Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has a working meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov

Vladimir Putin agreed to lift the grain export ban from July 1, 2011. He also instructed First Deputy Prime Minister Zubkov to provide every support possible to Russian agricultural producers through the difficult period of sowing and harvesting.

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting

“Again, we will closely watch the progress on eliminating administrative barriers at all levels of government, and will certainly continue working at this. It is crucial to break the vicious circle where, in place of some eliminated barriers, other ones arise.”

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a video conference to present the Strategic Initiatives Agency

“The primary aim of the Agency is to support those who have already achieved something, especially medium-sized businesses.”

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Prime Minister Putin holds a meeting on drafting the federal budget for 2012 and 2013-2014

“Russia continues to see growth across all key industries. By 2012, we should fully offset the effects of the crisis. <…> We will need to adopt our first genuinely post-crisis budget and shift our focus to long-term goals.”

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Tyumen Region Governor Vladimir Yakushev

Mr Putin and Mr Yakushev discussed the challenges facing the region – some industries lagging behind, the danger of drought and forest fires. However, as the prime minister noted, the region looks pretty good on the whole. Mr Putin and Mr Yakushev focused especially on the construction of major educational facilities and the health care modernisation programme.

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a meeting of the Russian organising committee for the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture

“Language and a country's spiritual, cultural and historical heritage are what define national identity and bind together the people, society, and the entire country. What’s more, in many ways, these form the foundations for state sovereignty.”

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is joined by his Belarusian and Kazakhstani counterparts for a news conference following the meetings of the EurAsEC Interstate Council and the Supreme Body of the Customs Union

“Russia is firmly committed to working in this direction just as effectively as it did over the last two years, during which it essentially changed the paradigm of post-Soviet integration,” said the Russian prime minister.

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, currently on a working visit to Slovakia, meets with International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel

“We know you’re a serious sports fan. The whole world knows about your extensive support for sports,” Mr Fasel said to Prime Minister Putin.

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with representatives of the Russian Popular Front

“We are establishing the Russian Popular Front in order to draw together constructive ideas, so that civil society, including youth, women’s and veterans’ organisations, the business community, trade unions and associations, has an additional opportunity to become directly involved in charting highly important state decisions.”

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Leonid Markelov, head of Republic of Mari El

Mr Putin and Mr Markelov focused on the problems of the republic’s agriculture, which had been badly hit by last summer’s drought. The head of Mari El told the prime minister that the republic’s government had implemented a programme of assistance to the drought-affected farms and also about new poultry and pig breeding projects. The two officials also discussed the situation in the republic’s industry, construction and healthcare.

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends a military parade on Red Square marking the 66th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with members of the Russian Popular Front Coordination Council

“The proposal deals with establishing a non-governmental association based on the organisations, political parties and citizens that share common values connected with love of the country, improvement of people’s standards of living, strengthening of Russia’s power, and the search for just solutions in the social sphere.”

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On a working visit to Volgograd, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tours the Battle of Stalingrad open-air state memorial museum, where he met with veterans of the Great Patriotic War

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds a meeting of the government commission on the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus Federal District in Yessentuki

“The federal programme for the development of the North Caucasus must become a major instrument in resolving the region’s socio-economic issues, supporting business, launching new production lines, forming a modern social infrastructure, and reducing unemployment, which has become the main social headache in the region.”

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Sergei Frank, general director of the state shipping company Sovcomflot

Vladimir Putin and Sergei Frank discussed progress in the fleet modernisation programme, Sovcomflot’s involvement in major projects, including those in the Arctic, the company’s contract portfolio, and the quality of the Russian shipbuilding industry’s products.

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