Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Have you summarised the first quarter? How did the region do?

Andrei Turchak: Budget revenues somewhat exceeded last year’s, when we met the planned targets with a billion roubles carried over to this year. Now, we have exceeded the planned amount by 4%.

However, there are two causes for alarm. First, it is investment in fixed capital, which we discussed at our previous meeting. As I told you then, we launched a number of projects in 2010 to be finished at the end of 2011 or the beginning of next year. Second, it is an agro-industrial investment project. As I said, we will commission a pig farm for 480,000 head within the month – an ambitious project and our first priority. It will be the largest farm in northwest Russia. It is being built by the Velikie Luki Meatpacking Company. We will also open four dairy farms, with 1,200 cows in each. We expect to produce 250,000 tonnes of milk this year.

We met all our social welfare obligations, and there are no back wages in government-funded sectors. Our region shifted to a new labour remuneration system in all such sectors – I mean doctors’, teachers’ and cultural workers’ salaries. The reform took an additional billion roubles from the regional budget. So we are coming close to the target we posed for September 1 [the beginning of the academic year], as far as teacher salaries are concerned. The average salaries of 45% of our teachers now equal the region’s average wage, 14,400 roubles a month. A 104 million rouble grant earmarked for the region from the federal budget will be used for two things: 50% for teachers’ welfare and the other half to increase the salaries in preschool education – a field we cannot afford to fund properly. Preschool teachers’ earnings demand major adjustment. We discussed the matter at the meeting today. We will try to make the increase by the beginning of the next academic year.

As for back wages, they are steady at 15-16 million roubles. The regional authorities and the prosecutor’s office check the situation every week.

Vladimir Putin: What about farm work?

Andrei Turchak: We are making progress on the projects I have mentioned – the pig farm and dairy farms…

Vladimir Putin: But I mean seasonal work.

Andrei Turchak: Mr Zubkov (First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov) recently chaired a meeting on spring sowing. We are sowing only fodder crops, and the work is going smoothly. Fuel prices are as good as can be, 30% below commercial prices because we have only one supplier, the Kirishi Oil Refinery, owned by Pskovnefteproduct, a subsidiary of Surgutneftegaz. So we have no problems – the deadlines are being met, and we have stocked up on a good amount of fuel.

Vladimir Putin: Good.