Vladimir Putin has visited the village of Verkhnaya Vereya, Vyksunsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region, destroyed by fire. He walked through the devastated site, where not a single house was left and even stone buildings had burned to the ground.

Talking with local residents, Putin told them that victims of the fire who had lost their homes would be allocated 100,000 rubles each from the federal budget and 100,000 rubles from the regional budget. The prime minister said the amount usually required by the law is 50,000 rubles per family. But, Putin said, "we will do it another way. Instead of the required 50,000 per family, we will allocate 100,000 per person. This will come from the federal budget. In addition, 100,000 per person will be allocated from the regional budget," the prime minister added.

All the victims will also be issued 10,000 rubles each for current expenses, Putin said.

The locals said they were hoping for government aid. "We are asking for federal help to restore the village," one of the women from the destroyed settlement said. "We are doing everything we can to help you," Putin said. "I want you to know that your call for help has been heard. All houses will be up again before the winter. I promise you: the village will be rebuilt."

In response to a remark by one of the villagers that "these smoldering pieces of wood are no good for rebuilding," the prime minister said: "We will not use them for rebuilding; we will build new houses. We will draw up estimates based on the average cost of one square metre in the region. Then we will transfer the money to the region, and they will hire the builders," Putin said.

The prime minister also assured the villagers that "money will be set aside for two separate projects, the construction of the houses themselves and for new infrastructure."

"Please keep an eye on how things go," the residents asked the prime minister. The head of government promised that all the measures he mentioned would be carried out, and everything would be under his personal supervision.

During the conversation, the villagers also complained to Putin that the regional and local authorities had failed to perform their obligations and asked him to look into the situation. The prime minister promised to do so and evaluate the officials' performance. "An investigation will be opened and the prosecutor's office will assess the actions of every official," he said.

In Vyksa, Nizhny Novgorod Region, the prime minister chaired a meeting with Emergency Ministry top officials and Nizhny Novgorod authorities on the fire situation in the region.

After the meeting, Vladimir Putin talked for half an hour with residents of the town and surrounding villages who suffered from forest fires and told them about the outcome of the meeting. In particular, he said that every member of a family would be paid 200,000 rubles to replace the possessions they had lost in the fire, their houses would be rebuilt, and law enforcement bodies would carry out close investigations of local officials. "The houses will be rebuilt exactly as they were," he said. "The prosecutor's office will look into the actions of every official."