Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.Part 9
November 12, 2009
The Kremlin, Moscow.
Dmitry Medvedev delivered his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly.
Послание Федеральному Собранию Российской Федерации.
12 ноября 2009 года
Москва, Большой Кремлёвский дворец
I am giving the Government a two-month deadline to draw up proposals on introducing new procedures for obtaining the approvals and permits needed to launch investment projects. This work should make it possible to get projects underway more rapidly, within a fraction of the currently required time. If we take this step, it should take no more than 3 to 4 months to complete the whole approval process for sites not classified as hazardous. At the moment, it takes 18 to 24 months, and in big cities the approval process can often drag on for years.
The regional authorities should have the power and responsibility for coordinating this work. Officials who systematically delay the approvals process and demand payments other than those explicitly stipulated by the laws should face administrative and other penalties and, if necessary, be fired.
Fourth, our tax system and also our laws on mandatory insurance contributions should be adapted to our modernisation demands.
In the first quarter of next year, the Government will present draft laws on establishing favourable conditions for innovative activity, including, but not limited to, the introduction of a five-year favourable transition period regarding the increase of mandatory social insurance contributions. We need to define very clearly at the same time who will be entitled to preferences.
Overall, our tax system clearly needs improving. The discussion on what taxes and what rates we should pay is not closed. Of course, the crisis has hindered decisions on reducing the tax burden, but we will soon need to come back to these issues, and we will most certainly do so.
Colleagues,
It is clear that we cannot carry out our strategic plans without real change in society. Only if we strengthen our political system and legal institutions, our countrys internal and external security, consolidate our social stability and develop modern education and culture, the culture in the broadest sense of the word, will we be able to achieve success.
Through our joint efforts, not only will our living standards show real improvement but we ourselves will change too. We need to overcome the widespread view that responsibility for sorting out all problems lies with the state or with whoever else, but not with each of us personally. Personal success, encouragement of initiative, a better quality of public discussion, and zero tolerance of corruption should become part of our national culture, an intrinsic part of who we are.
Achieving these goals requires us to start at the beginning by educating new individuals right from the school classroom. As prominent economist Vasily Leontiev said, Education fulfils one of humanity's most basic needs and is a social investment that generates future material production growth. It raises the present generations living standards and at the same time helps to raise the income of future generations.
In my Address last year, I presented the proposal and gave the instruction to draft an initiative Our New School. This has been done, and I will set out this initiatives basic proposals now.
The modern schools main aim is to develop each pupils potential and help form them as individuals ready to take their place in a high-technology and competitive world. The discussions on my article produced a huge number of comments on school education, a lot of people write about this subject because it is something that concerns us all. What people are saying is that school education should teach children to independently set and achieve serious objectives and be able to react to all kinds of different circumstances in life. What is this initiatives essence and what immediate steps will it involve? I remind you that we have declared 2010 Year of the Teacher, and first of all, we plan to draft and introduce new education standards and consequently expand the list of documents evaluating and attesting to each pupils success. The final national school exam will be the basic document in this respect, but will not be the only means of verifying the quality of education.
http://www.kremlin.ru
Loading...
10:13Д.Медведев.Послание Федеральному Собранию РФ.12...by niknikolay953 views
Link to this comment:
Video Responses
All Comments (0)