Prior to the concert at the Kremlin Palace, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin spoke with farmers in the foyer. Mr Medvedev asked about the current living standards in rural areas, and the farmers assured him they were receiving enough support from the government and were able to benefit from easy loans. Mr Putin said that a special programme, Young Farmer, will be launched in 2012 to "provide systemic support for young people working in agriculture."

A farmer from the Ryazan Region complained that his region has been suffering from severe droughts for two straight years and asked for financial support to be provided to farmers who are unable to repay their loans. Mr Putin promised to have relevant agencies look into the possibility of supporting those farmers using some of the additional funds released by the agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank.

A woman from the Krasnodar Region told the president and the prime minister about this year's record-high yield of sugar beetroot crops in her area, but complained about limited processing capabilities. Mr Medvedev said one way to resolve the problem would be by "providing additional subsidies to processors."

A farmer from the Kurgan Region brought up the difficulty of transporting products to other Russian regions and abroad. The president and the premier acknowledged that such a problem does exist. However, Mr Putin noted that it is not entirely the fault of Russian Railways (RZhD) and that independent operators also have a hand in this issue.