The meeting was held in a restaurant in Vasilyevsky Island in St Petersburg.
The fans greeted the prime minister with cries of “Russia!” a traditional chant at games played by the country’s national team.
During the meeting, Putin said, in particular, that he is against giving special benefits to the sponsors of football clubs. “Benefits usually lead to fraud,” he said. In his words, the financing of football clubs “should not be a matter of sponsorship but of running a profitable business.”
“We need good owners. We need to create the conditions for a solid financial base,” the prime minister said. He also proposed considering additional opportunities for funding football clubs, including through advertising and television.
The meeting participants also discussed the issue of financing and supporting regional clubs. Putin said that these issues had to be addressed, especially in view of the fact that Russia was hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. “I did everything I could to ensure that the championships were held in Russia, because we need to get down to supporting football in earnest. They say you should mend your sails while the weather is fine. That is exactly what I’d like us to do,” he added.
As in their previous meeting, the participants again raised the issue of FC Tom Tomsk. “Let’s do it this way,” Putin said. “I will revisit this issue, but all of us, including the fans and the leadership of the city and the region, must agree on who will be the club’s owner, an owner who would be able to finance the operation of FC Tom.”
Another issue raised at the meeting concerned the large companies that are registered in Moscow or other large cities, which do nothing for the development of the regions where they actually work. Putin said that branches and subsidiaries of large companies which operate in the regions should pay taxes in the region where they operate. “We have a poorly regulated system of taxation,” he said. “The companies and their subsidiaries should pay taxes in the regions where they work, and not only create profit centres in Moscow. We should make the relevant amendments to the current regulations.”
The prime minister also pointed out that the expansion of companies was justified. “Splitting companies into small firms would deprive them of a competitive edge on the Russian and international markets. We need big, strong companies,” Putin said, adding that it suits the companies to create profit centres in Moscow, because there are “many minor procedures, which interfere with the real work, that are easier to complete in Moscow.”
“We should adopt decisions to force companies to create profit centres in the regions where they work,” he concluded.
In answer to a question about when regional social issues will be addressed at the regional level, Putin said: “Russia’s regions have extensive powers, including those that receive funding. Moreover, this year Russia’s consolidated budget, including nearly all the regions, showed a surplus. I can assure you that the regional budgets have enough money. Well, funds are never sufficient, but they have enough to address the most glaring social problems, that is, if they distribute the money wisely. It's about choosing priorities. But it would be wrong to act where it is the region's responsibility. In fact, this is what exactly what you are saying – we should not be doing this.”
Speaking about the upcoming European Football Championship, to be held in Ukraine and Poland, fans pointed out that it is a big event for them and asked the prime minister if they could be allowed to charter one or two planes at discount rates to attend the matches. Putin replied: “I think that if we ask Aeroflot and Transaero to provide their planes free of charge for advertising reasons, they would do it. It would not break them financially.”
One meeting participant touched on the issue of law and order. He asked: “What can be done to secure a solution to these problems, short of street protests or meetings with the prime minister or the president, so that murders and thefts are investigated honestly?” The prime minister replied that this should and could be done, but it will take time to improve the working and political culture. “I think everything will gradually fall into place, everything will be as it should be,” he said.
Replying to a question about stadium violence, Putin said: “How can we make stadiums safe for taking along a girlfriend or children, how can we make them more family-friendly? You're right: we should be creating a holiday atmosphere, not some sort of conflict zone. If we did this, it would be more interesting for everyone. But this does not depend on the authorities alone, it's also down to you. But I agree that some things, some actions by the authorities actually prevent the creation of such an atmosphere and in fact make the situation worse. We need to consider this issue, pinpoint the problem and resolve it. It may concern the presence of police at the stadiums. Let’s put our heads together.”
The prime minister promised that roads will be improved by 2018, when Russia will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time. “I am sure that we will change the situation by 2018 – we have to,” he said after one fan complained about the poor quality of Russian roads, despite the huge funds that are spent on road building and road maintenance. “It's a question of a shortage of funds, given the vast size of our country,” Putin replied, recalling that regional road funds were set up last year to collect fuel taxes. “I strongly hope that these funds will work efficiently,” he said, emphasising that an increase in fuel tax would supplement regional funds by over 90 billion roubles this year. “This is big money, in principle,” the prime minister said, adding that those who line their pockets from road building projects must be “exposed and put behind bars.”
Continuing the roads theme, he said: “We have a solid foundation and strong roots. Ours is a nation with a high culture. Our economy and social sphere suffered a huge decline in the 1990s, affecting all aspects of our lives, but we are getting back on our feet. I have said it before, but I will say it again, even though it is not connected to football. As I said at a recent meeting of the government presidium, despite the crisis or crisis-like economic events across the world, last year we recorded some of the best economic results in the world in terms of key economic indices like GDP, industrial production growth and the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate in an industrialized market economy like Spain is 22%, which is nearly one in four of the economically active population. The figure in Russia is 6.1%. We also recorded the lowest inflation for the past 20 years.
We have bigger reserves than anyone else. Russia is the world’s third biggest country in terms of gold and currency reserves and government reserves. At the same time, our sovereign debt is very small, almost zero. When I talk with experts, they express surprise. Other countries have either a huge sovereign debt or no reserves, while Russia has reserves and no debts. We have our share of problems, and these are very large and deep-rooted problems. You have heard it said a million times that Russia depends on oil for everything it has, and this is true. Our non-commodities deficit is relatively large, 10% of GDP, but we are working to reduce it. We have an opportunity to advance efficiently, provided we behave responsibly. We have to behave responsibly on roads, in the fiscal sphere and on stadiums. Putting our cultural values to work, we will be able to change ourselves, and it will become evident everywhere, including on the roads.”
When asked about the flaws in the Unified State Examination (USE) system, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said: “This is a problem. This does not mean that the entire system is flawed, but this is a problem. I have already said that I am not a big USE fan, but the situation is changing and Russia needs to adapt to international standards if we want to succeed on international labour markets, so we need to put our thinking caps on.” “This system has advantages and disadvantages,” Putin said. “The number of students from the regions who get into major universities has grown, which is obviously a plus. But there are minuses, too…”
Speaking with football fans, Putin touched upon the upcoming presidential election in March, announcing that he planned to publish another policy piece soon – devoted to interethnic relations in Russia. “I will write a separate article on that. It will be published soon. I am working on it now,” he said. Putin described interethnic relations as a crucial issue for national integrity. “Anyone out there who wants to destroy Russia will target interethnic relations. Russia is, of course, multi-ethnic, but Russians account for over 80% of its population, and they are the ethnic foundations of the nation. But I would like to tell everyone – Russians and non-Russians – that our forefathers spent thousands of years building Russia as a multi-ethnic state. And if anyone says we need to create a mono-ethnic state, it means they aim to destroy this country, or are simply ignorant of the fact that moving in that direction will send Russia and Russians back, leaving it a third rate regional power,” the prime minister said.
Putin also spoke of further development in the North Caucasus, including Dagestan. “You must have heard that quite fallacious statement about feeding the Caucasus. It emerged because we are implementing several large programmes there. I believe – I am confident – that to ensure comfortable living in every part of the country including its central regions, in Siberia, the Far East, and in the North Caucasus we need to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to attain their potential in their home region. But to make sure that we all enjoy this level of comfort, industry needs to develop, and modern effective and prestigious jobs need to be created.
There are several government programmes for the Caucasus – Southern Russia, the North Caucasus and others. There are separate programmes for Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan, with the greatest resources allocated to the latter. Dagestan is a key republic in the North Caucasus; it has the largest population, a developed infrastructure and economy. There are great hopes for Dagestan. Employment there is on the rise, although it is not all that great yet, but still it is growing, and new plants are being built. We’ll continue working on this,” Putin said.
“People in Dagestan have made a great contribution to stabilising Russia,” Putin continued. “I think everybody knows that. I remember being surprised but also pleased when I saw how they took up arms to defend themselves and Russia. That was unexpected, but it in fact led to a breakthrough in the fight against terrorism. I know this because I saw it myself when I visited the region. But now we must help them develop. You say they are ‘fighting for subsidies’. We need to move to a situation in which there are no subsidies, in which they have their own development resources. To achieve this, we need to develop local industries, create jobs and infrastructure. This is all planned and we will continue this work. There is no cure-all. What we need is consistent effort and sufficient funding to achieve the desired result. Our goals are clear. We have the means and we have the resources. We will start to act and I am sure we’ll see results. As for other local and political issues, I am aware of them. We’ll need to act carefully.”
Putin also focused on another issue related to inter-ethnic relations in Russia. “There is a very specific and very acute problem out there, mainly encountered by urban populations in various Russian regions, including central regions, Siberia and even the Far East. Young people from the Caucasus arriving there in large numbers annoy the local population because they do not respect local culture or rules of acceptable behaviour, and what’s more, they even stop observing the rules they observe at home,” he said. Putin said that local public associations such as groups of elders should influence young people who plan to move to other regions.
“And what should we – the regional and federal authorities – do? Create more jobs in those areas, where these people live, so that they do not have to seek their fortune elsewhere in a large country like Russia, so that they are able to attain their potential, achieve personal and professional growth, make good money, provide for their families and feel successful back home. This will not happen overnight, but we have programmes that are geared toward achieving this goal,” the prime minister said.
During the conversation it became apparent that Putin does not closely follow the public mood online, although he is pleased with the level of political debate in society. “Do you pay attention to how you and your party, United Russia, are seen?” one participant asked Putin. “Frankly, not much,” he said.
According to the participants, United Russia’s gaffes are often associated with Vladimir Putin personally. “The reactions to ill-planned moves by United Russia simply indicate that people are discontented with something, and that I should turn my attention to it,” Putin noted.
The participants suggested he hold a series of meetings with university students, giving them direct access to him, and the opportunity to express their concerns. “All right, I will consider it,” Putin promised adding that there are clear explanations as to why people view the ruling party in this light.
“There are many problems, and they are addressed in various ways: poorly, unsatisfactorily, to varying degrees. The main burden of problems always falls on the political force that steps up and takes responsibility,” he explained, adding that this is the point of the political process.
Putin also thinks it normal that the “powers that be” change. “Only political competition will allow us to create an environment conducive to comprehensive development,” he said. “This is why I decided against changing the constitution as I saw fit. What is happening now does not dishearten, annoy or aggravate me in any way. I am pleased, this is what I wanted,” Putin said in conclusion.