OREANDA-NEWS. December 7, 2011. Transcript of the meeting: Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

Good to see you all. I would like to begin by thanking you all for your efforts during the election campaign. You know that the United Russia party has won a confident majority in parliament. We have suffered losses too, but that was inevitable. This can happen to any political party, especially a party that has been shouldering the responsibility for the country for so many years. Given the present conditions, this is a good result.

We certainly know and we have seen examples of what is happening in countries which only recently seemed far more stable than Russia, both economically and socially. These countries have seen mass protests – millions of people take to the streets. The Russian government continued to increase pensions and social benefits throughout the recession. We have minimized unemployment: it is even below pre-crisis levels now. None of the developed economies can boast these achievements. None of the developed economies will have a budget surplus this year; while Russia’s federal revenue will exceed expenditures. Inflation will be the lowest in recent history this year – 7%, which is even below the estimates.

The country’s reserve funds are growing too. We have a healthy economy and financial sector and we stand a good chance of making a development breakthrough. Certainly, there are also problems and unresolved issues, and perhaps, there are some miscalculations as well. The network of public reception offices you are heading was designed as an informal platform for direct contact and direct work with the people. Direct contact implies direct access without intermediaries such as bureaucratic agencies or officials.

I would like to thank you. I appreciate your active involvement not only at this final stage of the campaign but also throughout the whole period since 2008, which is a long time.

I know that you and your colleagues who work in the regions have often visited single-industry towns and so-called ailing companies, especially during the recession, and went to towns and villages hit by natural disasters such as wildfires. That was a very valuable contribution.

Over that time – I assume each of you knows how much work has been done in a specific office, but I doubt that anyone has any idea of the overall amount of petitions processed – public reception offices have received over 700,000 petitions. Over 700,000! It is especially gratifying that 25% of all requests have been granted. These petitions led to 55 changes to federal legislation (laws and bylaws), 250 changes in regional and 400 in municipal regulations. This is a great deal. All of the petitions raised issues that influenced specific people’s lives, companies, industries and even rather large cities. That was truly great and important work.

As I just said, any country or any political party faces its share of problems. A ruling party which controls government agencies must always deal with a lot of controversy and opposition. Opposition groups fight it and point out its mistakes. In general, this is not a bad thing, this is rather a good thing. And speaking of that, there is a point I’d like to make. First, it is wrong to judge anyone by a label. This label is applied to the government, not a specific party. They say that the ruling party is a party of thieves and corrupt officials. If we think back to the Soviet era – remember who was in power then? They were all labelled thieves and accused of corruption. The same happened in the 1990s.

So this is a label of the government, not of the party. It is important that the government be able to fight negative phenomena. The government should work to improve both society and itself. Why am I saying this? Because this direct contact mechanism (via the public reception offices) helps us promptly respond to problems in our lives, in our society and in our government agencies. First of all, we must respond, forcefully and rapidly, to any problem that involves the violation of people’s legitimate rights. I would like you to concentrate on this. If people come to see you – well many come to discuss everyday problems related to housing, pensions and social issues – but you must immediately spot cases where you see that people’s rights have been violated. Your response should be forceful and immediate. You should absolutely respond to all such violations in any sphere.

Second – I have already mentioned this too – we cannot accept any acts of corruption. They must be fought very actively. Very actively! We must marshal every resource, formal and informal. We often criticise the media, which they often deserve, because they are certainly part of our society and therefore have the same flaws. But they should absolutely be engaged in our anti-corruption effort. We shouldn’t be shy of engaging them, of addressing them directly.

Third, I very much count on you to continue this work which is obviously making a difference. This is the first meeting in its kind, but I have seen many of you in the regions in the process of our hands-on efforts. I am certain that we will continue our hands-on experience. Thank you.

Please, if you have any questions, or organisational proposals for our cooperation, you are more than welcome to voice them. Go ahead.

Leonid Ogul (head of the public reception office in the Astrakhan Region): Mr Putin, I am Leonid Ogul, head of the public reception office in the Astrakhan Region. Thank you very much for this meeting. Like other heads of public reception offices who are present here, and our other colleagues, I know that your candidacy for president was put forward at the United Russia convention. We would therefore like to know more about the role of the heads of local public reception offices; the role of those people with whom we have worked side by side for three years, especially during the past six or seven months leading up to the elections. I’m referring to members of regional coordination councils with whom we maintain a mutual trust. So, my question concerns the role of local public reception offices during the presidential race.

Vladimir Putin: I believe it should be more or less the same as it was. We don’t need to convert these offices into election campaign headquarters. We should continue working with people. There are many things that tend to become more intense during election campaigns. Many of them are alien to our nature, and we are well aware of this. We had the opportunity to watch all those pre-election videos that either brought you to laughter or tears. What do you think they are all about? What is their call to action, and how do they plan to achieve their proclaimed goals? Some of what they say does not go beyond empty declarations. On the flip side, you are in a position to talk to people directly. I promise this, and my colleagues will help: we will provide as much informational materials as needed. If people ask questions, you will be able to explain things to them.

However, there’s another point that nearly slipped my mind. You are aware that our colleagues did a fine job in the Popular Front and that they came up with a popular instruction programme. And it just occurred to me... This is certainly a basic programme. As a matter of fact, it is simply a compilation of requests embracing all areas of life that have been presented by the Russian people. In order to convert this programme into guiding principles for the future government and president, it needs to be reviewed by experts. This may be obvious, but still, it presents a concrete road map to follow. With this in mind, I believe that you should utilise your potential and first, discuss this road map with Russian citizens, and second, keep in mind that this map is a living instrument. If people come up with additional proposals regarding the substance, goals and purpose of such work, I would be grateful to you if you could accumulate them to be later included in the programme as well.

Leonid Ogul: Thank you.

Alexander Degtyaryov (head of public reception office in the Republic of Bashkortostan): Mr Putin, my name is Alexander Degtyaryov, I'm the head of the public reception office in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

First of all, we all appreciate you taking the time to meet with us in the wake of these highly important State Duma elections. I would like to ask you a question that is directly related to the current situation in Russia, one that at the same time offers a certain analysis of three and a half years of the public reception offices’ work.

When you were in Bashkortostan some time ago, you said that all of Russia can see its reflection in Bashkiria, as in a drop of water. I believe that there is truth in these words. Here is my question. As we know, the number of people contacting public reception offices has increased many times over during the last few months. We saw this number quadruple in Bashkiria. It’s unlikely that it’s due entirely to the election campaign, because the party’s ratings declined by 10% in Bashkortostan during this same period. However, the number of requests filed in your name quadrupled. This tells me that the level of trust in the leader of our nation has not just remained unchanged, but rather, that it has increased by many times. Here is my question: there are dozens of public reception offices across Russia, including regional, federal and municipal offices, where the number of requests has not gone up or has done so only marginally. Perhaps you could advise us, with regard to the municipal authorities, about what public reception offices can do to help restore or build up the same kind of confidence rating that can be seen in your ratings as a national leader? Of course, they won’t be able to reach that high, but I'd like to ask in case you have some thoughts about this that you can share with us.

Vladimir Putin: You know, these confidence ratings are not determined by the number of different entities or foundations, even those that are established with the best intentions. I believe that these ratings are determined by the ability and readiness to address the problems that are facing people. Overall, with your help, we are doing fine. As I’ve already mentioned, over 25% of favourable decisions regarding individual requests have been made at your offices, that is, at my offices that are run by you. I can tell our colleagues one thing, though: never promise anything that is undoable, and never promise anything that, once implemented, will destroy a municipal or regional system. My only recommendation is always to tell the truth, provide explanations, listen and conduct an exchange of information with people. Why? Because even with the best intentions, it’s not always possible to find solutions to the problems confronting us. In this regard, it makes sense, and is sometimes very useful, to listen to what people have to say about potential approaches to addressing a particular issue. In fact, there are many such proposals. Your job is to keep your ears open to them, summarise their proposals and do your best in order to get them implemented. In this regard, I would like to emphasise the importance of these public reception offices. The increasing number of requests from the people is a good sign.

Alexander Degtyaryov: Thank you, Mr Putin.

Irina Blokhina (head of the public reception office in the Tver Region): My name is Irina Blokhina. I’m the head of the public reception office in the Tver Region. Mr Putin, there are people here in this room who have extensive experience. We’ve been doing this work for some time now. Working with people isn’t easy; it requires patience, experience and skill. Still, people are often disheartened when they run up against official formalities or are faced with indifference. Occasionally…no, not occasionally, we often see you solving particular problems in Russia in the hands-on mode. How can we make the government machine at all levels solve issues automatically rather than on a hands-on basis? I believe this is very important for us and especially for our people.

Vladimir Putin: This is our goal.

Irina Blokhina: But how?

Vladimir Putin: Improving the performance of the government machine is our strategic goal. One way to achieve this is to carry out the electronic government project, which we are currently doing. Once implemented, it will greatly reduce the need for people to go from office to office to deal with numerous bureaucrats; instead, they will go to a "one-stop shop" and receive all the information or documents that they need there. And the goal is to… You know when people need some final document and have to rush to different authorities… the ultimate goal is to enable these authorities to exchange information electronically and issue the applicants only the final document. This is a technological aspect of resolving the issue but there is also a legal aspect – we must upgrade our legislation. Therefore, we must have people in the Duma who will seek the best solutions rather than be guided by the-worse-the-better principle.

And, finally, there is also a moral and ethical aspect – work with people, and this work must be consistent. As for parliament, I have just said we need a professional parliament. I have been saying this all the time. I have recently been to the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in St Petersburg. I told one local worker that if some people want to see MPs fighting or dragging each other by the hair… well, this may also be an interesting show, but if someone wants to see a show, then it’s much better to go to a circus, theatre or cinema. The more we laugh at what is happening in parliament, the sadder things will be for us. This change will be inconspicuous but it will lead to not only political but also legal degradation of the state’s operation. Our next-door neighbours (in Ukraine, for one) are constantly fighting in parliament. Some of our political leaders (or those who believe they are) quite recently worked as advisors to Viktor Yushchenko, the former Ukrainian president, and now they are trying to arrange something like this here. But this doesn’t at all mean… Quite the contrary, this means that we must be more attentive to people. I said at the beginning of this conversation that swift and tough responses to violations of human rights and red tape must be a major part of the activities of public reception offices. In fact, being aware of this problem, I initiated the formation of these offices at one time, and I rely on your help.

Irina Blokhina: We’ll do our best.

Vitaly Likhachyov: (head of the public reception office in the Volgograd Region): Vitaly Likhachyov, the Volgograd region, the home of the Popular Front (and hence this question). During the formation of the Popular Front, my mates and I joined it while still being United Russia members. A failure to understand fully the front’s tasks led to rumours that the front might eclipse the party, there was some rope pulling. Now we have passed together through another, very serious election stage. We would like to understand your view on future cooperation between the United Russia party and the Popular Front.

Vladimir Putin: I can just repeat what I have said many times, but I will say it again. I think any party and any political force in general requires renovation and such a venue as the Popular Front helps to do this. I’m sure that many people representing the Russian Popular Front have been elected to the State Duma through United Russia’s channels. In effect, this is the party’s renovation and this is being done not through bureaucratic corridors but directly, at a grassroots level, and this is great.

This is the first point, and the second is that the Popular Front is still…We call it a nationwide front. It includes not only United Russia members but also representatives of professional communities, trade unions, different associations as well as employers and employees in most diverse spheres. The front is much broader than the party. And I’m simply convinced it is necessary to work in close contact with the front. I hope for the front’s support during the presidential election campaign.

Vitaly Likhachyov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. Please, go ahead.

Olga Batalina (head of the public reception office in the Saratov Region): Mr Putin, I head the public reception office in the Saratov Region. My name is Olga Batalina. My colleagues spoke about the presidential campaign and involvement of public reception offices. Can I ask you a female question in this context? Honestly, it’s not exactly female because all of us want to know the answer.

Vladimir Putin: Please, go ahead.

Olga Batalina: Can you tell us whether we’ll see the return of the old Putin or the advent of a new one?

Vladimir Putin: You know, after all… Sorry, what’s your name?

Olga Batalina: Ms Batalina.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Batalina, have you changed if your compare yourself before your work in the reception office and during it? Are you any different or the same?

Olga Batalina: Well, we all hope that we are changing for the better.

Vladimir Putin: You are right. There is a well-known saying in many languages – everything flows, everything changes. Life around us is changing and setting new tasks before us and we are changing together with life. We are not simply adapting ourselves but always parrying the challenges of the time. I hope your humble servant is changing, too. In general, in the modern educational world the most important thing is to learn to learn or to teach others to learn. This is the first point.

Second, I recently met with foreign colleagues and said off the record – although this is no secret and I can repeat it again – that there are fundamental things that never change. I’m not afraid of saying what they are – love of one’s Motherland, responsibility to the people and the country. In this sense, I haven’t changed and won’t change a bit.

But there are also things that are not so fundamental or even strategic. They concern the priorities of development – what is more important now and what can be delayed. We have many tasks and challenges and one of the main challenges is economic diversification. We must introduce innovations in the economy, modernise it and the rest of our life. We allocated no small funds to particular industries but, regrettably, had to divert some of them to the efforts to curb growing unemployment. We had to spend some of these funds on higher unemployment benefits and so on. You will understand that this was a forced manoeuvre.

However, now we have practically achieved economic recovery and can reorient these funds and pay more attention to modernisation and diversification. Having done this we must make another step in developing the social sphere and improving living standards. The requirements for these changes and the modernisation of our society are becoming more urgent. In this sense, we are all changing, of course, and I’m no exception.

Olga Batalina: Thank you.

Gennady Averyanov (head of the public reception office in the Orenburg Region): I’m Gennady Averyanov from the Orenburg Region. Mr Putin, first of all, I’d like to thank you for receiving people personally in the Orenburg Region. This is evidence of the government’s accessibility and transparency. This shows that it is possible to contact the government. All issues have been resolved and there is a positive public reaction.

I’d like to look a bit beyond the horizon. I have this question. I think that 2012 and 2015 will see a new breakthrough strategy, a challenge of the times, a challenge to the current conditions. This strategy will require a creative approach, a new integration team that will be capable of resolving all these problems. What do you think about the prospects of personnel policy in 2012 and subsequent years? This is a basic question that interests many people, including governors and mayors.

Vladimir Putin: The first step has been made now. Obviously, the State Duma will have many new members. The presidential election will be followed by the government’s formation. And, of course (as we have said many times) there will be considerable changes in the government as such and later on in the governors’ corps. Voters must elect new people at the municipal level themselves. However, we must display caution during all these essential and inevitable changes. It would be impermissible to destroy a good team and get rid of professionals to the accompaniment of the renovation slogan. You know, this is always tricky – some people may launch a slogan and then become guided by it rather than by the interests of the cause. We call it a deceitful campaign and must prevent it by all means. However, it is clear that we need serious changes in personnel.

Please, take the floor.

Anatoly Sukhov (head of the public reception office in the Sverdlovsk Region): Mr Putin, I’m Anatoly Sukhov from the reception office of the Sverdlovsk Region. We resolve many issues in the office in cooperation with executive bodies but there are some that we cannot cope with – they must be resolved at government level. We have a serious problem. There is the single-industry city Krasnoturyinsk in the region. It has one plant – the Bogoslovsky Aluminium Plant. Its owner is going to shut it down. He warned his workers on November 30 that four shops will be closed and one thousand workers will be employed until February 1. People will lose their jobs. We know how to resolve this issue. Our regional government is dealing with it and the governor himself is actively working on it.