19 november 2011

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Prime Minister of the Republic of Khakassia Viktor Zimin

Participants:
Mr Putin and Mr Zimin focused on socio-economic issues, such as increasing the wages of teachers and healthcare professionals to match the republic’s average. The head of the republic said that this will be accomplished inDecember 2011.

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: How are things going, Mr Zimin?

Viktor Zimin: Let me briefly make a 2-minute report on the socio-economic situation in the republic. Mr Putin, the republic’s economy is growing. Here are the figures from the brief period in which I have been head of the government.

Vladimir Putin: I don’t think it’s brief. How long has it been?

Viktor Zimin: Almost three years. The republic’s budget has increased by 70%, amounting to 25 billion roubles. It was 15 billion roubles before. We have also maintained all related indicators, and we have used our leverage, such as reviewing our relations with major partners. The gross regional product has also seen a 60% increase from 75 billion roubles to 115 billion roubles. All these factors have helped us restore the social sphere. When we set about resolving these issues, we had only 24 facilities. Today, this year, 90 facilities have been put into operation owing to republican and the federal funding.

The growth of the rural economy is quite good. I would like to thank you on behalf of all rural residents. I held an important meeting just before my visit. We would like to simply thank you for the support provided by the Russian government. It was more than 10-15% in many areas. We have also contributed our own funds: each of our programmes is at least 50% co-financed. The rural budget has increased by over 80%.

We have raised the gross grain harvest by 50% in three years. Sheep stock has increased by over 50% as well as cattle stock. We are working quite efficiently in all fields and naturally we receive federal support. At present, we receive up to 700 million from the Russian Federation.

Mr Putin, we are also happy with the growing construction of housing and schools for rural teachers and doctors. They come from other regions, not from villages or district centres. Young graduates of educational institutions arrive from regional centres. We feel like we are resolving this issue. Your instruction on teacher’s wages has been 98.2% implemented. We hope to complete out these remaining 2% concerning the wage increase by December. We purposely have not rushed this part. It is just that there were some discrepances with the remaining 2% –  teachers at rural and ungraded schools. I believe that by December we will finally resolve all issues by finding extra funds from our own resources.

Vladimir Putin: By how much have you increased wages?

Viktor Zimin: It had been 9,000 roubles per month, now it's almost 19,000 roubles.

Vladimir Putin: What's the republic's average wage?

Viktor Zimin: The average wage is 20,000 roubles per month. The regional wage averaged 20,500 roubles as compared to 14,000 roubles three years ago.

Vladimir Putin: So you've fallen a bit short of the regional average, haven't you?

Viktor Zimin: Right.

Vladimir Putin: When will you reach the average?

Viktor Zimin: In December.

Vladimir Putin: This year?

Viktor Zimin: Yes, we will complete this process in December. Mr Putin, we have set another goal that is related to culture. Perhaps our plans are ambitious, but still we would like to bring culture and pre-school education in line with the economic average in the republic.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Viktor Zimin: Because without cultural development there can be no economic development. We have started to notice this, particularly...

Vladimir Putin: What do cultural professionals earn?

Viktor Zimin: Honestly, wages ranges from 7,000 roubles to 9,000 roubles per month.

Vladimir Putin: When do you expect to increase them?

Viktor Zimin: In two years.

Vladimir Putin: Two years is all right. But please bear in mind that the republic's average wage in the economy will have changed by then.

Viktor Zimin: We will gradually increase it.

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean the republic's average wage today?

Viktor Zimin: Right, Mr Putin. We want to be honest. In recent years, we have been developing an honest programme for the region's social development. We have included all problems in it and have presented it to our citizens and businesses. Mr Putin, I would like to thank you for the stance that you have taken and the federal decision to restore the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric power plant. At present, a fourth of it is operating and is generating at 25% of capacity. However, our gross regional product has been growing. We managed to stay afloat in 2009, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Have you constructed the road?

Viktor Zimin: Yes, we have. We have reported to you on it.

Vladimir Putin: And the bridge?

Viktor Zimin: We have restored the bridge and opened it to traffic in three weeks. I would like to thank Igor Sechin and Yevgeny Dod, head of the Sayano-Shushenskay power plant, for these entire three weeks.

Vladimir Putin: You have been improving the social sphere, haven't you? I heard a report about the village of Cheryomushki, right?

Viktor Zimin: Almost 500 million roubles have been invested in the social sphere. We have built one of the best schools in Russia.

Vladimir Putin: Schools and a kindergarten, right?

Viktor Zimin: A kindergarten and a hospital. We are also going to lay the foundations of an indoor ice rink. We have several teams of former hockey players. Mr Putin, we are paying a great deal of attention to sports. The republic's budget has grown by almost 10 billion roubles, which is very nice. We have become more efficient and we are participating almost in all federal programmes.

Vladimir Putin: What about medicine?

Viktor Zimin: There is the following trend: we are repairing almost 80% of healthcare institutions this year...

Vladimir Putin: How much have you received from the federal programme?

Viktor Zimin: 1.7 billion roubles.

Vladimir Putin: How many institutions does your programme involve?

Viktor Zimin: The programme entails spending 400 million roubles.We supplement the programme with the construction of a republican hospital. The Russian government has allocated 280 million roubles to us. We put 400 million roubles toward the repair of all district hospitals within the programme. Almost 500 million roubles will allow us to install modern equipment and carry out magnetic resonance imaging.

Vladimir Putin: Mr Zimin, I have a question for you. And I will also have to discuss it with all regional heads. Recently, I have discussed the issue with Leonid Roshal (Leonid Roshal is a pediatric surgeon, professor, president of the Naitonal Medical Chamber, director of the Moscow Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Traumatology, member of the Public Chamber of Russia). Meeting participants worried that we would pay one-time allowances of a million roubles for those healthcare professionals who come to work in the village and that that might siphon off employees from district hospitals. It's clear that only some workers would like to leave the place they've grown accustomed to, even a district hospital, for a rural area. Still, we should discuss this issue with regional heads as there are some district hospitals in rural areas and some in urban settlements. This is a subtle matter that we didn't think about immediately.

Viktor Zimin: There is a big disparity in wages.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, we should think about this, all right?

Viktor Zimin: We have a proposal on this issue. That is why I put off some issues for December, in order to enter 2012 with a new budget in hand. We should regulate such issues, we would also propose something.

Vladimir Putin: It is necessary to involve regional authorities in this work so as not to cut the programme to support young doctors who come to villages. But, at the same time, we shouldn't forget about those who work at district hospitals.

Viktor Zimin: We could use our regional resources to support these...

Vladimir Putin: No, we have calculated that this won't do.

Viktor Zimin: Mr Putin, some medical workers were offended: why beginning from 2012? What about those who came earlier? We compensated them with free housing.

Vladimir Putin: Unfortunately, we cannot provide housing to all those who came 10 years ago retroactively. This is impossible.

Viktor Zimin: People understand this. A young specialist who received housing... it means he gets almost a million roubles as housing.

Vladimir Putin: But, unfortunately, it is not this way everywhere. And a question of social fairness arises here. It is impossible on budgetary grounds to go back several years ago and give these one-time allowances. Now we can do it, although we have just overcome the crisis. We should do this and we will. But we should do this on the basis of real capabilities.