Transcript of the start of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Kuzmitsky: Could you please give me an account of the situation in your territory?

Alexei Kuzmitsky: Mr Putin, on January 1 of this year we completed the transitional period in the unification of two regions - the Koryak Autonomous District and the Kamchatka Region - into a single region - Kamchatka Territory, which was established by a federal constitutional law (2-FKZ) on July 1, 2007.

This process was accompanied by some peculiarities. The established transitional period was the shortest - a year and a half, which is less than other regions - to undergoing unification.

Both territories were heavily subsidized and registered a decline in production in all industries. A number of branches were ruined, such as housing and public utilities and construction. Fuel supplies were a mess, and there was practically no transport infrastructure. The process of unification took place against this background.

Moreover, there was a gap in living standards in these two regions. As of July 1, 2007, 24% of the population in the Kamchatka Region lived below the subsistence level, while the relevant figure for the Koryak District was at 54%.

Vladimir Putin: 54%?

Alexei Kuzmitsky: 54%, plus arduous climatic and geographic conditions, high seismicity, and a huge distance from the federal center and inland territories.

The main task that we set for ourselves during the unification was to guarantee real rather than formal equality between the regions by evening out the living standards and continuing to improve them.

To overcome the protracted economic crisis, we focused on stabilizing the financial and economic situation, mobilizing all available financial resources, and creating an appealing investment climate in the region.

Mr Putin, with your permission I'll give a detailed account of the situation in several aspects: single law and economic space, single social policy, and special status of the territory.

At this point, I'd like to make a break and tell you about a major event that took place in Kamchatka Territory on April 17-18. For the first time ever, we played host to the Vitaly Fatyanov International Biathlon Competition.

I'd like to show you this album. With Gazprom's support, we built biathlon grounds from scratch in a month and a half. Sixty five athletes from 10 countries - stars of the global biathlon - came to our territory. This event was unprecedented for Kamchatka, and was conducted to improve its image.

In general, this will have a positive effect on the development of tourism in Kamchatka. About 15,000 of its residents attended the competitions, and it proved to be a real holiday for Kamchatka residents and guests. The competitions were conducted at an adequate level, as all athletes and coaches noted that it matched the level of international biathlon competitions.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. I'm very happy about this. This was really an excellent event. Please accept my congratulations and even gratitude. I think that the residents of Kamchatka will thank you for this.

Now let's talk about payment of salaries, housing and utilities, healthcare, including contagious diseases, and some other problems, including illegal export of bioresources, and so on. Let's discuss these issues.