The first meeting occurred when the prime minister was driving through the village. About a hundred residents of this and adjacent villages asked Vladimir Putin to stop. Those were mainly the workers of the Baikal-Amur Railway who are concerned about the future of the railroad. The prime minister said that head of the Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin had reported to him that the traffic across this railway had increased by 28%, which means that there were no reasons to close it down. The residents also complained to Mr Putin that their district had not been included in the programme of replacing rundown housing. The prime minister promised them to discuss this issue with the region's governor.

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon once again. Please, sit down. I must say that I have just had a very intensive conversation with some people from your village. I don't know what it was, a store of something else, where I stopped...

Remark: Near the village administration building?

Vladimir Putin: Maybe. There were many people there.

Remark: It's the administration.

Vladimir Putin: Sure, the administration, that must be it. I believe that they have asked all the questions that residents of this village are concerned about. However, we can now discuss all the issues that worry you in a calmer atmosphere and in greater detail. Please, ask your questions.

Remark: Mr Putin, above all we are grateful. It happens only once in a hundred years that one of the country's top leaders visits our village. More than a hundred years ago Emperor Nicholas II and crown prince Alexander drove past our village. And today we have reason to celebrate again. First of all, we would like to thank you that it's no longer so hard for us to get to Chita as it used to be. Now it's just  a 40-minute drive to the district centre and a four hour-drive to Chita. It used to take me from twelve to sixteen hours to get to Chita, and the car often broke down...

Vladimir Putin: There was no road.

Remark: There was no road at all.

Remark: There was practically no road. Now there is a road and this is a major event for us. All the local residents, not only us but also those from adjacent villages, want to express their gratitude, and that's the most important thing. We have a good village.

Vladimir Putin: They say that a 100-kilometre section to Chita still needs repairs.

Remark: That's the section right before Chita...

Vladimir Putin: The old road...

Remark: That's only a 100-kilometre section before Chita. There used to be a 130-kilometre section of an asphalt-paved road...

Remark: Whe used to drive down this road, and it seemed fairly good. Now when we get there the road seems terrible. I mean, now we have learnt what a good road is, I guess.

Remark: We learn by comparison.

Vladimir Putin: The entire road should be completed by late September. I have seen it for myself, we have driven along the entire motorway - there are still many sections that have not been paved with asphalt concrete yet. But all these sections have been prepared. The road cushions are ready, and the preparations have been finished. xThe equipment and technology used are state of the art, so the road is being paved very quickly there. Road workers promise to finish the motorway from Chita to Khabarovsk completely by late September. There is also a section several hundred kilometres-long fromKhabarovsk to this destination  that has rather good paving. Road maintenance companies are keeping an eye on it and repair the pits. But this section has been built using old technology. This roads run across villages while modern roads are no longer built this way.

There is still much to be done. But we will set aside the funds to build a good motorway for the entire distance from Chita to Khabarovsk. It will cost quite a significant amount of money. These are fairly expensive works and we will be setting aside about 3 billion roubles per year so that this motorway is as good along its entire route as it is at your village.

Remark: It would be great if those access roads running from the motorway to villages were also paved. You drive on an up-to-date asphalt-paved motorway and then have to turn off onto a very bad road toward a village.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we all know that these access roads are managed by regional and local authorities rather than the federal government. However, we understand that local authorities do not have enough money for these purposes.

These are expensive works that's why a decision has been taken to set up federal and regional roads funds in 2011 by slightly increasing the gasoline excise tax. I have already mentioned this. We will increase the excise tax a little and allocate these funds to addressing the issues of roads managed by regional authorities and municipalities, including village roads. In addition, we will continue to set aside about 5 billion roubles from the federal budget.

We plan to transfer 300 million roubles into this road fund in 2011 and 400 million roubles later. These are significant funds and I hope that progress will be made and that you will see it.

Remark:  That would be great. You should visit us more often. You are always welcome here. Isn't it beautiful here?

Vladimir Putin: I've just told your villagers here: I have been to many places and had photos taken with many people, but I just couldn't miss this opportunity. I stopped to have a photo taken against the backdrop of this beautiful nature. It's amazing!

Remark: If you had seen the "Ring", you wouldn't have left. You would have stayed there.

Vladimir Putin: Really? Great. Such a wonderful view, it's incredible. This vast expanse, and the high ground in the back.

Remark: This is why our village needs development.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we have just discussed it there at the administration building.

Remark: Our village mainly survives due to the railway. The local enterprises are closing. How can we change that?

Vladimir Putin: You know what, this is not quite true. I will explain.

Before coming here, I looked through various documents and talked to the railway management - not the Trans-Baikal Railway, but the parent company, Russian Railways. The layoffs you had here had nothing to do with the economic downturn or shrinking freight traffic. They were the result of an internal corporate decision of the railway company to optimise costs in various business segments. But the railway management reported to me that people who were transferred to other villages were provided with everything including housing.

Remark: Yes, they were.

Vladimir Putin: I can tell you that one of the women lobbying for the allocated flats to be transferred into their ownership has confirmed to me that they had received the flats and that the flats were good, in new modern houses.

Remark: Yes, that's right. Good living conditions.

Vladimir Putin: And they are happy because it means they were not deceived. They were given what they had been promised.

Remark: They are happy. We aren't because people are moving away from our village.

Vladimir Putin: I will come to that later. On the whole, freight traffic along the Trans-Baikal Railway is growing. It went up 28% in the past two years. It is not shrinking due to the recession, but is growing. This means that such villages as yours have good development prospects, after a certain optimisation of the railway. This is my first point. My next point is that more hands are needed. Moreover, the railway management, including the Trans-Baikal Railway, is compelled to persuade people who are close to retirement age to continue working, and even call older workers out of retirement. The management just told me that there are around 150 people who were planning to retire; the company is trying to dissuade them because they are highly qualified and experienced professionals and the railway cannot afford to lose them now.

Remark: They are the golden fund.

Vladimir Putin: Exactly. But what does this mean? It means that more workers are needed. But there is another problem that the locals just told me about. When the railway company handed the village with all of its social services over to the local administration, things were no longer kept up to the old standard. Maybe the local government does not have enough funds or time to take care of everything. We have provided a considerable federal subsidy to the Trans-Baikal Territory in the past two or three years, 1.2 billion roubles, to relocate people living in dangerous old buildings. I would say that the regional government has disposed of the money wisely. Over 34 million sq m of dilapidated housing were demolished, and about 1,300 people moved to better property. But the local people are quite well informed. Honestly I was surprised at how much they know. When I mentioned it, one woman said: "We weren't included in that programme." She was right in fact: this village had not been included in the programme. But that is not right. If the railway management and the regional government both believe this village has good development prospects, why shouldn't it be included in the programme? Nearly half of all local housing (45%), 18,000 sq m out of 40,000 sq m, is defined as dilapidated and dangerous to live in. I have asked the regional governor, "Do you think this village has good development prospects?" He said "Yes."

Remark: So they think we do have prospects.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, they do, but if so, why aren't they investing money in development? I will see the governor tonight. We have already talked on the phone. He agreed that this village should be included in the programme to renew old and dangerous housing.

Remark: You have just mentioned that the town and social services were handed over to the local administration. There is a problem in our district. I am a district council member. We have a problem. There is a central district hospital...

Vladimir Putin: Yes, someone has mentioned it.

Remark: So the railway company handed it over, but part of the equipment... Well, we have no equipment now. There is only one maternity hospital in the district, with six beds. There are two surgery centres here in Zilov, but again, equipment there leaves much to be desired. The head doctor, Konstantin Kapusta, is a great surgeon, but equipment is important too. We really need to help them.

Vladimir Putin: Please, if you just let me finish what I was saying, and I will answer your question right away.

If the territorial administration includes your village in the programme to renew old housing - as I believe it will - it means you will receive additional financing before the end of this year. We will provide substantial federal funding, so that you could resolve all your problems comprehensively. If you are determined, you need a comprehensive approach to the problems, rather than address separate issues. If you do, you will be living in a completely different village two or three years from now. All the dilapidated and dangerous buildings will be pulled down, and new modern houses will be erected in their stead.

These should be modern houses, of course, not apartment blocks but low-rise projects. Working under this programme, we will think of ways to resolve the problems of your social facilities - the hospital and the school (we should analyse the situation there). And you have a kindergarten.

Remark: We really need a school.

Remark: We have a kindergarten...

Remark: But it is very small.

Vladimir Putin: Do you have two kindergartens or one?

Remark: We have one kindergarten and two schools, and we would like both schools to be preserved.

Vladimir Putin: You also need a sports complex for young people, a sports and entertainment complex for sports and cultural events.

Remark: We have nothing for young people, they have nowhere to spend their leisure time.

Remark: I am a teacher. Our young people here are very talented; they easily get accepted at universities in Novosibirsk, Omsk and Vladivostok.

Vladimir Putin: This means they have good teachers.

Remark: Some have even graduated from Moscow universities. They are good at sports. Our coach, can vouch for this. But we have a problem with taking children to sports competitions 90 km from the regional centre. Children have to get up at 5 in the morning to get there on time. They leave for Chernyshevsk at 6 a.m. and spend the day at the competitions there. We win first prizes, of course, but at a very high price. The school cannot afford a bus, or even a Gazelle van or a car. This is a problem we cannot resolve.

Vladimir Putin: You need a sports and physical fitness complex here.

Remark: If we had one, children would flock there.

Vladimir Putin: Of course. 

Remark: Our young workers also enjoy sports.

Vladimir Putin: They are not expensive; they are standard models and hence can be built quickly. Construction doesn't take long. We'll find a solution.

Remark: And then there is the problem of taking an inventory...

Vladimir Putin: At the school?

Answer: We have 20 computers and 377 students.

Vladimir Putin: That is a big school.

Remark: It is a general school, and the other school, a nine-grade one, has 120 students.

Vladimir Putin: How many students per form?

Answer: There are between 18 and 25 or 27 students per form.

Vladimir Putin: So this is a full-size school.

Remark: Yes, but we have only 20 computers. We have Internet access, but only five of the 20 PCs are modern. As for the rest, I can't even tell you when they were made.

Vladimir Putin: They are old, right?

Remark: We'd like the best for our kids...

Vladimir Putin: Absolutely. We must certainly do it right.

Question: Mr Putin, I have a question about the Chita-Khabarovsk motorway. We have an access road to it, but do you plan to further develop the infrastructure? As for the hospital, I know that a programme was considered for building medical centres along federal motor routes. Do you plan to build such medical centres here, or at least to improve our hospitals, such as this one?

Vladimir Putin: To be honest, I don't have all the details here, but I think we should undertake such projects along federal routes within the framework of the Healthcare national project. We should add to the project the construction of requisite medical establishments along federal routes, so as to cut human losses from road accidents. But if there is a hospital near such a route already, it would seem better to provide modern equipment to it, so that both local residents and the people using the route would use them. 

Remark: It would create more jobs.

Vladimir Putin: That's right.

Remark: The traffic-related death rate is the second highest in the region because of road construction. The Zhireken administration should address this problem.

Vladimir Putin: The issue you pointed out is one of the most important for the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Remark: The distances are huge.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, exactly. This problem is solved easier in the Khabarovsk Territory because of smaller distances between cities and villages, and even in the Amur Region, where the average distance between settlements is 100-150 km, which means you can reach a hospital in 1.5 or 2 hours. But the distance between settlements in the Trans-Baikal Territory is approximately 300 km. This is a big problem for the territory. Of course, you need a hospital.

Remark: Thank you for the cars we have received under the national project for our medical emergency sector.

Vladimir Putin: So you have received them?

Remark: We have received one ambulance but not the equipment. Our equipment has long become obsolete.

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean hospital equipment?

Remark: We have also received a Kamaz truck under the utilities equipment project. 

Vladimir Putin: You have? We bought them as part of the anti-crisis programmes to support both Kamaz and municipal governments.

Remark: I'd like to say that pensions have been raised significantly this year. The pensioners and everyone else are really pleased.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, a 46% increase this year is a noticeable improvement. 

Remark:  Thank you.

Remark: Mr Putin, our village has an interesting history. You said something about your feelings...

Vladimir Putin: Positive feelings.

Remark: Yes, positive feelings, and for a reason. This is an old village with unique customs and interesting traditions and culture.

Vladimir Putin: Right.

Remark: And this is a close-knit community. We have a special kind of patriotism in Zilovo, one you are unlikely to see anywhere else. And the root cause for this is the school.

Change is under way in the country, including here; we are aware of this. You spoke about dilapidated housing. We tried to file a request, but somehow failed. If you say there are plans...

Vladimir Putin: Not yet, but there will be plans after my visit. I am going to Chita now, and simultaneously plans will begin to be drafted.

Remark: We were half-eligible, but not quite eligible under the law. Anyway, the village is growing, the railway company is developing, and we preserve jobs. And the people think the railway, on which the future of the village depends, must not be closed; it should be preserved.

You also spoke about the hospital. The hospital in Zilovo was nearly closed, but it was not, thanks to our governor, and the people are glad it has been preserved.

Vladimir Putin: We could provide additional equipment for it.

Remark: Yes, we need a hospital.

Vladimir Putin: We'll see what can be done; I will discuss the question with the governor. By the way, your governor is a good manager, with both feet firmly on the ground.

Question: I have one more question. I worked in the administration before retiring, and remember that once the question of discontinuing commuter rail transport was considered. This is a very painful issue to us, and we would like to ask you to preserve commuter rail transport. Our village depends on railways. Now the time at the stations for some trains has been shortened and other stops have been cut out, and we would like the passenger rail transport to be preserved even though there is a new federal motorway nearby. We are glad that there is a federal motorway nearby, but we'd like everything we had in the village before to be preserved.

Vladimir Putin: I will convey your wishes to the railway authorities. I cannot tell you about their plans for the time trains wait at stations, because it depends on the trains' speed. This is a strictly professional issue, and you could know it better than I do. As for commuter traffic, it should certainly be preserved. And, as far as I can see, it has been preserved.

Remark: We have thousands of pensioners and all social and pension services are located in the regional centre. It is very important for the pensioners...

Vladimir Putin: I see. But you will be able to use the motorway now.

Remark: There are no bus routes to the city.

Vladimir Putin: You'll have them, but not immediately.

Remark: Not everyone can drive.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I agree, I fully agree with you.

Remark: Even a bus ticket is too much for pensioners, too expensive.

Remark: And it costs 1,500 roubles by taxi

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I see.

Remark: Look at the museum we have at the school; it presents the full history of the village.

Vladimir Putin: It was established in the early 20th century, if I'm right?

Answer: Yes. We marked its centenary last year. And the museum was established nearly 50 years ago.

Vladimir Putin: This is great. Well done; your caring attitude is highly commendable.

Remark: Whatever happens in the country, the people in our village never remain indifferent. And look at our nature.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, it's incredible.

Remark: And this tells you about our patriotism... (showing an album)

Vladimir Putin: Did you stage a performance?

Answer: Yes, we have a girl who graduated from a Moscow theatre college.

Remark: She is from our heartland. They organised such performances.

Vladimir Putin: That's great. All thanks to the teachers.

Remark: Yes. Take a look at our village, our paternal home. This place is so beautiful in spring. "The Trans-Baikal Territory has crimson hills / Aksyonovo-Zilovskoye is a beautiful name / My village is spread far and wide on five banks." Look at all the little children during their lessons.

Vladimir Putin: That's a large school.

Remark: Mr Kuntsyn (the former school director), how many children were there at your school?

Viktor Kunitsyn: Mr Putin, I'll tell you right away. I was born here. I'm already 68 years old, and I'm still working at the school. Five classes used to graduate each year after ten years here. The village's population has shrunk from 12,000 to 4,000. How can the situation be rectified? This is not very easy. To my mind, the railway will be unable to cope with an influx that would make it possible to rebuild the old population. People used to live here for some reason. Our people do not want to leave Zilovo. They live in Zilovo, work in Chernyshevsk and come back. This is a real headache. Locomotive engineers come to Zilovo, after completing their shifts. Although they have apartments in Chernyshevsk, they return to Zilovo. They don't want to leave this place. And I don't want our village to wither on the vine. Please help us.

Vladimir Putin: Naturally, there should be an optimal number of residents matching the corporate production process.

Remark: That's right. It turns out that we have to invent something.

Vladimir Putin: If this is true, and this seems true, then it's good that the company has provided comfortable housing to those who have moved to other villages.

Remark: Yes, it has provided housing.

Vladimir Putin: But I don't believe this process should be artificially expedited. Favourable living conditions should be created for the current local population.

Remark: Consequently, people would come here.

Remark: Somehow this is comfortable housing. But young families cannot register there. Fourteen-year-olds receive passports and come to obtain their registration here. Conscripts have to go to Chernyshevsk. Mogocha residents have to register with a recruiting agency in Chernyshevsk. This is our problem. Why is this so?

Vladimir Putin: These are excessive administrative procedures.

Remark: We have to ask familiar and unfamiliar Mogocha residents to register children at their place of residence.

Remark: They have sold their homes and apartments here, but are unable to obtain registration there.

Remark: Registration is mandatory, although the housing is a corporate asset.

Vladimir Putin: That's strange. Permanent registration has been abolished. This probably implies some temporary registration. I'll talk to the governor today. 

Remark: They face problems in every sphere. They are unable to take out loans for they also lack registration.

Remark: To be honest, young people ...

Vladimir Putin: I'll discuss this today. Although this is completely unexpected, I'll talk about it.

Remark: Mr Putin, I have a short question, wish or, maybe, proposal. A man with many children addressed me recently. Although people are leaving our region, the birth rate is quite high in Zilovo. I'm 50 years old, and I have four grandchildren already.

Vladimir Putin: The best and most prolific people have remained.

Remark: A man came up and told me that he had four children, and that 159-160-rouble per child benefits were too small.

Vladimir Putin: We have just discussed this.

Remark: Perhaps it would be appropriate to raise the sum a bit. I propose paying 159 roubles for the first baby, 100% more for the second baby and 200% more for the third baby. Naturally, people want to have children.

Vladimir Putin: We'll think it over. I have just talked to a woman who had raised this issue. I asked her how many children she had, and she replied that she had four children. I asked her whether she had received her maternity capital. She said "Yes" and added that she had used it to buy an apartment.

Remark: Yes, maternity capital.

Vladimir Putin: Technically speaking, the mechanisms being proposed by us are functioning and helping people. But we will also think about this.

Remark: Most importantly, we need to retain our young people because the village is aging fast. Only old-age pensioners remain. There will be nobody left to develop these territories and wonderful places.

Vladimir Putin: I agree.

Remark: This is the most terrible thing. You are therefore right in saying that we need a sports facility, no matter what.

Remark: Yes, no matter what.

Remark: Our young people inevitably start acting foolishly when they are idle. They either start drinking or do something else.

Vladimir Putin: This should be a multi-role facility for holding various events.

Remark: Available assets need to be preserved. We have here the wonderful Chasovinka camp for Young Pioneers. Formerly a sports camp, it has been open for the past 40 years. The camp was started by the late Vladimir Gladkikh, a merited physical-fitness and sports worker, an honorary citizen of the Mogocha District and an honorary railway worker.

They have been organising a wonderful volleyball tournament for the past three years. This is a unique tournament, as there are no other regional volleyball tournaments. People from the Far East come to the inter-regional tournament. My brother rode in a car ahead of you from Khabarovsk to attend the second tournament. The first tournament was held three years ago. At that time, my brother had a long and hard drive from Khabarovsk. This year, it took their family 36 hours to get here. As a railway worker, he says he is slightly vexed, but from now on he will only go by car.

In this connection, it appears that the road will reduce railway traffic prices because it is a real rival.

Vladimir Putin:  Yes, this is true.

Remark: My brother says this magnificent tournament with such a wonderful and hospitable atmosphere should be preserved.

Vladimir Putin: Who organises it?

Answer: It is organised by our railway social directorate. But they are trying to shut down the camp.

Vladimir Putin: Is all this, including the camp, affiliated with Russian Railways?

Answer: Yes.

Remark: Why should it be shut down?

Remark: They are trying to shut it down for lack of a fire-alarm system.

Vladimir Putin: Is this a Russian Railways asset?

Answer: Yes, this is still our asset.

Vladimir Putin: In that case, we will preserve it.

Remark: It should be preserved. The most important thing is that this exciting tournament has been attracting people for the past three years.

Vladimir Putin: Russian Railways executives love sports and will support this project.

Remark: That's right. Most importantly, athletes are, as a rule, socially adapted because they are active people.

Vladimir Putin: Yes.

Remark: We get together, and we have known each other for quite a while.

Vladimir Putin: When do you hold the tournament?

Remark: This great tournament is held in early August.

Vladimir Putin: Are there plans to hold it next year?

Remark: Yes, we wanted to hold it. But the event may be put off for fire-safety considerations.

Vladimir Putin: You should simply install fire alarms and other systems.

Remark: Someone should lend a helping hand because management is so weak.

Vladimir Putin: This is what Russian Railways will do. This is a small sum. This is no problem. It's good that you have mentioned this. I am confident that Russian Railways management will support you.

As far as competition between railways and motorways are concerned, competition is created as a result of consignments of secondary priority for railways. Such competition may arise during the transportation of perishables, for example, which can be more effectively delivered by motor vehicle to the end consumers. You know railroad traffic specifics better than I do. What do railways carry? They transport timber, metals, coal, ore, oil and petroleum which cannot be delivered over long distances by motorway. In this sense, any principled competition is lacking.

Remark: Passenger traffic volumes may plunge.

Vladimir Putin: Passenger traffic? This is unlikely. They are asking us to retain commuter trains.

Remark: Yes, they should carry old-age pensioners. But those choosing between speed and comfort will prefer not to pay substantial sums and will go by car.

Remark: It's more economical to visit someone in a car.

Remarks: Yes, far more economical, much cheaper.

Vladimir Putin: Generally, railways are better suited to hauling bulk commodities, including oil and petroleum. This makes up the main revenues.

As a rule, railways consider passenger traffic unprofitable because they are unable to compete with motorways. In effect, such competition takes place in separate segments but lacks principled importance.

Remarks: Thank you very much. Thanks for coming.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. I wish you all the best.