OREANDA-NEWS. March 16, 2012. Vladimir Putin has signed a government resolution decreeing a four-day holiday, from May 6 to 9.  Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen, considering the issue of May holidays, and Victory Day – May 5 and 6 are days off, followed by two workdays, May 7 and 8, and then a day off, May 9, followed by two more workdays and then the weekend. I'm saying this because many people have expressed a desire to have more days off in early May, which they would like to spend at their dachas working in their vegetable gardens. So we propose making Saturday, May 5, a workday instead of Monday, May 7, and Saturday, May 12, a workday instead of Tuesday, May 8. As a result, we will have four days off, from May 6 to 9. I have signed a corresponding government resolution today and would like you to plan for work in the industries correspondingly.

Now, let’s move to our exchange of routine information. Mr Siluanov (Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance), I have looked through the reports and see that our active budget deficit is growing. As I see it, this is a purely technical issue. Can you explain this situation, please?

Anton Siluanov: Yes, the execution of the federal budget in the first two months shows that we have a deficit of 245 billion roubles, which is considerable, given the macroeconomic stability and sustainable revenues. So what is the reason for this deficit? The reason is that our ministries and agencies have been using budget allocations stipulated for this year more actively than before. Here are the figures indicating that in the first two months we have used 16.7% of this year’s allocations, while the figure for the same period last year was 12.8%, and only 10.9% in 2009. In short, we have been using these allocations more actively than ever this year.

What is the reason for this? This is primarily due to the fact that we have adopted a new form of relations with budget-financed establishments, under which many ministries and agencies have transferred the subsidies for the entire quarter, as we have agreed to do. Moreover, this year the Defence Ministry has accelerated the signing of contracts. It is also transferring budget funds directly to the companies that will be executing these defence contracts. This means that the budget deficit can be explained by a more even spending of budget allocations.

Mr Putin, we would also like to consider our prior agreement to discuss in early April the issue of releasing those funds, in the amount of 200 billion roubles, which had not been transferred to the ministries and agencies due to the earlier deterioration in the macroeconomic situation. If the current positive trend persists, we could meet in early April to discuss unblocking a considerable part of these funds.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, provided the trend remains positive.

Anton Siluanov: Yes, if revenues come in regularly. I’d like to cite several figures regarding our revenues. Of course, it is mostly oil and gas revenues that are growing due to high oil prices. Under the budget, we expected oil and gas revenues to account for 9.5% of GDP, but the figure for the first two months is more than 12%.

Vladimir Putin: But the year has only begun.

Anton Siluanov: Yes, this is true. The non-commodities revenues roughly correspond to the target figure, which means that we are reporting higher revenues than planned thanks to high oil prices. This does not mean, in principle, that we should use surplus revenues to cover our expenses.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, this is what we decided, and I’d like to reaffirm that one of the government’s priorities is to act in accordance with macroeconomic indicators. I am asking you to proceed in line with this provision. I believe that we can use these revenues to cover the current deficit, bearing in mind that we will ultimately need to balance the budget correspondingly. Thank you.

Air traffic grew considerably last year. Mr Levitin (Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport) is here, correct? Can you comment on how much it has grown?

Igor Levitin: By 12.6%.

Vladimir Putin: By 12.6%?

Igor Levitin: Yes. Air traffic in Europe went up 9.5%. Last year Russian airlines carried 64 million passengers. It should be said that passenger turnover exceeded the figure for 1990, which means that Russia now ranks seventh in this area. January and February have always been bad months in terms of growth, yet passenger turnover increased by 18% in the first two months of this year. I would also like to point out an important element: you have signed a government resolution simplifying customs procedures for transit passengers.