Transcript of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first time we've come together in such a format. No rural intelligentsia forums have ever been held before, but I hope this will become a regular event. Social issues shall be largely administered by municipalities; regional authorities play a secondary role here, while the federal government is only indirectly involved.

Forty percent of our population work in agriculture, so the welfare of rural population is to be ensured by authorities of every level. This is why we've invited you here today. Our aim is not to suggest any final solutions, but rather to identify or highlight the many problems we're facing and to think of how we can tackle them. It's about the future of the Russian countryside, about how we can ensure its sustainable development, thereby creating conditions for rural inhabitants to live more fulfilling lives and be effective workers and parents, as well as providing young and not-so-young members of rural communities with new local opportunities.

All of you are part of the intelligentsia, who, according to Solzhenitsyn, "is a unique Russian treasure." This is, indeed, a special breed of people – cultured, coherent, and forward-looking, with an acute sense of responsibility for their land, their community, their fellow countrymen, and their nation.

You don't just serve your communities as doctors, teachers, engineers, cultural professionals, and so forth. Fellow villagers also turn to you for advice on a wide variety of non-related matters, including personal ones. This has always been the case, including during the times of zemstvo reform and in the Soviet era. Integrity and responsiveness are among the most precious human qualities.

Working as you do in the countryside, you have firsthand knowledge of the problems facing rural communities, as well as some idea of how these problems could be solved.

It's only natural that your communities should choose you to represent their interests [in legislatures]. As of today, members of the intelligentsia constitute about one half of the deputies in local legislatures. In this past summer's nationwide primaries ahead of the (December 4) parliamentary polls, rural intelligentsia activists received wide public support, among urban residents as well as fellow rural dwellers. I'm sure that via the United Russia party, many of you will eventually make it to the federal parliament.

We see you as like minds and allies with whom we can solve shared problems, building strong and prosperous rural communities, with access to quality healthcare services and education, so that people could have confidence in their future and a sense of belonging. We should work together to make the Russian countryside full of opportunities for people seeking self-realisation.

One of our priorities is the creation in rural areas of efficient companies and of interesting and prestigious jobs. The idea is to provide local inhabitants with a source of decent and steady income while at the same time forming a solid economic and financial basis for sustainable development. Economic success underlies welfare, in the town as in the country.

By the way, (Russia's) rural communities have done a great job this year, bringing in a remarkable harvest. But this is a topic we should discuss separately.

We're committed to supporting all forms of entrepreneurship in the countryside, primarily small and medium-sized businesses. A programme for start-up farmers will get underway as early as next year. It will provide state grants for new farms, as well as long-term loans. We'll be developing companies involved in the processing and distribution of agricultural produce while also stimulating other sectors, such as arts and crafts, tourism, and services. Our ambition is to prove that people living in the countryside can make a good living.

For our agricultural industry to be productive, we need to introduce new technology, and this requires an upgrade in professional training. In developing and implementing education programmes, we need to continue promoting the integration of schools and research institutes with agricultural businesses. This will improve the quality of training in professions that are the most in-demand in the countryside.

Also, we should raise the prestige of agricultural jobs. Younger generations should come to realise the great public value of working one's own land. And the intelligentsia has a major role to play in getting these ideas across.

We'll be able to breathe new life into the Russian countryside, making our rural communities powerful and prosperous, only if we ensure high social standards.

All discussion about the accessibility of public services in rural communities, including health, education, libraries, and arts and sports facilities, must begin with roads. The lack of rural roads has been one of Russia's main problems for centuries, and it's still the case. As of today, 46,000 of the country's villages have no year-round paved access roads. They've never had any such infrastructure, neither in pre-Soviet times, nor in the Soviet era. Which means ambulances may not be able to reach such villages during spring flooding and school buses may get stuck in the mud. Even going shopping is a problem here, as well as visits to a post office, to a bank or to some recreational facility. Rural dwellers, especially those living in remote areas, often feel cut off from the rest of the world. But it's unacceptable to leave people to face such circumstances on their own.

You know better than anyone that in the past two years, we've realised a large-scale project to repair inner-city roads and improve housing estates in all the regional capitals of Russia. We've released some 50 billion roubles in budget allocations for this purpose. During my frequent trips across the country, I can see the resulting changes. This project is quite costly, but not prohibitively, and it does pay off, making local inhabitants appreciate the results. So it would be natural to expand that work further.

We propose identifying three spending priorities for money from road funds and consolidating those priorities in legislation. As many of you may know, starting next year we'll be setting up federal and regional road funds. Municipalities are entitled to establish funds of their own, with money transferred from regional funds.

Until now, there've been certain restrictions on the use of money from road funds, though. We suggest lifting these restrictions. I'm talking primarily about rural roads, the improvement of public amenities across the country, and about repairs and renovation of roads inside cities, towns and rural communities.

When meeting with rural communities, I often hear people complain that they can spend money from road funds to repair an existing local road or build a new one, but they have no right to repair a road beyond the boundaries of their village, because they need other sources of fundung. But they may have no other sources. So we suggest these artificial constraints be removed. Communities should be given the right to redistribute some of the money from their regional road funds to other purposes.

In the next two years, a total of 130 billion roubles is to be allocated for this project. Never before has so much money been channelled into the improvement of rural infrastructure and amenities.

We'll need appropriate amendments to the Budgetary Code and some other laws. I can see some United Russia MPs here, in the audience. I'd like to use the occasion to ask you to adopt these amendments as a priority, before the (State Duma's) winter recess.

Our efforts are aimed at dramatically improving the living environment for rural communities across Russia. But along with road construction, we should attend to the entire network of educational, medical, sports and cultural facilities.

And in developing our social policies for rural communities, we should above all be governed by the interests of their members, without losing sight of our strategic task to develop the country's vast spaces.

We need to work together to find a proper solution with regard to small rural schools, in order to preserve them where necessary. Teachers and those working in the educational sector know perfectly well that any small rural school has a small number of students and the number of teachers at times almost equals the number of students, and maintaining such schools is expensive for both the region and the municipality. On a nationwide scale, we must seek ways to preserve these schools so that maintaining them is less financially burdensome than it is today, while at the same time keeping them operational.

I have mentioned this at the meeting with agricultural workers and I will say it again here. One possible solution to this issue involves establishing good quality, large educational centres, along with their associated branches, in the rural areas. Also, there are certain administrative expenses that can be cut, and education standards raised, considering the opportunities for a more wide-spread use of distance learning.

With the country’s vast territories, certain regions simply cannot do without retaining small rural schools, even if it is expensive for the regions and municipalities. Children must have the opportunity to attend schools in their native villages and to receive quality education services in the proper conditions in order to be on par with their urban peers.

Certain regions have already developed mechanisms for the establishment of branches of central schools at the premises of small rural schools. Other useful experience includes launching community centres which provide educational, cultural and medical services for residents in villages. All these opportunities should be considered while implementing our project on developing school education.

As a reminder: finances from the federal budget for each of Russia’s regions are calculated based on the number of students in their schools. I am certain you know this, but I will say it again: we allocate twice as much money for rural school students.

I think during our discussion we will pay particular attention to education in rural areas, including pre-school and general school education, and will discuss the issue of reducing regulatory requirements on the number of students at small rural schools.

This applause is coming primarily from organisers of the school movement, with whom I've met more than once before and have discussed this problem repeatedly. I understand their enthusiasm. We should take a professional approach to this, and attempt to find out what really needs to be done, and then concentrate our energy on priority tasks. And we should move forward with the establishment of large educational centres where it appears feasible. To achieve tangible results, we must be creative and flexible in our actions.

Our ultimate goal is to provide our children with quality school education so that they are able to be competitive enough to enter university and start a career, such that they will be on the same level as their urban peers. This is our ultimate goal and we must try our hardest to achieve it.

As for medical services, our priority here is to consolidate the system of primary healthcare, which is in especially high demand in the countryside. Regional programmes include renovating and purchasing new equipment for rural health centres and district hospitals, increasing the number of general practitioner offices, improving ambulance service and providing villagers with access to quality health services. I’d like to point out that we have already provided resources and bought new equipment for hospitals as part of the National Priority Health programme. We must maintain this level of service. Do you understand? This is not a so-called federal mandate, but a regional or municipal responsibility. We did that to help boost development, to improve the primary level of healthcare service and we demand that the regions and municipalities maintain this level.

I just talked to a resident of this village. He took me by the arm on the street and asked if he could go with me. There he is in the audience. He says the ambulance is low on brake fluid and that they never have enough gas and that the car is falling apart. But who is responsible for this? This is a serious maintenance issue.

We have prepared another programme allocating 460 billion roubles for two years. This money will mostly be directed toward the primary healthcare level, for actual maintenance, new equipment and so on. But we will be assuming that we are supporting the regions and municipalities with this money, and we want them to maintain this level.

Speaking of this specific issue, we will talk about it and clear it up. In general, I would like to address my colleagues. You should not forget about these issues; and don’t think that you got the money from the federal budget, raised some sector to a certain level, and then redirect the funds to some other issue which you think is more important, because everything will just fall apart again, and then you will expect Moscow to hand over more money. This attitude is wrong.

And, of course, doctors, paramedics, school teachers, technicians, drivers and other personnel working in tough rural environments should be adequately compensated for their efforts. They should be paid wages that are substantial enough that they do not have to do extra work in order to survive.

As you probably know, we are currently building up wage funds for people involved in public health and education, in urban and rural areas alike. This is an especially sensitive issue for rural teachers, who have until recently been paid significantly less than their urban counterparts. This is why regional authorities have been asked to bring teacher wages up to the all-sector average in their region and beyond. I believe that in the next academic year, this goal will be met in all of Russia’s regions. The salaries of doctors and paramedics should also be raised, including within the framework of the Healthcare Modernisation programme.

Let me add here that regional and local authorities have a major role to play in the creation of good conditions for healthcare and education workers.

Like I said, one cannot make excuses by citing objective difficulties and a lack of resources. In those Russian regions where rural development is a priority, these tasks are successfully tackled.

And, of course, the regions must provide the necessary support for rural doctors, nurses and teachers in paying utilities rates, considering the nature of rural life. That is right and fair. The relevant legislative acts have been passed at the federal level and the execution must still be monitored locally.

We are all very well aware that the development of public health and education in rural areas depends to a high degree on the influx of young personnel. Considering the importance of the task, we have passed a number of decisions.

For example – I am sure that you know and have heard about this, and I have already spoken about it myself – doctors under 35 who wish to work in rural areas will receive a million roubles as a relocation allowance. Eligible for this benefit will be those who have already arrived in rural areas this year or will decide to move in 2012.

We have implemented such a pilot project, to use a trendy word, for the graduates of teacher training colleges and universities. The state has provided grants of half a million roubles for over 700 such specialists who are already working in rural schools. We will think how to develop the human resource programme in the future.

I should add that housing is a key problem here, as everybody is very well aware. The regions and the municipal authorities must help the young professionals to solve this problem in every possible way.

Another important topic merits special mention. The Russian rural areas will develop only on the basis of a strong cultural and moral foundation, which is why it is necessary to repair the existing houses of culture, children’s amateur activity centres and similar institutions, and to build new ones.

And, of course, local ethnography museums. Whenever I have the time, I drop by to look at them. It’s an interesting experience. There are some unique objects – of course, not to be compared with what they have at the Tretyakov Gallery or the Pushkin Museum or the Hermitage. But there are some things you can only see in local ethnography and history museums. I think that this is very important.

Then there is the issue of libraries, of course. They should become information, educational and cultural centres – the nuclei of the Russian countryside. For that purpose, every library, in addition to books, must have computers with Internet access. We should tackle this task together. I expect that Russia's constituent entities will actively join this work.

We have just visited a village library. It is a modest, but a very good library. Nothing special, nothing superfluous, but all of the necessary things are in place, including Internet access and computers. I asked them whether people were using the computers? Yes, they are using them actively. Rural people use computers very actively. Out of 6,000 residents – and that includes babies and old men and women – 1,000 readers regularly visit the library. This speaks volumes.

I should remind you that we have decided to equate the status of school librarians to that of teachers, which means that their salaries should increase substantially.

There is one more thing that I would like to draw your attention to. Improving the rural social infrastructure must be the common task of the state and of the business community. In fact, we are talking about investments in human capital, the creation of a new way of life in rural areas, investments in the future of huge Russian territories. I think businessmen understand the importance of such work, especially since in recent years many successful and effective enterprises have appeared in rural areas that set themselves long-term development goals.

You know as well as I do, perhaps even better than I do, that some superb enterprises have been appearing in rural areas. Sometimes, indeed more and more frequently, they can compete in world markets. It is amazing how quickly all of this is happening. This is, of course, the main promise for the Russian countryside.

In conclusion, I would like to say the following. How our countryside and our country will develop depends first and foremost on people, on all of us. Therefore, intellectuals have a special mission to provide leadership, to help the people who live around them in everything, to help them to better themselves. I am sure that together we will cope with this task. Thank you.

Dear friends and colleagues, I am aware that you have been working in breakout groups, you had round tables, and you have already discussed many problems that are of interest to professional communities working in rural areas. Now that we are all together, I suggest that we hear several reports and have a discussion before we open the floor for a free discussion.

Roman Borovkov, the head of the Muromskoye Rural Settlement municipal entity in the Vladimir Region.

Roman Borovkov:  Thank you.

Esteemed Mr Putin,

Esteemed colleagues.

I have held my job for four years. I love my work and I want life in our villages and rural communities to become more comfortable and more decent with each passing year.

To consider the issue, we had a roundtable discussion on the development of rural areas. Taking part in the discussion were the representatives of the rural agro-industrial complex and my colleagues, the heads of rural communities.

There were many issues, many emotional issues and there were rather heated debates.

In general, the issues raised by the heads of rural communities can be divided into two broad groups. The first group has to do with inadequate communal infrastructure and insufficient comfort in rural territories.

What do I mean when I refer to communal infrastructure in rural areas? I mean the gas and water supply, water wells, roads within communities and street lighting. These are sore questions.

We have had and still have a fairly effective instrument for tackling these issues, an instrument called the Federal Programme of Rural Social Development. It is actually an effective instrument. I am saying this because I have hands-on experience of how this programme works. Thanks to the programme, our small settlement has managed to bring running water to two villages, lay a water-supply line along several streets and practically bring gas to all of the homes in the Muromskoye village. And this is just a part of the programme.

Considering that this programme expires in 2012, we would like to see it extended, so it will keep working and regional authorities will continue to take part in this work. The terms according to which municipal entities are admitted to this programme should be acceptable and simple.

Vladimir Putin:  How do you form your budget? What percentage of your budget comes to you from the budget of the Vladimir Region?

Roman Borovkov: Our total budget is 13 million roubles, of which our own money accounts for 4 million roubles.

Vladimir Putin: Nine million come from…

Roman Borovkov: Nine  million is actually the regional subsidies.

Vladimir Putin: In fact, it should be the main source for social development in rural areas.

What is the structure of your spending?

But before that, not to keep Roman Borovkov and the rest of the audience on tenterhooks, I must say that we have decided to extend the rural social development programme. Moreover, we made that decision and the programme will be extended until 2013. I have already asked my colleagues to start working on the rural social development programme until 2020.

But I am still interested in the structure of your spending – the structure of revenues is clear.

Roman Borovkov: The budget – 14 million – is broken up in accordance with our scopes of authority and the issues that we deal with. For example, support for the housing and utilities sector. Suppose we spend about 4 million roubles, 1.5 million roubles…

Vladimir Putin: What do you mean by support housing and utilities? How are you  doing this? What do you spend your money on?

Roman Borovkov: One of our missions is supplying heating, water and gas to households.

Vladimir Putin: I understand. But could you elaborate for those present? And I am interested myself. I think you are all interested to know.

You have 14 million which is the budget of the average municipal entity. Believe me, this is the first time that I am meeting with Roman Borovkov, and we have never discussed these things with him before. This is not an awful lot of money, and out of that sum, 9 million is provided by the region, by the governor. I understand that four of the 14 million goes toward the housing and utilities sector, am I right?

Roman Borovkov: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: But what exactly is the housing and utilities sector in a village?

Roman Borovkov: First of all, considering that our community has a centralized boiler room…

Vladimir Putin: Ah, you have a boiler room? You spend the money to run and repair the boiler room?

Roman Borovkov: That is correct. And not only to support the repair of boiler rooms, but also sometimes to help enterprises that render utility services.

Vladimir Putin: What kind of help?

Roman Borovkov: By subsidising.

Vladimir Putin: Subsidising what?       

Roman Borovkov: We are subsidising companies which provide heating services, for example. Although they receive generous fees for heat supplies, this revenue is still not enough to cover the costs of gas, fuel oil or coal. Municipal governments are joining this work too.

Vladimir Putin: Does your boiler station run on fuel oil, or natural gas?

Roman Borovkov: We used to have a fuel-oil boiler house.

Vladimir Putin: And a gas one now.

Roman Borovkov: No. We have installed individual gas boilers in each apartment, together with the residents, so each apartment has individual gas heaters now.

Vladimir Putin: But what about the boiler station? How does it operate?

Roman Borovkov: We have closed down the fuel-oil facility. But we also have, in addition to it…

Vladimir Putin: Did you hear that? The boiler station has been shut down, and then he is telling me how he is subsidising it. All right. Four million. You had ten more. Let us account for that. Don’t be shy, keep talking.

Roman Borovkov: Right Mr Putin. About two million goes to finance the administration, which is us.

Vladimir Putin: You support the administration. By the way, how much does an administrator make, on average?

Roman Borovkov: About 8,000-10,000 roubles a month.

Vladimir Putin: Reasonable.

Roman Borovkov: There are 12 people working in the administration.

Vladimir Putin: I see. Now, if you say you paid 8,000 rubles each to 12 people, you should have spent 96,000. Where did two million go? All right, let’s add repairs and renovation of the building, cars and petrol. I understand this. This leaves us with…

Roman Borovkov: We maintain generous spending on culture.

Vladimir Putin: What cultural facilities do you have?

Roman Borovkov: We have four cultural centres, four clubs.

Vladimir Putin: You have a cultural centre?

Roman Borovkov: Yes. There is a big one in Muromtsevo, which is our biggest village. There are 29 villages in the area, and four of them have clubs. We finance them and pay worker salaries.

Vladimir Putin: All right, I think it is time I stopped tormenting Mr Borovkov.

Allow me to say something in conclusion, to Mr Borovkov as well as to his counterparts – the heads of municipal areas, to regional governors and to federal civil servants, because this applies to them too, even though to a lesser extent.

We have this social development programme for rural areas. We are implementing it through the regions. We give instructions to the regions which forward them to municipalities which take some action.

I would like to say this to regional governors.

We bring this up often enough, but I would like to repeat this in front of everyone now, so that the people also know. It often happens that we develop a social development programme for rural areas, allocate funding for it, then regional governments forward the financing to the municipalities without adding any funds of their own. They simply keep what they could have channelled into this programme and spend it for other purposes. But this federal support is not provided to replace regional financing. It is allocated in addition to regional money.

The same is probably true of the petrol and lubricants provided for ambulance services. The regions should not cut their allocations. Our federal spending – all right, it isn’t ours, it’s yours, it’s taxpayer money in any case, but we concentrate it in the federal budget – it should be added to the financing provided by the regions and municipalities. Certainly priorities should come first.

As for social improvement, look what often happens. Connecting more households to gas distribution grids is very important because it drastically changes the quality of their lives. But look what happens: we order Gazprom to do it; Gazprom provides financing and builds in access. But the local connections to the system are up to the local authorities, which demand thousands of roubles for that service. How can a person pay this much when his or her salary is 6,000 roubles?

Therefore, municipal and regional authorities should plan this in advance and coordinate their plans with Gazprom and the federal government. If the access is built on time, they should know in advance when it will be completed, and plan financing for local household connections and for local low-pressure pipelines.

It is also possible to involve the recipients too, and ask them to co-finance their own connection to gas grids, but their contributions should be reasonable and affordable.

The same holds true for other improvements including roads and lighting. This requires some wise and timely prioritising. I am not saying that the federal government does not want to provide financing. I just said that the social development programme for rural areas will be continued to 2013, and we will draw up another one for the period of 2013-2020.

Let’s move on.

Alexei Lavrenenko, chairman of a rural production cooperative. Go ahead please.

Alexei Lavrenenko: I am the chairman of a collective farm and a stud farm, Opanasenko, in the Stavropol Territory. We established it and kept it operational through the Soviet era. We have helped it survive and revived it. It is stable and profitable now.

Mr Borovkov and I attended a roundtable discussion on regional development and rural businesses this morning. It was a broad discussion of rural life.

I can tell you Mr Putin what we talked about. It was a remark someone made from the audience. Honestly, in the late 1990s, I didn’t think we could hold out for much longer. But we survived.

And I can say today, that, thanks to this support… Today we buy, I mean farms buy fuels and lubricants at subsidised prices, as well as energy, fertilisers, and the stud farm receives subsidies. We receive support for seed breeding. We receive subsidised loans. Many problems are being resolved that I have never expected to. We can breathe at last.

I would like to thank you, on behalf of our community, for the decision on connections to power grids. But you forgot gas grids, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Well, you did invite us, and we came and made a difference. So it was not in vain.

Alexei Lavrenenko: But you forgot about gas. Please, get back to the gas issue.

Vladimir Putin: You know this old joke: “Doctor, you have taken out my good tooth!  It’s okay, we will get to the bad one in time.”

Alexei Lavrenenko: Please, you must get to the bad one too.

Vladimir Putin: We will certainly get to the gas issue.

Alexei Lavrenenko: We have heard, both today and yesterday, that the rural areas support programme will continue, and I hope it will.

We buy diesel fuel at the subsidised price of 15 roubles, Mr Putin. I ordered 550 tonnes of diesel fuel regularly this year, and it was a significant support. You have cited some figures and assured us that the government will also support us next year. Only, let us not take the December prices as a baseline. Diesel fuel is 32 roubles, I mean the commercial price. If we jump to 32 roubles from the 18 we pay now, we’ll all collapse.

Vladimir Putin: I see. So your concern is that we will conclude an agreement with the oil producers based on the current commercial price.

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes. The commercial price is 32 roubles today. Even with a 10% discount, we will have to pay 28-30 roubles in the spring, which is almost twice what we pay now.

Vladimir Putin: How much do you pay now?

Alexei Lavrenenko: In the Stavropol Territory, 18 roubles. It was great support for us.

Vladimir Putin: Did you hear that? The Stavropol Territory paid 18 roubles while the commercial price is 32. It is about the same in other regions – thanks to this programme and our agreement with oil producers who we are so quick to criticize. Even though they often deserve this criticism, in this case they were extremely helpful: with the commercial price at 32, they sell fuel to farms at 18. This helped rural economies save billions of roubles.

Alexei Lavrenenko: Mr Putin, about rural development. Even though some businesses operate in rural areas now, we realize that, if public services are not developed, businesses will go too. So we have renovated a school in our village. We took the decision and we did it. We have repaired our village school. We made that decision and repaired it five or seven years ago. We procured 150 cubic metres of timber and 4,000 pieces of roofing slate when the roof was made for the school. The whole village turned up. There were flowers and there were tears in people’s eyes. We organised gas supplies at the expense of our community. We restored the club and gas supplies to homes. We repaired the interior and installed gas supplies to the kindergarten – the village kindergarten. We have restored voluntary law and order squads.

Vladimir Putin: Did you build one kindergarten?

Alexei Lavrenenko: One village kindergarten. We restored it.

Today, we support young people and sports. We have gyms at the school. We invest heavily in our village.

The first money that we received in 1998, the first profits went to setting up a computer class and then…

Vladimir Putin: Let’s give you a round of applause. (Applause).

Alexei Lavrenenko: Therefore, I think that today the issues you have mentioned – roads and gasification – should be tackled by the state. But support for schools, clubs, libraries and hospitals – by the way, we are building our hospitals and outpatient medical centres – I think the business community should help with that and I think that the state should provide incentives for businesses to do it.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Lavrenenko, you have built or repaired some facilities. On whose balance sheet are they?

Alexei Lavrenenko: That is not on our balance sheet. It is at the village council, at the regional level.

Vladimir Putin: You mean on the municipality's balance sheet?

Alexei Lavrenenko: I have “Soviet power” and it deals with these matters.

Vladimir Putin: Alexei doesn’t seem to know that Lenin is dead.

Alexei Lavrenenko: I refer to the head of the village council as “Soviet power.”

Vladimir Putin: I see. But judging from the way that he runs the village he is already in a market economy.

Alexei Lavrenenko: We pay our own way. We have stable profits.

Vladimir Putin: What is the average wage of your workers?

Alexei Lavrenenko: As of today, the 2012 wage is 10,800 roubles. But we are introducing end-of-year bonuses and that will boost the wages still further.

Vladimir Putin: What is the pay of a highly skilled specialist?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Professionals have about the same pay as the best of our machine operators.

Vladimir Putin: That is good.

Alexei Lavrenenko: As of today, honestly, everything works. We have renewed our equipment not by leasing it. We bought everything with our own money.

Vladimir Putin: You lease the equipment, yes?

Alexei Lavrenenko: The last time, I tried to buy on credit. I pay the credit myself. We have the money.

We have practically a new fleet of harvester combines. Three more have just arrived. We have a new fleet of Belarus harvester combines. And we have 15 Kirovets combines. Today, I cannot afford to buy three Challengers because I don’t know what to do about the Kirovets machines. Each of them is manned by two people.

That is a problem. What is meant by the intensification of production? Above all, cutting the number of workers. In the West, 5-7 people work on 1,000 hectares of land. Here, today, we have 220 people working on 14,000 hectares. That’s in livestock. We should get rid of them, and things will be even better than in the West. But how do you get them out of the steppe? We live near Kalmykia. So that is a problem. Even though the profit rate of production…

Vladimir Putin: The answer is to expand production.

Alexei Lavrenenko: We have no land. We have made such a mess of the land issue.

Vladimir Putin: Why?

Alexei Lavrenenko: We just have no land. I have enough machinery to cultivate 5,000 hectares more. But where to get the land? Land has been divvied up. 

Vladimir Putin: You mean shareholdings?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes, of course.

Vladimir Putin: Can’t you buy out shares?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Some time ago, some people quit, some fled, some land was sold to certain people or given away for free.

Vladimir Putin: It often happens that the land is there, but nobody owns it.

Alexei Lavrenenko: Why? There are owners everywhere.

Vladimir Putin: Really?

Alexei Lavrenenko: There are small and larger farmers everywhere and none of them has put in a single kilogramme of fertiliser. And yet he is the owner. He hasn’t and never will splash out a single rouble to till the land. He is the owner and he will not put up his own money. We will invest common money, but he will not invest his own.

It’s the same problem with big investors. Yes, there are some good major investors, but those who do come often count not roubles but cents. They say that the social sphere – like the cemetery – is not their concern. They want nothing to do with that. All they care about is to suck out all they can and be gone. That is the problem.

So businesses must be provided with incentives to enter the social sphere. How can they be stimulated to do so? The state must induce or force them. That’s how I see the problem today. Our children must be as good as city children.

Vladimir Putin: This is called the “social responsibility of businesses”.

Alexei Lavrenenko: That is correct. That is why we are doing all we can. We have the Morning Star sports club, gyms and a football team. Kids play and we are bringing up our own Maradonas. But that…

Vladimir Putin: What is your total work force?

Alexei Lavrenenko: 220 people, 225.

Vladimir Putin: Quite a big farm. What is your annual turnover?

Alexei Lavrenenko: It will be 100-120 million roubles this year.

Vladimir Putin: And the profit?

Alexei Lavrenenko: 40-45 million is expected this year.

Vladimir Putin: That’s a decent sum.

Alexei Lavrenenko: The profit margin is 48%.

Vladimir Putin: Are you mainly in cereal growing?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes, cereals and beef (“Kazakh whitehead”).

Vladimir Putin: Do you buy beef breeds?

Alexei Lavrenenko: I am already selling beef on hoofs. I sold the first batch of heifers this year. We have a breeding farm.

Vladimir Putin: You have your own breeding farm?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes. We breed Kazakh whiteheads. We took them from the Palasovsky District in the Volgograd Region in 2001. Today we have 1,300 heads of cattle. For five years, we sold only bull calves, but now we are also selling heifers. Having said that, livestock is a trifle, only 10% of our turnover today. Today, there is a waiting list to buy our cattle and the prospects are good.

Vladimir Putin: Do you also produce milk?

Alexei Lavrenenko: It’s the Kalmyks who produce milk.

Vladimir Putin: And what about beef?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes, we only do beef. Plus we grow cereals. We use the Canadian system… The yields in the last five or seven years are in the neighbourhood of 40 centners, that’s the indicator in our zone.

Vladimir Putin: Great. Congratulations.

Alexei Lavrenenko: It’s not for nothing that one of my machine operators is the foremost worker in the republic, and we have a Labour Hero of the Stavropol Area. They are fine workers. That sustains us. Of course, it’s hard, but we are keeping afloat.

Vladimir Putin: What’s the pay in kindergartens?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Well, in kindergartens…

Vladimir Putin: Let’s say the kindergarten that you have restored. What are the salaries there?

Alexei Lavrenenko: I put plasma TV sets there. I provided gas supplies. I bought them a washing machine. I bought this thing and that thing, and I don’t really want to know what their salaries are.

Vladimir Putin: At least that is an honest answer.

Alexei Lavrenenko: The school graduates who have won a gold or silver medal receive a starting sum of 50,000 roubles from the collective farm. We have our own fire service. I restored it in 1998. And we have had a voluntary law and order squad in the village for eight years. We pay them a little.

Vladimir Putin: You have been working in the countryside for a long time. Am I right?

Alexei Lavrenenko: Yes, all my life, I think. I am already thinking of retiring.  

Vladimir Putin: No, judging from what you are doing, it is too early to think of retirement, you should work some more.

But again, if you were to draw comparisons, the Stavropol Area in the Soviet times had an advanced agriculture. Tell me, frankly, compared with Soviet times, with the planned agriculture, with all of the problems that there are today, can you make that comparison as a person who has worked in farming all of your life?

Alexei Lavrenenko: You know, it is more interesting to work today. In the Soviet times, it was simpler, but today it is more interesting. In those days, the manager’s main concerns were to hold a local party meeting on schedule, to pay wages on the fifth of every month whether or not the collective farm had the money, and deliver pensions to retirees on the tenth of every month. The first secretary of the District Party Committee would call the collective farm manager and say – somehow it sticks in my memory: “Your combine harvester is missing ball-bearing 208.” Our chief farm equipment supervisor runs to screw on the ball-bearing. Today, you have to look after everything yourself, make sure that the ball-bearings are in place, that wages are paid on the 15^th of every month – harvesting or no harvesting – and that everything is in place, electricity and water supplies and the rest. You have to think about it today. It is interesting though, of course, it is more challenging.

Vladimir Putin: But that calls for the kind of talented people like you. Let us thank you and wish you success.

I know, though, that even in those times many things got done. Not because the system was terribly effective, but because of the talent and industry of the people who worked on the land.

One of these people is, I think, present in this room. He has the Hero of Labour  star – even two stars.

Dear colleague, would you please tell us how you earned these two stars?

Vasily Gorin: I worked as a collective farm manager.

Vladimir Putin: Where?

Vasily Gorin: I work in the Belgorod Region, I’ve been working as a collective farm manager for 53 years.

I was decorated with my first Order of Lenin five years after I started. I got my first star 12 years after I started, and the second in another 14 years, that is, 26 years later. I must say that, in the years when I worked in the post-Soviet time, I was also showered with awards. I cannot complain. And our collective farm received its share of recognition.

Vladimir Putin: How old are you?

Vasily Gorin: I will be 90 on January 9.

Vladimir Putin: We will mark that day.

But still you are a very experienced man. What should be done additionally to make the situation even better? I’ve put the same question to your colleague. I asked him to compare the situation in those times to the situation today in rural areas. If you could say a couple of words, I would appreciate it. And we would like to hear your thoughts on what can be done further to give a boost to rural development.

Vasily Gorin: First of all, I must tell you that when you consider the life of the collective farm 30 years ago and today, I must say that today our people live better than they lived 30 years ago.

The crop yields are much higher. We have good machinery. The wages are quite decent. The average monthly pay is 15,000-16,000 roubles. We do not have a single household, and we have a population of about 6,000, which has no asphalt access. All of the households have a centralised gas supply. So, the people live well. They own about 1,300 cars. Most of our women drive their own cars.

We are doing a great deal to bring up our young. Our aim and our task are to take the young off the street. This is probably a key issue, which is why we pay much attention to culture. We have kindergartens – one for 320 children and one for 36. I must say that educational activities in the kindergartens are at a high level. Previously, we didn’t pay for our children to attend kindergartens. Today, people pay 5.5 roubles a day. That is not much. They teach English at kindergarten from the age of four.

In short, we have everything to raise our kids. Medical professionals, we have a sports specialist and a music teacher... In short, our children have all they need. After kindergarten they go to school.

We have three secondary schools, and an arts school for 270 children. I have to say that our arts school is of a very high standard. Some of our children now work in Moscow, and one lad, after finishing school, is a musician in the presidential band. Another teaches at a Moscow university. And there are young guys – I mean musicians – who have signed a contract and gone to France.

Anyway, people here have nothing to complain about.

We have three secondary schools – one for 640 pupils and two smaller ones. Altogether 1,000 children go to school here. Until year four, we give them free meals. From year five, they are charged 10 roubles a day for meals.

It’s the same picture when you look at our people. During field work, they receive three free meals a day.

Last year, we spent 54,000 roubles to run kindergartens, and cultural and sports facilities, etc. This year, the sum will be at least as large. We pay a great deal of attention to sports. We have three brass bands, one of which is the best in the Belgorod Region. These brass bands produce good musicians.

The musical school has a folk instruments orchestra. We have 10 choirs. The Frunze collective farm choir is 250-strong. We have more than 200 lorries, and one choir consists of male drivers only. It is a really good choir. We spare no money for clothing and catering. Anyway, we are doing everything possible to enable our children and adults to engage in cultural and sports activities, etc.

We have a chess club with 104 members. The Belgorod Region has 14 football teams. But the local people know that the Frunze collective farm team is in third place in the region.

Vladimir Putin:  Perhaps they can reinforce our national team?

Vasily Gorin: We have hired new coaches to teach children football, starting from the age of eight – small kids actually. One group is from 8 to 11 and another from 10 to 13. We are doing everything to take our children off the streets. I am pleased that today almost none of our children smoke. We are doing a lot to keep them from smoking.

Another equally important issue. Our people, first, work very hard and interestingly, there is no smell of alcohol here. We have 1,500 workers and none of them will ever smell like alcohol during work hours.

Vladimir Putin: I think that is a bit too “rich”. I think you are too lavish in praising your people. I will take your word for it, but as for the intellectuals, I am not so sure.

Vasily Gorin: Yes. And one more pleasant thing. We have created conditions, so that we never see a woman with a black eye. We have worked hard to achieve this. I don’t have to tell you how exactly we did it.

Vladimir Putin: Excuse me, what is your name?

Vasily Gorin: Vasily Yakovlevich.

Vladimir Putin: Vasily Yakovlevich, my dear man,

Esteemed colleagues,

First of all, I think you will join me in thanking Vasily Yakovlevich and all of the people of his generation who have worked with such courage and dedication in farming during years that were very difficult for the countryside. And second, I would like you to make note of this – look, here are our colleagues who have been preparing their speeches, but Vasily Yakovlevich was not preparing, he was improvising. I saw a man with two stars of a hero. He knows everything about rural life, about the intellectual aspects of rural life, about art, culture and education – he keeps all of this in his head.

The reason that I am saying this is that experienced people with extensive life and work experience understand the importance of these things. Thank you very much.

Vasily Gorin: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: And we will continue. Lidia Kravtsova, please. Please introduce yourself.     

Lidia Kravtsova: My name is Lidia Kravtsova, the head of a paramedic station and maternity ward in the village of Chernetsk in the Altai Territory.

I have been working as a rural paramedic for 15 years. Overall, I have been in the healthcare sector for 30 years. I went to the countryside all of a sudden. The situation changed quite abruptly, and I left the city for the countryside. This happened simply because I had received housing. There were problems in the family. After moving into that apartment, we changed everything. At any rate, I had changed everything. Right now, I have absolutely no regrets about this. I love my village, its residents and my fellow villagers very much. It appears that they differ a lot from city dwellers. They are so kind, reliable and hardworking. Most importantly, they are very patient.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Kravtsova, please don’t offend city dwellers. To quote you: “They differ a lot from city dwellers. They are kind and reliable.”

Lidia Kravtsova: I am talking about my fellow villagers who have these qualities.

Vladimir Putin: I see.

Lidia Kravtsova: I don’t plan to move anywhere else. Everything suits me just fine. I have simply taken up roots there with my family, children and grandchildren. My daughter has already become a young specialist – a doctor. Everything suits me just fine, although there are many problems.

Vladimir Putin: The Altai Territory is a beautiful place.

Lidia Kravtsova: It is the granary of Siberia.

Vladimir Putin: The local nature is very beautiful.

Lidia Kravtsova: The region abounds in people, human resources and talent. Please come visit us.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

How do you organise work? What are your recent positive developments? And what are the problems?

Lidia Kravtsova: After a round table where we discussed problems, we noted some positive trends. Outpatient clinics and paramedic stations and maternity wards are being repaired, renovated and built. New equipment has also been bought.

Vladimir Putin: Has it already been delivered?

Lidia Kravtsova: Yes, it has already been delivered. But it has not reached our heartland yet. As was said earlier…

Vladimir Putin: So, it has not been delivered. This is very important. When we launch a programme, including for wage and salary raises or some programme stipulating re-equipment or modernisation, then I always strive to obtain the final answer to the question: Has this reached the recipients, or the end users, as intellectuals like to say? Has this reached you, or not?

Ms Golikova, if I’m not mistaken, we have allocated nearly 115 billion roubles for the countryside?

Tatiana Golikova: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: See for yourself: Of the 460 billion roubles allocated for the modernisation of the national healthcare sector, 115 billion, or 25%, will be disbursed in the countryside. This rather substantial sum will be spent on repairs, renovation and equipment purchases. Of course, equipment for paramedic stations and maternity wards is something elementary. Nevertheless, even such elementary things must be done nationwide, including the Altai Territory. This is rather disappointing, to put it mildly, if this has not reached you so far.

Do you remember our allocations for the Altai Territory?

Tatiana Golikova: Mr Putin, this is a rather substantial sum. I can take a look. But it amounts to several billion, some 8 billion, or something like that.

Vladimir Putin: Yes. Technically speaking, the territory is large.

Lidia Kravtsova: The Altai Territory has 932 paramedic stations and maternity wards.

Vladimir Putin: First of all, there are 2,000 rural paramedic stations and maternity wards. And some 1,500 must be virtually rebuilt from scratch. To the best of my knowledge, this implies the renovation of 500 outpatient clinics and rural clinics.

And have you already transferred all of the funding to the regions?

Tatiana Golikova: Yes, we transfer the funding right on time each month. One-twelfth of the relevant regional volumes are being transferred each month.

Vladimir Putin: Please check the situation in the Altai Territory.

Tatiana Golikova: Yes, I will.

Lidia Kravtsova: Mr Putin, I would like to make some corrections regarding what I have said.

I wanted to say that my station has not received the funding. Although my station and ward are a structural division of our hospital, excellent paramedic stations and maternity wards have been built in our hospital and in the two settlements of Yagodnoye and Belmesevo. I have not received the funding yet. But I want this so much because my station and ward look so ugly.

Vladimir Putin: Of course, you want to. I do, too. Why do we allocate the funding? We do this to finance paramedic stations and maternity wards like yours.

Lidia Kravtsova: Let’s hope the funding will be received.

Vladimir Putin: Of course, it will be received. I assure you.

Lidia Kravtsova: But reduced healthcare affordability and quality are the main problems mentioned by my colleagues and my patients.

Many paramedic stations and maternity wards were recently closed, and people quit. Right now, a new concept for organising the rural healthcare sector has been drafted. I would very much like to hear that – apart from the renovation, repairs, and construction of new buildings and paramedic stations and maternity wards – we will receive... We face many problems. Speaking of old paramedic station and maternity ward renovation, old stations and wards have no space for storing medications because the premises are very small.

Vladimir Putin: They must build an extension. What seems to be the problem? To the best of my knowledge, we have adopted a decision, even at the legislative level, allowing medical clinics to distribute medications to  facilities such as yours.

Lidia Kravtsova: Paramedic training and licensing procedures for paramedic stations and maternity wards is something...

Vladimir Putin: What is the essence of this programme? We allocated additional federal resources, which had not been stipulated in the regions before. What am I talking about? Russian regions and municipalities had planned, should have planned and had certainly planned 100% allocations for such purposes. And now we are telling them that we will give them another 460 billion for repairs, renovation and equipment purchases. But if they have surplus allocations, which were to have been invested in repairs, renovation and equipment purchases – (we provide them with such funding),  – then they can invest the money in building extensions for pharmacy kiosks. We will certainly tackle this issue.

Ms Golikova, you have the floor.

Tatiana Golikova: We have allowed them to build modular paramedic stations and maternity wards and modular structures in place of obsolete ones – all the more so as the relevant technology is sufficiently cheap and makes it possible to create a doctor’s workstation, a medical treatment room, to receive patients and to build extensions for pharmacy kiosks.

Vladimir Putin: The programme permits this.

Tatiana Golikova: Yes, under the modernisation programme. Because this implies precisely equipment purchases.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Golikova, in that case, you will have to hold another intercom conference with the heads and remind them about this opportunity and where this should be done in such communities, including the case mentioned by Ms Kravtsova.

Are your premises simply old?

Lidia Kravtsova: Our village has six two-story buildings. I occupy a three-room apartment on the first floor. The apartment also has a small physical therapy room, a medical treatment room and a reception office. In all, this makes up for two rooms. But the building itself was commissioned in the 1960s.

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean the premises are not suitable for such work?

Lidia Kravtsova: No. There was no all-out renovation when we came there. We did something, but all this was somewhat...

Vladimir Putin: I would like to talk to the governor about this specific issue. And everyone must know that – and we must stress it once again – that such a way of solving problems is stipulated by the relevant decisions. I will talk to the governor of the Altai Territory, so they tread this road and build separate premises.

Lidia Kravtsova: You know, I could say that it’s good and normal. But somehow I want to receive our residents inside a nice, comfortable and beautiful building because a private food store in the village looks nice, but the healthcare sector makes one cry.

Vladimir Putin: I see. So this is what we will do. If it’s possible to do this in line with the programme, then let’s do it. We will do this, and we will certainly talk to the governors who must use this practice more widely. Modern technology makes it possible to accomplish this sufficiently, effectively, quickly and with minimal expenses. All of this looks modern, very beautiful and impressive. The people will feel comfortable.

However, this does not mean that this must be done everywhere. I would like you and all of the others to understand that the funding should not be squandered on so-called construction. This always worries me in such situations. We need equipment and modern treatment methods. As soon as we open the small window pane, the entire window will be immediately flung wide open and the so-called “construction projects of the century” will start. We must prevent this at all costs. We must avoid this. But we will settle this issue.

Lidia Kravtsova:  Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You are welcome.

Lidia Kravtsova: May I ask you for something else? Could you pose with me for a photo because the collective farmers will not believe me?

Vladimir Putin: The collective farmers will certainly believe you after our discussion today because everything will be shown in the media.

We will certainly take a picture. But the picture itself is not important here. What we need is a new paramedic station and maternity ward. This is what we must do.

Ms Ponomarenko, please.

Galina Ponomarenko: I’m the principal of the Svobodnenskaya secondary school in the Kursk Region’s Zolotukhinsky District.

Today, I attended a roundtable which addressed issues of modern rural education. The most pointed discussion revolved around the question of raising teachers’ salaries.

I would like to say that the United Russia group in our Kursk Regional Duma has examined the issue of raising the salaries of speech therapists, psychologists and teachers. I think that this issue is already being positively resolved.

My colleagues who have spoken today have noted that the issue of raising teachers’ salaries has not been fully resolved. The salaries have been raised in all of the regions, but this category of educators has not yet had their salaries raised. And it would be very good if this happens. This is the first thing.

Very important issues were raised, including ways of strengthening the material and technical base of rural schools, which need to be overhauled. To my mind, we will be unable to resolve these highly important issues without regional assistance and some federal programme.

A very important issue – assistance on the part of the business community – was also raised. It would be great if major businesses started patronising rural schools once again. We would be very grateful to you. You know, a person speaking today helps his schools and his village in a really good way. This makes one really envious. This, too, is a very important issue.

The issue of making teachers’ jobs more prestigious is also being raised today. I think the issue of attracting young specialists – our young educators – to the countryside ranks among the most important issues.

In the past few years, we have seen major changes in the education system. Since 2006, schools have received substantial support for their development under the priority National Education Project. Right now, a range of measures to modernise general education up to 2013 enables schools to acquire  computers, laboratory and sports equipment and to buy new books for libraries. All this is very, very good and wonderful.

But we should not forget that teachers are the primary personalities in the education system. In this regard, one highly important issue is being raised –  that is, the aging rural teachers. For instance, my secondary school employs teachers aged over 40 on average. But one would like to employ new, young, energetic and modern educators and teachers.

Of course, the issue of providing incentives for young rural educators is being raised.

I would like to say a few words about my school. You know, I get the feeling that educators should be trained at the school level. Our school has 41 educators and our graduates account for over 75% of them. These young people graduated from our school, received a higher education and returned to the village. They know the traditions of the village, and they try to maintain, expand and preserve them.

I think that they are the most wonderful elite and the intellectuals of our village.

But there is one more highly important issue. In effect, we are modern people, we live in a modern world, and we need highly competitive salaries. A young specialist gets a very low salary. He or she doesn’t feel satisfied with such a salary. Dissatisfaction with life sets in and subsequently leads to dissatisfaction with the career.

I think that this is also an extremely important issue.

Second, there is another very interesting rural issue today. In my opinion, speaking of incentives for young rural specialists, it would be appropriate to provide them with good housing conditions. Consequently, he or she will create his or her own family, take up roots, and he or she will be pleased about the new home. I think that a person joyfully going to work is an outstanding person who can accomplish just about everything. This is what we should be trying to achieve in rural areas/

Mr Putin, we have heard about the new “Teacher’s House” and “Soft Mortgage Loans” programmes.  How feasible are they, and how attractive are they? Could you say a few words about them?

And now the most important question: When, where and how will they begin to be implemented? 

Vladimir Putin: I have already talked about this. As you have recalled this, you probably also know about this very well. Of course, the “Teacher’s House” and “Soft Loans” programmes are in high demand and will certainly be implemented. We will start implement them right now in 2012.

This is a highly important issue. These programmes are already being implemented in many Russian regions. Are you from Kursk?

Galina Ponomarenko: Yes, the Kursk Region, the Zolotukhinsky District.

Vladimir Putin: I don't know if you have them, but these programmes are operating in many regions. A young man goes to a village and begins working. Either he is provided with housing or with an opportunity to buy it at a significant discount.

I believe that this is being done in many regions, and this practice should continue. Mortgage financing is a good thing, but it’s still difficult to employ even with subsidised interest payments. Here, in order to make things easier, payments should be subsidised and the down payment should be paid by the authorities. However, the question of free housing is still on the agenda, especially for young specialists. This practice should be carried on in all instances where it is possible and justified. Certainly, we will continue working to this effect with the regions.

The same holds for the Teacher’s House programme. I’m referring to the provision of land plots and so forth. We are actively developing these programmes now and we are going to implement them. I’ve spoken about this many times. I believe the minister is here… Mr Fursenko, are you here? Tell us about the Teacher’s House programme and soft lending arrangements once again, so that they can hear it from you. Then I will continue.

Andrei Fursenko: Mr Putin, as for the Teacher’s House, there are several regions… We are now in Belgorod, and the programme has been in place here for quite a while. Perhaps a good example is that when someone is offered a house shell with an adjacent plot of land as a down payment. There is a system to pay off this down payment. In order that no one gets anything handed to him on a plate, he must do all the finishing work on this shell to become a real homeowner. So, the prospective homeowner does the finishing work himself and at the same time receives substantial support. This support is provided in many regions. We know this from the governor of the Kaluga Region; I am aware of such support in the Altai Territory. In other words, it is provided in many regions, not just the Central Federal District. As for mortgage lending, I spoke with teachers, especially young ones, and 8%-8.5% APR seems to be a lot even if the down payment is covered by the state. We are about to allocate 1.5 billion roubles to pay for down payments…

Vladimir Putin: There are several aspects that need to be addressed. First, an APR of 8%-8.5% is a bit too much and should certainly be reduced for this category of homeowners. This will obviously require additional budget spending, because in order to lower the rate we will need to provide money from the budget. This is my first point. The second point has to do with down payments that need to be covered by the state. Third, mortgage loans can be issued only to applicants with a certain income level, and this level should be made as low as possible. These are three key aspects, of which the interest rate and the down payment are the most important. All efforts should be focused on these areas. We will also continue doing what Mr Fursenko has just mentioned and what is currently being done in certain regions. As with teachers’ salaries (which we will also be talking about) we will work with the regions to ensure that the best regional practices are adopted by all Russian regions. We will continue moving in this area.

As for salaries I’m sure you have heard me saying on many occasions that we have allocated 120 billion roubles from the federal budget to this end. Let me reiterate once again how we intend to spend this money. This amount will be used over a period of two academic years. We will use 20 billion this year, and then some more during the 2012-2013 academic year. In all, we will be spending 120 billion roubles on repairs and equipment. The funds that will thereby be freed up will be used by the regions to raise teachers’ salaries. Not in all regions the average teachers’ salary has  reached the average salary level across   Russia, but over half of the regions have accomplished this. Teachers’ salaries were raised by 30% in other regions. Trust me, I promise that I will continue working with the regions. I can't think of a single region that didn’t tell me that they will raise teachers’ salaries to the level of the average salary in their respective regions next year. This has already been done in 44 regions. In some regions -- I’m not sure about the exact number, but I believe it’s 20 -- teachers’ salaries are higher than the average salary.

Remark: In 40.

Vladimir Putin: In 40! There isn't a single governor who would not promise me that they would accomplish this during 2012. What I mean is that average salaries will also be raised. I have no doubt that we will cope with this task.

As for other specialists, you mentioned speech therapists, psychologists and so on; I would like to outline our plans for getting the money needed to increase teachers’ salaries. As for other specialists, their needs should be addressed by the municipal and regional authorities. We did this specifically for school teachers, and this also goes for kindergartens and preschool institutions. That is, governors will need to raise the salaries of other educational workers to match that of teachers. Statistically, this is actually happening in the majority of regions. We will insist on accelerating this process in all Russian regions. I don’t see any other way.

Galina Ponomarenko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: However, there is an aspect that I would like to bring up. Ms Ponomarenko will not be angry with me, I hope?

Galina Ponomarenko: I won’t.

Vladimir Putin: You said that the teacher is the key figure in the education process. Of course, teachers lead this process and nothing can happen without them. I believe that the teacher is the key figure of the nation in the grand scheme of things. However, the most important person in the education system is the student.

Galina Ponomarenko: I agree. Russia is famous for its teachers, and students bring glory to it.

Vladimir Putin: In other words, you agree with me?

Galina Ponomarenko: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. As for businesses, we have already spoken about it: this is where their social responsibility reveals itself. I believe that major rural enterprises are interested in maintaining people who can engage in modern manufacturing activities that require a well-trained staff. I believe that this process will evolve. We cannot force people to do things. However, when we see people like our colleague sitting here, we know that there is interest. And I’m confident that this will evolve. Thank you very much.

Galina Ponomarenko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Yekaterina Mukhina, deputy director of the Ryazan regional centre Culture and Art.

Yekaterina Mukhina: I will introduce myself.

Vladimir Putin: Please go ahead.

Yekaterina Mukhina: I am deputy director of the Ryazan regional centre for methodical work Culture and Art. My name is Yekaterina Mukhina. I am a candidate to the State Duma from the Russian Popular Front.

Vladimir Putin: Are you on the list?

Yekaterina Mukhina: Yes, I am second from the top.

Vladimir Putin: You've made you way up?

Yekaterina Mukhina: Indeed I have. Today, I moderated a round table discussion about the outlook and the state of culture in rural areas. Frankly, these were really heated debates.  My colleagues were very active. There were almost 40 speakers. It pained them to speak about the state of culture in rural areas. Of course, we have adopted a resolution. I will cover a part of these issues myself, and they will speak about others with your permission.

Vladimir Putin: Good, of course.

Yekaterina Mukhina: The most important issues… Above all, we need financing. What is culture anyway? It’s the head of a club, the director of a house of culture, a choreographer, an artistic director and so on. The list of culture workers is extensive. Of course, it is painful to think that of all organisations paid from the federal budget, workers in culture receive the lowest salaries. They spoke about this today. The industry needs financing in order to repair the ramshackle rural houses of culture or to build new ones. This needs to be done all across Russia. We exchanged our opinions today and shared the same concerns. The infrastructure is very poor, and a great deal of financing is necessary in order to fix this, too.

The status of the culture worker is extremely low, and needs to be improved. Specialists need to be retained in rural areas, but we won’t succeed in doing this until decent conditions for culture workers and for those engaged in  other spheres are created in rural areas. Housing construction is a priority.

Much has been done for rural areas recently. Everyone can see and appreciate this. Thank God. The Social Development in Rural Areas programme works very well. It has a line that provides for repairs of rural cultural houses, but there’s no financing for it. This needs to be addressed.

We speak and hear other people speaking about health care and education. However, whenever cultural institutions receive any funding, it comes only from the leftovers. It’s like that popular song with the line that goes, “business first, girlfriends later…” The same is true for financing of culture. It’s certainly good that we have model libraries and model cultural houses opening, and that salaries of librarians were raised. We appreciate this. However, the number of such libraries and cultural houses is not enough for a country like ours. What we need is serial production. Only then will our villages come back to life. It has already been mentioned today that rural people are hard-working, gifted and creative. They are soulful and gracious. For them, houses of culture are the main source of spiritual and aesthetic development. Nothing else is available in the villages. A rural house of culture must cater to all recreational and creative needs of rural residents. And we have so many talented people in our villages. They spoke about other ethnicities today, and a lady from Udmurtia mentioned the need to develop ethnic cultures. This certainly needs to be done, and it will benefit everyone. I would like to quote Ivan Stebut, a patriarch of Russian agriculture: “If you want to preserve morality, support the family. If you want to preserve morality and spirituality, then support culture in the villages and agriculture.” I am confident that you hear us, Mr Putin, and will support us. Of course, I cannot leave without asking you some questions…

Vladimir Putin: Please go ahead.

Yekaterina Mukhina: My first question is very specific: are they going to build new rural houses of culture? Are they going to renovate the existing ones? This requires funding. My second question is about funding the creation of infrastructure. My third question I can’t help asking, as my numerous colleagues are anxiously awaiting an answer: when will culture workers see a raise in their salaries?

Vladimir Putin: I see.

Yekaterina Mukhina: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Your name is Yekaterina Mukhina, correct?

Yekaterina Mukhina: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Mukhina, you and I are well aware, and we have said so many times, that we have federal, regional and municipal cultural institutions. We have scheduled pay raises for federal cultural workers that are normally followed by pay raises at the regional level. This doesn’t mean, however, that these issues shouldn’t be dealt with in advance, because culture workers of all levels are paid less than workers in other social spheres -- even as compared with health care, if I’m not mistaken. Mr Savchenko  (Yevgeny Savchenko, governor of the Belgorod Region) what’s the average salary in health care in your region? About 20,000 roubles? Well, it’s 23,000-24,000 in health care and probably about 19,000 in education.

Yevgeny Savchenko: Doctors are paid 21,000 roubles per month, teachers 17,500.

Vladimir Putin: There you go. Culture workers are probably paid around 10,000 roubles.

Yevgeny Savchenko: Less.

Vladimir Putin: Even less than that.

Yevgeny Savchenko: The lowest salary that can be paid from the budget is 7,000 roubles. We have made a lower salary than that illegal.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, but I know that some people are paid 5,000 and change, which is the minimum wage, and that’s not right. We need to be proactive here, there's no doubt about it. We won’t be able to use federal funds to help all cultural institutions, but we will do our best. While I was listening to Ms Mukhina I thought about the Culture of Russia federal programme that we are now preparing.

Yekaterina Mukhina: That’s our dream.

Vladimir Putin: Yes. Two things need to be done as part of this programme.  First, standard regulations need to be worked out for all Russian regions. Second, a timeframe needs to be determined for the adoption of such regulations by all Russian regions. Certainly, we will think about what we need to do on the federal level to support regions that merit such support, because we will support regions that make their own investments. We will think about developing such a programme based on co-financing arrangements.

Yekaterina Mukhina: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Salaries are small, indeed. We have just visited the house of culture and the school. There is, though, another option, which is to switch to a new form of organising work. I have spoken with the head and I asked her why they don’t make these switches. She told me they were afraid that they would take away budget financing. There’s nothing to fear, because… You are shaking your head. You, too?

Yekaterina Mukhina: It won’t work.

Vladimir Putin: It won’t? Why? Please go ahead.

Yekaterina Mukhina: I believe that the rural culture will not be able to support itself, pay for housing maintenance, etc…

Vladimir Putin: I agree.

Yekaterina Mukhina: In other words, they won’t make any money.

Vladimir Putin: Perhaps you are right. It might be somewhat effective in a city, but not in a village.

Yekaterina Mukhina: It’s complicated; they won’t be able to cover their costs and will always run in the red.

Vladimir Putin: No, they won’t be in the red, because… My point is that an institution such as this one may well be able to cover its costs. There are 6,000 people living in the village we just visited. Do you see my point? This art school is small, having nine or ten employees in charge of various arts, such as dancing, chorus, music and so on. As a matter of fact, switching to these new forms of work does not mean (I want you to hear this as well) that there will be a stop to budget financing. The budget will continue to allocate the same amount of money, adjusted for inflation. All costs plus projected inflation, plus even a little more, will be paid out of the budget. However, under these arrangements an institution will be entitled to use funds at its own discretion, including for repairs, overhead costs and staff. By the way, wherever these new forms have been introduced, salaries have gone up. In all institutions! Almost all of them. You can try the same thing for cultural institutions. Anyway, you can give it a try.

Yekaterina Mukhina: In that case they must be budgetary and autonomous or…

Vladimir Putin: I am talking precisely about autonomous institutions.

Yekaterina Mukhina: Autonomous institutions won’t be able to pay for themselves. In this case, we will have to increase the academic tuition, but in rural…

Vladimir Putin: No, why?

Yekaterina Mukhina: How will we be able to increase it, then?

Vladimir Putin: Look, the budget allocates a certain amount of money to you. Correct? This will continue to happen. I have just spoken with the director of this institution. She says, “Oh, no, we don’t want to lose budget financing…” I’m not saying that this new form will settle every issue. I am simply trying to make sure you understand that this new form does not mean terminating budget financing. It will still be there. The only difference is that you will be able to spend these funds at your discretion. That's the point I'm trying to make. What I’m asking you to do is to crunch the numbers. I’m not saying that you have to do so… No one will make you do this; it’s absolutely up to you. However, you can take a look at these arrangements, because they are very strict for budgetary institutions: this much money goes towards repairs and that much for staffing needs. But if they simply give you the money, and you will be able to decide how to use it on your own, you may very well be able to save some of it and use it to raise teachers’ salaries. Let me repeat: no one will ever force you to switch, but you can at least give it a try. In no way does this preclude the need for increased budget financing. I am fully aware of this. I would like to reiterate that we will make a special chapter for rural cultural institutions in the new Culture of Russia programme. Thank you.

Has Ms Mukhina spoken already? Olga Platoshina, please go ahead and introduce yourself.

Olga Platoshina: Mr Putin, guests and forum participants, I am the chairman of the Russian Union of Rural Youth. It was great to have a panel dedicated to the rural youth at such an important forum of rural professionals which is being held here for the first time ever. We were able to use it as a platform to discuss issues that concern us specifically.

Our panel was called “Promotion of physical fitness, sports and rural youth movements.” Of course, we discussed the problems and had a lot to say about them. However, we don’t want to stop there. We noticed a lot of changes that took place over the recent period. For example, most regions are already paying lump sum allowances in amounts ranging from 40,000 to 100,000 roubles. These are settling-in bonuses that are paid to young people moving to rural areas. Some of the regions are paying settling-in allowances in the amount of 2,000 to 8,000 roubles in addition to salaries. We can see this happening. We are able to obtain housing under the programme for social rural development, through which housing is provided to young families and young professionals. We are certainly aware that we don’t have enough money under this programme, and many young people get on a waitlist, hoping for the adoption of a separate housing programme, or for the allocation of separate funds under the programme of social rural development. Perhaps this will come about next year, or year after next, but these prospects do exist.

Today, we also spoke about how to get young people to stay in rural areas. I insist on saying that they “stay” rather than “are assigned,” because being assigned someplace sounds as if they are being sent to live somewhere that has no infrastructure whatsoever. Today, we can feel that the government is straightening this out. For example, they have built athletic grounds, such as indoor rinks and pools, or gyms, in rural areas where they never existed before. Anytime we go to our rural schools that are outfitted with these athletic facilities, we see that they are always crowded. However, they do have problems of their own, such as a lack of professionals. But we can see that things are moving forward, and the situation will improve.

When we spoke about athletic grounds, we mentioned that the existing infrastructure in rural schools leaves much to be desired. It is very often that our schools have outdated gyms. Certainly, we understand that much of that falls under the responsibility of the regions. However, it would help a great deal if a portion of these funds were allocated from the federal budget, since our physical education instructors do much more than just their work at school -- they also organise leisure time for children after classes and do so on a voluntary basis.

We spoke about school buses taking children to these fitness and recreation centres.

Then we talked about youth movements. We know that there is a modernisation effort underway in Russia, and young people are often losing their jobs and are often confronted with the need to seek employment in rural areas. We are very pleased that the Beginning Farmer programme has been adopted and will go into effect in 2012. Yesterday, we had a big meeting with the Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik, which was attended by talented young entrepreneurs from Russia’s regions. We discussed the implementation of this programme in the regions. However, it’s also important that we develop the social infrastructure. I’m talking about cafes and barber shops in villages. There are not enough of them in rural areas. It would be really helpful to have some kind of grant-based financing for young entrepreneurs who open small- and medium-sized businesses in rural areas.

We are a youth organisation that operates in rural areas. We have members from the Russian Union of Rural Youth, the Russian Union of Youth, Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guards), and the youth club of the Popular Front has recently joined us, too. Since we consist of many organisations, we are trying to promote ideas and information that comes from government sources. The Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Agriculture are helping us. Our main focus is on employment. Therefore, creating additional jobs for young organisers in rural areas who could work with the youth and conduct athletic classes would be really helpful. The person in charge of youth policy cannot be responsible for all villages. Perhaps this issue can be addressed separately. The situation varies across regions: it is better in some, and worse in others. Perhaps we have discussed the most important issues today. We will prepare the final resolution of our panel and submit it to the organising committee to be included in the summary.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Platoshina, I am not quite sure I completely understand the organisational issues of physical fitness in rural areas. It’s more or less clear for places where they are building recreational centres: they have both organisers and coaches. Did you have in mind anyone else?

Olga Platoshina: We practice self-organisation, whereby athletes organise competitions themselves, as was the case with a football tournament among villages. These people seek funding at the organisations where they work. We have a young agronomist in the Ryazan Region who managed to put together a large football team, which ranks second in the all-Russian championship. He even put together a girl's team. But it would be very helpful if there is some support for young enthusiasts working to promote physical fitness and sports in villages, perhaps not in the form of payment, but rather some organisational support from municipalities.

Vladimir Putin: Organisational support and grants. We can even introduce grant support.

Olga Platoshina: Precisely! And the local authorities must be aware that this is what is needed now, because now and then we have to face the fact that everything depends on who is at the top.

Vladimir Putin: You know, I have written this down. It’s a good suggestion. We are quite able to give this kind of organisational and grant support to rural physical fitness organisers. This can be done even from the federal level and we will ask the governors to join in. The amount of money involved is insignificant, but it will be an efficient investment, I agree with you. I have made a note of it. We will certainly pursue this.

Grant support, incidentally, can be extended to cultural workers as well. We practice this kind of support – there are presidential grants and governmental grants – and it works. But this practice can and must be expanded. Again, the amount of money involved is insignificant, but it will be of much help and a fine moral incentive for those who are involved.

Olga Platoshina: Mr Putin, with your permission, I have a question. The government is drawing up a short-term plan for supporting physical fitness, sport and leisure activities in rural areas. Can you tell us something about that please? I think everyone will be interested.

Vladimir Putin: We have just spoken about the rural social development programme that we will continue. It will certainly include a physical fitness and sports component. As for sports and recreation centres (SRC) you mentioned, we will continue this work also. The initiative for these centres, incidentally, came from Mr Boris Gryzlov. He was its advocate and he continues to support it. We even discussed relevant amendments to next year’s budget not too long ago. We will allocate additional funds for both the SRC’s and the swimming-pools. I am sure that these sports facilities will be of much importance even for large villages. More than that, they will be no less important than the community cultural centres – I hope my colleagues here will forgive me – but young boys and girls will be able to go there and practice sports. They will have something useful to do. This is no less important than attending cultural events. We used to have a programme called 1,000 SRC’s, and we will go on with that. There is also a new programme for swimming-pools; we will continue implementing it and will even increase the funding. As for cafes, hairdressers’ and other smaller businesses, I, honestly speaking, didn’t quite catch what you meant, Ms Platoshina. We do have a programme to support small business. Hasn’t it reached down to rural areas? Is it so difficult to take advantage of? This programme, incidentally, gave a lot of support to the labour market after we introduced it during the crisis. I have said this in public, and I can repeat it again here: quite unexpectedly for me… I did not believe that this money would be spent efficiently. We didn’t expect that thousands of people would take advantage of the opportunity to launch a business of their own during the crisis. In a village you certainly can open a café or a hairdresser shop. What is amiss? I don’t understand.

Olga Platoshina: Is this programme administered by the Ministry of Economic Development?

Vladimir Putin: Yes it is.

Olga Platoshina: People in some regions say it is rather difficult to make use of it. There are risks involved in opening a business in rural areas…

Vladimir Putin: The decision-makers are hard to reach, aren’t they?

Olga Platoshina: A 15% quota could be introduced, for example. What do you think about that?

Vladimir Putin: Ms Skrynnik (Minister of Agriculture Yelena Skrynnik), has the Ministry of Agriculture envisaged anything of the kind? Take the mike please.

Yelena Skrynnik: Mr Putin, in this regard we are cooperating with the Ministry of Economic Development. As of today, as many as 90,000 small businesses can open in rural areas. The programme works…

Vladimir Putin: How much money is there?

Yelena Skrynnik: Ninety thousand…

Vladimir Putin: How much money is there for the programme? Do you remember?

Yelena Skrynnik: It differs, but 1.5 or 2 million roubles is a realistic sum.

Vladimir Putin: No, I mean the cost of the entire programme. What is its budget? Do you remember?

Yelena Skrynnik: Four or five billion roubles.

Vladimir Putin: Let’s go back to it and review how it works.

Yelena Skrynnik: Very well.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Platoshina, do I understand you correctly? It is a problem to reach the decision-makers. Is that correct?

Olga Platoshina: In certain regions – yes; not everywhere.

Vladimir Putin: They cannot reach them from their villages. We must know how to organise this work. We are working on an electronic government intercommunication programme. We should probably take full advantage of this format in this particular area.

Yelena Skrynnik: Yes, but 90,000 have benefitted from it…

Vladimir Putin: Ninety thousand is a large figure, but still…

Yelena Skrynnik: Yes, substantial.

Vladimir Putin: That’s right. But if she says they are unreachable, they are unreachable indeed. We should devise better mechanisms for implementing our decisions and think how best to communicate with people. Do I have it right, Ms Platoshina?

Olga Platoshina: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: We will review it. You were right to draw our attention to this point. Thank you. We shall certainly think about how we can render grant support to rural physical fitness and sports organisers. We will draw up this grant programme.

Olga Platoshina: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: OK. Have all the speakers taken the floor?

Roman Borovkov: Mr Putin, with your permission?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.

Roman Borovkov: Neither my colleagues nor I will forgive my not asking you the second question I planned to ask.

Vladimir Putin: Do please.

Roman Borovkov: But don’t think we are complaining. Villages have enough authority – 38 terms of reference all in all, and all of them must be financially secured – only in this case effective work results can be achieved at the local level. We know there is a government commission headed by Dmitry Kozak and Alexander Khloponin that works to redistribute authority between the various levels. Will this somehow apply to the municipalities – financially and in other respects?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we are now considering how best to do that. The municipal level is financially the most vulnerable level of authority. You see, there are no clear-cut criteria of what a municipality is. We have cities with millions of inhabitants, and we have small villages and settlements. Both types are municipalities. And this is why it is such a problem to regulate this level. But it is quite obvious that we must enhance their financial self-reliance. Our colleagues on this commission have been instructed to redistribute resources in such a way as to enable municipalities to fully perform the duties that have been imposed on them by law. But the regional level must not be bled to death either, of course. It is a difficult balance to achieve, I must say, because these decisions have consequences. As a rule, any step in this direction triggers a chain reaction. You take something from someone and give it to someone else. All of a sudden things start tumbling down in some other place. We must be very, very careful. But it is also clear to me that the municipal level of administration must have its own sources of revenue.

Roman Borovkov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You are welcome.

Remark: Mr Putin, I work as an ambulance driver. The road to the neighbouring Lugovka village has been paved up to the cemetery, but further on it is mud all over the place. When we get stuck, we need to call the emergencies department to come and pull us out. Is this how we are supposed to service the patients?

Vladimir Putin: Of course not. I mentioned that in my speech. I discussed these issues before coming to the meeting here. That’s the colleague who asked to join me in the meeting and I agreed to take him with me…   

Remark: The emergencies team comes in a Kamaz truck to pull us out.

Vladimir Putin: I understand. That’s exactly what I was talking about in my speech. Unfortunately, the situation is indeed like this, when from the road funds… I am not even saying here that the municipalities and the regions should pay more attention, as they are directly responsible for that. And I hope you agree with me that municipalities and regions are directly responsible for dealing with such issues.      

I can see the point that there is a lack of financing. Indeed, the law has imposed certain limits on using the newly created road funds. In the coming years, enormous amounts of money will be transferred to these funds. Furthermore, some governors and regional heads who have always supported the creation of these funds are now saying that they do not have sufficient production capacity to utilise all the resources allocated for road construction and want to use them for different projects.       

I don’t believe we should re-allocate the funds for different purposes. Instead, we should amend the law to allow using these funds for building and repairing village and town roads and for the improvement and beautification of rural settlements and towns. In the coming months, we will have over a hundred billion roubles there and this money will go for these purposes.   

And the task of organisations like the newly created Popular Front is to oversee and control the spending of these resources. You have been nominated as a Duma deputy by the Popular Front. I am not sure if there are other people like you here, but you should certainly pay close attention to this issue in the municipalities, cities, and regions.  

And we will get public organisations involved in this. You have probably heard about one such organisation. It was created on the Internet and is called Dead Pskov Roads. And I have urged them to undertake the oversight of large-scale constructions projects near Moscow. Let them come and supervise the entire process from start to finish, including the cost of the land, the cost of road paving, the cost of labour, etc. People need to join in this effort. 

Remark: One more question, if I may.

Vladimir Putin: Please.

Remark: On our ambulance and at the hospital in the Graivoronsky district. There is a lack of spare parts, and regional authorities do not allocate any funds. 

Vladimir Putin: I see.

Remark: My ambulance has bald tires. I am taking a patient to Belgorod…

Vladimir Putin: I see.

Remark: There are no spare parts. They say the regional administration has not allocated funds. Why should I risk the patient’s health…

Vladimir Putin: I understand. I was just talking to a colleague and he told the very same things. And in reference to what he told me, I specifically recalled in my speech that as part of the Health national programme, we had allocated significant resources to improve the capacity of ambulance service among other projects. Not so long along, a large quantity of vehicles and other equipment was purchased. But it has always been my understanding that municipal and regional authorities should maintain and replenish that equipment. And I want to emphasise this once again. Of course, we will also allocate additional resources for these purposes from the new healthcare modernisation programme.             

Remark: Ambulances are not even equipped with cardiographs. Not even one cardiograph for every two vehicles. They came from Belgorod once and wanted to know how we take cardiograms. So we told them that we have to send a vehicle back to the station. If I go to Poroz, a distance of 30 km, I will have to return to the ambulance station to get a cardiograph. Is that right?    

Vladimir Putin: Of course, not. That is why we have launched an additional programme. If a region or municipality are short of resources, they will receive additional funding from the federal budget.  

Remark: One more question, Mr Putin. Our local newspaper Rodnoi Krai has a hotline. I called there once asking for help in having a small section of a road (about 20 metres long) paved. Motorists are having real trouble driving there and keep hitting the road with the bottom of their cars. The road is so bad, patients in the ambulance fall off of the stretcher. If paving it is such a problem, they could at least cover it with gravel. It’s a real disgrace. When I called the hotline they said I was raising a very good question and they would include it in their programme. Since then, nothing has been done!     

Vladimir Putin: I took him with me on purpose, hoping that the governor, who is present here, and the head of the municipality will hear this and will react appropriately. We’ll keep in touch and I will follow up on this.

Remark: Mr Putin, you have repeatedly talked about the need to support agriculture. In the 1990s, I received one car and then another one for the milk I produced. Mr Golovin, the head of the municipality in the Graivoronsky district of the Belgorod Region, is here and he is aware of this. He helped me get one of the cars. They wanted to give me a Zaporozhets, as apparently they had given someone else a Lada. 

Vladimir Putin: Did they give you a Zaporozhets?

Remark: No, I refused to accept it.

Vladimir Putin: Really? I had a Zaporozhets and you refused to take one. Good for you! I drove mine for 12 years.

Remark: Anyway. Speaking of the support to farmers… I submitted documents to one stop service to register my house. It took me six months and six days to have my documents processed. It doesn’t make any sense. What is the village council for in that case? We used to have all our papers processed by the village council. We live in a rural district. There is a village council and a chairman of that council. So why wouldn’t they deal with all the paperwork. Why should I use one stop service? Why should I pay 100 roubles or 150 roubles for each piece of paperwork? I would not mind paying on the spot, but they drive you around from one office to another.      

Vladimir Putin: Hold on a second. What kind of one stop service is it if you need to go to different offices?

Remark: Exactly!

Vladimir Putin: Is your one stop service really functioning like that?

Remark: Yes, that’s exactly how it is functioning in Graivoron.

Vladimir Putin: That’s strange.

Remark: If you don’t believe me…

Vladimir Putin: I do.

Remark: That’s how things are organised here.

Vladimir Putin: Why shouldn’t I believe you? Of course, I do. It is just an odd way of arranging things. The one stop service that I am familiar with works quite efficiently.

Remark: When I said I would complain to the head of the administration, they immediately showed up and got everything done.   

Vladimir Putin: That’s the way to do it. You are absolutely right. In fact, what he is saying is right. People often encounter such difficulties in life.

Remark: I have built my own house and now I need to pay so much money to have it registered. It’s impossible.

Vladimir Putin: It’s your residence, right?

Remark: Yes, I first need to have the land plot measured and then the house. It takes at least six months to have all the paperwork processed and they want bribes at each step.  

Vladimir Putin: Wait a second. You are talking about the ownership paperwork for land and residence, correct?

Remark: Yes, for the land and residence. I built it for my children, staying up all hours of the night.

Vladimir Putin: Did you register ownership when building it?

Remark: Yes, I have all the paperwork.

Vladimir Putin: Why do you need to register it again?

Remark: I have to do it so that I can sell it. Say I want to leave the property to my children, as I live alone and am not in the best of health. It takes six months to have all the paperwork processed.

Vladimir Putin: Still, I don’t understand what you need to register if you have already done it once. 

Remark: Yes, I had it registered when building the house. Previously, all such issues were dealt with by the village council, they would verify all the papers and register everything…

Vladimir Putin: To be honest with you, I am not aware of such problems.  

Remark: These problems do exist. A friend of mine, mechanic Ivan Zharikov, spent six months trying to register his garage for his son.

Vladimir Putin: You are talking about ownership registration, correct?

Remark: Yes. You need to go through various agencies and pay all kinds of fees. It costs 12,000 roubles to register ownership, while my pension is just 7,000 roubles.

Vladimir Putin: We will definitely look into this, I promise you. You know, issues like this make life difficult for millions of people, whereas they can be easily resolved by the government.

I have made a note for myself and we will definitely look into this issue. That’s a promise.

Please, Sveta.

Svetlana Khorkina (three-time world and European gymnastics champion, Distinguished Master of Sports of Russia): Mr Putin, I will be speaking on youth issues. My colleague mentioned the Housing programme for rural areas that will last until 2020. I would like to thank you for extending the Housing programme (it was supposed to end last year, but we requested the government to extend it). But we are not going to stop there. Would it be possible to increase the funding for this programme for the period between 2011 and 2015? This is my first question and I have several more.   

We are talking about youth issues today. Today, there are representatives from all regions holding round table discussions at this forum. It is a wonderful format for exchanging opinions, sharing experiences, and finding solutions for various problems. I believe youth forums held in federal districts are of great significance for the youth. I believe it should be possible to allocate 500 million roubles for educational youth forums in the federal districts. We have submitted this proposal on behalf of the Youth Affairs Committee in the State Duma.   

And finally, the most critical issue for us is the law on youth policy, which will clearly define such notions as a rural resident, a young family, etc.

And since everybody is talking about financial issues, how can we travel and communicate if our per diem is still 100 roubles for meals and 550 for living expenses? I understand that this issue can be resolved at the local level, but they keep dragging it and it has yet to be resolved. We have children. I travel with my children to other regions for sports tournaments, and we can’t afford staying in hotels. They are staying in camps without heating. The per diem covers only 550 roubles for accommodation. I think this question is relevant not only to youth.      

Vladimir Putin: Correct.

Svetlana Khorkina: And of course, we have talked about salaries in pre-school institutions, and specifically about salaries of kindergarten teachers. Teachers in the Belgorod Region are feeling much more comfortable than in other regions. But what about extra-curricular education and coaches? How can we support them? I apologise for asking so many questions. These are burning issues.

Vladimir Putin: With regard to coaches, it is a separate issue, and I agree that we need to put together a special programme to support children’s sports and sports in general. It is a separate and important issue. I fully agree with you. We will certainly look into the per diem issue. It is a ridiculously small amount. At the same time we need to make sure that these funds reach the recipients and are not lost in the process.   

Svetlana Khorkina: Exactly.

Vladimir Putin: I am aware of that. As for the question about the possibility for increasing funding for the Housing programme, it is possible, but in the framework of the current budget, meaning that funding will need to be cut for some other programme.  

Svetlana Khorkina: We will be waiting then…

Vladimir Putin: No, you should not be waiting. It is your job as deputies of the State Duma to decide which programmes are important, which are slightly less urgent, and which programmes can wait. There is a certain amount of money that the country has earned. The government has proposed to spend it in a certain way. The deputies have the final say on this issue. Naturally, we cannot make money out of nothing, and therefore the deputies will need to distribute these funds across various budget categories.        

We can’t afford living like they do in Greece or other countries where they are running a budget deficit that is 120% of annual GDP. This would mean a loss of sovereignty for the country. Russia cannot exist like this and we should live within our means. This does not mean, of course, that we should allocate less money than is necessary for the Housing programme or for education and healthcare. That is a matter of proper distribution of available resources. Our most important task is to ensure high growth rates for our economy.      

Farmers had a great grain harvest this year. The production growth rate in agriculture was higher than the industrial production rate. Last year they produced 61 million tonnes of grain and this year close to 97 million. If we succeed in increasing the overall growth rate of our economy, then we will have additional opportunities to increase financing in various sectors of the economy.      

We can’t afford to live beyond our means. Russia cannot afford that. We will simply drive the country into an impasse. The situation will be even worse than in the 1990s. And eventually, the economy will collapse under the weight of public debt, both internal and external. No matter how much we want to fund various things, which are all quite important and urgent, we need to act very carefully. We have sufficient resources to resolve problems, but we need to prioritise them properly.

So what you have just said – if you consider any sector, education, or healthcare, or any other – one of the most acute issues is housing. We have a Housing programme, and we have proposed several possible solutions, such as subsidising mortgage interest, or the down payment, or co-financing by regional governments, and so on. I have already mentioned this, but I would like to repeat that free housing programmes should also exist. Many regions do the following: they provide a whole package of benefits to a young couple; once they have had their first baby, 30% of their mortgage gets written off; after their second baby, the entire debt is written off. The regional or municipal government takes over their debt. We must be continuously searching for possibilities. If we think very hard about this, if we give more time to it, we will see how these possibilities can expand and multiply.

We have also discussed support for grassroots-level sports – this is a separate issue. And the forum is a good initiative as well.

Svetlana Khorkina: They meet and communicate, this is life for them.

Vladimir Putin: She wants 500 million for the forum, so they can get together and socialise.

Svetlana Khorkina: I know that you are a great supporter of the Seliger Forum. Many people cannot afford to fly to Primorye or Siberia. The flights are too expensive. We need to do something about it.

Vladimir Putin: What do you propose, then?

Svetlana Khorkina: Simply to support them. Make a decision, at the federal level, select a site for the forums, and help finance them. We do this on our committee. This should not only apply to the Caucasus but to central Russia as well.

Vladimir Putin: But we have Seliger. And the Caucasus. Why would we want more?

Svetlana Khorkina: We have the Siberian Forum.

Vladimir Putin: Yes.

Svetlana Khorkina: There are others – in the Central Federal District, in Smolensk and in Khabarovsk.

Vladimir Putin: So what you want is to include government support for these forums into the federal budget.

Svetlana Khorkina: At least a small allocation. This is being done for our youth, so that they are able to get together and discuss things…

Vladimir Putin: Well? Shall we give them something for the forum?

Svetlana Khorkina: There is something else. Please… This directly concerns sports, and I have to tell you this: it's good that we are building fitness centres, that you support this initiative and plan to expand this programme, but I am still concerned that we won’t be able to build them in each and every village… What if we also renovate school stadiums? I have already mentioned this. This would be very…

Vladimir Putin: School gyms should certainly be renovated, and new standards should be introduced for building new schools. In fact, many schools are currently being built across the country. Some regions are making truly concrete efforts. They need new standards, and of course one that requires that each school have a good gym.

Svetlana Khorkina: I mean regular stadiums where children could…

Vladimir Putin: Stadiums and gyms.

Svetlana Khorkina: Thank you very much.

Yelena Smirnova: My name is Yelena Smirnova, I'm the principal of the Novoselskaya secondary school in the Vladimir Region’s Suzdal district. When I was leaving, my teachers said to talk about our salaries. This issue was raised here more than once, which is only natural. You have made a wonderful proposal to bring teachers’ salaries up to the regional average. This has happened in most places. But in reality, a first-rate teacher in a rural school usually works double hours, or at least 50% more than the teaching hours required for this position, not to mention class and classroom management duties and methodological work – it all adds up to a round-the-clock engagement. Most teachers are women, and so it happens that their own children, their families get neglected.

I would like to thank you on behalf of all teachers for giving so much attention to this and keeping the situation under control, for keeping our problems in mind, for guaranteeing our salaries next year, which will reach the average pay across all sectors of the economy, in all regions. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: The average pay across the economy, right. This is what I want to point out. What you just said means I am not so much in control. I'll tell you what I mean. When I was talking about the average across the economy I didn’t have in mind double hours. If you have to work overtime to make as much as you do now, it means the Education Ministry needs to discuss things with the regions. We have discussed – I was referring to – paying teachers at the same level as in other sectors without any additional hours. If this is not the case, it means certain regions have not fulfilled the instruction.

Yelena Smirnova: We have a stimulus fund, but even that fund does not help some of the teachers’ categories. They still have to ….

Vladimir Putin: This isn’t easy. I know that it is really difficult for some regions to raise teachers’ salaries to the average, but they should be able to do it eventually. What I can tell you for certain is that we will tighten control and will work even harder to achieve this.

Yelena Smirnova: This is the most important thing. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You're welcome.

Remark: Mr Putin, I'm from the Belgorod Region, head of the Graivoronsky district department for rural tourism, folk traditions and crafts. Could you suggest an effective way of stimulating these initiatives – education, culture, public services, and so on? We in the Belgorod Region have come up with a good project, thanks to the support of our governor and administration head – we are developing eco-tourism, and we have been doing so for three years. We are pioneers in this business and we have no one to turn to, so we are doing things our own way. We have developed our own methodology based on the area’s tourist potential, and we are pleased about that. We have visited international exhibitions and have attended travel forums, and we always asked the same question: when is the government going to launch a federal targeted programme to develop domestic and foreign travel which would include fundamental principles of rural tourism? And finally, this year, we heard that there is a concept, and a programme for 2012-2018 will be adopted. I would like to hear some details of its organisational structure, its management system, financing of new tourist facilities and so on.

We have developed around 40 facilities over the last three years, including historical rural estates, craft shops, wine farms and leather dresser shops. You have visited an exhibition today. Over the past three years, about 100 people joined this business, half of whom registered as self-employed individuals. We have established our own standards and certify local tourist facilities. Instead of the stars that are used in hotel certification, we use horseshoes. There are one-horseshoe facilities and two-horseshoe facilities and so on. We are creating our own regulations. But we need some financial support. In 2008, 2,000 tourists visited our area, but in 2011, we had about 15,000 visitors. Foreign tourists love Russian ethnic flavour – folk traditions, arts and crafts, the beautiful nature and clean foods – but they also want comfortable accommodations. So we would like to hear whether there is a government policy and how this is done elsewhere.

Vladimir Putin: So your concern has to do with whether this programme will eventually be adopted.

Answer: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: It will.

Remark: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: It is my conviction that we need this programme. Russia has a lot of sights that we can take pride in, but they are practically inaccessible for tourists because of their underdeveloped infrastructure. We will adopt a programme, and develop a procedure for distributing resources under this programme.

I have talked about this before but I fear speaking in error now and I don't wish to cite inaccurate figures, as we are being covered by the media here, but the programme will be extensive. We expect domestic tourism and the respective profits of companies engaged in tourism and hospitality to increase by several times. By several times! Access will be arranged following similar programmes in other industries. You will have to submit your proposals to the appropriate region and the regional authorities will make a request to the appropriate federal agency for a tender to be organised. After this, the resources will be allocated, and they certainly will be allocated.

Remark: Thank you very much.

Leonid Roshal: Friends, I do not envy you. You all want to take but nobody wants to give.

Vladimir Putin: Is this what you're doing now?

Leonid Roshal: Yes. First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to the Popular Front, because this was the idea of the front’s Federal Coordination Council. I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported this meeting. It is very important, this is real work. I am surprised and delighted. I admire the head of the collective farm who spoke recently and I am pleased that there are such wonderful, professional people. Why are we squandering this treasure? Why don’t we build a university around him so that people could learn from his experience? One of the speakers was a Hero of Russia (or the USSR). Why is there nobody else with this kind of experience? This is a problem for the ministries to deal with. There are schools where children don’t smoke or take drugs. Why don’t we share this experience through the ministries of culture and education?

We held a round table discussion today. More than 100 people attended, who engaged in enthusiastic debates. We talked it through and many things we heard were surprising to us. With social issues, for instance, there are some that can be resolved smoothly in this region but not in another. Somebody needs to share their experience and tell people, listen, it won't work like this. Look, this region can secure the income of, say, medical personnel, while another region cannot. This is a very important issue for us.

We spoke about the supply of medication and had to admit that it is unsatisfactory despite some people's claims that everything is fine. More than half of the people here agreed that it is unsatisfactory in terms of cost, quality and in terms of the availability of discount medication. We need to work on this as well. One of the regions reported that their nurses are fully qualified and licensed. This means the others must learn from this experience.

Generally, we had to admit that people in the villages do not enjoy good health.

Vladimir Putin: Of course.

Leonid Roshal: This is unsatisfactory.

Vladimir Putin: Of course it is because life expectancy in villages is lower than in cities.

Leonid Roshal: It is.

Vladimir Putin: The morbidity rate is higher.

Leonid Roshal: One of the questions asked whether rural residents are content with emergency services. They are not. There was an excellent programme that provided many ambulances. But time passes and these cars have become obsolete. Sometimes cars were provided that did not have sufficient maneuverability. This time it is a UAZ, next time it is not a UAZ. But above all, there is a shortage in the human workforce. Once I visited a central district hospital. The emergency room was attended by an 80-year-old physician and a nurse who could be called away 120 km far and would have to leave the village without any medical assistance. This means the standards must be reviewed to ensure that people have access to better medical aid. We discussed another important issue. The payment for ambulance shifts was cancelled in 2007. Mr Putin, how can this be? How can payments for ambulance shifts be cancelled while there is such a major shortage in the workforce? How? We've discussed this issue, we talked about it at a government meeting, the issue was raised by the National Medical Chamber and the government responded. Probably on your instructions… A minor addition should be introduced into the law to settle the issue once and for all. This is very important for us. It's good thing that we're discussing this – it's a sore topic because the government owes a debt to the countryside. As for the recent proposals concerning salaries, I am not asking for money – I simply want to explain that we are talking about a salary… If you consider the salaries of medical workers, you'll see that they are at the same level as those of teachers, perhaps even lower. I was talking recently about an ambulance doctor I met in Pskov who was paid 12,000 roubles a month. This is ridiculous.

Vladimir Putin: Here in Belgorod the average salary is a bit higher than for teachers.  

Leonid Roshal: That means he works double-time plus another half. It means with his work, he has no time left for his family, and we should think about that as well. The opportunity exists to earn more, but what kind of money is that? The question of financing rural nursing and midwifery centres remains unresolved. There was a time when all these rural centres were shut down, as you have mentioned. That was a mistake. And the same goes for small hospitals, which you have also mentioned, in addition to underattended schools. And the same applies to hospitals. We should take another hard look at the matter: perhaps doctors’ salaries should be raised to the average level in the economy. Thank you very much for your involvement.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. With regard to doctors, we have discussed this matter many times. We should see how the change of standards in the delivery of medical services will work. The level of pay will depend on these standards. We should see what this looks like in practice in rural areas and in cities, wherever there are medical institutions.

As for exchanging experience, this is certainly very important, but to be perfectly honest, this very event is being held today in order to draw attention to the best results, to look at the problems that people are facing in their daily work and to think about ways to resolve these problems.

Let us all move over here.

Response: I'm from the Republic of Karelia, the village of Megrega in the Olonets District. When I was leaving to attend this forum, my compatriots from the village prepared a video message. Would you be willing to watch it?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

Response: And if a positive decision is made, I believe our people would regard it as a kind of miracle.

Vladimir Putin: All right. Give it to me. Bring it over please.

Galina Sokolova: My name is Galina Sokolova. I am the municipal head of the Urshelsky settlement, Gus-Khrustalny District, Vladimir Region.

The issue that I am sure concerns not only me, but all municipal heads who are present here, is the summer of 2010. We all know that this was a hot summer. Following the fires that swept across all of Russia, the municipalities adopted community fire-safety programmes. Under these programmes every municipal entity forms a budget that they include in the programme. Consider my own municipal entity, the Urshelsky settlement. This year the programme allocated 250,000 [roubles] for this purpose, all of which we have spent. The regional budget allocated 112,000 to us this year, just a week ago. But that is besides the point. If we read the federal law carefully, in particular rule 69 that spells out what we need to do in the communities, then all the heads of municipalities should be sent packing.

Vladimir Putin: Not all. Who would be left to work?

Galina Sokolova: All of them, Mr Putin. In the Vladimir Region this year, all heads of municipalities were fined 10,000 roubles (my colleague can confirm this). We paid the fines, and a month later it turned out that nothing has been done. The administrations are then fined 30,000 each, again to no effect. Court proceedings are underway and the prosecutor’s office is suing us. This is happening all across Russia, I believe, if you look at the Internet. And they don’t want to listen to us in the courts. Consider what happens if we comply with the rule: it reads that all fire-safety reservoirs must be provided with a pier. I don’t understand – a road with a hard surface, it explicitly says “asphalt,” should lead to the fire safety reservoir. We can show you the photographs – even if fire engines take water from these reservoirs (as in 2010-2011) we are still told that the law should be changed. We have written to the President, the Legislative Assembly and the Governor, but things remain where they are. Most importantly, as you know, the Gus-Khrustalny District is situated on the edge of Meshchora national park, scenic location. Amendments have been introduced into the Forest Code, and we were all pleased to see this, but there is also the law on protected areas, that is, parks…

Vladimir Putin: Specially protected territories.

Galina Sokolova: Specially protected territories, pardon me. But the matter of clearing away logs and brushwood has still not been resolved.

Vladimir Putin: Really?

Galina Sokolova: No. In the Gus-Khrustalny District this has not been done. The second and the most interesting thing is that, according to the rules, we should have anti-fire strips that are between 4 and 4.5 metres wide. The fact that village communities have no machinery is an obstacle that we can overcome by hiring a bulldozer if it can be of use there. In general, practice shows that this can only be accomplished by BAT road diggers. But we are also supposed to make a fire safety gap that should be 10 to 15 metres wide, which means we should simply cut down the forest. The locals have no objections to this, but the prosecutor’s office is adamant. I'm asking you, please, if there is any chance…

Vladimir Putin: Wait a second. Where does the Prosecutor’s Office come in, I don’t understand?

Galina Sokolova: Where? The Prosecutor’s Office has sued all the municipal heads, charging that they have failed to comply with fire safety regulations. If the court hands down a ruling, we need to comply with it. Everyone agrees. It’s one thing that nobody has the means to pay for all these things. We have numerous saw mills: and it's fine for us to cut down trees, but the law on specially protected territories is already in force.

Vladimir Putin: I see that there is a conflict between the two laws. I understand.

Galina Sokolova: Yes, one law contradicts the other. On behalf of the Vladimir Region, I appeal to you to look at these regulations. Why indeed do we need these piers? A good reservoir is all we need, it's all there in the video.

Vladimir Putin: All right.

Galina Sokolova: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I think you are probably right on many points. There should not be a formalised approach to these issues. I agree, but the language needs to be clear, the legal terminology should be uniformly understood. It may not have to be a hard-surface road, but what we can by no means tolerate is the current situation that a colleague told me about, in which an ambulance is unable to reach the necessary location. If a fire engine cannot approach the water reservoir then perhaps the reservoir itself…

Galina Sokolova: We have all the video footage. We now take pictures and videos of everything. Excuse me for interrupting you, but…

Vladimir Putin: No, no, wait a second, don’t interrupt me. Now it’s your turn to wait. I trust that everything is fine in your community, you don’t need to convince me, I'm sure that is the case. My point is that the law and the rules must be written in such a way as to be understood uniformly throughout the country, and not only in the Vladimir Region.

Galina Sokolova: I agree.

Vladimir Putin: You see, this is not such a simple matter, because they seem to have gone a bit too far. They may as well have written that there needs to be a concrete hard surface road that leads to the reservoir. This may seem to be a trifle, but in reality it has consequences, as you have just indicated, and it leads to difficult situations when you are charged with breaking these rules. We’ll think about it.

Galina Sokolova: You know, the only good news is that our court in Gus-Khrustalny has delivered a verdict. We are the only municipal entity that has challenged the Prosecutor’s Office. We are awaiting the outcome. We have signed an appeal, and the Appeals Court at Gus-Khrustalny ruled that the requirement was illegal and that the case should be retried. I don’t know what will happen next.

Vladimir Putin: You see, perhaps the law is not all that bad. But anyway, let us take another hard look at it. This is a serious issue. I agree with you, and I thank you for raising this problem. We should ensure fire safety, and at the same time we should not set excessive requirements for the municipalities. I quite agree with you. What should be done though… What law is that? Law 69? Vladislav Igorevich, please make a note to take a look at Law 69. And let us formulate instructions to the Emergencies Ministry and other agencies to revisit that draft law. Thank you very much. Let us now move to this side. Please, this lady has been standing there for some time.

Marian Mugadova: Thank you. My name is Marian Mugadova, I am the director of the Folk Arts House, the Republic of Dagestan. On behalf of all cultural workers I would like to thank you, Mr Putin. I think today, November 15, and not March 25 as it says in the calendar, is the true Culture Day. Thank you very much for your support, we have waited for it for so long. In August 1999, during a difficult period for Dagestan and for the whole country, you visited the Botlikh District and you said, “Looking at how they are fighting for their land, for Russia, I have come to love Dagestan and its people still more.” You gave us hope and confidence in the future. We have preserved our network of cultural institutions, and we have preserved our unique holidays and folk art groups. We now have an international folk art festival called Gortsy (Mountaineers). We have the “Caspian: Shores of Friendship” festival, which brings together not only the North Caucasus and Southern federal districts but other Russian regions and groups from abroad. We have a republican programme for the preservation of folk art. If you have time, Mr Putin, come visit us in June 2012 and you will see a beautiful and unique Dagestan that is very different from the one you saw in Botlikh when times were so difficult for us and for you too.

My question is as follows. We should do everything we can to preserve our culture and traditions so as not to lose them, because they contain our most enduring and important values. They teach us patriotism and camaraderie, and they teach us to preserve the most important value of all: peace. There was a time when we had an all-Union and later an all-Russia folk arts festival. Its organising committee was headed by the First Deputy Prime Minister. That festival discovered new performance groups, new costumes were prepared and musical instruments were bought. The festival provided a great boost to folk arts and folk culture. The concluding stage of the festival, its most important part, was marked by a concert at the Kremlin Palace where the finest of folk culture, the best groups performed and displayed their skills. Mr Putin, there is a great need to revive that festival. Please…

Vladimir Putin: It's a good idea.

Marian Mugadova: You should propose this. Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: There is nothing to thank me for, not yet. But I should thank you. Reviving the all-Russia folk arts festival is a good idea. We will do this together.

Next question.

Question: I represent the Belgorod Region, Volokonovka Central Hospital. At present, our Volokonovka District Central Hospital has only 65% of the necessary staff – there are some specialists that we are lacking: otolaryngologist, gynaecologist, surgeon, anesthesiologist, cardiologist. This forms a great obstacle to the provision of medical services. Under the Zemstvo Doctor project, a relocation allowance of 1 million roubles has been made available. But while the district’s rural nurse and midwifery centres are fully staffed, the central district hospital is not covered by the project. So young specialists fall through the cracks.

Vladimir Putin: Where is that central district hospital located?

Answer: In a village, an urban-type settlement.

Vladimir Putin: And what region is that once again?

Answer: The Volokonovka District, Belgorod Region.

Vladimir Putin: Belgorod Region?

Answer: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: And this is not included in the healthcare modernisation programme?

Answer: It is.

Vladimir Putin: Well, then it must be in there. Yevgeny Stepanovich (addressing Yevgeny Savchenko, Governor of the Belgorod Region), is the programme in effect?

Yevgeni Savchenko: Yes, it is. But I understand that there is some confusion concerning the national project, that is, the one that concerns only rural nurse and midwifery centres.

Response: Yes, yes.

Yevgeni Savcheko: And those who work at the central district hospital are not entitled to these benefits, do I understand you correctly?

Answer: Yes.

Yevgeni Savchenko: Mr Putin, I promise to look into this immediately, and to take steps. We will sort it out.

Vladimir Putin: Well? The issue is “trashed out,” as Mayakovsky said.

Response: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Next question please.

Response: I am a teacher and coach at a sports school in the Kursk Region. Here is my question. In 2012 a decision was made to build a sports complex in our town of Lgov. But before we came here the mayor of my city said, “You see, the decision has been made, but it costs 7 million to make the design and cost estimates, and the city cannot afford this.” We had been waiting for this event for 30 years, we practically don't even have a gym. And then there is a blow like this. If we fail to accomplish this now, we will never get anything. Please help us.

Vladimir Putin: So, the money has been allocated to you, right?

Response: We were told that in recognition of our services to sport (Lgov takes part in many competitions) they would build a sports facility for us in 2012.

Vladimir Putin: In 2012?

Answer: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Once again, what’s the name of the city?

Answer: Lgov, Kursk Region. A thousand of my people back home are looking to you for assistance…

Vladimir Putin: All right, the Kursk Region. What’s the problem? The money has been allocated for building a sports and fitness facility, correct?

Answer: I don’t know if the money has been allocated. But the mayor is saying that he doesn’t have the 7 million required for design and cost estimate documentation, without which construction cannot start. The city budget does not have that amount.

Vladimir Putin: Listen, I want to understand what kind of facility they were intending to build? A sports and fitness complex?

Answer: Yes, exactly.

Vladimir Putin: Okay. These are typically co-financed, with the regions putting up part of the money. We provide the main sum and the region should do its part as well. What is the point you're trying to make? Don’t use co-financing procedures, subsidise us 100%? But then your local government won't do a darn thing by way of financing. You see? Forgive my language, but this instrument has been invented precisely in order to motivate regional and local governments to allocate the necessary resources. Otherwise the federal budget will have to foot the whole bill. And then it would be unable to solve these or any other problems. Local government bodies must pay part of the cost. I promise to take a close look at this particular case, but we will also look at the budget of the region and of the city of Lgov, how the money is being spent, and we will ask why the region or the city cannot afford to spend 7 million, not a terribly big sum, to finance the construction of a sports and fitness centre. If we find that this is indeed a one-time situation and not a single kopeck can be raised locally, then we will help.

Response: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Next question.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: I am Yekaterina Kiseleva, a physical fitness teacher, Livny District, Orel Region. I have two questions. The first has to do with education. In 2009 a new system of remuneration was introduced at our schools, as a result of which large schools gained a lot. Because financing was tied to the number of pupils, we have a big incentive fund that increases teachers’ pay. But schools that do not have so many pupils have suffered losses.

Vladimir Putin: How much was the pay raise, 20-25%?

Yekaterina Kiseleva: For me personally, 2000-3000 roubles. It’s significant.

Vladimir Putin: That's about 20% I believe.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: Yes, it makes a difference, but schools without many pupils have found themselves on the short end of things. To keep them afloat they have had to be merged with large schools such as my own. As a result the incentive fund was cut in order to pay regular salaries to these teachers. Now because the salaries…

Vladimir Putin: For the teachers of the newly integrated schools?

Yekaterina Kiseleva: Yes, the teachers from underattended schools. As a result, our salary increases never materialised – in other words, they were raised to the level that existed when there was the incentive fund. My concern is that over the past three years nothing has changed and this increase never became real for us.

Vladimir Putin: The answer is simple: what was happening took place at the level of the region and the municipality, but the main point of our decision was to make teachers’ salaries in all the regions equal to the average in the economy, regardless of the regional potential. Are your salaries equal to the average in the economy?

Yekaterina Kiseleva: No.

Vladimir Putin: Well, they have to be. That's the whole point. If this year… Once again, what region is that?

Yekaterina Kiseleva: The Orel Region.

Vladimir Putin: The Orel Region. If the Orel Regional Governor failed to provide salaries equal to the average in the economy this year, he must be sure to do it next year, keeping in mind that the average salary in the Orel Region should increase anyway.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: I have another question: all teachers have been put on the same footing. In other words, the salary of a teacher who gives himself over to his job completely, and that of a teacher who simply goes through the motions have become equal, you understand?

Vladimir Putin: The salaries must be the same for everyone. But those who give their all, as you say, should receive extra pay for additional part-time work. I have just said this.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: I am not talking about part-time jobs.

Vladimir Putin: What are you talking about?

Yekaterina Kiseleva: What I'm saying is that we have some teachers who are very active and who try to involve themselves in every aspect of the school life. You see? But this is not compensated for in any way.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I agree that there must be incentive payments depending on the performance of every individual worker, not necessarily at a school but at any other institution. But the main thrust of the decision that was made at the federal level (and I would like to repeat this) was different – it was to ensure that salaries are on par with the average wage in the economy. The regions and municipalities may introduce additional instruments.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: I see. I have a second question that has more to do with culture, perhaps.

Vladimir Putin: Go ahead.

Yekaterina Kiseleva: We will be hosting the Olympic Games in Sochi. We are all proud and are looking forward to this event. And because the games will fall on the week of Shrovetide, which is such a remarkable holiday considering the traditions and culture... how would you feel about the proposal that Olympic champions during these Olympic Games be treated to pancakes and given rides on sleds? Just to keep up the tradition?

Vladimir Putin: That's a good idea. In general, these major sporting events should be used to promote Russian traditions and Russian culture, folk culture above all. Of course we will do this.

As regards the Orel Region and the situation with raising the level of salaries, we will look into this issue specifically and I will speak with the governor and get a sense of the situation there, and I'll ask him when he is planning to achieve the average wage level for everyone. But once that happens, I'm sure the region will be able to reintroduce incentive pay.

Response: Mr Putin, over here, please.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

Remark: I'm getting the sensation that we're going in circles. Reforms represent a certain turn. But we're doing nothing but turning and turning and turning. Is it not high time to move forward in a straight line? Of course, I think that reforms are moving ahead full steam here, important and necessary reforms. It is significant that next year we will have major celebrations of the birthday of Pyotr Stolypin, a very famous Russian reformer. However, his reforms were accompanied by great sacrifice, and they failed to bring about the desired results. What, in your opinion, is the reason that his reforms failed? And is he a historical figure whose example we should follow? Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Your doubts concerning the quality of the reforms he implemented or tried to implement and their results, and in general about those times are understandable. That was a time of severe trials for our country and our people. I can remind you of what happened after 1905. I think we should take a good look at that period and at Stolypin’s activities, not only in terms of reforms but in the broader historical context as well. I am sure if there are any history teachers present here that they would agree with me.

Let me remind you that it was the period following 1905 during which Russia suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Japan. That triggered very complicated processes within the country that rocked the empire. Various terrorist groups emerged. Terrorist attacks at the time claimed close to 20,000 lives, around 18,000. And at that time the Stolypin government introduced martial courts that passed death sentences on about 2,500 people. This is nothing to be proud of, to be sure. But let me remind you of something that Stolypin said at the time. I am quoting from memory so I'm not sure it'll be entirely accurate. But the gist of what he said was, “I hope that Russia will be able to distinguish blood on the hands of a doctor from blood on the hands of an executioner.”

He believed that strict measures with regard to the people who were rocking the state were justified at that time. I should remind you that people who considered themselves to be progressive, above all members of the intelligentsia, unfortunately sent telegrams to the Japanese emperor congratulating him on his victory over the Russian military.

I think that whatever the motives of these actions were, they were nothing less than treachery. And traitors should be treated accordingly. I do not think that all these 2,500 executions that took place in Russia were fair, not at all. It was a major tragedy. And as you know, there is no death penalty in Russia today. That's one aspect.

The second aspect has to do with economics and with Stolypin’s reforms. I will permit myself to remind you that after the serfs were emancipated, after serfdom was dismantled, the peasant did not become entirely free. The peasant remained attached to the land within the framework of his community. He did not own his land as property. The land belonged to the community.

Incidentally, this reminds me a little bit of what is happening in Israel and their structural units in the countryside. The kibbutzim have approximately the same rules, at least until several years ago. Perhaps something has changed now, but a kibbutznik, for example, until recently had no right to own a car (they may have this right now, I don’t know). If a kibbutznik became a government minister, for example, he was required to remit his ministerial salary to his kibbutz, and he received money only from the kibbutz. This is the state of affairs in Israel today. And people, especially young people, aren't particularly keen on this. It restricts people and it restricts production.

At the time, having a peasant attached to the land was not progressive, on the contrary, it impeded development. What did Stolypin do? He offered the peasant one of three options. The peasant was not forced into making his choice. The options were: either leave everything as it was before, or give the peasant a private plot of land, or allow him to take advantage of certain preferential conditions in moving east of the Urals. About a quarter of Russian peasants availed themselves of one of these options. What was the result? We are now considering only the economic aspects. The result was that Russia during that period became the fastest growing economy in the world, which is the key economic indicator of a country’s economic health. Russia was the first in the world. That's one circumstance. And the second circumstance I would like to mention is more tangible, so to speak: in terms of cost, Siberian butter fetched more money than gold. This speaks volumes about the development of agriculture as we understand it today.

So, while we do not want to idealise the figure of Stolypin, we do want history to recognise all the angles involved in this process and all the aspects of his personality. We will try to incorporate all the best of our history, and we are doing all we can to avoid mistakes.

I think we should wrap up soon. Your question please.

Alexei Rozhkov: My name is Alexei Rozhkov, I am the chief doctor at the Dukhovnitsky Central District Hospital, Saratov Region. I'd like to pick up on the topic that my colleague raised here about the Zemstvo Doctor Programme. Young specialists who go to work in the countryside receive an allowance of 1 million roubles. In my 18 years of working at the district hospital, this is the first time that I've seen the administration come up with a normal, human and comprehensible initiative that will probably help to solve the problem of human resources, at least partially. But there are three questions that come up as a result of this. The first question asks how this money is spent. The goal is to ensure that the young specialist does not spend it to acquire a home, in the first place.

Vladimir Putin: I beg your pardon?

Alexei Rozhkov: He should not spend this money to buy a home.

Vladimir Putin: Why?

Alexei Rozhkov: The region should participate in this programme and help him to buy a home, and he should be spending his relocation allowance to get settled in a new place.

My second question has to do with students who are graduating in 2011-2012. Young specialists who are under 35 include some people who graduated in 2009 and 2010. If they are included in this programme (which is already happening here) there will be a personnel drift away from small hospitals that are not technically located in rural areas. I understand the doctor’s question: they will go to rural areas, to rural hospitals. My question is whether graduates in 2013-2014 can count on the same kind of state assistance.

And the third and most important question. The bulk of medical assistance in the countryside is rendered by nursing and midwifery centres, by mid-level personnel. Is there any chance for them to feel the concern of the state, and to receive assistance from the state? We are talking about the opening of new nursing and midwifery centres, and Leonid Roshal has been speaking about the closure of many such centres during a certain period. They are now shutting down because mid-level medical professionals are retiring and it is difficult to entice a young specialist to come to work in a village of 200-300 people. Can mid-level medical professionals of these rural medical centres be included among the recipients of state support? Thank you. 

Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your question. We based on the principle that the 1 million rouble relocation allowance would be granted without any preconditions as to how that money should be spent. There is only one condition, which is to work for at least 5 years in the countryside. How to spend that money is up to the young specialist himself. If, however, he decides to quit before the five years are up, he is not a serf, we cannot chain that person to his place, that would not be the right thing to do, but in that event he should return part of the money. I think that's fair. Should he be entitled to receiving state assistance in obtaining a dwelling if he receives 1 million roubles? He should. But we cannot pretend that the person has never received these one million roubles. The municipality and the region will still have to think about how to help that person settle in. Moreover, if a person moves to a rural location and obtains his own house or apartment (it is not so common in rural areas, but some urban-type settlements have apartment blocks), he is likely to stay there, especially if he gets a house of his own. Of course, managers would be interested in having the young specialist remain in the village.

I assume that the regions will take up and support programmes of this nature, and that also applies to the personnel of the medical centres. We assumed that this should be done at the regional level, but we will work with our colleagues, with the governors – wherever there are competent, intelligent, tenacious and experienced people, things will get off the ground there, like it has here in the Belgorod Region. I am absolutely confident of this, I know that the governor hears me and that many others will hear me and take notice.

So, I am being quite frank about this – we had assumed that the regions would shoulder that part of the responsibility. What I mean is that the healthcare modernisation programmes would allocate a significant proportion of the resources, as I have said already, to the countryside, including for repairs and to create new opportunities to organise new nursing and midwifery centres and to raise wages – through a change of standards, like for everybody else.

And finally, as for the question of what graduating years will be covered by this programme – the answer is, graduates of any year provided they are under 35. If you come to the countryside this year or next year, you will get your million. Will there be a follow-up to this programme? We'll see how many people move to the countryside in the coming years, this year and the next, and we'll make a decision based on that.

It is the same as with the disposal of old cars: if we had announced at once that the programme would go on for an indefinite amount of time, there would not have been any boom in the sales of domestically produced cars. Of course, this is a costly programme, but the state can handle it. I believe we are allocating 11 billion for these purposes in the upcoming period. We shall see how it works. I'm sure it will work.

You mentioned a possible migration of personnel. I have to agree with you there, you are right. These concerns do exist. But surely you are not suggesting that we should not give them the one million that they are due.   

Officials at a certain level should keep this in mind and set in motion their mechanisms for retaining personnel. I understand this, but other mechanisms to retain personnel need to be used as well. I hope this will happen.

Please don’t be upset, but we really must end here. Thank you very much.

I hope that today’s events – the roundtables and our meeting – were informative, substantive and useful. I have made many notes for myself. I would like to thank you all for your efforts and for your work. I would like to wish you success and to express my hope that we will be able to hold such events… well, we can’t hold them too often, but still I think it is a good initiative and we will follow it up.

I would like to wish you all success. Thank you very much.