7 Annual Big Press Conference Part 29
February 14,2008
President of Russia V.Putin
The Kremlin,Moscow
RED BANNER NEWSPAPER: Vladimir Vladimirovich, Russia can be compared to one big family, the members of which are the regions. And as in any family, some earn money day and night, and others do not think that they need to work, since they have places from where they can get those funds.
So my question is whether you think it is appropriate to review the system of fiscal relations between the regions and the centre, so that donor regions such as, say, Komi, do not give such a big part, at least not the major part of their income to the centre? If, for example, you were to change this to a 50-50 relationship, then donors would be less tied to the centre, and recipients would start to think that they do not need to live with one hand begging to Moscow, but rather live independently and earn money
And the second question on forest legislation. Whether you are planning to create a system of preferences for the indigenous people who live near forests and rivers, and are forced to participate in public auctions on an equal basis with others but, of course, cannot win?
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Regarding auctions, they must be equal for all and the interests of the local population must be respected within the framework of existing legislation. And we need to protect the traditional activities of the indigenous peoples of the North: I am referring to livestock, fishing, and the use of other natural resources. This is important. Laws exist and it is important that they be respected and implemented.
Regarding inter-budgetary relations, this is a very important issue and we are constantly engaging with this. The redistribution of powers between the federal centre the regions, and the municipalities is a theme that we have been dealing with in recent years. The issue is and I have already spoken about this in response to previous questions that the regional divisions were made for political reasons and without any regards to economic matters.
The tendency to merge regions, for example, in Kamchatka just as an example is designed to make a region self-sufficient and capable of solving the economic and especially the social problems of the people who live in these territories. And of course we should not discourage but rather encourage the regions that receive federal assistance to develop their region and not undermine the willingness of donor regions to engage in their own development process. We think about this all the time and are in contact with the leaders of the regions.
But I think that you would agree with me that the citizens of the Russian Federation who live in a territory that traditionally has not had a developed economy or industrial sector are not to blame for this. And our task is to equalize this fiscal support, to equalize the living conditions of citizens in the whole territory of the Russian Federation.
For example, it took the indigenous people of the central regions of the Russian Federation decades to domesticate the eastern and northern regions of Russia. Millions of people were brought in for the construction of the trans-siberian railway, for cultivating virgin soil, and so on. They settled there and are far from always living comfortably there. But in some of these regions that we too have depleted to a large extent: how are the people who live there to blame? The state must consider how to ensure that the citizens of Russia enjoy equal opportunities throughout the territory of the Russian Federation. And our work together with the heads of the regions of the Russian Federation is designed to ensure this.
QUESTION: Good afternoon. I am glad we have finally touched on the Far East. Thank you very much.
You mentioned the APEC summit briefly at the very beginning of the press conference and talked a lot about the development of Sochi, on improving Sochi. Meanwhile the APEC summit will take place in Vladivostok two years earlier than the Olympics in Sochi. In Sochi, we have seen a lot of development, a lot is being built, and there are already concrete plans. In the Far East, over the past three years we have heard about perhaps 15 different projects for bridges, have not seen anything or heard anything concrete. There are a lot of rumours and, quite, frankly, few people believe that anything will really come of this, since the situation with crime is more and more frightening. I would like to know how true this all is and maybe hear something to reassure our residents.
If possible, a second question that also deals a little bit with the APEC summit. If the social development of the Far East and Primorsky Region is planned, then perhaps my question really does affect me and other young people. Personally, I would want to already have a child, but ...
(Applause)
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7 Ежегодная большая пресс-конференция Part 30 В.Путин (Putin)by niknikolay1,159 views
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