OREANDA-NEWS. July 29, 2011. Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. We have made a number of decisions in the social sphere, including the signing of a government resolution on scholarships. For the beginning, let us discuss these government scholarships for students and postgraduate students. Mr Zhukov, if you would comment on this.

Alexander Zhukov: Mr Putin, colleagues. To support Russia's talented youth, we have adopted two government resolutions. In all, 10,000 government scholarships will be created...

Vladimir Putin: The scholarships are for students and postgraduate students who are receiving elementary and secondary vocational education.

Alexander Zhukov: Exactly. Five thousand scholarships have been established for students and postgraduate students, with 4,500 scholarships for those receiving higher vocational education. Each of the scholarships provides 5,000 roubles per month, and I would like to point out that these payments are in addition to existing scholarships. A total of 500 scholarships, each worth 10,000 roubles, have been established for postgraduates, which will also be paid on top of existing postgraduate scholarships.

As I said, a further 5,000 scholarships will be offered to students receiving vocational education – 1,500 scholarships, each worth 2,000 roubles a month, for those receiving elementary vocational education, and 3,500 scholarships, each worth 4,000 roubles, for those receiving secondary vocational education. The scholarships will be granted annually by the Ministry of Education and Science, starting from January 1, 2012.

The government has already developed a draft of a presidential decree on presidential scholarships, which has been forwarded to the president. The decree proposes the establishment of an additional 3,000 president's scholarships, including 2,700 scholarships for students, each worth 7,000 roubles a month, and 300 scholarships for postgraduates, of 14,000 roubles each.

Vladimir Putin: Good. This year, we are allocating 4.7 billion roubles in order to help provide young families with housing. How are you planning to organise this work in the regions?

Alexander Zhukov: Yes. Mr Putin, you’re absolutely right about the figures.

These funds are transferred to the regions to co-finance the social payments issued to young families under the federal targeted programme to provide them with housing. I’d just like to note that under this programme young families in need of better housing receive social payments to purchase housing or build a house. Every young family can choose whether to use this money to make a first mortgage payment or to make interest payments. This social payment amounts to 30% of the estimated construction costs (the relevant standards are now being established) for childless couples and 35% for couples with one or more children.

These funds – 4.7 billion roubles – have been distributed through a tender among the regions, each of which has drafted its own special programme. This co-financing from the federal budget is a supplement to the 11 billion roubles that have already been allocated from the regional and local budgets. On the whole, this programme has helped more than 30,000 young families to move to better housing.

Vladimir Putin: This is great. To stay on the topic of social issues, I’d like to ask Ms Golikova: have more university applicants applied for medical programmes this year than last?

Tatyana Golikova: Mr Putin, we have seen this trend in the past two years. Their number increased last year. This time it grew by 21% compared with last year. Now that all applications have been submitted, we can quote this figure.

All in all, Russia’s medical higher educational institutions have received 209,583 applications. Most of them – a little more than 82,000 – applied to study general medicine, a little over 44,000 for paediatrics and a bit more than 32,000 for dentistry. Clinical psychology is the most sought after profession – 18 people per opening; biotechnology comes next with 17.2 people per place and dentistry is third with 16.2 people per place. In Moscow, the Sechenov First State Medical University, traditionally considered leading institution of its kind, has 120 people per place in paediatrics. The Second Pirogov Russian National Medical Research University has 180 applications per place for dentistry. We have never seen such enrolment competition.

Vladimir Putin: There are not enough teeth.

Tatyana Golikova: There are not enough teeth.

Vladimir Putin: The Japanese are already growing artificial teeth.

Tatyana Golikova: Obviously, the number of state-funded places is limited. All in all, 31,351 specialists graduated from medical institutions in 2011. Out of this number 20,148 occupied state-funded places, 5,800 were on regional scholarships (some of them are given jobs by the regions) and 2,258 were foreigners. It is still early to explain why there are such tough competitions for individual specialties in certain institutions.

One link is clear, however. In 2010 and 2011 the government proclaimed healthcare its priority and we have been talking constantly about the need for qualified personnel. It is the weakest point in all modernisation programmes.

Today, the regions have drawn up special plans for the training and retraining of personnel. They recruit graduates of medical institutions. Private healthcare also sets requirements on medical specialists. It is ready to pay higher scholarships to certain students and send them abroad for training and retraining. We believe many young people want to study medicine because the state is paying special attention to it; this industry is undergoing modernisation and providing attractive jobs. Salaries will come next and I hope we’ll resolve this issue at least partially under the modernisation scheme.

Vladimir Putin: Okay, thank you.

Ms Skrynnik, have winter crops been taken in practically everywhere?

Yelena Skrynnik: Sure.

Vladimir Putin: How much grain has been produced?

Yelena Skrynnik: As of the morning of July 28, the figure stands at 30 million tonnes of grain. The harvesting will be completed in the Southern and North Caucasus Federal Districts by the end of this week. I’d like to say a few words about the Krasnodar Territory. According to forecasts, they will take in 10 million tonnes of grain with a crop yield of 55 (this figure is higher than in 2009). The Central, Volga and Amur Federal Districts and the Primorye Territory have already begun harvesting, while the Urals and Siberian Federal Districts will follow suit in the middle of August. The conditions are good and the forecast of 85-90 million tonnes of grain is realistic, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Well done. Mr Popovkin, what is the satellite called? Spektr-R?

Vladimir Popovkin: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: To my knowledge, it was launched on July 18 and is now in working condition. Could you please tell us more about it?

Vladimir Popovkin: On Friday, we opened a 10-metre aerial, the main element of the launched satellite. It’s unique because its mass is 3.5 tonnes and its research equipment weighs 2.5 tonnes – 70% of its total weight. This is a world record.

Vladimir Putin: How many countries are taking part in this programme?

Vladimir Popovkin: Twenty countries. The unique orbit of this satellite (the maximum orbit) is 330,000 km and the minimum one is 600 km. But the minimum distance will be increased to 60,000 km over the course of four and a half years and then it will be decreased again. One of its main missions is to study galaxies and black holes. Scientists speak about “wormholes” – they are like tunnels to different galaxies. The satellite must show what they are all about. It will be also possible to study pulsars and quasars. So, after a 16-year hiatus Russia is returning to space exploration and with a very ambitious project. We are not the only ones to acknowledge this. This is not only the opinion of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

This is an opinion that is shared by the world research community.

Another crucial accomplishment is that we’ve been able to pass on our best traditions of national science and technology to the younger generation.

Now we’re developing a whole new series of research spacecraft. The first such spacecraft, the Phobos-Grunt, will be launched to one of Mars’s (two) moons in November; it will take samples of the Martian moon’s soil and bring them back to Earth.  That’s the scientific programme we’re currently running.

Sergei Ivanov: Scholars from our Academy of Sciences have long been waiting for that spacecraft (to be developed). They’re cautiously optimistic about the Spektr-R, which they often compare to the Hubble space telescope. Interestingly, foreign specialists prefer the Spektr-R to its US counterpart because they consider it to be the most advanced to date for long-distance space exploration.

Vladimir Putin: Good luck, then. It’s great you’ve made it operational once again.

Now let me say a few words about today’s agenda. We’re to consider a highly important issue: laying out government policies to ensure (the nation’s) industrial security up to the year 2020.

You know, we usually turn to this issue following some emergency, as was the case after the disasters at the Sayano-Shushenskaya (hydro-electric power station) or the Raspadskaya coal mine. Yet, it’s something that requires constant attention. We’re now going to amend the regulatory basis for public transport. The main aim, of course, is to reduce the risks to a minimum and prevent the loss of life.

I believe that we should pay priority attention to public security – we have discussed this more than once before, and, as I just said, we should make our efforts ongoing because life keeps changing, and, to stay relevant, we have to respond in a timely manner to what may come.

We need to take a thorough inventory of public transport while also taking a closer look at all the key sites of infrastructure – in the housing and utilities sector and in industry at large. You all know just how high the depreciation of our capital assets currently is – it has topped 50%, which is well above the normal limit.

The idea behind the new government policy in industrial security is to ensure effective control over compliance with existing norms and regulations. This policy will bring tougher penalties for violations. We should encourage companies in every way possible to invest in industrial upgrades and, in particular, in the introduction of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. And we should remove bureaucratic barriers that foster corruption rather than ensuring control. What we need is efficient control over the situation.

Furthermore, we are to confirm the federal targeted programme “On the Advancement of Domestic and Foreign Tourism in Russia in 2011-2018”. There’s no vibrant tourist life as yet in Russian cities, not even in those that boast cultural, historical, and natural sites of global standing. Only 30% of this country’s tourist potential is currently being used. As we all know, Russia has ample resources for recreational tourism in almost all of its regions. We rank 4th in terms of global natural wealth, which may well be an understatement, given the country’s unmatched vastness and diversity.

Russia’s most popular tourist destinations – such as the towns of the Golden and Silver Rings, the Volga River, the Altai Mountains, and Lake Baikal – are known the world over and have now become powerful brands. But these constitute just a small part of the enormous natural, historical, and cultural heritage of our multi-ethnic country. Tourism accounts for a mere 6.5% of Russia’s GDP – 3% less than the world average. We rank 59th among 139 countries in terms of tourism industry competitiveness.

What should we do to implement our huge tourist potential? First of all, we should invest in modern engineering and transport infrastructure. Second, we should create conditions to attract private businesses to the hospitality industry, reducing the costs of hotel and shopping construction and the arrangement of catering and other services.

The federal programme for the advancement of tourism aims to do just that. It is intended to be implemented over eight years. Some 96 billion roubles will be allocated from the treasury coffers. That money will go to finance the most attractive investment projects, which are to be applied in areas with the highest tourism and recreation potential. We expect that by the year 2018, our tourist inflow will grow more than sixfold to 23 million people, up from 3.6 million in 2010. The number of people who spend their vacations in Russia is expected to increase 1.5-fold to 45 million, up from 29 million. Consequently, the market of paid tourist services will increase 4.7-fold, from 88 billion to 417 billion roubles.

Another issue to which I’d like to call your attention is of high social significance. I’m talking about the provision of housing for orphaned and abandoned children. Let me remind you that at a Presidium session this past May, we reviewed the implementation of a programme on the social adaptation of young people leaving orphanages. In 2011, some 6.2 billion roubles was earmarked from the federal budget in subsidies to buy housing for orphaned children in the provinces. This amount is 5.6 times as large as last year’s.

Most of Russia’s regions are successfully implementing the programme to protect and support young people leaving orphanages. A lot is being done to help them integrate into their communities, get vocational training, and find decent jobs. Our duty is, of course, to provide orphaned and abandoned children with quality housing and protect them from all sorts of abuses to which they might otherwise fall victim.

We know all too well how many problems remain to be solved here. As I said earlier, many regions come up with efficient solutions. But the problems aren’t always completely addressed. And, then again, there are regions out there that don’t do anything about it at all.

Today, we’ll consider a number of issues relating to housing for orphaned children and discuss amendments to legislative acts that create additional mechanisms for protecting kids who have found themselves in a complicated living situation. We’ll also examine some of the ways to ward off crooks seeking to take advantage of this highly sensitive area.

Okay, let’s get down to work.