BBC Monitoring Putin answers questions from the public in live broadcast Source: RTR Russia TV, Moscow, in Russian 0900 gmt 18 Dec 03
[Andreyeva] And here is the Kremlin live on air, and Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich.
[Brilev] Hello.
[Putin] Hello.
[Andreyeva] Our direct line is about to start. We have cameras in many Russian towns. We will begin the direct line to the president of the Russian Federation in literally a few seconds time. Vladimir Vladimirovich, this is the third time that you are taking part in the phone-in. Me too, but I still get a bit nervous. I'm very interested, are you nervous?
[Putin] No. If you follow two simple rules - don't promise the impossible and don't lie - then there is no need to worry.
[Andreyeva] That is good advice.
[Brilev] For our work, anyway. Today is the 18th, less than two weeks to the New Year. For you personally, as an individual, will you remember this as a difficult year?
[Putin] Yes. For me, yes.
[Brilev] And for the country, if you look at the results of the year for the whole country, how do you assess the results of the outgoing year?
[Putin] Nobody has presented us with any gifts this year either. Everything that Russia was striving for has been achieved through hard and strenuous work. We have had many difficulties, many problems and many losses but Russia has shown itself as being a country firmly standing on its feet and developing intensively. I think that many will agree with me that, while our state's external position was being consolidated, Russia's external position that is, its economy was growing and strengthening - I've brought some figures with me, which are generally known, but nevertheless I will repeat some of them.
In 2002 our economic growth was 4.3 per cent, and this year we were planning growth of 5 per cent. In fact, at the end of the year we have GDP growth, that is growth of the economy, of 6.6 per cent or maybe 6.9 per cent.
Last year our industrial production grew by 3.7 per cent. This year it will have grown by 6.7 per cent - almost twice as much.
Foreign debt has been reduced. Remember how much we spoke in 2002 about the peak in foreign-debt repayments in 2003. We even frightened each other rather often about how this will affect the life of the country. Will the government be able to cope with its social obligations to the people? We paid 17bn dollars, and the country didn't even notice it.
Today when we look at the relationship between foreign debt and GDP, and this is one of the most important indicators of economic health, we are in a better state than many western European countries.
When I took office as president in 2000, the Central Bank's gold and hard currency reserves amounted to 11bn dollars. So in the course of almost 10 years, the country amassed 11bn [dollars]. In 2003, we are talking about just one year, we increased it by 20bn dollars. The Central Bank's gold and hard currency reserves have now reached almost 70bn [dollars].
When we take this in conjunction with payment of foreign debt, then we are not just talking about empty figures here. This is an extremely serious thing, which affects each and every citizen in Russia. Why? Because the combination of all these factors means that, if we continue with this kind of economic policy, we won't run into the problems which we encountered in 1998. There will be no more defaults. This seems to me very important.
We have inflation of 12 per cent. This is very high, but is characteristic for all countries with transitional economies. Our inflation is coming down steadily. The forecast was, indeed, 12 per cent, and we kept to this. And this is also a very important and vital indicator. Now, the increase in people's real incomes: wages have risen, in real terms, minus inflation, by 11 per cent and pensions have risen 7 per cent.
The rise in labour productivity was 8 per cent. It has begun to rise, for the first time in many years, and is growing significantly, but the rates of growth of the population's monetary incomes are higher than the rates for the increase in labour productivity. This year they came to 13.5 per cent. Last year they were 9.9 per cent.
Overall, this is on the one hand pleasing to hear, that rates of increase of the population's incomes are ahead of labour productivity, but this is not a very good indicator, and I consider that these are restorative incomes - I'll put it that way - restorative rates of the population's incomes after losses connected with the default of 1998.
The birth rate is also growing. The birth rate also continued to grow this year. That's a good indicator.
But there are also things that we should not forget about under any kind of circumstances: At the beginning of 2003 the numbers of people whose incomes were below the minimum subsistence level - their numbers equalled 37m people.
In the third quarter of this year, 2003, this number dropped by 6m, but all the same this figure is enormous and humiliating for Russia - 31m, while the minimum subsistence level varies in our country and for various categories of people it is calculated in various ways, but the average right now, the average figure right now is known - and incidentally, it is easy to remember it - 2121 - R2,121. This is very low, and 31m people are living below this level.
Until we resolve such problems, we can't say that we have resolved all tasks and have coped with all tasks and we can't feel that we have attained at least the primary boundaries that we set before ourselves. ---
[Man] This is (word indistinct) Aleksey Viktorovich calling. I'm a worker at ship repair yard No 82 from the village of Roslyakovo in Murmansk Region.
Wages and holidays have not been paid at our ship repair yard since August. I would like to know when the holdups in payment of wages will end. Thank you.
[Putin] Aleksey Yuriyevich, the state is of course directly responsible for everything, but first and foremost for the sector where the state itself pays the wages, directly pays the wages. This is first and foremost the public sector, and we have not had order in the public sector for many years. Holdups [in pay] have been of a systemic nature - many months and sometimes even years. Also, pensions weren't paid on time for months.
Thank God, we have brought order to these sectors and here there are certain holdups but they are small. As I was told literally yesterday, they come to no more than two days, while in 76 constituent parts of the Russian Federation there are no holdups at all in the payment of wages in the public sector.
As for in industry, then here too there are several, you can say, directions in work to resolve these issues. There are enterprises that are purely state enterprises, these are so-called state unitary enterprises. Some of them will be turned into state fiscal [Russian: kazennyye] enterprises and there the state should also directly pay the workers and it will do that. Some of those enterprises are in a pretty complex financial situation and there are also specific plans to clear up that situation.
In other cases, of course, the owner of the property is first and foremost responsible, and the management, that is, the leader. In places where the state can and should help, it will of course give support, but first and foremost it depends directly on the leaders at the enterprise where you work.
[Brilev] Let's continue our conversation with Kyrgyzstan. Margarita, are there any other questions?
[Margarita] There probably are other questions. But we aren't only going to ask officers, we will now ask a sergeant.
[Man] Junior Sergeant Sergey Sergeyevich (?Kladov). Comrade Commander-in-Chief, the Americans have finally managed to capture Saddam Husayn. But I don't think this will improve the situation in Iraq. It seems it will become a second Vietnam. I think everybody will simply flee from there. And the ensuing chaos will affect everybody.
[Putin] Sergey Sergeyevich, you know, we do not want the USA to be defeated in their war against international terrorism, because we and the USA are partners in the fight against terrorism. As for Iraq, this is a particular issue. After all, there were no international terrorists there under Saddam Husayn. It is a separate problem. Under current international law, force may only be used abroad when sanctioned by the UN Security Council. That is the international law. Everything done without the sanction of the UN Security Council cannot be deemed just or justified. As a minimum. I am putting it very mildly.
I have to say that for all time in the history of mankind, great countries and empires have always suffered from a number of problems which made their situation more difficult, to put it mildly: feelings of invulnerability, of grandeur, of infallibility. That has always seriously impeded countries with aspirations to an empire. I do hope very much that this will not happen to our American partners.
[Brilev] Well, thank you Kant, thank you Kyrgyzstan, thank you Margarita Simonyan. What an amazing sight, Margarita with such a number of military personnel. What do we have next?
Andreyeva] Vladimir, we are waiting for one more question.
[Solovyev] We certainly have questions to ask. Could you kindly introduce yourself?
[Man] I am Akhmad Sazayev, and as it was mentioned here, I am a Balkar by nationality and I am a writer. Vladimir Vladimirovich, good day to you. The land of Kabarda Balkaria is pleased to welcome you. We remember your warm visit here. My question is: fanning inter-ethnic hatred is prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation and this is good. And everyone remembers this. But during the election campaign some parties openly promoted slogans like "Russia for Russians". My question is: why these parties were allowed to make such proposals and suggestions on the TV? Thank you.
[Putin] For a country like ours, your question has a particular priority. Those who say "Russia for Russians" - it is difficult to refrain from describing these people - they are either people lacking integrity who do not know what they say and these are just idiots, or they are provocateurs.
This is because Russia is a multi-ethnic country. What is "Russia for Russians"? Do they speak in favour of separation of certain territories from Russia, do they want the disintegration of the Russian Federation? What do such people want to achieve? The answer here is clear: most likely they are provocateurs - people who want to accumulate cheap capital on certain problems, want to shows themselves as radical and to obtain something here. We have the relevant articles of the Criminal Code and the Prosecutor's Office should react to phenomena of this kind, if an instance of crime is found in any particular actions.
I have to tell you that there were over 50 or even over 60, I think, such cases on fanning inter-ethnic hatred initiated last year. About 20 cases have reached the courts and about a similar number, 17 to 20, convictions have been handed down by the courts.
This year also, several dozens of criminal cases were initiated. With regard to the parties that allowed that kind of thing during the election campaign: frankly, I did not see this because I was not following all the debates that attentively, I don't know, I think that a person in his right mind could not have done this, because there was too much pressure on voters over the recent period. But if there are such instances, I will definitely discuss this with the prosecutor-general and ask him to analyse everything that is known on the matter. There has to be a reaction.
Response to terrorism
[Brilev] We're staying in the village of New Village. Olga, what's the next question?
[Woman] Irina Mozhayskaya, I am a teacher. Vladimir Vladimirovich, in the past three years here in Stavropol Territory there have been 12 acts of terrorism. Children are dying, young people are dying. In the last act of terrorism 45 people died in Yessentuki. How can we put a stop to all this, can this be done and when will it all come to an end, these bandits' lawlessness?
[Putin] Ira, you've raised one of the bloodiest problems, in the direct sense of the word. One of the acutest issues.
As you know, not only Russia is up against this, but very many other countries, too. What is happening? What is at the root of the problem? I have to say that we are continually and often, for obvious reasons, addressing the problem of Chechnya. The problem now is not Chechnya alone. The fact is that all over the world there are people who have taken upon themselves the right to decide that they can influence the opinions of those people who observe Islamic traditions and customs, of the whole Islamic world, and not just influence their opinions. They also believe they have the right to control territories with concentrated Muslim populations. These people use religious slogans as a cover in order to achieve political ends.
This is extremely relevant to our country, because we do have these concentrated Muslim populations and these destructive forces, which we dub international terrorists, are targeting these places, these citizens of our country. Of course, they have taken advantage of the problems arising from the disintegration of the Soviet Union and from what happened in Chechnya. They make use of separatism. But in point of fact they are pursuing other aims, not independence for Chechnya. They have completely different aims - seizing all territories with concentrated Muslim populations.
Of course we have to stand up against this if we don't want our state to collapse. But if that did happen here, it would be worse than Yugoslavia. It would mean the Yugoslavization of Russia following a worse scenario and with very many more casualties. We have to be aware of this and armed with this awareness we have to fight it. We have to fight alongside the entire international community, because the threat comes not only from within, but from outside, too, from abroad.
For example, the recent fighting in the Caucasus demonstrated this: almost half of the gangs being pursued there in Dagestan were mercenaries from other countries. Here we come across not just citizens and nationals of Arab states, there are also citizens of other republics of the Soviet Union, Russians and Ukrainians, even Germans, not Germans of Turkish origin, but ethnic Germans. There are people from other European countries.
We know all that. This is an international problem. Unfortunately, it affects Russia in full. There is only one thing to be done here: not to give in to them, not to panic; and to act in a consolidated and in a consistently and persistently tough manner against the criminals. And, of course, our law-enforcement agencies have to improve the quality of their work.
[Brilev] The programme's producer is telling me that we are able to extend the session with New Village. Let us receive the third question.
[Kiryi] Yes, we have another question. We could see a man who was raising his hand. Please come closer and introduce yourself.
[Man] How do you do, Vladimir Vladimirovich? [I am] Sergey Grigoryevich Protsenko from New Village.
[Putin] Hello.
[Man] I have been a member of a self-defence detachment for five years. This is the voluntary people's patrol which defends our village. My first question - we have a border near here and we residents go to guard the border. We have no status as a self-defence detachment and issues related to individual protection of our people should be solved. We want the issue of our detachment's status to be solved so that we can undergo treatment and rehabilitation.
[Putin] Excuse me, is this about Cossack formations?
[Man] It is a self-defence detachment.
[Putin] Is that a Cossack self-defence detachment?
[Man] Both Cossack and mainly hunters.
[Putin] Well, as for the Cossacks, a draft law is ready and we think that it will be passed in 2004. I agree with you that this should not be only about Cossack formations but also other formations of this sort.
I shall issue corresponding instructions to the president's Main State Law Directorate and we shall definitely deal with this. I think you are absolutely right especially as it affects those regions where you live.
[Man] Thank you. ----- [Reads question] There is a lot written in the press about how large amounts of money are leaving Russia and going abroad. What measures are being taken to stop the flight of capital. Is there any point in putting up the pensions if the price of everything goes up? How should this be regulated? This is another question.
But as far as capital flight is concerned. Well, there certainly is capital flight, and it is fairly large. We have to distinguish between two types of capital flight: criminal and legal.
For criminal capital flight there are sanctions in the criminal law, as well as economic sanctions. However, as we know, it is a commonplace, laws are devised by hundreds or thousands of people, but millions try to find ways to get round them. So the government is constantly coming upon new ways used to get capital out of the country.
One of these means is the provision of supposed services. Last year, such services were worth 9bn dollars. According to expert estimates, Russian businesses could not have in fact commissioned services abroad worth more than 2bn [dollars]. The relevant law has been passed, which comes into force on 1 January 2004 and which will put additional tax, VAT, on services commissioned outside Russia. I hope this will be a substantial economic measure which will prevent capital flight.
I should also speak about another very important and perhaps the essential element in this. For in order to prevent legal capital flight or even some of the criminal capital flight, we simply have to create more favourable conditions for investment in our own economy. This is really the main way of solving this problem. And here we can report some positive developments. I speak very cautiously, but I can say that we have not had bad results here. In 2002 investment in basic capital totalled 2.6 per cent. This year it comes to 11.2 per cent. That still isn't very much, but compared with last year, it is a substantial increase.
Capital flight is declining. Whereas in 2000, when I was elected head of state, it amounted to something like 24bn-25bn dollars, in 2001 it had fallen to 16[bn dollars], in 2002 it was 8.2bn [dollars]. In 2003 we are forecasting 6bn-7bn [dollars]. In fact, in the fourth quarter of this year the size of capital flight declined sharply.
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