4 Annual Big Press Conference Part 3
December 23,2004
President of Russia V.Putin
The Kremlin,Moscow
Concerning people who keep gardens and their activities, you said some very telling words when you stated that it isnt profitable anymore. It is becoming unprofitable and, of course, with energy and transport costs on the rise, it is not easy, all the more so for the elderly people who make up a large number of those involved in gardening. But it is also becoming unprofitable because there are ever more goods on the market, and often quite profitable products at reasonable prices. In the end, it becomes more expensive to grow your own household vegetables than to buy the same vegetables from wholesalers. But I do think nonetheless that the state should think about how to support these activities.
We will most probably talk today about benefit payments. As you know, a social benefit package of 450 roubles has been planned, but in reality it will mean better figures because this also involves rail transport, suburban rail transport and suburban transport in general. I hope that this measure will improve the situation somewhat, though I do not rule out that the Public Council and also the State Duma will have to look into the matter you have raised in more detail.
A. GAMOV (Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper): Mr President, just as important an issue as gardens is that of administrative reform. How do you conceive administrative reform? In what ways have your hopes been fulfilled and in what ways not? And why, in your view, is administrative reform progressing so slowly in the cabinet? Thank you.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Administrative reform is progressing slowly not just in the cabinet but in the country as a whole. Overall, I am ready to share a smile with those of you who hoped for great and radical change and have not seen this change, great and radical, take place. But lets take an objective look at the situation. Over a very long period in its history this country existed and developed as a super-bureaucratic economy and a super-bureaucratic state where officials gave themselves the right to decide everything for everyone. This became part of life not just in the minds of the officials themselves but in the minds of the people in general, even those who had nothing to do with the bureaucracy. Everyone became accustomed to waiting for the bosses to make the decisions. It is true that administrative reform is not a rapid process, but we are moving in the right direction, I think. Of course, the government has not done enough yet, but it has begun moving in the right direction.
The question now is what to do to keep moving in this direction? We need to work out assessment criteria for the authorities performance at the different levels of power, from the federal government down to the municipal officials. As has been said on many occasions in the past, we need to base our assessment not on how much money this or that body receives, but on what results its work achieves. I hope we will come back to this, but at any rate the principle is that we should not pay for the mere fact of a bodys existence but for the quality and amount of service it provides to the population. The government is currently working on the complicated task of drawing up these criteria for all different sectors, including in law enforcement. That is the first point.
Second, one thing we absolutely must do if we are to achieve any real success in this area is, as I have said in the past, to gradually withdraw the state from areas of the economy where its presence is not justified. This, incidentally, is one of the main thrusts of the fight against corruption.
G. ANISONIAN (Noyev Kovcheg [Noahs Ark] newspaper): Mr President, today more than ever it is clear that we need to pay particular attention to Russias policy regarding the countries of the South Caucasus, in particular Armenia, which is essentially under blockade. How much of a priority is this in Russias foreign policy? Thank you.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Russia has been present for centuries in the Caucasus in general, in the North Caucasus. Of course, Russia also has interests in the South Caucasus. Naturally, these interests have to coordinated harmoniously with our friends and colleagues in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. We have an active policy in this area. Armenia is one of our strategic partners. You know that we have practically no problems at all in our bilateral relations. There is the problem of settling the Karabakh issue. We have formulated our position on this issue as on other issues of this kind. I can state it once again.
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putin bandit suka, skolko milionov on sebe is biudzheta v korman polozhyl, suka ishchio pretvoryaetsya chto rabotaet, on tolko dengi krast i liudei ubivat umeet, suka iz kgb, ubit evo za eto
tomreves28 2 years ago