Russia and how is the power industry doing? I would like to address these questions to both Irek Fayzullin and Nikolai Shulginov.



(Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities Irek Fayzullin described some accidents at housing and utilities infrastructure facilities during the abnormal winter weather in many regions and explained this by the high wear-and-tear of water supply systems. He said timely and coordinated actions on all accidents made it possible to avoid complicated technological consequences.

Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov also reported on the performance of fuel-and-energy sector facilities in the extreme weather conditions this winter. These conditions did not disrupt the operation of the national power grid. They did not lead to a substantial increase in wholesale prices for electricity and did not entail large blackouts in generation or for consumers, as was the case in other countries. The Russian energy system has adequate reserve capacity, and the energy generating equipment is designed to work in extreme temperatures. According to the Minister, there were no systemic accidents like the separation of mainland Europe into two isolated parts with disruptions for consumers. Every incident in the Russian power grid was of a local nature. Due to weather conditions, energy grids in neighbouring countries were also subjected to extreme loads, and Russia met Ukraine’s request for the supply of over 100 million kWh of electricity to Ukraine under a commercial arrangement.)




Vladimir Putin:

We all know that for the most part the bigger accidents were due to the wear-and-tear of grids. This is the responsibility of the regions and municipalities, not really of the Government that deals with energy on an overall scale. However, considering that this is a long standing problem, the Government must pay more attention to it. It could issue methodological recommendations. The Federation must pay more attention to this when funding individual projects.

Obviously, there are laws and rules that are set forth in the regulations, but apparently it will be impossible to do without the direct involvement of the Federation in these issues. The main point is that people suffer from these accidents. Yes, we say, and the ministers have just reported that these accidents are local, but thousands and tens of thousands of people are not just uncomfortable – some get into serious situations and suffer.

This cannot be isolated from the tasks that are tackled at the federal level by the Government of the Russian Federation and in this context it is necessary to develop close cooperation with the regions as soon as possible. This applies to both housing and utility problems and energy. Therefore, I would like to ask you to tell us in more detail what considerations and proposals you have in this respect. I am referring not only to Mr Shulginov and not only to housing and utilities, but also to other areas of cooperation with regional authorities and regional teams.

Even though abnormally cold weather is raging through almost all of the European part of Russia, the winter is coming to an end. How was this winter tourist season, keeping in mind that we made a point of promoting domestic tourism recently?



(Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Zarina Doguzova reported that during the three winter months, about 15 million Russians travelled within the country, including one-day trips. This is 25 percent less than before the pandemic last winter. All domestic ski resorts were in high demand with the number of visitors increasing by 15–20 percent. The number of tourists in southern Russia increased 10 percent during the winter. New winter eco-destinations, such as Altai, Lake Baikal and the Russian North, have become available, and people go there for colourful winter sights like the northern lights, winter fishing or Lake Baikal ice. The tourist season was unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak in resort areas because the necessary precautions were taken. Ms Doguzova mentioned the winter charter programme, the tourist cashback programme and preparations for the summer season.)





Vladimir Putin:

Look, some countries, the economies of which heavily depend on tourism, have already said that they would open their borders to tourists. We must not and we will not stop our citizens who would like to spend their summer vacations abroad from doing so. Sure, many in our country will have well-founded concerns about going abroad, including the countries that are traditional destinations for our tourists, because the coronavirus situation there is nothing short of challenging. Look at the situation in Southern Europe which is very challenging with no signs of getting better. Let's hope the vaccination will proceed at a faster pace, and the situation will improve.

However, promoting domestic tourism remains high on our list of priorities. Everything must be done to create proper conditions for people who prefer to spend their vacations at home. Clearly, this cannot be accomplished overnight. Above all, we need to focus on infrastructure. This requires time and investment, as well as state support. Clearly, too, all programmes designed to promote domestic tourism must be supported and expanded.

But tourism is not the only sector of the economy that has not recovered yet. The affected industries that are still recovering include small and medium-sized businesses in such sectors, as we know, as catering, culture, entertainment and sports. We had an entire range of support programmes for these industries, many of which have ended by now. I know that the Government developed one more support programme, as we agreed: three-percent interest loans (previously, it was two percent; now it is three) for 12 months. Mr Reshetnikov, please tell us more about this programme.



(Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov reported on the effect of the anti-crisis measures on small and medium-sized businesses – in particular, about subsidised loans and support of investment programmes by large companies, including those with state participation. They placed 3.9 trillion rubles worth of orders with SMEs last year. As concerns the industries mentioned by the President that have not yet recovered, the minister reported that a programme for subsidised loans had been developed. Potential borrowers filed 750 loan applications for a total of 1.3 billion rubles. This will support 1.5 million jobs and 75,000 companies, as the President instructed. The previous programme supported 5 million jobs.)



Vladimir Putin:

The previous two-percent interest loan programme proved to be very much in demand considering changes on the labour market and the gradual economic recovery. I think this three-percent interest loan programme will be just as efficient. We need to closely monitor its actual progress.

Thank you.

Now let us talk about the main issue, which is the socioeconomic development of Russia’s Far East.



(Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexei Chekunkov reported on the implementation of a package of measures to upgrade living standards and expedite economic development. Since 2015, 2,700 new companies have been set up in priority development territories and the free port of Vladivostok. They have already invested almost 1.5 trillion rubles in the region. During this period, the growth of industrial production in the Far East has been double the national average – 24 percent versus 12 percent. The minister also presented a number of specific proposals on the growth of the Far East. They concern housing construction, development of the Innovative Scientific and Technological Centre on Russky Island, overcoming natural and infrastructure restrictions in agriculture, and the promotion of tourism, including eco-tourism.

Remarks and proposals on Mr Chekunkov’s report were made by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko and Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Presidential Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev.

Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev reported on the development of Aurora, a Far East regional airline with 535 established socially important routes. Its fleet will consist of 131 aircraft – 91 planes and 40 helicopters.)




Vladimir Putin:

Here is what I would like to say to you at the end of our current discussion.

I will not talk about the importance of the Arctic, the Far East, and the Far Eastern Federal District for the country, for its future and for the development of the Russian state. We have discussed this many times already, we understand the current, mid-term and long-term historical significance of these regions; and the Minister has delivered a detailed and specific report. At the same time, I would like to draw your attention to some aspects.

We should never forget our earlier agreements, we should not forget the tasks that we have set ourselves, and need to proceed from what has been accomplished. By the way, we have accomplished a lot. We are implementing major projects and creating jobs for skilled workers. We can even see a certain influx from other regions whose residents are coming to work at newly-established enterprises, including Zvezda and some others. But we have to objectively assess everything, and we should understand which actions are yielding results, and which do not produce the desired results. We should understand the causes of this and draw the relevant conclusions, rather than contemplate tremendous plans, without comprehending real-life developments.

And what is happening there? For example, we have the Far Eastern Demographic Policy Concept, approved by a Government directive in June 2017. This time, I will not go into any details, but I will recall that the document aimed to stabilise the size of the population. More or less positive results have been achieved here. We have scored less impressive results in our effort to increase the total birth-rate coefficient. Regarding efforts to reduce mortality rates, it is clear that the pandemic has made its sad contribution to these statistics. Nevertheless, we have to closely analyse this. In this connection, we have to sum up the results of implementing the Concept’s first stage, and analyse the reasons for failing to attain the set indicators in the most important fields that I have just mentioned. We also have to update the measures and specific targets of the second stage of implementing the Concept in 2021–2025.

The next closely related issue concerns healthcare. The Russian Popular Front has pointed out that emergency medical care is not available round the clock in some regions of the Far Eastern Federal District. The situation seems to be improving following the RPF’s report, but all the same. How can it be that an emergency medical service does not work round the clock? If this is the case, it is not an emergency service. These are basic things.

The reason for this shortcoming is, among other things, a shortage of medical personnel, which is the case in many medical spheres. On the other hand, programmes for the development of the first aid system should be adjusted to the needs of each particular region. In this instance, we are talking about the Far East, where populated areas differ widely from each other in terms of population size and the distance between them. The Far East cannot be measured by the common yardstick stipulated for other, densely populated Russian regions. I would like you to take this into account in your future work.

In this connection, it is necessary to prepare and submit proposals on additional measures to develop the healthcare system in this region.

Next, transport. The Transport Minister has mentioned some issues. I would like to ask the Government to assess the adequacy of the measures taken for the transportation of those who would like to travel to other Russian regions, regardless of age limits.

Yes, we have adopted a decision and allocated an additional 5 billion rubles. This is very good, but I would like to ask you to analyse how this system is working and whether we need more funds to ensure normal passenger transportation. We have already discussed this, including with the Transport Minister, Mr Savelyev. How much have we allocated to subsidise railway passenger transportation? 20 billion rubles? And we have also allocated an additional 5 billion rubles for this programme, which is a lot of money. But we must take a look at how this is working and whether these funds are enough. Let us do this, all right?

Mr Savelyev has just mentioned the establishment of an airline. This is great; it has been set up to ensure transportation within this region. It is a huge region. Thank you for telling us that the routes have been mapped out and so on; the network is being created. But in this case we must also think about making this network affordable for people, and, of course, we must use primarily and mostly Russian-made aviation equipment.

Speaking of agriculture, a lot of things have been done to support this sector of the economy. However, we should do everything possible so that the price growth for agricultural products in the Far Eastern Federal District does not exceed the average across Russia. But the price growth is fluctuating, so I am asking you to pay attention to it, as well as to fish processing and deliveries to the European part of Russia. I would like to ask you to discuss additional measures to deliver fish from the Far East to the central regions, which perhaps would require adopting an entire range of managing interdepartmental decisions. I know about the Ministry of Agriculture’s decisions on this, but we should wait and see how these decisions will be implemented and whether they are enough to solve the tasks I have just mentioned.

Finally, about housing. The deficit in the primary housing market still remains, and it is serious. I will not list the reasons, because there are many of them, including the high cost of infrastructure, and this is understandable. I would like to draw your attention to growing prices. We have introduced preferential mortgages in the Far East, but I think our colleagues who are involved in this know that prices of new-builds sold have gone up by 18.1 percent. This greatly devalues our preferential mortgage decisions.

We must develop local complexes. The necessary effort must be made. There are no projects of complex housing construction.

Yes, there are problems there, but we know that such complex housing construction shows its effectiveness in many of the regions. In terms of the Far East, we must also think how to make it work there. I believe it is possible if we elaborate all the details and support this sector. In fact, we should simply propose a set of measures to increase supply on the housing market, on the primary one above all.

Speaking about the Arctic, I would like to ask you to complete the drafting and the approval of the joint plan to develop the Arctic, and to do so within a month. This issue is extremely important, so let us not exclude it from our current work.

I agree with the proposals made by Minister Chekunkov and I would like to ask you to finalise them. Mr Mishustin, please control this process considering the proposals we have heard.



Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin:

Thank you, Mr President, we will do it.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you very much.

All the best.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65134
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Congratulations to President of International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach



Vladimir Putin congratulated President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach on his re-election to this position.



March 11, 2021 - 15:00



The message reads in part:

“The results of the voting fully show the recognition of your big personal contribution to the development of the Olympic movement and the promotion of sports in the world.

I would like to reaffirm Russia’s willingness to continue productive cooperation with the IOC in all areas.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65143






Meeting on measures to boost investment activity



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, with representatives of business circles on measures to boost investment activity.



March 11, 2021 - 16:30 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region



The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, deputy prime ministers Viktoria Abramchenko, Yury Borisov, Alexander Novak and Marat Khusnullin, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Sakhalin Region Governor and Chair of the State Council Commission on Investment Valery Limarenko, Chelyabinsk Region Governor and Chair of the State Council Commission on Economy and Finance Alexei Teksler, and Head of the Federal Taxation Service Daniil Yegorov. Representatives of major businesses and the banking sector, heads of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rostec, Rostelecom, Russian Railways, Aeroflot, Inter RAO, Sovcomflot, State Development Corporation VEB.RF and public organisations such as OPORA Russia, Delovaya Rossiya and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs also took part in the meeting.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today’s meeting brings together many participants in various offices and places. I hope that our equipment will not let us down, and that it will operate as smoothly as before.

Representatives of the Russian business community, Government members and heads of State Council commissions are attending the meeting. This is a large group.

In this expanded format, I suggest that we review the current economic situation in great detail and mostly focus on analysing business and investment activity in Russia and all over the world, with due consideration for the high global economic interdependence.

We will discuss additional investment incentives, a highly important matter. Such incentives would boost the pace and quality of national economic growth and would also expand employment and raise people’s incomes.

I have already mentioned this, but I would like to point out once again that last year was the most difficult one for the global economy since the end of WWII. You are well aware of this too. According to estimates, global GDP went down 3.5 percent in 2020.

There are objective reasons for this, first of all, the epidemiological situation and the introduction of forced restrictions, which had a negative effect on business and economic dynamics in general.

The unexpected and large-scale crisis forced countries to take extraordinary measures. In this situation, countries with independent macroeconomic policies introduced the largest ever stimulus packages in terms of the budget and monetary policies.

Thanks to the reforms of the past few years, our new opportunities and the strengthening of Russia’s financial stability and economic sovereignty, we did not take tough macroeconomic measures amid the crisis, for the first time in modern history, but, on the contrary, responded to the problems arising by mitigating our approach in this sphere.

As you know, the Bank of Russia lowered the interest rate by two points last year to a historic low of 4.25 percent, and the Government’s fiscal stimuli amounted to approximately 4.5 percent of GDP. This is a great deal for our country. We did this although oil prices remained very low throughout the past year and even fell below zero at the height of the crisis, which was impossible to imagine before.

There is a reason that I am speaking about this in such great detail. I would like to say again that this active policy is proof of our fundamentally better capabilities, our decreasing dependence on the global situation and also the appearance of new mechanisms and tools for supporting business activity.

During the crisis, we were guided by a clear principle that at a time of trouble the state will definitely support working people, enterprises and companies and will give a helping hand to those who work honestly and responsibly, maintaining employment and investing in development.





Thanks to the timely and carefully substantiated support measures for industries and businesses, we have overcome the economic decline and returned to the recovery trajectory. We can see this from the dynamics of domestic demand and the gradual reduction in the unemployment rate.

As I have already mentioned, Russia’s GDP went down 3.1 percent last year. The decline was less than in many other countries.

Moreover, our investments in fixed assets started growing in the fourth quarter of 2020. They increased by 1.2 percent compared to the same period the year before. Of course, you and I know that overall year-end investments decreased by 1.4 percent. However, I would like to emphasise that the decrease was considerably smaller than during the previous crises Russia and the global economy encountered. If my memory serves me correctly, it was more than 13 percent, closer to 14 percent in 2009.

Thanks to a purposeful economic policy, we have prevented a plunge in investment activity. The investment risks of the Russian economy have greatly decreased. It is our clear goal to make the investment environment more predictable and sustainable.

However, I would like to remind you about our objective. Investments in fixed assets in Russia must grow by at least 70 percent in real terms compared to 2020. To attain this goal, we must provide system-wide support to investment projects of our businesses.

In this connection, I would like to draw your attention to what is being done and what else we will have to do.

First of all, infrastructure development is one of the country’s main priorities. I would like to point out that the current crisis was the first time when we responded to challenges by investing additional funds in infrastructure. It was the first time we did this.

Federal budgetary investment in motorways and trunk infrastructure increased by 20 percent last year within the framework of the national project alone, reaching 538 billion rubles.

I would like to add that during the period of forced restrictions we did not suspend the construction of roads, networks and communications, which are extremely important for the connectivity of our territories and regions and for launching new investment projects.

All of us are aware of an obvious thing: priority investment in infrastructure is an earnest and the foundation of our economic growth and a crucial factor for improving the quality of life of our people. It is likewise obvious that we need to increase these expenditures at the federal level. In fact, this is what we are actually doing. We must also create more opportunities for increasing investments at the regional level.

The Government is finishing work on a programme of additional funding for the regions’ infrastructure. I propose discussing this topic at a separate meeting in April. Of course, I also expect our colleagues to deliver a final report on the mechanism and volume of this programme.





Second, the long-term predictability of project implementation terms is a fundamental issue for expanding investment volumes. Business representatives always talk about this.

We have already offered a new mechanism of agreements on investment protection and incentives to Russian and foreign investors, that is, when ambitious and crucial projects get the so-called “grandfather clause” or fixed taxation terms for a period of up to 20 years, and when the state can compensate investment in the transport, energy, social, utilities and digital infrastructure at the expense of future tax proceeds.

The Government has upgraded a mechanism of special investment contracts, or the so-called SPICs, in order to support industrial projects. We have been using this tool since 2015. There are plans to sign the first contracts under the new SPIC 2.0 model in the summer of 2021.

We have to adjust these regimes all the time and make them more and more business-friendly. Today, I suggest that our colleagues from business circles speak their minds on what else we can do here.

I would like to add that, this year, it is necessary to launch a mechanism of investment deduction compensations throughout the country, as regards new projects. Two-thirds of revenues lost by regional budgets as a result of providing such deductions to businesses, will be compensated from the federal budget.

This initiative was announced in the last year’s Address to the Federal Assembly. Colleagues, I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that its practical implementation is being delayed. I would like to tell colleagues from the Government that it is necessary to streamline and launch the mechanism of investment deduction compensations as soon as possible, without delay and in the near future.

Third, it is necessary to consistently reduce investors’ expenses during the implementation of investment projects.

As agreed at the meeting in Tobolsk, and many colleagues certainly recall the essence of these agreements, we will continue to streamline construction procedures, including those in the field of industrial construction. I know that Mr Khusnullin is actively working in this area together with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. He has reported to me today; 3,000 different restrictive administrative procedures were abolished last year, and the Government is set to abolish another 3,800 procedures in the next few months. I hope that the Government will continue to act in close contact with the business community, and specific tangible results will be achieved here throughout 2021.

Fourth, it is important to allow companies and enterprises to obtain financial resources for implementing investment projects. We recently discussed this matter at a meeting with representatives of the banking sector.

Let me recall that it is necessary to develop the entire range of financial instruments and make not just loans but also bonded loans more convenient and accessible. Incidentally, last year Russian companies placed a record amount of bonded loans. It is also necessary to create additional opportunities for attracting share capital at Russian stock exchanges.





As for the companies’ own funds that are used for investment, I would like to note the following.

The past few months revealed a clear trend towards an improving global environment for such vital commodities as metals, fertiliser and other exports (steel, copper and nickel). All these markets have made up for their crisis-related losses and are even showing multi-year highs in a number of positions.

Considering the recovery of global markets and positive trends in the Russian economy, it is possible to predict that domestic companies, primarily in the export-oriented sectors, will end the new fiscal year with good financial results. We sincerely hope you achieve this and will do everything to help you.

This amounts to the formation of a solid investment resource. It is important to use this resource for developing Russia and its economy, creating new production lines and modern jobs, and strengthening the positions of Russian producers both in the internal and external markets.

We must give priority to the projects that will help us reach the national development goals. These primarily concern the need to ensure the health and welfare of our people, the growth of their incomes, real incomes, the formation of a comfortable and safe living environment, and the development of sophisticated, convenient digital services. Let me emphasise that these priorities are consonant with the global agenda.

I would like to add some ideas in this respect. The trials of the crisis have shown how important it is for businesses, for companies to demonstrate by deeds, by their specific decisions, responsibility for the country, the region and the city they are working in, and their concern for specialists on their teams, and to carry out social and environmental protection projects.

And vice versa, in this country and in fact in the rest of the world, we are seeing what serious problems are faced by companies that forget about working long-term, for the future in a bid to gain immediate results. The costs of resolving these problems and overcoming their consequences are sometimes incomparable with imaginary savings.

Colleagues, I would like to hear from you today, primarily from representatives of business – we have known each other for a long time – what measures are needed to support long-term models of responsible business development. As you know, we have built an entire system for supporting domestic business: large, medium-sized and small companies. In general, these support measures have worked well in recent time, during the crisis months of the past year.

Let us discuss all this, let us get down to business.


<…>






Vladimir Putin:

Here’s what I would like to say in conclusion. The reason why I asked you to gather today is that together with colleagues from the Executive Office and the Government we have begun drafting the annual Address to the Federal Assembly, and the opinions of top executives of our leading companies and business associations are very important in this regard. But this is not the only reason.

Here's what I wanted to say too. Our colleagues casually mentioned today that the developments of the past few years associated with certain politically motivated restrictions on economic activity on global markets and with regard to our country encourage us to act with positive outcomes in mind. So, import substitution was mentioned.

That is true. However, import substitution is not the most important part of our response to politically motivated economic restrictions (by the way, they have been imposed only for the reason that we exist and are able to defend our national interests, there is really nothing else behind them). The most important thing is the creation of a competitive business environment in our country that will help bring in investment, not only domestic, but international as well.

If we, I mean the authorities at all levels, including federal, regional and municipal, which our colleagues also mentioned today, do this, then any steps of any kind against us will only benefit us.

There is one more circumstance that I would like you to be aware of. One of the first speakers today said, and I wrote this down, that last year we worked amid absolute uncertainty. Colleagues, unfortunately, these factors of uncertainty are not going away.

We see what is happening, for example, overseas: of all those who walked into the US Congress building, 150 people were arrested and face anywhere from 15 to 25 years in prison. We have no way of knowing whether the internal contradictions will stop there. We really want them to stop, and I will tell you why. We are interested in steady relations with all our key partners, and internal squabbles, for internal political reasons, are in the way of achieving this kind of stability in the relations between our states.

In this regard, how will the world's leading economies maintain relations with their key partners and competitors in Asia and Europe? Can we be certain about this? No, we cannot. It is impossible.

So, in this regard – I said something along these lines a while ago – but will articulate it one more time. Of course, the heads of companies and shareholders must make decisions related to investment activity and investment plans. But since we are working amid great uncertainty and a large number of uncertain factors, I reiterate, make your own decisions. But it is better to take it home, since it is a safer and more peaceful place.

The Government’s job is to create conditions where it will be more effective to channel the available resources and resources that may appear in the global market environment not for the payment of dividends or for distributing them somewhere – legally, as I understand it – but still somewhere in safe havens (today they are safe, but we do not know about tomorrow, considering these factors of uncertainty). It makes more sense to use them for developing private businesses or creating new businesses in the Russian Federation. For our part, we will do all we can to create stable and reliable conditions for this and to see that all these instruments work efficiently. I am referring to the instruments we discussed today, as well as ways of improving them.

In this context, I would like to ask the Government to study the ideas that were expressed today.

The first point. Of course, we need to review the proposals in the framework of the tax law in cooperation with business associations. I am not saying that things need to be radically changed here, but there is no point in discarding the proposals made by businesses today.

We need to draft a system of measures aimed at encouraging companies to direct their profits to funding investment projects in Russia. I would also like to ask you to attentively analyse other proposals in this regard.

The second point. I am instructing the Federal Taxation Service to conduct detailed monitoring of the profits and investment activities of the largest national groups of companies during a fiscal year and report to me every quarter on what is happening with the increased income from the external business environment, and how these funds are converted into new investment, infrastructure, social or environmental projects.

I would like to repeat: we need to use the favourable opportunities that are emerging for Russian companies in the global markets for launching projects that are important for entire industries, regions and our country. I would like to ask the Government to do all it can to facilitate the implementation of such projects.

And, finally, the third point. As you know, the liquid assets of the National Welfare Fund (NWF), as we mentioned today, have exceeded 7 percent of GDP. If the current foreign economic environment remains the same, the fund is expected to be replenished with 180–200 billion rubles every month.

Under the law, these funds of the NWF that exceed 7 percent of GDP, as the Finance Minister said today, may be spent on implementing large investment projects that will produce comprehensive results for resolving the tasks facing the regions, economic industries and the country as a whole, for that matter.

I would like to ask the Government to present, within a month, specific proposals on investing these NWF funds, including in infrastructure projects. It is necessary to make an inventory of such projects, to look again at those that have been thoroughly prepared and are ready to go, and to make a final decision on them. Needless to say, these projects must be effective, have a proper return on investment and be required by business, the economy and the regions of the Russian Federation. Once this assessment is made, they must be launched without delay.

I would also like to ask you to focus on projects involving the mechanisms of the RDIF and the funds that it creates for Russian investors. Mr Dmitriev mentioned this today and many of my colleagues talked about these instruments in their remarks.

I would like to thank you for our joint work today and wish you all the best and further success.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65141






Congratulations to Lyubov Nikitina, Pavel Krotov and Maxim Burov on winning gold at 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships



Vladimir Putin congratulated Lyubov Nikitina, Pavel Krotov and Maxim Burov on winning gold in mixed team aerials at the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships.



March 11, 2021 - 20:00







The message reads, in part:

“You demonstrated unrivalled mastery and a strong team spirit thus becoming the best in a new Olympic event, mixed team aerials. Your triumph brought a brilliant ending to the last day of the championships in Almaty.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65145






Meeting with permanent members of Security Council



Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council.



March 12, 2021 - 13:45 - Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region







Attending the meeting were Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Colleagues, good afternoon.

Today we will hear two reports: from Mr Naryshkin and from Mr Shoigu.

All those attending know the topic very well. We will discuss the developments in the Middle East, in close proximity to our borders. Russia traditionally has paid close attention to this region. We have a lot of interests, friends and partners there. It is a region with great potential for developing our foreign economic ties, and also traditionally friendly for Russia.

Let us get down to the current state of affairs and development prospects in this region for the short term.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65146






Telephone conversations with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan



On March 11−12, Vladimir Putin had telephone conversations with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.



March 12, 2021 - 16:45



The leaders discussed practical aspects of implementing the Nagorno-Karabakh agreements fixed in the trilateral statements of November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. They confirmed with satisfaction that the ceasefire had been observed without fail and the situation in the region remained stable and calm in general. Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan praised the efficiency of the Russian peacekeeping corps deployed on the contact line and along the Lachin corridor.

The leaders also discussed unblocking economic and transport links in the South Caucasus. In this context, they noted the positive outcome of the Working Group co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries.

Vladimir Putin also exchanged views with Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan on topical issues of Russian-Azerbaijani and Russian-Armenian cooperation.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65148






Greetings to participants, guests and organisers of St Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2021



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants, guests and organisers of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2021 international women’s tennis tournament.



March 15, 2021 - 10:00



The message reads, in part:

“This traditional competition has become a fixture in the international tennis calendar and is an event tennis fans always look forward to, because prominent players and recognised tennis stars, as well as talented hopefuls from many countries come to our northern capital.

I have no doubt whatsoever that the growing popularity of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy is a result of an effective joint effort of a close-knit team of people passionately devoted to their cause, true enthusiasts and fans of tennis, which is such a beautiful and entertaining sport.”

The WTA 500 international women’s tournament is taking place in St Petersburg from March 15 to March 21.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65152






Meeting with Head of Talent and Success foundation Yelena Shmeleva



The meeting with Head of the Talent and Success foundation Yelena Shmeleva focused on the development of the Sirius Educational Centre in the status of Russia’s first federal territory.



March 15, 2021 - 13:50 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Ms Shmeleva,

Sirius is developing actively thanks to you and the efforts of the team you have created and consolidated. It is indeed becoming a centre for training talented children and retraining teachers. It is actively working in the regions, boosting the development of the spheres that were identified as priority areas at the first stage, and it is also expanding its operations. Very good, world-class laboratories have been established within the framework of Sirius. You are also establishing higher education institutions and plan to create a technopark and, as far as I know, a boarding school for talented children from the regions, for whom it is difficult to come to Sirius on a regular basis and who we will need in the future.

And now we have established a new administrative territory with the same name, Sirius. How will this fit into your general development plans?



Head of the Talent and Success foundation Yelena Shmeleva:

Mr President, thank you for giving us an opportunity to tell you more about our plans. Many decisions were taken at the latest meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. I would like to tell you that Sirius will continue developing in accordance with the model you assigned to it, through consolidation and work in the interests of each of its graduates and every region, but from now on as a federal territory. I hope that we will be able to report in the near future on the development of our sports, science, education and cultural projects in the federal territory.

First of all, I would like to say that this year we started paying Presidential grants to students in master’s programmes. Competition is very tough. And we see our students’ achievements not only at subject Olympiads, which are held at a very high level and even internationally, but also at contests for scientific grants. Our students’ projects have been published in highly rated research journals, and their intellectual property is being protected. This means that our national projects and the Sirius Federal Territory have a deeply engaged pool of high-potential students, who are driven by a desire to attain the goals set for the territory.

In two years from now, a concert hall will open at Sirius. We are currently making sure that it will have the best-quality acoustics. As you are aware, Mr Yasuhisa Toyota is in charge of this, at your request. We have already started discussing a development programme for the concert hall with prominent people of art, musicians and ballet companies. We plan to help the most energetic and talented musicians, performers and aspiring companies from every region realise their potential by performing on this stage.

It should be noted that the Krasnodar Territory is doing its best for southern Russia to acquire a new international music venue. The region is developing the Sochi Symphony Orchestra and, naturally, preparing to open a concert hall.



Vladimir Putin:

How many seats?





Yelena Shmeleva:

The main auditorium will have 1,200 seats and the smaller hall, 300 seats. There will also be an art and literature area as well as an art gallery. It is located at the main entrance to the federal territory. The federal territory begins with a concert hall and the arts cluster in general. Perhaps this is symbolic.

As for sports, following your instructions, we worked with major sports federations and prominent coaches as well as the Ministry of Sport and regional governors that are adopting the Sirius model at home, to develop a concept for a sports cluster.

The concept is based on the most efficient use of the Olympic infrastructure. Programmes developed by Russian coaches and sports schools will be used as the basis for mass programmes for children’s sports, non-professional, student and youth sports. We will be able to invite national teams and train highly qualified coaches as well as conduct research in sports science and rehabilitation.

As per your instructions, we worked with leading Russian medical organisations and experts to build a model for a university medical cluster. It will benefit from everything that Sirius has to offer, namely leading expert organisations that are developing new technology and can employ them on the basis of the university for the benefit of any resident or any Sirius visitor. Essentially, in the future, we will be able to offer professional medical training at Sirius University and develop breakthrough scientific research.

The majority of the projects I am presenting today will be implemented as public-private partnerships. This mechanism has been stipulated in the law you have signed, the law on the establishment of the Sirius Federal Territory, and its main distinguishing feature will be the use of a special legal framework.

We hope that the concerted efforts that have led to the approval of this law, the efforts of the Presidential Executive Office and the Government, the Federation Council and the leading industry experts from the Krasnodar Territory and Sochi, have also created the foundations for the priority development of the Sirius territory.

We have started discussing our master plan with the people. I have come to show you the projects that are ready for discussion with the leading experts and people, so that all and any constructive proposals we receive can be taken into account in this important job. The master plan for the territory’s development must be ready by September.



Vladimir Putin:

This one?



Yelena Shmeleva:

It also includes a sports cluster. I will tell you about it in more detail.



Vladimir Putin:

Where is the plan?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Here it is. I am also deeply grateful to you for your trust, the attention you are giving to Sirius and for creating the necessary conditions for the development of this territory within the framework of the objectives set for science, education, culture and sports. Thank you very much.



Vladimir Putin:

When will the theatre be ready?





Yelena Shmeleva:

In the fourth quarter of 2022.



Vladimir Putin:

In late 2022, that is, you have two years.



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, we have two years.



Vladimir Putin:

Have you started building it?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, we are already finishing the sixth floor. We have recently established an Arts Expert Council. I would like to ask you to support it. It includes the originators of this project plus Valery Gergiev, Sergei Roldugin and Svetlana Zakharova, the founders of the foundation. We have also included in the council the Sirius graduates who take part in and win prizes at the Constellation contest so as to comply with the programme and the novel techniques we can use when building concert halls.



Vladimir Putin:

This is great, very good. What about the university?





Yelena Shmeleva:

As for the university, there is a variety of possibilities we can make use of because we have more plots of land for developing the campus. We have built a wonderful school with a courtyard and lecture halls located along the perimeter. We would like to use the same layout for the campus as well, which can span a rather large area.



Vladimir Putin:

Where will it be situated?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Right across from the Media Centre.



Vladimir Putin:

Is the plot vacant?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, it is.

We are now developing a Centre of Life Sciences at the Media Centre. The Centre’s laboratories will cover an area of almost 9,000 square metres. The campus is designed to accommodate 6,000 students and 1,000 educators (this is the permanent group), and 1,000 more people will study at short-term one-month courses. In effect, 7,000 people are supposed to be able to live on the campus that we have planned. This will be a low-rise construction project with new technologies.



Vladimir Putin:

7,000 people? This is rather impressive.



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, this is quite serious. On the whole, we expect about 40,000 people will live here, as the University and the Innovative Centre develop, according to the current plans. This is a project that, I believe, all of us will discuss. I would like this to be an open and convenient infrastructure, and I would like to see another secondary school built there. You see, the [Krasnodar] Territory is now completing a school for 1,100 pupils. Thank you for the decision to transfer the school. One more school will be built, with due consideration for these plans.

Speaking of the campus, due to spread out far and wide here, it is possible to build an unconventional school for 2,500 children. Consequently, schools and kindergartens will be established within walking distance and under a model that we are now developing here in every segment of the federal territory.



Vladimir Putin:

Will the school that the Territory is building or has already built provide permanent residence for children or not? Will it be a boarding school?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, as per your instruction, we want to allot two buildings, located side by side, for a boarding school with 260 pupils. Children from the Krasnodar Territory and from southern Russia as a whole, as well as children whose candidacies have been approved by the Expert Council, will board there.



Vladimir Putin:

On a permanent basis?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes.

We are now launching it as a high school with our profiles. Our children studying at four specialised classes in Sochi are posting very good results. These specialised classes deal with chemistry and biology, physics and mathematics. Children win Olympiads and enrol at leading Russian education institutions and post impressive results and motivation. Actually, the very same efficient educators now working at our Sirius Lyceum will develop this entire education cluster in the field of general, additional and secondary professional (vocational) education.

This year, we are set to open an IT college for 55 students, and we have even received an estimate as to how many IT students are going to enrol. Residents who have opened their offices here are extremely interested in this opportunity, and they have already formulated their curricula requirements. And we will show how in-demand specialists will train here together with teenagers from Sochi.



Vladimir Putin:

But is the University already up and running?



Yelena Shmeleva:

Yes, the University is getting down to work. We are launching masters and postgraduate programmes in all three fields here this year. As you know, an international mathematics centre is functioning here. Together with our colleagues we have compiled a major agenda to be included in the plan of the Year of Science and Technology starting in 2021.



Vladimir Putin:

Good, thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65153
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Greetings to Clean Country International Exhibition and Forum



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to participants, organisers and guests of the Clean Country International Exhibition and Forum.



March 16, 2021 - 10:00



The message reads, in part:

“It is wonderful that your forum is becoming a traditional event, bringing together many participants, including representatives of government authorities, mass media, expert and business community, and volunteers. It would be no exaggeration to say that some problems being discussed here have vital importance and require joint responsibility on the part of the state and civil society institutions. Today, we are facing an entire range of serious tasks. The most important ones include rational use of and solicitous attitude to natural resources, creation of modern infrastructure, cost-effective management of production and consumption waste, conversion of enterprises to advanced technologies, and development of environmental culture.

I am quite certain that the forum’s events, its exhibitions, detailed discussions and round tables will help attract broad public attention to environmental issues and will launch highly popular projects and initiatives aiming to improve the environment.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65161






Greetings to organisers and participants in historical documentary project The Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921. The Treaty of Riga 1921



Vladimir Putin sent greetings to organisers and participants in the historical documentary project The Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921. The Treaty of Riga 1921.



March 16, 2021 - 12:00



The message reads, in part:

“I would like to sincerely greet all the organisers of and participants in the historical documentary project dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the ending of the Polish-Soviet War and the signing of the Treaty of Riga. The large-scale and painstaking work by the Federal Archival Agency, the Foreign Ministry and the Russian Historical Society has made it possible to collect and display unique and largely unknown archival documents at the exhibition and also online for the first time. It is impossible to understand and comprehend key historical events, including those which led to World War II, unless we study them in a serious manner.

Two states striving to achieve ambitious goals confronted each other during the Polish-Soviet War. Polish leaders perceived the reinstatement of the old-time borders of Rzeczpospolita as their task. Bolshevik leaders dreamed of a world revolution. The Polish Army’s offensive on the Belarusian and Ukrainian Soviet republics, linked with Soviet Russia by allied agreements, preceded fighting at the approaches to Warsaw in August 1920. I would like to recall that Polish forces had seized most of Belarus and all of Western Ukraine by late 1919, and that they and their allies, commanded by Symon Petlyura, had entered Kiev on May 7, 1920.

Signed in Riga on March 18, 1921, the treaty touched upon territorial issues and was therefore largely similar to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Today, we can see that the then re-division of Europe, the often arbitrary and unfair demarcation of borders had stepped up confrontation between states and helped create conditions for a new world war.

The Soviet side was forced to agree with the fact that Poland had established control over 50 percent of modern Belarus’ territory and 25 percent of modern Ukraine. The transfer of Belarusian and Ukrainian territories to another state did not meet the then ethnic, cultural or social realities. On the one hand, it facilitated discrimination against the local population; and, on the other hand, it helped encourage extreme nationalist ideas. We also recall the tragic fate of the Red Army soldiers who were taken prisoner; many of them perished in Polish camps.

It goes without saying that we need a well-thought-out and objective assessment of long-time relations between the Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish nations using well-documented historical facts. The current historical documentary project is another step allowing us to turn the difficult pages of the past, so that events that took place 100 years ago do not become the subject of deliberate distortion or manipulation, so that, instead of dividing states, they serve to strengthen mutual trust.”

The historical documentary exhibition The Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921. The Treaty of Riga 1921, dedicated to the armed confrontation between Soviet Russia and Poland and the resolution of the conflict by diplomatic means opened on March 16 in Moscow. It displays historical documents from the holdings of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, the Russian State Military Archive, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Modern History and other federal archives, the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Federation and the Foreign Policy Archive of the Russian Empire, contributed by the Foreign Ministry’s Department of History and Records, the Archive of the President of the Russian Federation and state archives of Belarus. The exhibition also features unique museum items, sound recordings and newsreels. An internet project with full-length electronic copies of over 1,000 archive documents is also part of the exhibition.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65163






Meeting with Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov



Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov. The Governor briefed the President on the situation in the region, in particular on the coronavirus response effort and the implementation of large infrastructure projects.



March 16, 2021 - 13:30 - The Kremlin, Moscow







The Governor reported that the coronavirus situation has stabilised, and that vaccination is underway. Although COVID has hit public revenues, the regional economy is well-diversified, so the region even showed a 2.5 percent growth last year.





Mr Vorobyov spoke about the development of social infrastructure, in particular, the construction of schools, the improvement of public transport, and the continued construction of the Central Ring Road.





Vladimir Putin and Andrei Vorobyov also discussed investment projects that are being implemented or are planned for implementation in the Moscow Region.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65158






Greetings to Anastasia Tatalina on her victory at 2021 Snowboard and Freeski World Championships



Vladimir Putin congratulated Anastasia Tatalina, Big Air winner at the 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships in Aspen, USA.



March 16, 2021 - 21:30







The message reads, in part:

“You excelled at the World Snowboard and Freeski Championship in Aspen by winning gold in Big Air. This success is your great personal victory and a hefty contribution to the traditions of Russian high-performance sport.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65169






Meeting of Prosecutor General’s Office Board



During an expanded meeting of the Board of Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Vladimir Putin reviewed the organisation’s performance in 2020 and outlined the tasks to strengthen law and order in 2021.



March 17, 2021 - 15:30 - Moscow






President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues, Mr Krasnov.

During this traditional annual expanded board meeting, we will discuss the prosecution authorities’ performance in 2020 and, as usual, outline immediate priorities for the future.

First of all, I would like to say that the prosecution authorities, just like all other agencies of the law enforcement system, are faced with the crucial task of protecting law and order, and, moreover, they are authorised, by virtue of their position, to make a considerable, significant contribution to Russia’s development as a law-based and community-focused democratic state.

During the past year, which was far from simple, you managed to improve a number of vital indicators. For example, prosecutors upheld the social rights of over a million citizens. Thanks to the measures taken, nearly 22 billion rubles of wage arrears have been paid out. Overall, a critical rise in non-payments and wage arrears has been avoided despite the complicated situation caused by the pandemic. Government support packages, economic assistance and regular supervision of compliance with labour legislation played their role in this, and, of course, we must continue to closely monitor the situation on the labour market.

During the previous board meeting, I instructed you to redouble efforts to protect the most vulnerable groups of the population. I am asking you to continue monitoring this priority sphere. I would like to point out that in 2020 there was an increase in the number of violations exposed and, most importantly, remedied concerning the rights of disabled persons and pensioners. The statistics indicate that problems remain in this sphere.

Your task is to ensure, together with other government agencies, the unconditional fulfilment of social guarantees, so that our senior citizens and people with disabilities can receive promptly and without any ordeals what is due to them, including social benefits, free medication and access to medical services and convalescent care facilities.





And of course, matters such as support for large families, low-income families, orphans and single mothers should remain under close review. We must immediately respond to unlawful non-payment of benefits, compensations or other types of material support that people are entitled to.

Among our unconditional priorities is the protection of the rights of minors. Violations are still frequent in this sphere, as you well know, so I am asking you to consider requests and petitions coming from large families, families with disabled children, and guardians of orphans as a matter of priority, to involve regional and municipal authorities in addressing these matters and of course, rely on public organisations.

Security systems at educational institutions need to be improved. School meals and summer activities for children and adolescents require most serious attention, too. You know that in previous years, we encountered big problems and tragedies here. Checks and inspections need to be carried out regularly, and any violations exposed should not only be recorded, but completely eliminated. I ask you to keep an eye on this. As summer vacations and school holidays are coming up, we need to concentrate on this specifically.

Evidence of instances of so-called domestic violence must not be ignored. In 2020, more than half of all crimes against minors, unfortunately – but it needs to be admitted – were committed by members of their families. I ask you to make full use of your powers and demand an appropriate response from the child protection authorities.

I would also like to note the supervisory support of strategic national projects. The government allocates significant funds for these purposes, and that money should work for development, for the improvement of people’s quality of life. Any violations and abuses in this sphere must be curbed and severely punished.





Special attention should also be paid to healthcare, which is an extremely important, key area. Here, prosecutors should not only supervise how the regional programmes already launched and the corresponding national projects are being implemented, but also carefully monitor the progress of many other issues. For example, they need to check whether the standards for the provision of medical care are met, whether free medicines, services, and means of rehabilitation are provided to entitled recipients on time, or whether the approved additional compensations and bonuses are actually paid to medical workers.

Furthermore, numerous acute and sensitive issues remain in the sphere of housing and utilities, including unjustified price hikes. It goes without saying that the economy lives according to its own laws, and that it is very dangerous to tamper with these laws, but I am talking about unjustified hikes alone and failure to comply with service quality standards, attempts to unjustifiably redistribute infrastructure repairs funding.

Here I am counting on the principled position of prosecutors, based on strict compliance with the law; this also concerns such aspects as the protection and reinstatement of the rights of those defrauded in participatory housing construction projects.

Legislation has already been amended, and these amendments introduce additional guarantees and reduce the risks for people on the housing market. First, it is necessary to consistently deal with the debts that have accumulated over the years. Therefore, I am asking the heads of prosecutors’ offices in regions with such unfinished and problem projects to monitor this situation, and I am asking you to deal with this personally. We need to finally resolve this issue, at long last. Secondly, it is necessary to monitor law enforcement practice and to prevent new problems, so that unfair developers and outright crooks are unable to find any legal loopholes allowing them to deceive people.

And, of course, prosecutors should continue to deal with nature management and environmental protection matters. This is one of the most topical issues today. This implies the adequate removal of household waste and its disposal, the preservation of forests and unique ecosystems, and valuable water and biological resources.





Colleagues,

The fight against crime remains a key task of prosecutors’ offices. You are responsible for coordinating all the law enforcement activities in the Russian Federation, and you should do everything necessary to reduce the level of the crime threat, to solve more crimes and demand better work on the part of investigative divisions and those conducting preliminary investigation.

It is necessary to assess the legality of refusals to register crime reports, to expose the falsification of registration documents within the framework of prerogatives for keeping legal statistics, to voice a principled stand on red tape during the investigation of criminal cases and during pre-investigation checks.

Support for state prosecution is an important aspect of your work. State prosecutors should display high levels of competence, and they should defend the interests of the state, society and citizens effectively. It is also necessary to improve the quality of work on defending the rights of entrepreneurs and in general to ensure the reliability of the entire national business framework. I am asking you to respond to all evidence of pressure and encroachment upon the rights of legal entities, especially small and medium-sized businesses, as well as with regard to self-employed citizens and individual entrepreneurs. As you have probably noted, we are now trying to support this sector and its employees. It is necessary to find out whether various inspections and checks regarding enterprises are justified or not. I will not dwell on this matter separately because prosecutors’ offices are working rather effectively here.

Society expects you to be more active in countering extremism. Prosecutors at all levels must promptly respond to manifestations of nationalism and any attempts to destabilise the situation in the country.

I have already mentioned at the board meetings of the FSB and the Ministry of the Interior that the next parliamentary elections are due this year, as you well know. It is also your direct responsibility to ensure compliance with the rule of law during the election campaign and the voting.

The fight against corruption should be given serious attention, primarily in such areas as the placement and implementation of civilian and defence state orders, as well as the provision of public services, and the use of municipal and state property. It is of the essence to detect any discrepancy between municipal and civil servants’ spending and their incomes. Also on the agenda is improving the mechanisms for moving assets obtained by criminal means back from abroad. I would like to ask you to effectively use the capabilities of the interdepartmental working group recently established at the Prosecutor General’s Office to coordinate this work.

In conclusion, I would like to bring up one more important topic. Last year, the Prosecutor General gave instructions to improve the consideration of appeals, submitted in writing or in person, and special attention here should be paid to the violation of the rights of socially unprotected categories. At the same time, it is essential to keep the process of dealing with people’s most important problems under review, and we agreed that the Prosecutor General would deal with this personally. This heightens the prosecutors’ responsibility for the quality of verifying people’s petitions, and simplifies the procedures for appealing against the prosecutors’ decisions at all levels. And this, of course, is important and significant. People need to feel they are in contact with the prosecution system and to understand that it is a level of state power where people can get protection of their interests.

Once again, your work and your attitude to the matter influences people’s lives and their well-being, the rule of law in Russia and its progressive development.

I would like to thank the management and employees of the prosecutor's offices for being principled and responsible about their duties, and for conscientiously serving the law. I am confident, comrades, that you will continue to fulfill your duties with dignity.

I wish you every success and thank you all very much.





<…>


Vladimir Putin:

Mr Krasnov, colleagues,

I looked carefully again at the resolutions of the Board of the Prosecutor General’s Office. I am referring to the draft. Mr Krasnov, I would like to draw your and your colleagues’ attention to some points.

I think the positive results of your work are reflected in the first part. Following the consistent efforts of the Prosecutor General’s Office, wage arrears have been settled. I spoke about this in my opening remarks, and Mr Krasnov said this as well. These payments amounted to 23.8 billion rubles but what matters most is that in 2020 the recorded arrears dropped from 2.1 billion to 1.6 billion rubles even though this was a very difficult year. Many companies suspended operations but debt was reduced nonetheless. This is generally a good figure, and I would like to thank you for this.

Cartel collusion was identified in supplies of medications and so on. This is also a very important area. We need to closely follow this because eventually all cartel collusion leads to higher prices in the market, at the people’s expense.

You worked in these areas and did absolutely the right things. I will simply read it: prosecutors have managed to achieve a reduction in overdue debt to businesses with public contracts. It is important to pay attention to this because if payments for the work done are delayed or unjustified or the work was not approved on time, problems eventually face the employees. This is the correct approach and it is necessary to monitor it going forward, too.

We have already spoken about decrepit housing, environmental protection and military prosecutors. They have managed to protect the rights of over 84,000 military personnel to receive money and other allowances; the salary arrears of civilian personnel were settled, etc. These are very important areas, and I would like you to not let up on this. This is absolutely correct.

Something drew my attention, and I want the Prosecutor General and his deputies, as well as everyone who is involved in this, to revisit what you have noted here. The decline in crime solving rates in 2020 is indicative of setbacks in the work of law enforcement agencies. The decline is small, but you need to carefully analyse the reasons behind it. There may be objective circumstances. We will not go into detail now, since you are professionals and you know what I am talking about. However, there may also be subjective reasons. There is a need for a thorough and in-depth analysis.

I also noted the fact that criminal prosecution was terminated with regard to 180,400 defendants. It is imperative to make sure that the sentences passed during criminal court proceedings are objective and fair and fully comply with the law.





Overcrowded detention centres represent a violation of security regulations. This, too, needs to be analysed region by region. They are listed here, but you need to take a closer look. Mr Krasnov, please submit a report covering these matters. Perhaps, the regions need help, or the system itself needs help, including the Interior Ministry and the prisoner detention system. Problems abound, but there are things that need our immediate attention, and they need to be taken care of accordingly.

The first paragraph contains an aptly worded statement, which is “to more energetically implement the human rights potential of the prosecutor's office.” This must be followed in the broadest sense of the term. There is also the need to strive towards the timely updating of regional and municipal regulations in accordance with amendments to the Russian Federation Constitution and ensuing amendments to federal legislation.

This is all very important, and many of you probably remember how prosecution authorities effectively operated in the early 2000s to bring the statutes and constitutions of the regions into harmony with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In many regions, the laws said anything but mentioning that it was a constituent region of the Russian Federation. The involvement of the Prosecutor’s Office largely helped change the situation then, and bring the regulatory framework in the regions in line with the Constitution of Russia.

Keeping in mind the recent amendments made to the Constitution, there is work that certainly needs to be done to incorporate those changes and bring each regional regulatory framework and the federal regulatory framework in line with the new amendments, you are absolutely right.

There is one more point to make, a new, but essential one: additional measures need to be taken to curb the illegal cross-border movement of funds in digital financial assets. Criminals are increasingly using these digital financial assets, and this certainly needs to be looked into, with your colleagues from other departments, including the Financial Monitoring Service.

But our prosecution authorities’ job is to monitor the observance of the rule of law in all spheres of the state, and almost all of that is mentioned here, so I do not need to repeat it. There is only one thing missing. This says nothing about addressing the prosecutors’ own social problems. Mr Krasnov, I hope that the administrators at the Prosecutor General's Office are working on this, it cannot be otherwise. Still, it would also be appropriate to reflect this in the Prosecutor General's Office Board resolution, as one of the objectives – to improve the prosecutors’ quality of life, social situation, and working conditions.

I would like to thank you all for your work in 2020 and wish you all the best in 2021.

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65165






Ceremony to launch Talas Gold Mining Complex



Vladimir Putin and President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov took part, via videoconference, in a ceremony to launch the Talas Gold Mining Complex at the Jerooy deposit.



March 17, 2021 - 16:00 - The Kremlin, Moscow






The Jerooy deposit located in Talas Region in northwestern Kyrgyzstan has estimated reserves of nearly 90 tonnes of gold and about 25 tonnes of silver. The project, which is being implemented by Russia’s Alliance Group with support from VTB Bank, is among the largest in the history of Russian-Kyrgyzstani economic cooperation in terms of investment volume. The potential level of production at the enterprise is five tonnes of gold a year.

The ceremony to launch the Talas Gold Mining Complex was also attended by President of Alliance Group and President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Russian Platinum Musa Bazhayev, and President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Andrei Kostin.







President of the Alliance Group, President and Chairman of the Russian Platinum Board of Directors Musa Bazhayev:

Mr President Putin, Mr President Japarov, colleagues,

Today, we are not just launching a gold ore plant but are opening a new page in the history of cooperation between strategic partners – the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Jerooy is also a pilot project in the Eurasian cooperation format involving Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh companies. VTB Bank has become a strategic partner in funding the project. Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to thank Mr Kostin and the entire VTB team. Thank you very much for your support. You allocated $190 million for project financing, and due to this we are now launching the project.

This gold mining plant is an advanced, environmentally clean and safe facility based on cutting-edge technology. The production byproducts will be harmless and we guarantee zero dumping into the environment. The gold mill will process 1.5 million tonnes of ore and produce five tonnes of gold a year. This gold ore plant will create over 1,000 jobs. Another 2,000 people or more will receive jobs at related plants in Talas Region. Importantly, Kyrgyz citizens will make up over 90 percent of all plant employees.

Investment in Jerooy has already topped $400 million. In all, it will total over $600 million during the project’s entire implementation. The Kyrguz Republic will receive over a billion dollars in tax revenue and withholding into social funds from Jerooy. We have established the Bakubat Talas welfare fund in which we invest $2 million every year. In all, we will put over $50 million into this. These funds are used for social support, payment benefits for low-income people, new schools, and assistance for small and medium businesses in Talas Region.

This project is being carried out primarily thanks to support from the top government leaders of Russia and the Kyrgyz Republic. Today, speaking on behalf of the thousands of people who built the plant and those who will work at it, I would like to convey our deep gratitude to the presidents of our countries for making this project possible.





President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank Andrei Kostin:

President Putin, President Japarov, colleagues,

In its 30 years in business, VTB Group has participated as a dependable financial partner in numerous major industrial and infrastructure projects. We support Russian companies’ operations in international markets, and we are active in the Eurasian space, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, and Kazakhstan.

The Talas Gold Mining Complex is our debut project in Kyrgyzstan and the republic’s largest project with Russia’s participation, with funding totaling the equivalent of $190 million. The complex will take the mining industry, which is important for Kyrgyzstan, to a new level. The country's economy thus has an unparalleled production site boasting full cycle from ore mining to gold extraction.

Support from the two countries’ presidents makes this project special for us as investors. After all, entering a new market is always about being exposed to major legislative, regulatory and commercial risks. Sometimes years and even decades separate a memorandum of intent and actual implementation of a project. We can safely say that the Jerooy project was lucky in this regard. A dynamic start was initiated just two years ago during the Russian President’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan. I am convinced that the involvement of our respective presidents and Russian-Kyrgyzstani relations based on mutual trust and strategic partnership have significantly mitigated the above investment risks, which have allowed us to implement our plans so soon.

Today's event also reminds us of fundamental economic values. For thousands of years, gold has been the most important asset. Suffice it to say that since the time VTB Bank joined the Jerooy project, world prices of this metal have grown by 30 percent. Therefore, I believe that even with consideration for the growing role of the new industrial economy, the investment demand for gold will remain high for many years to come. So, we should not be worried about the plant’s prosperous future.

Congratulations to all of us on the launching of the Talas Gold Mining Complex, and good luck.

Thank you.





President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov:

Mr President, participants of today's significant meeting,

I welcome you all to this long-awaited and important event for our country, the ceremony to launch the Talas Gold Mining Complex at the Jerooy deposit.

Allow me to express my gratitude to you, Mr President Putin, for personally attending today's event. I would like to note that the joint opening ceremony of this gold mine is evidence of a close partnership and robustly expanding relations between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation.

Discovered half a century ago, the Jerooy field is one of the largest gold deposits in Kyrgyzstan. We all know how much time and effort was spent in negotiations to make this investment decision and the implementation plan. We would like to thank our investor, Alliance Group, for investing in the economy of Kyrgyzstan.

The project operator, Alliance Altyn, has come a long way since it acquired its development permit. And now Russia and Kyrgyzstan are launching an investment project together, which will make a significant contribution to the sustainable development of Talas Region and Kyrgyzstan as a whole.

As of today, the investor has contributed almost 1.5 billion som in taxes and levies to the state budget and extra-budgetary funds; after the gold mining and processing facility begins operations, revenue to the state coffers will increase.

It is gratifying to note that the total number of employees involved in the project will be about 1,000 people, of which more than 95 percent are citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate everyone on the start of an important period in the implementation of the large-scale Kyrgyz-Russian project to develop the Jerooy field.





Friends,

Kyrgyzstan and Russia are bound by special relations based on alliance and friendship. I made my first foreign visit as President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to the Russian Federation in late February.

Mr President, I am pleased to say that the meeting with you was very productive. We agreed to strengthen and build up multifaceted long-term cooperation between our countries and bring it to a new level.

Today, we are taking part in the launch of a project that is strategically important for Kyrgyzstan, which, without doubt, will serve as a good example of investment cooperation between our countries.

It is essential for investors to be able to work without any impediments, so among the first executive orders I signed were those protecting property and supporting entrepreneurs and investors, as well as reforming the mining industry of the Kyrgyz Republic. Thus, we set the course for a consistent and firm policy in these areas.

However, I have two important points to make. First, the comprehensive dialogue between enterprises and the local population must be expanded. Second, all applicable environmental requirements must be complied with when developing the field.

Rest assured that the Kyrgyz Republic will continue to support projects of this kind, which increase the potential of the mining industry and, of course, help the development of the national economy in general. Russian investment in the Kyrgyz market is always welcome.





Colleagues,

Jerooy is currently the country's largest operating investment project with the involvement of a Russian bank partly owned by the state. I am confident that our joint activities will improve the country's image and lead to new large investments in Kyrgyzstan’s economy, and the successful implementation of the Jerooy project will give a powerful boost to the investment potential of the republic.

Once again, let me thank you, Mr President, for personally supporting this project.

I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone who has made and continues to make their contribution to the Jerooy project, in particular, the President of Alliance Group, Musa Bazhayev, who used his firm belief and determination to implement the initial plans that have contributed to strengthening friendly relations between our two countries.

Let me congratulate everyone this significant event and wish success to the Alliance Altyn team in implementing the Jerooy project.

(Speaking Kyrgyz.) Dear Kyrgyzstanis, residents of Talas,

The blessed land of Talas was once the home of our great ancestor Manas the Magnanimous, who rallied our scattered tribes together. The land of Talas has always been the centre of the struggle for unification, as well as a spiritual and cultural centre. Talas has always maintained interethnic harmony, and people of different nationalities have worked here side by side for the good of our state.

Today, in the presence of our guest, the head of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, we are launching the Talas Gold Mining Complex at the Jerooy deposit, via teleconference.





Dear Kyrgyzstanis,

We believe that the implementation of this project will have a positive effect on the economy of our republic, including Talas Region. After the Talas gold mine at the Jerooy deposit goes into operation, millions of som will be channeled annually into the development of Talas Region, and billions of dollars are to come into the republic’s budget. Thanks to this, the state budget will grow every year.

True, there are some who are not happy with this situation, but nevertheless, so much effort has been invested and so much work has already been done – we will not stop, we just cannot stop now. This land should work for everybody’s good through agreement and the consent of all parties involved.

Dear residents of Talas,

With the ideas of national unity and cohesion in this blessed land in mind, I especially note that Talas, as the home of Manas the Magnanimous, was of great importance in the development of the Kyrgyz people. The origins of Kyrgyz statehood, our national and spiritual vision originated here. We are united in our aspirations, and we have one common goal – to increase the wealth of the nation, to promote development and creation for the sake of the future of our country. To do this, we need harmony, peace, and stability – we must never forget this.

Once again, dear residents of Talas, I express my gratitude to you and wish you prosperity and growth.

Thank you.





President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr President, friends, ladies and gentlemen,

The launch of the Talas Gold Mining Complex at the Jerooy deposit is indeed an important project for Russian-Kyrgyzstani economic cooperation and, in general, for the strengthening of partner and allied relations between our nations. I fully agree on this with Mr Japarov.

We have successfully implemented one of the largest joint projects. The top managers of Alliance Group and VTB Bank have told us of the efforts and resources invested in the development of the Jerooy deposit and the construction of the Talas Gold Mining Complex.

I would like to point out that we are talking about truly record Russian investments in Kyrgyzstan estimated at some $600 million.

The Talas Gold Mining Complex will employ cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art equipment, including those compliant with all nature conservation regulations and standards. This will allow the production of up to five tonnes of gold per year, efficiently and with no environmental damage.

I would like to note that the Jerooy deposit, which will supply ore to the Talas Gold Mining Complex, was, as the President of Kyrgyzstan has just pointed out, explored by Soviet geologists back in 1968. The scientists estimated that the gold reserves in the deposit amount to around 90 tonnes and silver reserves to around 25 tonnes. This means that the facility will have resources for stable work to continue for years.

The mining complex is creating more than a thousand jobs offering new employment opportunities to the local population. Small and medium-sized enterprises in Talas Region will be able to secure lucrative deals to supply goods and services required by the complex.





Russian investors intend to provide significant financial support for the social development of Talas Region. The company director already said that a designated foundation was established that will receive up to $2 million every year. Almost half of these funds will be spent on socially significant projects in the region while the rest of the money will be used for subsidised lending to businesses.

In other words, the new gold mining facility will bring considerable benefits both to Talas Region and the Kyrgyz economy in general.

As the President mentioned, the state budget will receive significant revenue. The mining complex has already transferred $100 million to the Kyrgyz budget as the Jerooy deposit license fee. It is estimated that subsequently, the tax revenue received by the Kyrgyz budget will indeed grow, to about $70 million per year.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all Russian and Kyrgyzstani co-founders and investors of the Talas Gold Mining Complex and its personnel, including the engineers and workers who built it, for their well-coordinated and effective operation.

Of course, I would like to express gratitude to the leadership of Kyrgyzstan and personally to Mr Japarov for their attention to the interests of Russian economic operators and their efforts to create a favourable investment climate in the Kyrgyz Republic. We hope that the Kyrgyz authorities will continue to support the new enterprise.

I would like to repeat that the implementation of this important joint project will be a symbol of the successful development of the multifaceted and mutually beneficial Russian-Kyrgyzstani partnership and strong friendship between our nations, which is fully in line the with spirit of the agreements reached during a recent visit by the President of Kyrgyzstan to Moscow. We are grateful to you for making your first foreign visit to our capital.

I hope that all the efforts we have been making together to promote our economic cooperation, as well as the funds that have been invested with the aim of allowing Kyrgyzstan to become a full-fledged member of the EAEU economic alliance, and the sum invested was indeed considerable, running into hundreds of millions of dollars, I hope that our joint efforts will continue to facilitate the implementation of major industrial projects that will benefit both sides economically. I would like to wish all the very best to all those who are involved in this process.

Thank you.





<…>


President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov:

Mr President,

I would like to once again express our deep gratitude to you for taking part in the ceremony to launch the Jerooy deposit. I would also like to wish all the best to Alliance Altyn and to all those present at this ceremony.

Once again, thank you.



Vladimir Putin:

Thank you. Hope to see you soon.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65166






Greetings on opening of 10th Russian Winter Rural Sports Games



Vladimir Putin sent a message of greetings to the participants, organisers and guests of the 10th Russian Winter Rural Sports Games that are being held in Perm on March 16–20.



March 17, 2021 - 16:30



The message reads, in part:

“Rural sport in our country has a rich history and wonderful traditions that are passed on from one generation to the next. These large public sports competitions are always held in a festive atmosphere of friendly communication, and they unite people of diverse age groups, professions and hobbies around their lofty goals.

Importantly, for many decades, Russian rural sports have promoted the values of physical fitness and a healthy and active lifestyle, and they make a tangible contribution to resolving urgent social problems.

I know that the current games will become a big and important event for all participants and guests and will leave you with unforgettable memories.”




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65170
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Meeting with public representatives of Crimea and Sevastopol



The President held a meeting, via videoconference, with public representatives of the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol.



March 18, 2021 - 15:20 - The Kremlin, Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon.

I am happy to welcome everybody and, of course, congratulations on the seventh anniversary of the reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia. This is a celebration for all of us and for the entire country, our enormous Russia. Meetings with the public in Crimea and Sevastopol to mark this, without exaggeration, historic date have become a tradition. I believe it is important and necessary to maintain a direct contact with you.

You know the situation on the ground and deal with the unresolved problems and tasks first-hand. You know more about them than any industry experts. You can give an objective and unbiased assessment of those positive, I hope, changes that are coming into your life, the results of the authorities’ efforts and our joint tremendous work on developing Crimea and Sevastopol.

Together with you, with the entire country, we have achieved a great deal. We are investing substantial funds into the local economy, the social sector, the transport infrastructure, particularly focusing on preserving the historical and cultural legacy of the ancient, heroic and, without exaggeration, sacred Crimean soil. In other words, this work is continuous, systematic, and covering all key areas.

Of course, we still need to do so much more. You know very well how much more we need to build, restore and fix up; how many problems have built up over the previous decades, many of which were never actually addressed all those years.

These problems include water supply and generally decrepit and dilapidated infrastructure. For decades, there was no investment; on the contrary, resources were drained.

We need to quickly make up for the lost time, move forward and create conditions for a decent and comfortable life, good living standards and leisure. It is necessary to expand opportunities in healthcare and education, to support Crimean and Sevastopol companies and attract investors so that the economy does not get stalled between tourist seasons; so that new jobs are created and, obviously, wages grow and professionals and young people are in demand in different areas. Crimea and Sevastopol must become self-sufficient, successful, safe and modern regions with the highest living standards.

Now let us talk about all your concerns and what you find important. Right after this meeting and based on its outcome and your proposals, a special follow-up meeting will be held. We will discuss the most pressing issues for the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol with senior Government officials and heads of regions.

I would like to finish my brief opening remarks now. Let us begin our direct, open and honest discussion.

I would like to hear your questions, comments and suggestions. Please.


<…>


Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on remarks by Anastasia Gorchakova, participant in the project “Heritage Volunteers. Chersonesus-2020.”) To begin with, I would like to thank you and all your volunteer colleagues for your efforts.

As for support for the volunteer movement, I have expressed my opinion on this many times. Volunteers are engaged in many diverse areas, many different industries, and social activities. They are always at the forefront of a problem, always where the people need them most.

During the pandemic and through the difficult trials of the past year, which are far from over, we saw a great need for the volunteer movement. This was clear once again in the most difficult areas. We also received volunteer help before this, during the preparations and holding of the FIFA World Cup, and not only in sports but also in cultural and political areas. We have always looked to their help and they have always come through.

This is typical of the social sphere because volunteers are always open-hearted as distinct from officials who sometimes get tired of the routine. This is extremely important for our country, for shaping our national character. Of course, we will continue supporting the volunteer movement across the board, including the area you mentioned.

As I have said many times and will repeat today, the day of Crimea and Sevastopol’s reunification with Russia, Crimea in general and Sevastopol, Chersonesus in particular, are of a specific significance, even sacred. It was here that Prince Vladimir was baptized, and his warriors were baptized. After this, Russia began to adopt Christianity. To a certain extent, this is the cradle of our spiritual identity. Later, the Russian nation began to take shape from the numerous Slavic tribes that lived on this territory. Subsequently, it became one of the centres of creating a centralised Russian state.

So, Chersonesus is of special importance for us and we will certainly develop it further. I have told people who are in charge of it that what has been done is by no means enough. I know that excavations are ongoing and work continues, but this is not enough. You said that what has been done is good. Yes, it is good, but we must do more. We will definitely develop Chersonesus further as a magnet not only for our people but also for those who would like to come to Sevastopol from abroad. There are plans to build a museum complex and cultural and educational facilities.


<…>


Vladimir Putin:

(commenting on remarks by Alexander Yakushechkin, Archpriest of St Peter and Paul Cathedral of Simferopol) Regarding social service by the clergy, I am aware that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia attaches great importance to that. All our meetings with the Patriarch one way or another are related to the social services of the church and the clergy in a sphere that is extremely important to people. We will definitely back up all initiatives to support people who find themselves in a difficult situation, those who are at medical facilities.

I should note that during the pandemic, representatives of all faiths showed their best qualities. They were not protected in any way; they do not have any social guarantees. Yet they demonstrated heroism, they approached the people who needed their spiritual and personal support, and carried out their duty to both God and humankind. This is why I greatly hope that this will go on. For our part, we will be encouraging this.

Concerning financial support for medical facilities, their licencing and the like, there are indeed issues here that need to be carefully addressed, and problems to be resolved.

Meanwhile, in the past seven years since Crimea and Sevastopol were reunited with Russia, the number of medical establishments in Crimea has doubled whereas in Sevastopol it has increased 4.6 times. Procurement of new equipment for the medical facilities is ongoing.

Obviously, much more remains to be done. But as you know, a multi-purpose clinical centre was opened in Crimea with 700 beds and excellent medical staff. It is to be become a centre sending out rays, like the sun, to the entire territory of Crimea and Sevastopol so that medicine of the new 21st century will emerge there, too. We will undoubtedly do that within the federal targeted programme on the development of Crimea and Sevastopol. Quite a number of measures are provided for: the construction of new facilities, installation of medical equipment, and it is also crucial to arrange the training of personnel. All of that is envisioned in our programmes, and all of that will be pursued.

There is the issue of licensing. The licensing issue is a delicate one, due to the fact that many state and private medical institutions in Crimea and Sevastopol are not yet ready to provide services to the population, residents of Crimea and Sevastopol at the level of Russian federal standards. They are not ready when it comes to equipment, and the personnel are not ready. We understand this, therefore strict licensing has been postponed for two years, but after this period, of course, I ask the leadership of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as the relevant federal authorities, to do everything so that by that time the preparations are complete and people can receive medical services at the necessary federal level.

You see, when in 2014, the heads of some federal departments began to come, following my instruction, to Crimea, to Sevastopol, to visit health centres, to visit medical facilities, they encountered many unexpected things, although we have a lot of problems with healthcare in Russia. They went to a health centre and asked the director, “How will people stay here? The floors are collapsing; the linoleum is practically directly on the ground.” Do you know what the answer was? “You see, it is mostly miners who come here; they, excuse my bad manners, have a quick one in the morning, and they do not care at all, they do not pay attention. We are used to it.” But this cannot be, it should not be like this either in Russia, or in Crimea, or in Sevastopol. Of course, this requires both finances and time. But it is not even about the money; we have allocated the necessary funds for each year, and the federal programme for developing Crimea has been extended until 2025, as you know. Therefore, it is not about financing; the point is to organise the work properly, with the proper quality and on time, and to be able to solve the current problems by relying on local staff. All this is envisaged, so we will move in this direction and we will move confidently, gradually, but, I hope, with a good, high-quality result that people will notice.


<…>


Deputy Mufti of Crimea Aider Ismailov:

On a separate note, I would also like to thank you for the Executive Order of April 21, 2014 on rehabilitation measures, including for the Crimean Tatars. Our older generations did not live to see this. Justice was meted out only after 2014.

We are now at the construction site of a cathedral mosque, which consists of a mosque and two administrative buildings. The pandemic has slowed the pace of construction somewhat, but it is nonetheless nearing completion now that the interior and exterior finishing works are underway.

In this regard, I would like to ask you to have the sponsors and contractors complete their scheduled activities as soon as possible, so that you and we can open the doors of this beautiful mosque for divine services.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Ismailov, you are correct, much has changed. I hope that much has changed in the life of ​​the Crimean Tatars and their understanding of their place in Crimea, because something has happened that the Crimean Tatars have been dreaming about for many years now and which they never managed to accomplish.

First, with regard to purely material issues, it is, in fact, about legalising property. I hope everything will be implemented in accordance with applicable law and federal and regional regulations. The fact that property is being legalised is critically important for the people to feel confident.

Second, we did something that probably no one has ever dreamed of: the Crimean Tatar language was given the status of a state language in Crimea. I believe this is also extremely important for everyone who considers the Crimean Tatar language their mother tongue.

Third, you just mentioned the construction of a cathedral mosque. Indeed, many talked, thought and dreamed about it in Soviet times and when Crimea was part of Ukraine. Nothing of the kind happened though, or was not even planned. However, we are now in the final stage of this project.

Indeed, we had to shift the deadlines slightly because of the pandemic. This was due exclusively to production-related and objective reasons, as the work was suspended not because of the builders, but because of the suppliers of materials and so on, but this can be fixed. We will complete this on schedule, we will catch up, no problem with that. I think it will be one of the best, or shall I say, even unique religious institutions in Crimea. These are all signs of respect for the Crimean Tatars living in Crimea. This will continue into the future, no doubt about it.

Importantly, everyone in Russia in general and in Crimea in particular – and Crimea is a multinational territory – should feel at home on their land and be there for each other, feel the helpful shoulder of their neighbours regardless of religion. They should feel that Russia is their common homeland, which treats all citizens of our country like its children.

If we arrange our work this way, and this is how it is being arranged, including with your help, then we will live like a friendly and effective family that will live happily and look ahead to the future with confidence. Not only its immediate future, but also the future of their children and grandchildren.

Thank you for the invitation. I will try to be there, my work schedule permitting. However, the opening of the mosque is a major event which I, of course, will try to attend. I regularly visit Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish and other religious buildings. So, I will be pleased and interested in seeing what we have accomplished here.


<…>


Director of Civic Culture Development Centre in Sevastopol Valery Aleksandrin:

As per your instructions, a cultural and educational museum complex will be built on Cape Khrustalny by 2023. Despite the fact that the construction is still ongoing, we are already seeing certain results. Sergei Polunin’s Choreography Academy is enrolling students for a young choreographers’ course. The Russian State Art Gallery and the Russian Popular Front are now helping us with the Sevastopol Cultural Code project. It is a contest for painters.

We are launching educational projects. Our Theatre Street art space is teaching young people to organise their own creative events. It is a creative workshop of sorts. We are accepting applications right now. Our colleagues, the team that developed the Skillbox platform, are offering training for creative jobs via its Mobile University app. It is a series of courses in illustration, animation and video production. Perhaps it is possible, with support from the Ministry of Culture or the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, to scale these initiatives to other regions as projects with a good track record.



Vladimir Putin:

We will definitely consider scaling these positive practices.

As concerns the cultural centre you mentioned, as you are aware, similar centres are under construction in four of the Russian regions: Kaliningrad, Sevastopol, Vladivostok and Kemerovo. I really hope that these centres will not only turn out to be beautiful pieces of architecture but also cultural magnets for aspiring members of the creative community, with new opportunities for our citizens, including children.

Choreography schools are opening in other places as well. It is very important that people, regardless of where they live, feel that they are part of a huge country and its culture and that they could give their children an opportunity to learn how to dance, sing or play music. Residents of this region should be able to visit exhibitions of our major museums, The Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum and others, without having to go to Moscow or St Petersburg. More often than not, these museums keep 80 percent of their art in depositories. Why keep it stored away? We should create new venues where people can see and enjoy art.

The same goes for music, opera and ballet. Travelling every week to St Petersburg or Moscow or other major cities (imagine going to Novosibirsk) is not something people can easily afford. I believe these centres must become new “nurseries” for Russian multi-ethnic culture. I am certain it will be true for Sevastopol. The opening of all these centres at the end of 2023 will be an extraordinary event. I would like to thank everybody involved in this work and hope you will continue to successfully collaborate for the benefit of Russian culture.

And we should not stop only at this. More centres will open in other regions as part of the Culture national project. We plan to build 39 multi-purpose cultural centres. In about 5,000 existing cultural centres and institutions, we plan to upgrade the equipment and carry out renovation work. Therefore, our efforts to support Russian culture are not only limited to creating major specialised cultural centres in the four mentioned regions. This work is much bigger as part of the Culture national project. And I really do hope that it will yield the results we expect.


<…>





Leading Research Associate at Sevastopol State University Sergei Piontkovsky:

I carry out research in marine biology, biophysics and oceanography. I started in Sevastopol, then worked at universities in Great Britain, the United States, the UAE, and Oman for 25 years.

Sevastopol State University has launched an excellent programme to invite leading research workers, and I obtained a position as a leading research associate. I work at this university.

It is noteworthy that the university has managed to purchase a wide range of modern equipment and open several labs. All of this allows us to carry out research at the global level. The city also has three large institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and several enterprises specialising in marine research. Our university is actively developing the marine area of research – this is a potential base to concentrate our efforts – so we have established a global-level scientific and educational centre on Marine Sciences, Technologies and Regional Ecosystems. We have applied for state financing.

What is my proposal? I would like to ask you to pay attention to our centre’s scientific potential that is powerfully focused on studying southern seas and the southern sector of the World Ocean in general.



Vladimir Putin:

Mr Piontkovsky, when did you get back?



Sergei Piontkovsky:

In the autumn of 2020.



Vladimir Putin:

And where from? Where was your last place of residence?



Sergei Piontkovsky:

From Oman. I worked in Oman for 13 years. I was a professor there. And before that, at New York University for 13 years.



Vladimir Putin:

You have already been working here for several months. I understand what you like about it. And what is lacking?



Sergei Piontkovsky:

We lack experienced young people. We need to send them on internships so that they can come back knowing how to use the modern equipment we have purchased.



Vladimir Putin:

I see.

Under the megagrants programme, 60 percent of our researchers are young scientists, I think under 39 years old. You are absolutely right: this coincides with my observations and with the observations of my colleagues from the Government; indeed, we need to do a lot so that young researchers are ready to work on the new scientific instrument base. But this can be done both abroad and in Russia, in leading centres. We even have special programmes to support young researchers and young scientists.

You know, 15 new scientific centres are being created all across Russia. They have to combine business capabilities, capabilities and resources of the local research base, of federal and local administrations in order to focus researchers’ attention, among other things, on solving the problems that several of our regions are facing. Of course, marine research in the southern seas is natural in places like Crimea or Sevastopol. I know there are two applications to take part in this programme to open new scientific centres. I hope the contest committee will study everything carefully. There is an application from Sevastopol and an application from Crimea. We will study them most carefully. I would like to wish you success in the contest. We will think about what else can be done to support you.


<…>






International Music Festival volunteer coordinator and representative of Crimea Federal University Polina Bolbochan:

Mr President, I have a somewhat personal question for you. Yesterday, President Biden got quite tough in his interview, including with regard to you. What would you say to him?



Vladimir Putin:

With regard to my US colleague’s remark, we have, indeed, as he said, met in person. What would I tell him? I would say “stay healthy.” I wish him good health. I am saying this without irony or tongue in cheek. This is my first point.

Secondly, taking a broader approach to this matter, I would like to say that difficult, dramatic, and bloody events abound in the history of every nation and every state. But when we evaluate other people, or even other states and nations, we are always facing a mirror, we always see ourselves in the reflection, because we project our inner selves onto the other person.

You know, I remember when we were children and played in the yard, we had arguments occasionally and we used to say: whatever you call me is what you are called yourself. This is no coincidence or just a kids’ saying or joke. It has a very deep psychological undercurrent. We always see ourselves in another person and think that he or she is just like us, and evaluate the other person’s actions based on our own outlook on life.

With regard to the US establishment, the ruling class – not the American people who are mostly honest, decent and sincere people who want to live in peace and friendship with us, something we are aware of and appreciate, and we will rely on them in the future – their mindset was formed in rather challenging circumstances which we are all aware of. After all, the colonisation of the American continent by the Europeans went hand-in-hand with the extermination of the local people, the genocide, as they say today, outright genocide of the Indian tribes followed by a very tough, long and difficult period of slavery, a very cruel period. All of that has been part of life in America throughout the history of the United States to this day. Otherwise, where would the Black Lives Matter movement come from? To this day, African Americans face injustice and even extermination.

The ruling class of the United States tends to address domestic and foreign policy issues based on these assumptions. After all, the United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons, mind you, against a non-nuclear state – Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WW II. There was absolutely no military need for the bombing. It was nothing but the extermination of civilians. I am bringing this up, because I know that the United States and its leaders are determined to maintain certain relations with us, but on matters that are of interest to the United States and on its terms. Even though they believe we are just like them, we are different. We have a different genetic, cultural and moral code. But we know how to uphold our interests. We will work with the United States, but in the areas that we are interested in and on terms that we believe are beneficial to us. They will have to reckon with it despite their attempts to stop our development, despite the sanctions and insults. They will have to reckon with this.

We, with our national interests in mind, will promote our relations with all countries, including the United States. This is generally all I want to say about this.


<…>


Head Nurse of Pirogov City Hospital No. 1 in Sevastopol Anna Markova:

I work as a nurse in the Pirogov City Hospital No. 1. Right now we are in our hospital’s second branch, named after Dasha Sevastopolskaya.

Last year the entire world had to face the pandemic. We have fought and continue to fight for the health and lives of our compatriots.

You have established the Order of Pirogov and St Luke of Crimea medal, and these decorations have been presented to over 70 Sevastopol medical workers. Sevastopol has also established a new decoration: the Dasha Sevastopolskaya medal. Dasha Sevastopolskaya was a hero of the 1854‒1855 defence of Sevastopol. Darya Mikhailova was among the first military nurses. She did not have a medical education, but was among the first to provide aid to the wounded and injured defenders of Sevastopol. She used her own money to establish the first field dressing station. Although English woman Florence Nightingale, who was in the same war but on the other side of the front line, is usually considered the first nurse, our Dasha Sevastopolskaya treated the wounded as early as in September 1854, and the English woman only arrived in Crimea the following April. We suggest restoring justice and making a film about Dasha Sevastopolskaya in order to immortalise and popularise the exploits of the heroes of the Crimean War.

By the way, the first Russian full-length feature of 1911, Defence of Sevastopol, was about the Crimean War.



Vladimir Putin:

It is truly an important heroic page in the history of Sevastopol. The Crimean War of 1853‒1856, as it was called, was only the main stage of the military operations. In fact the united European troops attacked Russia from various points: in the northwest, even in the Far East, and then in Crimea. This was the main theatre of military operations.

The defence of Sevastopol is one of the most important and heroic pages in the history of Russia. This is why it is really important to immortalise the historical memory of our people and the heroes of the Crimean War in order to form our internal vision so that we can not only be proud of our ancestors but, in passing it on to new generations, form a national attitude to our moral and ethical values.

Why am I talking about this? Because Dasha Sevastopolskaya glorified her name by helping not only our wounded – she glorified her name by helping all wounded, regardless of what army they belonged to, which fought on our land. She collected both wounded Russian soldiers and wounded enemy soldiers. This is a special page, of course, in military history and in the humanitarian side of military conflicts.

Of course, it is a good idea to make such a film. I will discuss it with my colleagues from the Ministry of Culture. Thank you for the idea.


<…>





Director of the Central Museum of Tavrida Andrei Malgin:

I am aware that you have been supporting an important project, No Statute of Limitations, for two years now. It is about restoring the memory of the Great Patriotic War and of the Soviet people who became victims of the Nazi occupation, victims of genocide.

This project is highly relevant for us because Crimea suffered a three-year long Nazi occupation, which cost the region almost 100,000 lives.

But it is also relatable because seven years ago now, we, too, faced a reviving Nazi ideology. This largely determined the choice we made seven years ago. This is the main reason why today we are part of Russia.

Such thoughts inspired us when we, assisted by many regions of the Russian Federation, were rebuilding the memorial dedicated to the Nazi camp that used to be located in the Simferopol district, where as many as 15,000 people lost their lives during the occupation, mostly civilians and prisoners of war.

The No Statute of Limitations project gives us a chance to learn more and more new names, and new details of those tragic events, and to perpetuate on the Wall of Memory those people who gave their lives for this. Even if they were not military people, and if their contribution to Victory has not been fully appreciated until now, they have certainly made one, and it was quite significant.



Vladimir Putin:

This work is extremely important. Indeed, during World War II, the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union, Russia suffered immeasurable, irreparable losses, and the entire world knows this only too well. It is still impossible to count them all, but the most recent figure is 27 million lives. And those were mainly civilians, Soviet citizens, because the combat losses were much lower. And what is it, if not genocide? And it is extremely important that you are working to keep the memory of these tragic events alive, preventing the wound from healing. It is vital for us, for our self-awareness, for the self-awareness of our people, it is important for everyone, for the whole world. To make sure that nothing like this will ever happen again, to make everyone understand where such ideas can lead to – those underlying the ideology of fascism and its practical criminal activities.

When we talk about the early signs of revival of such misanthropic ideology, it is very important for present day. It is very important that humanity never forgets about that kind of tragedy. This is exactly what you are doing. You don't let us forget it. It’s an extremely important mission.

Thank you very much and I wish you every success. Of course, we will continue to support your work.


<…>


Head of Phytoresources Laboratory at the Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of the Russian Academy of Sciences Natalia Milchakova:

I work at the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas and have been dealing with the environmental problems of the Black Sea and the entire Mediterranean basin for many years now. Of course, as a volunteer I participate in many environmental movements and moderate the Ecology in Sevastopol platform.

This year we have organised the Memorial Trees of Sevastopol movement. We came up with such an initiative to immortalise the trees planted in Sevastopol on memorable dates or associated with the names of our famous townspeople and citizens of Russia. In fact, this is the living history of Russia. Our trees are the historical memory of the country, the city, in fact, and the memory of the entire nation.

It is symbolic that we are now at Malakhov Kurgan. You know, after the Great Patriotic War, there were hardly any trees left in Sevastopol. This tree, Almond of Victory, was wounded, burnt, with its trunk lost, but pleases us when it’s in blossom even today.

We have set a goal: to create a chronicle and an interactive map of memorial trees, and we already have plenty of support.

Malakhov Kurgan is an especially significant place for Sevastopol, because it is a place of glory and military heroism of the two defences of Sevastopol. Here, on Malakhov Kurgan, just next to this almond tree, the planting of memorial trees began back in the 1950s, immediately after the war. It still continues in our city.

I believe this volunteer project to immortalise memorial trees could become the beginning of a nationwide campaign. It could be called the Memorial Trees of Russia.

I would like to use this occasion, this special day – the Day of the reunification with our homeland – to ask you: please support organising such a nationwide campaign, the Memorial Trees of Russia.



Vladimir Putin:

You have already said that this movement, a volunteer movement, in fact, supported by the state, has been developing for a long time now. The idea is wonderful.

However, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we have been holding similar tree planting events since 2010. This is most likely related to the ecology, but I think that one does not interfere with the other, and it is quite possible to combine the two reasons, because they complement one another.

I believe the idea to make the Memorial Trees of Russia a nationwide campaign is very interesting from all points. No matter how we look at it, it is right and deserves all the support possible. We will do this. I will ask the Russian Popular Front to work actively in this area and recommend the regional heads to support your initiative at the regional level.

Colleagues, if you wish to add something or if perhaps we have forgotten something or if I have not answered your questions completely, please speak up.

Is everything okay? Thank you very much.

Once again, congratulations. All the best and goodbye.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65172






Meeting on socio-economic development of Crimea and Sevastopol



Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea and the city of federal significance Sevastopol, via videoconference.



March 18, 2021 - 17:15 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Minster of Constriction, Housing and Utilities Irek Faizullin, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, Governor of the City of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Zarina Doguzova, Head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service Maxim Shaskolsky, Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov and RosGeo Director-General Sergei Gorkov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Today is a special, remarkable, and festive day.

But now I suggest we focus on the work issues and problems that require a solution. We will discuss further steps to ensure the social and economic development of Crimea and Sevastopol, and will talk in detail about the issues that you need to deal with.

You know, I have just met with members of the public in Crimea and Sevastopol. There is no doubt that our task is to listen and respond to the citizens’ requests and initiatives at all times. We must do it all across Russia, in each republic, region, city and village. This fully applies to the Crimean Peninsula, a region of strategic importance.

Providing support to Sevastopol and Crimea residents is our top priority. This attention to the region by the Federation also requires efficient, high quality work by all agencies, regional and municipal authorities.

I want to emphasise that we have been doing and will do everything we can to ensure the stability and security of Crimea, as well as the comprehensive development of transport, energy and all other infrastructure. We will support industrial and agrarian enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses, tourism, and create conditions for new investments.

Based on all this, the quality of life of our citizens should improve at an advanced rate, so that they have every opportunity to receive a good and relevant education, contemporary and high-tech medical assistance, which we have already spoken about today, as well as decently paid jobs, so they can plan their future for years ahead, build families and bring up children.

From the beginning, we understood that due to the problems accumulated over decades, it was impossible to do everything at once. This required systematic and painstaking work. And in fact, this is how we proceed, we move towards the set goals gradually, step by step.

In the first stage, we began with the implementation of large, let us put it another way, support projects with high social and economic significance without which it was difficult to imagine a normal life.

These included the expansive and unique Crimean Bridge with its motorway and rail sections, the Tavrida Motorway, and the newest Simferopol air terminal. This list will definitely be updated.

We managed to remove the threat of energy shortages due to the expedited launch of generating capacity, the construction of an energy bridge and modernisation of the local grid equipment. We broke through the energy and transport blockade. I am confident we will resolve the other problems, including water. At this point, this is the most acute, priority issue for all Crimea and Sevastopol residents.

As you know, I instructed the Government to develop and begin implementing a Comprehensive Plan to ensure reliable water supply to the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. This is estimated to run until 2024. And given that the problem is urgent, we agreed to act as quickly as possible and in several areas at once. This includes the development of underground water reserves, the construction of various hydraulic units and treatment systems, as well as the elimination of losses in water supply networks and the desalination of sea water.

Today I would like you to report on how this comprehensive project is progressing, what has already been done for the summer peak season, how Crimea and Sevastopol residents and tourists will be provided with water. Also, our colleagues at the water supply facility in Sevastopol will contact us via videoconference. And we will listen to a report on the progress of the construction of the facility in the Republic of Crimea.





Colleagues,

As I have already said, the successful completion of major basic projects creates favourable conditions for the launch of the next, second, stage of restoring and developing the economy of the Crimean Peninsula.

In effect, this stage implies that the infrastructure, created by the state, should provide opportunities for implementing many more investment projects in all sectors, from industry to the service sector. Above all, we are talking about business initiatives.

Consequently, one of the issues on our current agenda concerns private investment incentives, measures to improve the business climate and to make financial services more affordable.

All of us know the causes of the difficulties and the largely artificial barriers. I would like to note that it will be possible to speak of the success of our actions only if we manage to ensure a substantial and drastic increase in private investment. Their volume in Crimea and Sevastopol should exceed one trillion rubles in the next four years, that is, in 2022–2025.

This is certainly an ambitious task. I repeat, it will require concerted action on the part of federal, regional and municipal authorities, and it is necessary to conduct work while maintaining dialogue and close contact with the business community. It is necessary to study all the proposals from entrepreneurs in the most attentive manner and to ensure they are promptly assessed.

Of course, issues of Crimea’s long-term development are also linked with the prospects of the tourist industry. In 2020, despite all pandemic-related difficulties, 6.9 million people vacationed in Crimea. Of course, this figure is less impressive than in 2019 when eight million people visited the region, but it is still quite impressive.

We should start receiving ten million tourists annually by 2025. At the same time, every person and every guest arriving in Crimea and Sevastopol has a right to expect decent service standards, not inferior to foreign alternatives, as well as a wide range of affordable and high-quality services as regards living conditions, public catering, guided tours, cultural programmes, clean and well-equipped beaches, and public spaces.

Our tourism industry in Crimea with its unique natural, cultural and health-improvement potential simply has to meet top global standards.

Let us start discussing all the issues on the agenda.


<…>





Vladimir Putin:

Our development programme for Crimea and Sevastopol has been extended until 2025, as it has already been mentioned here. We will continue to improve and build new roads, including the project Mr Khusnullin has mentioned just now: three exits from the Taurida motorway towards the Black Sea coast bypassing Simferopol. We must complete the last section of the motorway with a comfortable entry into Sevastopol. The project is proceeding according to plan.

We will also continue building social facilities – schools, kindergartens, healthcare and cultural establishments.

Of course, attention must also be given, as it has been pointed out today, to water supply, disposal and sewage systems, which are extremely important for resorts and unique places such as Crimea and Sevastopol. Overall, plans provide for building 1,000 facilities, 400 of which have already been completed.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65173






Concert in honour of anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia



Vladimir Putin gave a speech at the festive event held at Luzhniki as part of the Days of Crimea in Moscow.



March 18, 2021 - 18:30 - Moscow







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, my friends.

I congratulate you on this holiday – the Day of the reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia.

This is a holiday for the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol. We understood this and saw it ourselves in the spring of 2014 during preparations for the referendum, and most importantly, following its outcome. As a result of the referendum, the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol returned to their family of origin, the family of the fraternal peoples of the Russian Federation.

But this is also a holiday for our enormous country. I refer to it as enormous since Russia remains the world’s largest territory.

If you look at our map, our big map, Crimea and Sevastopol look like a small dot, but we are talking about the restoration of historical justice. We are talking about the importance of this land for our country and our people. Why? It is very simple.

Our ancestors have been developing this territory since ancient times. In the 10th century a large part of it was simply incorporated into the Ancient Russian State. Prince Vladimir and his warriors were baptized here in Korsun or Chersonesus. This means that this is a sacred place, the centre of the formation of our spiritual unity. Eventually, this place became the foundation of the Russian nation and a united centralised Russian state.





This place is vital to our heart, soul and faith. But there is more to it. Later, in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries these lands fully returned to their lawful owner, the Russian Empire. When foreign hordes invaded our country in 1853–1856, and when it was attacked by Nazi invaders in 1941–1945, every part of this land was soaked in the blood of Russian and Soviet soldiers. Of course, this is a holy land for us, for Russia.

In the 1920s, the Bolsheviks, as they formed the Soviet Union, gave away vast territories, geopolitical spaces, for reasons still hard to understand, to quasi-state entities. Later, as they themselves collapsed, collapsed the party from within and destroyed the Soviet Union, Russia lost great territories and geopolitical spaces.

However, I would like to say that we are ready to live under today’s geopolitical conditions. Moreover, we treat our neighbours not only as geographical neighbours, we treat the peoples of those countries as fraternal peoples; we are ready to lend them our shoulder and give them a hand to ensure progress, to move ahead together by using our competitive advantages, which are many.

But we will never tolerate one thing – someone using Russia’s rich gifts to damage the Russian Federation. I hope this will be heard.

The result of the 2014 referendum is not only a return to historical justice, the restoration of historical justice. We once again distinctly and clearly showed ourselves and the world that our people have the ability to unite around the interests of the Motherland.

And I certainly know the answer to the question I would like to ask today’s audience, yet I cannot resist the temptation to ask, and I cannot deny you the pleasure of giving me a positive answer. Please, take a deep breath and answer this: Do we love Russia?



Response:

Yes!





Vladimir Putin:

It is this love of our Motherland that runs in our blood, character, and the genes of our people that makes us strong and unites us around common challenges.

We have done a lot, yet there is much to be done in Russia in general and in the development of Crimea and Sevastopol. But we will do it, because we are a single, large, powerful force. Because we are united.

I congratulate you on this day, the Day of Crimea and Sevastopol’s Reunification with Russia. I wish you happiness.

Thank you.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65174






Meeting with permanent members of the Security Council



Vladimir Putin held a meeting, via videoconference, with permanent members of the Security Council.



March 19, 2021 - 10:20 - The Kremlin, Moscow



The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov, Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.







President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today we will discuss issues pertaining to organising the fight against organised crime and cover certain sensitive aspects of this area of focus.

Reports will be presented by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov.

Let’s get going. I would like to give the floor to Minister Kolokoltsev. Please go ahead.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65175






Dmitry Mezentsev appointed State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus



March 19, 2021 - 20:30







The President of Russia signed Executive Order relieving Dmitry Mezentsev of his duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Belarus.

Chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a resolution appointing Dmitry Mezentsev State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.




The source of information - http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/65177
__________________
Where should they dig the Very Deep Pit?
Piglet said that the best place would be somewhere where a Heffalump was, just before he fell into it, only about a foot farther on.
(c) Alan Alexander Miln
 
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