OREANDA-NEWS. September 7, 2011. The meeting focused on the Strategy of Russia’s Innovative Development until 2020. “An innovative breakthrough is not a one-time effort. In the high-tech sector, it is necessary to constantly reaffirm your competitiveness, in order to prove that you have the right to be a leader year after year,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

 
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. First, let's exchange current information. There is some positive news, which we will get to in a moment, but there is also something alarming. Earlier this year, in March, we transferred money to regions for them to repair inner yards and adjacent territories. According to information available from the Ministry of Regional Development, only 17% of yards and 15% of access ways have been repaired as of September 1 (this work, by the way, is supposed to be completed in November). Is this the case?

Viktor Basargin: Mr Putin, allow me to remind you that the total financing of the Yards Improvement Programme is 26.6 billion roubles. We have signed agreements with all regions. As much as 80% of the financing is provided by the federal centre, and 20% by the regions. We have held tenders in all regions, and there are 1,590 contracts. We have even saved about 900 million roubles, and put it back again towards the same purpose. But, indeed, only 7.7 billion roubles has been spent. Some regions are working in advance of the deadline with these contracts -- a deadline that we set for November 1, 2011, because this is seasonal work. The regions that are ahead of schedule include Kabardino-Balkaria (91%), the Ivanovo Region (91%), the Altai Territory (88%), Chukotka (70%), Moscow (almost 70%), the Krasnoyarsk Territory (66%), the Saratov Region (60%), the Samara and Kursk regions (60% each). But unfortunately, we also see that a number of regions are not carrying out the programme as quickly as we would like them to. Five regions have officially notified us that they will not be able to complete the work until December. And it looks as though 15 regions are lagging behind schedule and will also not complete the work before November 1.

We are keeping track of every aspect of the way things stood before the work began – I have brought this album with me on purpose – and what will be there after the work is completed. In other words, we are monitoring the situation in every region and in every yard, and we are ready to report to you weekly on the progress.

Vladimir Putin: This is outrageous! Are you, government and ministry officials, going to hang out around yards? This is a task for regional and municipal authorities. They have received federal money by way of exception, as we say in such cases. It is one-time assistance; there are many regions that are having problems, and this is about the areas where people live, so it is actually meant to provide direct help to people, and not to officials. But officials have to get moving a little. You know what? Tell me where the situation is the worst. Let's redistribute the money in that case.

Viktor Basargin: Okay.

Vladimir Putin: And we will release information so that people would know how their local authorities are acting. We will redistribute it in favour of those who actually want to resolve these problems. They have been given the money, so that they don’t have to go looking for it.