Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discusses the results of this year’s Moscow International Film Festival with festival president Nikita Mikhalkov

During the meeting, Mr Mikhalkov told Mr Putin about the results of the Moscow International Film Festival, which the famous film director believes is “gaining momentum.” They also discussed the problems facing Russian cinema, one of which is the construction of the Moscow Film Festival Palace. The prime minister proposed taking this issue up once more with Moscow city authorities. Other issues touched on during the meeting include the lack of cinemas in small towns and electronic ticketing, without which Mikhalkov said it is impossible to track film attendance.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Grigory Elkin, head of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology

Mr Putin and Mr Elkin discussed the agency’s operations, in particular concerning petrol. Grigory Elkin said that new standards in that sphere corresponded to international requirements, which is a “positive trend” for both companies and consumers. He said one of the problems with standardisation was the government’s excessive (90%) financial contribution to the development of standards.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Vladimir Yevtushenkov, chairman of the board of the Sistema financial corporation

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits Gremyachin potassium salt deposits in the Volgograd Region and meets with miners

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin inspects the construction site for a residential district for servicemen in Volgograd

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting in Volgograd on reducing administrative barriers in construction

“Clearly, the emerging situation is favourable for a resumption of sustained growth in construction, a recovery in investment activity and for launching new construction projects. We cannot allow this process to be blocked by endless bureaucratic approvals, the stone wall of monopoly and the elaborate, burdensome and at times excessively complicated procedures. Our task is to minimize bureaucratic costs and other costs at every point in the process – from the business idea to the project phase to finished housing – and to remove everything that stands in the way of fast, quality and inexpensive construction.”

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Volgograd Region Governor Anatoly Brovko

Governor Anatoly Brovko reported to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the unemployment rate in the region had fallen considerably, to below the national average. The governor also noted there are more job openings than unemployed person in the region. The Prime Minister and the governor also discussed a number of problem areas. The governor emphasised the need for agricultural development, saying: “We need to focus on strengthening the livestock sector and restructuring the agricultural industry.”