Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to St. Petersburg

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin examined the first high speed Sapsan train and the Integral railway diagnostic system at the Moscow Railway Terminal in St Petersburg. Mr Putin also chaired a meeting on the development of Russian railway transport and met with Peter Loescher, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

Vladimir Putin visited the construction site of the Federal Scientific Clinical Centre of Child Hematology, Oncology and Immunology

Prime Minister inspected the medical centre's buildings and hotel for the parents and relatives of children, who will be treated here.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with the builders and doctors of the Federal Scientific Clinical Centre for Child Hematology, Oncology and Immunology

"I have to say that preparations for the project were also time-consuming. This wasn't easy, but I think in general, the plan chosen is the best one. It is worthy of Russia and our children. This will be one of Europe's largest centres."

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov

"We have made another step in the GLONASS programme - almost all of the satellites planned for launch this year have been sent into orbit to cover all of Russia."

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) Mikhail Shmakov

"A drop in demand is another component of the crisis. And this is very important. No matter how many loans we may give to the companies in the real economy, lack of demand will cause a decline, and eventually production will also grind to a halt. Therefore, it is necessary to support production and demand at the same time"

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchyogolev

The meeting focused on the information and communication technologies, as well as the state of affairs in the industry during the world financial crisis.