Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Basargin, I had a strange feeling as I was leaving the plane: I am used to working with you as a Government member, but you are a Governor now. I wish you success in your work.

Viktor Basargin: Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: This is a complex job, in its own way, but, as I have told you, it is very important to see the results of your contribution, to be able to touch them.   It means that production and the region’s economy have been growing.

We have recently attended the opening of the second line built by our petrochemical enterprise, Sibur, which will produce polyurethane foam and polystyrene. This is definitely an achievement, because it has created new jobs and will increase our revenue base. But I believe that the most important thing is that the plant will produce high-quality modern materials that can make our lives more comfortable and improve the energy efficiency of our homes and our cities and villages, which currently leaves a lot to be desired. We will discuss this issue at this meeting, which will be attended by ministers and other colleagues. I believe that it is a good sign when large companies invest in the creation of high-tech jobs. As I said during the opening ceremony, I hope that the implementation of this project will be accompanied by new, modern salaries, concern over employees, and the opportunity to improve the standards of living in the region and to develop housing programmes, especially, as we agreed in the car during our trip over here, because attention to the housing issue had been insufficient. What are your plans?

Viktor Basargin: Mr Medvedev, I assure you that the situation is stable and that we are working to fulfil our plans. The region has huge potential and we are working to increase the opportunities for using it. You have expressed your opinion about the new plant. I’d like to add that investment in the Perm Territory has grown by 15% this year, which means we have attracted over 54 billion roubles into our economy over the past nine months.

Dmitry Medvedev: How long have you been Governor?

Viktor Basargin: In fact, six months today.

Dmitry Medvedev: This calls for a celebration.

Viktor Basargin: Yes, the potential is growing. As for the problems, we have some in housing construction. We must work hard to increase the component part to the national average, which is 0.5 square metres per resident.

Dmitry Medvedev: But this indicator is no longer 0.5 but 1 square metre. You should know this, because it was one of your duties. On the other hand, this is the issue of sustainable development.

Viktor Basargin: This is why we are keeping it in our focus. One of our problems in healthcare is inadequate material resources. At the same time, the Perm Territory is one of the few Russian regions that are developing high-tech medical centres. We have built a perinatal centre and the federal centre has helped us to develop a cardiovascular surgery clinic, which we call the Heart Institute. We have completed the construction of a child surgery centre and will open a high-tech surgery block there in a few weeks: this is one of our priorities too.

We have prepared for the winter season; there are no issues we need to discuss in this area. Thus, the overall situation is quite good.

Dmitry Medvedev: Good then. Still, our work is never done, because winter is only beginning and weather tends to surprise you. I know that you experienced a minor natural disaster yesterday, when strong winds disconnected large areas of land from the electricity supply. You are still working to repair the damage, if I’m not mistaken. Will you complete the connection of users to the electricity system today?

Viktor Basargin: Yes, the disaster has affected nearly the whole of the region, with strong winds in the northern parts and a hurricane in the south. The Barda, Chaykovsky, Kungur and Perm districts were hit the hardest. About 50,000 people were left without electricity. Two 100 kW electricity lines, some 400 substations and over 60 six to 10 kW lines have been disrupted. We have created 70 teams who have been working through the night to repair the damage. At this point, about 3,000 people have no electricity, most of them in the Barda District and some in the Perm District. But we will complete the relief operations by night today.

Dmitry Medvedev: I see. But this doesn’t mean that natural disasters will not happen again: this is life. The main thing is to repair the damage quickly and to try to reduce the consequences of disasters for the people to the minimum.

All right, let’s talk about our plans.

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