Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Dmitry Medvedev: Hello colleagues! I am glad to see you. To begin with, I would like to congratulate Ms Matviyenko (Valentina Matviyenko – Chairperson of the Federation Council). Ms Matviyenko, you have been heading the Federation Council for one year. I do not know whether you marked this occasion, but we will celebrate it right now. Congratulations! I believe that the Federation Council has changed during this year – it has of course changed for the better, it has become more effective, more active, it has become an integral part of our parliament, truly representing the interests of the regions of our country. In my view, this is very important for the development of the parliamentary system in our country and it is important for constructive relations between our parliament, between the Upper Chamber of the Parliament and the Government.
Let me mention the topics I want to discuss with you. Of course, there isn't a limited agenda, so I am at your disposal, the more so as these meetings are quite traditional. This is my first meeting of this kind in my new position. It seems to me that it would be useful to discuss lawmaking efforts, as this is the main part of the work of parliament, but on the other hand, a significant number of bills are being prepared by the Government and are later being verified, discussed in the State Duma and the Federation Council. A number of complex and interesting laws are now on our agenda. I don’t think anyone here needs me to remind them how important the education law is, as it concerns nearly everyone in this country, and each family’s future literally depends on it. This bill has been in the works for a long time and has been debated by experts, but this still does not mean it is an ideal law, so I am sure some of you might have their own vision as to what this law should be like.
There is a range of other important laws we are working on, for instance a bill on the state defence order or the federal contract system bill, which has also been in the pipes for a long time and sparked some fights – it will eventually replace the notorious Law No. 94 and several other obsolete laws that are rightly criticised by many.
There is no doubt about the importance of the law planning next year’s federal budget and the tentative budget for the next three years. I am not attempting to conceal the fact that it is taking a lot of the Government’s time and effort and it is not coming along smoothly, which is probably quite normal for any budget. What’s more, this specific budget is being drafted amid a complicated international situation which required that we adopt a rigid budget rule and revise the spending of our oil and gas revenues so as to redirect them into our rainy-day funds. At the same time, we need to be a little thriftier about federal spending in general, except when it comes to government spending on absolute priorities. I am referring to social spending of course, but there are other types too, which is another important topic for this discussion.
The Federation Council is the house of parliament that represents Russia’s regions. Therefore, it is extremely important to discuss regional problems here, such as sources of tax revenue, building a modern municipal administration system and a whole range of other issues that affect life in the regions. I suggest we give it some serious attention. I’d like to stress that I am open to discussing any and all issues. I am happy to see you all. Let us begin. Ms Matviyenko (Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko) would probably like to say something, is that right?
Valentina Matviyenko: Mr Medvedev, first of all I would like to thank you for maintaining the tradition of regular conferences with the Federation Council. This is very important for us, because these meetings give us an opportunity to compare notes, so to speak, and to determine legislative priorities.
I can say that we are cooperating in a very constructive manner with all federal ministries and departments, the Government and the Government Executive Office. There hasn’t been a hitch in this cooperation and we appreciate the constructive interaction and are expanding and diversifying it. I would also like to thank you personally for the prompt and effective response to requests sent by the Federation Council as well as by specific deputies. Regarding your effort to improve military towns, Mr Medvedev, I can say that there has been progress already.
Dmitry Medvedev: I hope there has.
Valentina Matviyenko: There’s definitely been progress. My colleagues and I often travel to the regions and watch out for signs… I only need to ask you to continue to keep an eye on this, so that the effort will be seen through to its conclusion.
The upper house members have already started working after their summer holiday, preparing for their first meeting on September 26. They have a packed agenda for their autumn session. They need to consider as many as 80 priority bills. The budget law is certainly the most important of them, as you just said. We have a tradition here at the Federation Council to engage in close cooperation with the Finance Ministry as early in the budgeting process as possible. Many of our proposals, especially those concerning the regions, have actually been included in the budget law. I know how everyone keeps badgering you for money, but we won’t be doing so…
Dmitry Medvedev: Won’t you?
Valentina Matviyenko: Just a little maybe. We understand that budget funding is limited, but I would still like to mention one problem. Despite the active support from the Transport Ministry and from Arkady Dvorkovich (Deputy Prime Minister) who often held meetings on this issue, the budget does not include co-financing of regional metro construction projects, something regional governments have been very insistent about. You are certainly aware of how the transport situation is deteriorating in cities with populations exceeding one million. It is impossible to achieve any significant improvement without metro construction. It is an accepted practice around the world for the government to finance or at least co-finance such major transport projects. In Russia, too, there used to be a 50-50 arrangement between the federal and regional governments. Later, however, federal financing shrank to 20% and then to 9%-10%. This programme eventually disappeared altogether from the 2013-2015 budget.
Therefore, I am asking you to reconsider this issue and support a federal co-financing plan for metro construction in those cities. Otherwise, either it will never be built or construction will take so long it will actually worsen the transport situation instead of improving it.
Apart from its legislative activity, the Federal Council represents regional interests, something we are focusing on right now, considering new bills from a regional perspective and trying to take into account the regions’ opinions and positions as much as possible. We are also holding major international conferences, such as an international environmental forum, a forum on road safety and the Baikal Economic Forum.
I have just returned from Ulan-Ude, which hosted the international economic conference New Economy - New Approaches. It focused on the development of Siberia and the Russian Far East, which is a government priority. By the way, the conference was very representative, including delegates from 15 foreign countries. There were many delegates from the business community meaning that the business heard the government and is interested in pursuing this line of work. Many ideas and initiatives were put forward, including the need to build a second line of the Baikal-Amur Railway and expand the Trans-Siberian Railway. We will summarise these proposals and submit them to the Government for further consideration. An appropriate government programme is now being drafted and the participants stressed that it’s important to identify priorities and coordinate efforts to develop energy and transport infrastructure in conjunction with new growth points, create special economic and tax incentives, conditions to help keep people in those areas and attract even more new residents.
I think that the newly created ministry should – perhaps, it’s not a popular idea these days, but still – act a state planning agency for the development of these areas. I was in Khabarovsk after Ulan-Ude and met with Mr Ishayev (Viktor Ishayev, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East). We discussed these issues and agreed that we will hold regular parliamentary hearings at the Federation Council and formulate our proposals on behalf of the regions.
Mr Medvedev, you pay a lot of attention to regional traffic. We have held extensive hearings on this issue. This is a big problem indeed. All flights from Khabarovsk to Novosibirsk, for example, still have a stopover in Moscow. That's how things are all across Russia, especially in Siberia and the Russian Far East. This overloads Moscow airports.
We discussed this issue at the aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Saturday, as well. By the way, the plant makes decent equipment. They told me they have a regional aircraft ready for mass production and the only thing holding them back is lack of orders. Air carriers aren’t ordering them, because doing so now makes no economic sense for them. We need to do something about this, because up to 100 regional airports go out of business each year.
There must be a separate renovation programme for regional airports. Perhaps regions are ready to work with private businesses. These airports are federally owned. The federal authorities never get around to doing anything about them, while the regions just aren’t in a position to take care of them. And, of course, we need a regional jet. People at the Sukhoi plant told me that if the government orders 100 or 200 such aircraft... Perhaps, we should set up a leasing company and encourage regional companies to use regional jets. They would lease the aircraft from this company and establish regional air routes. Such a vast country without regular regional air traffic ... of course, we are losing mobility, which is bad for the economy, development and so on.
There’s another topic that I would like to discuss, namely, the Caucasian Mineral Waters resort area. The tourist cluster programme is underway. This is the right thing to do, but we also have excellent climatic health resorts that are in very poor condition. Why? Mainly because of their federal status. Unfortunately, the federal authorities stopped financing the programme adopted in 2002, and regional and local authorities can’t maintain this infrastructure using their resources alone. They need about 2 billion roubles a year at least in order to be able to maintain them.
The second problem has to do with the inefficient distribution of property. The main sites are owned by the federal government and the majority of them are rundown. The Stavropol Territory is ready to work with investors. Of course, this work should be overseen by federal ministries and departments. Therefore, I would like you to consider this issue. I have a written request for you, Mr Medvedev, to instruct...
This programme doesn’t need a lot of money, but we should nevertheless go ahead and draft it in order to be able to develop these resorts. They are very popular. The potential of the Caucasian Mineral Waters is unmatched. There’s no other place like it in the world. Baden-Baden and others aren’t even close. But we're so wasteful in our approach to this natural wealth... We should get this programme back on track. Secondly, we should have the Federal Agency for State Property Management consider transferring these assets to regional and local authorities and hold the latter accountable for the proper maintenance of these resorts, which will help us to effectively develop these resorts. It’s a shame that we are squandering such opportunities.
I have several proposals with regard to migration policy. Bringing in immigrants from abroad today is justified by our demographics. This policy won’t get us far in the long run. It’s already causing a lot of problems. I believe that internal labour migration is the key to resolving this problem. On the one hand, the Russian people are not very mobile by nature, but, on the other hand, there aren’t the right conditions for internal labour migration. Some regions have a surplus of labour, while others are in short supply.
The Ministry of Labour has released a national employment programme to 2020 or 2025 for discussion. I'm not sure about the dates. It will be actively discussed. We are interested in having this discussion with the participation of the regions within the Federation Council, but we believe that this programme... Yes, there are plans to allocate 650 billion roubles for the programme, but I can tell you from my experience that these funds aren’t always spent wisely. I believe that this programme should also include measures to facilitate internal labour migration. What do we need to do to have it happen for us?
Of course, we need inexpensive blocks of flats available for leasing to accommodate workers coming to particular regions temporarily or permanently. Secondly, we need a single database so that prospective migrants could track job opportunities across Russia. I would like to ask you to instruct the Ministry of Labour to work separately on creating the conditions for internal labour migration.
Lastly, I’m sure my colleagues will speak more about it after I’m done with my remarks. My last point today will be about lofty matters, Mr Medvedev. Reviving Russia and fighting corruption are impossible without a strong moral foundation, and high levels of culture and patriotism. Perhaps it will sound trite to you, but from my conversations with the people, I can say that Russia’s biggest problem today is the loss of spirituality, morality and moral principles in general. Unfortunately, we don’t talk enough about this and we do even less to remedy the problem. Primarily, responsibility lies with the Ministry of Culture and regional and local authorities. The Ministry of Culture should stop being the ministry of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky theatres – they will do fine on their own. Instead, the Ministry of Culture should become the ministry of Russia’s multi-ethnic culture. Culture should return to towns and villages, which are home to the bulk of the Russian population. Governors who understand the importance of culture build new theatres, children's music schools and libraries. Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere.
I think it’s about time we really focus on making culture a priority in our country, adopt a cultural policy and hold the regions accountable for the development of culture as much as the economy.
A quick fact about Ulan-Ude: the Opera and Ballet Theatre was built in Ulan-Ude in 1952. The war had just ended, the economy lay in ruins, but they nevertheless managed to build a theatre. In Novosibirsk, a theatre was built during World War II. I think we are underestimating the importance of culture in our society. We have a specific proposal to this end.
Dmitry Medvedev: Have you seen the statue of Lenin?
Valentina Matvienko: I have.
Dmitry Medvedev: Did you like it?
Valentina Matvienko: This was the first time seeing anything like it. I hope it was my first and last time.
Dmitry Medvedev: That’s the monument.
Valentina Matvienko: Yes, Mr Medvedev, we propose declaring 2014 the Year of Culture. We don’t want it to remain on paper and have a check mark put next to it. What we want to do is make proper preparations and implement a serious programme at the federal and regional levels. I think it is necessary to specify in law a fixed level of spending on culture in the budget as a percent of GDP and make it mandatory for government bodies at all levels. I don’t think we can afford to put this off any longer because we are losing too much.
Mr Medvedev, this year Russia has chaired the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. You supported this idea at one time. It is very important to follow APEC Leaders’ Week with a major parliamentary event. It will take place in Vladivostok in 2013. The Federation Council is actively preparing for it. We are getting a great deal of help from Mr Shuvalov (Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but we’d like to ask you to keep an eye on the preparations as well. This is a major event and we’d like it to be held at a very high level like APEC Leaders’ Week, because in a way this is APEC’s parliamentary component and we can use it to consolidate APEC decisions at the parliamentary level.
Now I’d like to thank you and ask you to continue and add what I have probably missed for lack of time.
Dmitry Medvedev: They will continue in a while. First, I’d like to report that I have already issued an instruction to this effect. I don’t like shelving such things, because if I don’t put it down right away, the paper will get lost and I’ll never see it again.
I’d also like to say a few words about what you’ve said because you touched on very urgent issues. As for the metro, I agree that although normally municipal transport should be the concern of the municipal authorities of all regions, that it’s a municipal and regional issue, there is room for federal contribution here because metro systems require special expenses. I’m not sure we can continue allocating 50% as before to co-finance these expenses. Thank God, the regions now have more money but some share… It seems we should think about it and discuss it, so let’s come back to this issue.
You haven’t mentioned one topic. I’d like to repeat what I said at the outset of our discussion, that there are many different legislative initiatives – the Government drafts them for the President to submit – but the share of initiatives put forward by regional authorities is very small. This doesn’t seem right because the absolute majority of all issues concern the regions.
I’ve recently met with United Russia colleagues in Penza and they spoke about the quality of regional initiatives. I don’t know, I haven’t discussed this issue with anyone yet and merely responded to them, and now I’d like to tell you about this. Here’s the idea I found fairly interesting. If a regional initiative is supported, say, by a dozen regional parliaments or regional governors, that is, top officials, it should receive priority during debates both in the State Duma and the Federation Council. I don’t know whether you think this is the right idea but this is how it was presented. I thought there is something in it.
Valentina Matviyenko: Absolutely. First, we have set up an integrated council of lawmakers at the Federal Assembly. Before, the Duma had its own council and we had ours, too. Now we are united and at this council we review legislative initiatives of the regions and receive the required support from them. We have established a special section at the legal department to deal with regional initiatives. Quite often they are correct on the merits but leave much to be desired legally. So we’ll help the regions to bring them to the level appropriate for submitting them for approval by the Government.
Dmitry Medvedev: Let’s work on this together and see what we come up with.
Valentina Matviyenko: All right.
Dmitry Medvedev: I think this will be useful.
You’ve spoken about regional transport and infrastructure. This is indeed a key issue for Russia with its vast expanses… If there is no communication between regions, everything is disrupted, be it contacts or regional cooperation. People are unhappy that they cannot visit their relatives, families and friends – anyone at a distance of 500-700km because they either have to drive or go through some hassle.
I’ve recently held a meeting on regional transport. Participants made various proposals, including integrating a regional network of airports and transferring part of them to private companies. I think this is absolutely the right thing to do. If companies are ready to do this, they should be given this opportunity because these flights are usually on the brink of running at a loss. At any rate, those who operate them don’t make much. It’s great that someone wants to deal with this.
As for regional aircraft, I’ve already given instructions on this matter. We must simply make the right choice here. We have a number of ideas but none of them are perfect. Regarding planes that fly small distances inside a single region, their fleet has exhausted its resources unfortunately, and we don’t have a single top-notch model that could do the job. We have several models that can be upgraded. Let me emphasise that I’m referring not to medium-haul aircraft but to planes making fights within a single region.
So, we’ll have to think of how to resolve this issue. It seems, on the one hand, that we should develop our own aircraft, but on the other we’ll have to use foreign planes for some time just because otherwise we won’t be able to fly anywhere. This is why I’ve suggested a number of incentives at this meeting. I remember how we discussed this issue.
A few words about leasing. In principle, we have a structure for leasing. There is a company, VEB-Leasing, that can be used as an instrument for this. It may not be universal but it can be used – it has the necessary funds and capabilities.
Now about spas. I’ve issues instructions on this matter. I agree that we don’t address this subject well. Regrettably, many spas have gone down the drain despite the fact that quite a few of them have acquired money recently. Nonetheless, Russia does not consist just of Sochi and the Caucasus Mineral Waters, although at these places the lack of funds is particularly clear. We must deal with this by all means.
I’ll think about what you’ve said on migration programmes.
You’ve also spoken about reviving the foundations of spirituality. This is a multi-faceted, lofty subject. It would be inappropriate to speak about it in passing. I agree with you that it should be a concern for all, including the Government and the Ministry of Culture. We should not just restore major state theatres like the Bolshoi Theatre or the Mariinsky Theatre – we must have a programme that covers all our regions, including provinces where the lack of funding is felt much stronger. I’m not even talking about the countryside here. We must think of how to restore the system of rural clubs because it was not ideal in Soviet times. Maybe we don’t need it in its Soviet format, but it is abundantly clear that culture must exist in the countryside in some form. This is why I don’t think it would be absurd to hold a Year of Culture in 2014. Quite the contrary – the question boils down to what you’ve just said – this should be a full year without slogans; a number of events that will be properly funded – not only Moscow theatres should receive the money, because they will do well without us, but all municipalities and provincial towns in order to spread culture in our regions. In this case, the Year of Culture could be a success. That takes care of what I wanted to say regarding your speeches. Go on please.
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