“I hope a substantive and open discussion of the current situation will make it possible to elaborate effective solutions, find additional opportunities to support work collectives, and help those who have temporarily lost or are about to lose their jobs. I’m confident about this since we are well aware of what is taking place economically and socially.”
“Investment in various housing programmes will amount to 440 billion roubles in 2009, the money coming from federal, regional and local sources, the Housing Mortgage Crediting Agency, and the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund. If we take capital repair allocations into account, the funding will make record-setting 500 billion roubles.”
“It is crucial to ensure macroeconomic stability and a balanced budget: This is a key prerequisite for successful solution of social and economic tasks at present and in the post-crisis period.”
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, laying flowers on the graves of prominent Russians re-interred here in 2005 and 2006: General Anton Denikin, philosopher Ivan Ilyin and writer Ivan Shmelev.
The Prime Minister gave a St. George the Dragon-Slayer icon to the Patriarch as a gift.
"One of our primary tasks today is to maintain demand, because we won't resolve all the issues with financial infusions, guarantees, debt restructuring or other financial support if there's no demand. This issue depends not only on the Government but on the state of our national and global economies as well. But measures to maintain demand should be planned and gradually implemented."