Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon. Mr Bogomolov, let's talk about the region's problems on the whole, including finances, agriculture, industry, housing, and social issues.

Despite all the difficulties caused by the crisis, the worst of which we saw in 2009 - at least I hope it was the worst - the Kurgan Region coped well with these problems overall. Of course, there are still problems, and we will discuss them in more detail. I have looked at the figures, and they are good. The amount of new housing completed increased by 2%, agricultural production went up by 5%. You harvested in 4.9% more grain than in the previous year, which was a good year.

These are good figures. And so I would like to discuss industrial issues with you, for instance, automobile manufacturing. Do you think the government's measures to support automobile manufacturing have had the desired effect? We have given you money to support this industry. What are the results?

What was the effect of the measures to support housing and public utilities? We have given you 500 million roubles for this purpose, which is no small amount. We have also given you 213 million roubles for the labour market and energy industry - you have one electric power station.

Oleg Bogomolov: We started construction during the crisis year.

Vladimir Putin:  Let's talk about these issues now, because we have given you substantial funds - 986 million - almost a billion roubles. How are you spending these funds? Please, go ahead.

Oleg Bogomolov: Mr Putin, first of all I'd like to thank you as the leader of the party for supporting my candidacy. The president recommended my appointment as governor to the Federal Assembly. I'll try to justify your and President Dmitry Medvedev's trust.

It goes without saying that we have problems... But I would like to say that there is a lot of debate as to whether these measures are correct or not, and I think they are absolutely correct!

The additional employment programme that we carried out in our region in cooperation with the government obviously prevented a surge in registered unemployment.

Vladimir Putin: But unemployment still grew.

Oleg Bogomolov: We started the year with 13,000 registered unemployed, or 3.3%. By April we had 20,000 unemployed and 16,000 by the end of the year. But if it had not been for the measures - I'm referring to public works, professional retraining and self-employment... The last of which is the most important... We have helped almost a thousand people to start their own businesses.

We have spent practically all of the 213 million roubles you mentioned to create 20,000 jobs, including 2,000 permanent jobs. Our own resources are limited, and we would have never managed to cope with this on our own.

I would like to say a few words about the Fund for Housing and Utilities Reform programme. We have accomplished a lot here as well. Some 10 to 12 years ago we spent 400 million roubles on major construction work on four sites. This time we received more than 500 million roubles through this programme alone. I remember when I was the chairman of the regional executive committee in the Soviet years, we tried to get rid of dilapidated housing and did not achieve anything. In the crisis year we managed to move almost 700 people into new flats.

Vladimir Putin: How many families in all?

Oleg Bogomolov: More than 300 families. We moved them into 296 flats.

Vladimir Putin: Well, you have a big relocation fund.

Oleg Bogomolov: We managed to carry out this programme for 296 flats just this year. In general, the programme for our region - 1.6 billion roubles were designated for three years. We have already spent a billion and are planning to invest the remaining 600 million roubles this year.

 We will carry out the programme, although it is in effect until 2012. But we hope to be able to save some of the money that someone will not spend somewhere, and that we can save a little somewhere in this programme and accomplish a little more.

In any event this programme helped us keep construction companies busy and create more jobs.

The programme that turned out helping our manufacturers, and which the Ministry of Regional Development carried out, was for municipal vehicles. This gave us work for our bus manufacturers. We were about to shut down the plant because there was no demand for buses on the market. But the plant produced more than 200 buses after it received contracts for buses because of the programme. The plant had three shifts in November, December and even in January, because the programme continues, albeit on a smaller scale... 

Vladimir Putin: Not on a very small scale. We allocated 35 billion roubles for this programme last year and 30 billion roubles this year. But maybe we will add more.

Oleg Bogomolov: But the amount has already been fixed. Last year it was 160 to 170 million roubles for our region and this year we have already received 63 million roubles from the Ministry of Regional Development. However, part of the contracts will go to the bus plant, which means we will manage to keep it afloat and not lay off workers.

Vladimir Putin: Apparently, the Ministry of Regional Development has different figures for different plants.

Oleg Bogomolov: We have also placed orders with the KAMAZ Truck Plant and in Ulyanovsk. We order police cars from Ulyanovsk, and pumps from KAMAZ and other plants. Others place orders with us.

Vladimir Putin: The Minister of the Interior has asked me to allow him to redistribute the funds allocated for this purpose in order to provide vehicles for the municipalities. We will do this. I will sign a resolution to this effect in the near future, and so we will allocate funds for this purpose.

Oleg Bogomolov: This year we are working on a contract for 33 cars from the Ministry of the Interior. Last year we took on 40 cars.

The government's anti-crisis measures have certainly produced the desired effect and kept us afloat.

 We failed to find work for all our industrial enterprises, unfortunately, and had a decrease of more than 18%. But for the most part our enterprises are in the manufacturing industry... You visited us and we described our position to you. First, the budget was made public much too late. It took until the second half of the year to finish all the tenders, and we are tied to the oil industry and automobile manufacturers, because our plants produce spare parts for automakers. Take the Kurgan Road Construction and Maintenance Vehicle Production Plant, for one. We receive chassis, fit them out and so on. The plant was shut down, which means so were we.

Kurganstalmost is another example. It had no orders for road and bridge construction, and its production was falling every month. However, it improved its position by the end of the year. In October, November and December of the past year production grew by 4.5% as compared to October and November of 2008.

Regrettably, the plant failed to compensate for the declining production in the first half, or perhaps seven or eight months, of the year, but on the whole it managed to keep afloat.

I am grateful to you and to all those who helped us receive a larger defence contract. Maybe the picture was different in other regions, but in our region defence contracts for a number of items have increased many times over in 2010. It has kept the Kurganmashzavod so busy that it started working in three shifts, starting on January 3, and will be busy for the rest of the year.

The same is true for Kurganstalmoststroi. It is working for the Far East. We are taking part in building bridges in Vladivostok... This has also kept our plants busy.

Vladimir Putin: We are planning to draft one more programme for the reconstruction of bridges built in the 1960s and 1970s. These are bridges in need of repairs.

Oleg Bogomolov: We are now working hard for Sochi, Mr Putin. We also have an opportunity to do something there. We continue working in Moscow and St. Petersburg. We are working on the bypass route. We are also working with Ufa, Kazan and Omsk. There is a market there for our products. We continue working with the North.

Vladimir Putin: What about the billion roubles, that is, the 986 million, allocated for the electric power station. How are you spending it?

Oleg Bogomolov: Mr Putin, I have reported to you more than once that we are the only regional centre in Siberia with only one source of heat. The Kurgan Thermal Power Plant is the only we have.

Vladimir Putin:  I know this.

Oleg Bogomolov: Some 80% of housing and social and cultural facilities depend on it. This year we had temperatures below -40C. Even now the temperature is as low as -30C. Every morning and evening you pray that the plant does not fail.

Thanks God, we have pursued the right policy on tariffs. For many years the tariffs included the investment component, which allowed the plant to have one of the highest electricity tariffs. However, this allowed us invest more than 7 billion roubles into the plant and bring it to its estimated capacity in 50 years.

It now generates 418 megawatts. In Soviet times, this was no more than 220 megawatts.

We have long thought of building a second source for generating electricity and heat. We started this project in the January of the past year. We found a private investor. The project's cost is 12.5 billion roubles. If transmission grids are built, the project's cost will increase by a billion, to 13.5 billion roubles. Plus, we have to pay for electricity supply and transmission. So, the project's price tag will be about 14.5 billion roubles.

We have invested in the construction of the heating main which connects the plant under construction with the existing one. This was done through the Investment Fund, that is, through a private-public partnership: the federal government allocated 986 million, private investors raised the same sum and 360 million came from the regional budget. The second plant will generate electricity by the beginning of the cold season this year.

Kurgan will get a new source of heat. On the one hand, this will make heat and electricity supplies more reliable. On the other, many issues regarding social facilities and housing boiled down to not being connected to heating. This will allow us to increase electricity generation in our region.

Vladimir Putin: What about water supply?

Oleg Bogomolov: We are working on it. At present we are building a new pump station to supply water from the Tobol River. It is almost done. The building has been finished and the foundations of the main units have been laid. Railway tracks are connected with the building. Crane girders have been mounted. We are already assembling the equipment. The thermal system will supply heat in 2010.

We are planning to test the turbines in December and hope that the station will be fully operational in the first half of 2011. 

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Oleg Bogomolov: The station will be cost-effective. It requires about 130 grams of conventional fuel to produce a kilowatt. Our current station requires about 300 grams.

Vladimir Putin: Good. You have done very well in many areas and should keep up the good work.

Oleg Bogomolov:: We will try our best, Mr Putin.