Vladimir Putin met with Murmansk Region Governor Marina Kovtun

Marina Kovtun briefed Russian President on the socioeconomic situation in the Murmansk region. In addition to the main topic of the meeting, the project to enlist young doctors to work in the North as part of the Arctic Doctor program has been discussed.

Vladimir Putin met with Murmansk Region Governor Marina Kovtun in the Kremlin.

Marina Kovtun told Mr. Putin that there are positive trends in several main economic indicators. During the first nine months of this year, industrial production increased by 14 percent. Metals production was up 24 percent, ore enrichment 14 percent, ship repairs 19.4 percent and the mining industry 10 percent. Investment in fixed assets increased 40 percent, cargo transhipment at ports 70 percent, and production of aquatic bio resources 11 percent. Inflation has slowed, and the situation on the labor market has stabilized.


At the same time, tax revenues fell 4 percent short of the target. This has to do with the fact that the regional economy is export oriented and currency fluctuations are affecting tax revenues. Nevertheless, the region has a low, safe level of public debt: In 2017, it is 36 percent relative to revenues and in 2018 it will be 42 percent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Murmansk Region Governor Marina Kovtun in the Kremlin.

Regarding the implementation of the Presidential May executive orders, the Governor guaranteed that all social parameters will be achieved in 2018. The Murmansk Governor described the shortage of medical personnel as the main problem in the healthcare sector. People are reluctant to go to work to the north, even though wages there are somewhat higher than in other regions, because living conditions are harder: polar nights and harsh climate.

Murmansk Region Governor Marina Kovtun.

The Murmansk Region has submitted to the Ministry of Healthcare and the Finance Ministry of Russia a draft program, Arctic Doctor, that covers all territories in the Arctic zone. The program calls for 2 000 000 rubles to be paid to doctors who sign five-year contracts: 500 000 during each of the first two years, and 1 000 000 after five years. The Governor hopes that the problem will be completely solved in 10 years. The region currently needs about 636 doctors.

Vladimir Putin at the meeting with Murmansk Region Governor.

President Putin pledged support for the project, while noting that it must be finalized with the Healthcare Ministry and the Finance Ministry of Russia.

Putin had a meeting with former regional leaders

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the outgoing heads of Novosibirsk Region, Daghestan, Ivanovo Region, Omsk Region, Samara Region, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Orel Region, the Nenets Autonomous Area, and Primorye and Krasnoyarsk territories. The meeting was held in the Kremlin.

Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino and First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko also participated in this meeting in the Kremlin.

Meeting of Vladimir Putin with former Russian regional leaders in the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Good afternoon,

I wanted to meet and thank you for your outstanding work. Some of you were in office for longer time than others, but all of you worked in extremely difficult circumstances. Here is what I wanted to tell you.


We are all aware of the fact that it never was smooth sailing. There is no need to describe the current situation. The circumstances in which we all lived and you worked included external constraints and purely objective things of economic nature. Globally, and for the Russian economy as well, these were not the best times. However, you managed to keep the situation in the country under your full control and stabilize it. It was not an easy socioeconomic challenge, but you did everything in your power to minimize the external negative impacts.

Vladimir Putin at the meeting with former regional leaders of Russia.

I am aware that some of you have been asking for a long time to be replaced in your post – some had been already serving for a very long time, and still others were looking for other job themselves, the reasons were different. Anyway, I'd like to stress the most important thing: each of you has done his best in office in order to preserve, stabilize and create proper conditions for the further development of the Russian regions.

To conclude the first part of my speech, I'd like to not just express my gratitude to all of you, but also let you understand that all the necessary documents have been prepared, and you'll all receive state decorations for the specific work you did in the regions of Russia. This is my first point.

Meeting with former Russian regional leaders in the Kremlin.

Second is the further development of Russia: human resources and so-called continuity. I'd like to ask you to render your assistance to the people who have taken your place. As a rule, these are young people who are just starting out in these high positions. Probably you have noticed the fire in their eyes. I'm sure that all of them are striving to fulfill their real potential, to show their capabilities. It has always been useful to know and get a sense of what was done before them and what conditions lead to that. It also useful to know about the most promising areas of regional development. Of course, they have to strike out on their own, but I will be most grateful to you if you share with them at least part of your experience and capabilities.

Former Russian regional leaders at the meeting with the President of Russia in the Kremlin.

Probably you have noticed that we are trying hard to work with the so-called personnel reserve on a broader scale. The new program, Leaders of Russia, has been announced. There are also other projects for personnel training. So, I am also counting on you in these questions.

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with former regional leaders in the Kremlin.

Each of you already knows approximately what he will do. But there are still some outstanding issues. I want you to know that we'll work on odds and ends with each of you and do our best to allow you make full use of your capabilities, experience and knowledge in your new jobs. I believe you will try to do your best in order to achieve outstanding results no matter what positions you occupy.

Russian President meeting with former regional leaders of Russia.

Now a few words in conclusion of my speech. The New Year 2018 is not far off and I hope to have an opportunity to congratulate you at this reception in the Kremlin. I invite all of you together with your wives to the reception in the Kremlin. We will also invite all other colleagues who has left their positions as heads of regions.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

That concludes what I wanted to say. I will be pleased to answer your questions and talk informally with you.

Putin had a meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Tehran.

The meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev was held before the beginning of the trilateral summit between Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan

Vladimir Putin had a meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Tehran.

Beginning of meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr. Aliyev, it is a great pleasure to see you – in Tehran, this time.


We meet regularly and talk on the phone as well. We are always in touch, which is natural, because the relationship between our countries is special. It is certainly a strategic partnership.

Vladimir Putin with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Both you and I know about all the threads binding Azerbaijan and Russia together. And I must point out that our efforts to develop bilateral contacts have not been in vain – I am talking about the almost 62 percent increase in trade in the first nine months of the year.

We are working to develop other areas as well, and are constantly consulting each other on regional issues.

It is a great pleasure to see you in a bilateral setting.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev:

Thank you, Mr. Putin. I am also very glad to see you again.

We have already met several times this year, and our meetings always lead to good results, because we give a new impetus to the development of relations.

We are very pleased that trade is growing after certain complex processes. This shows that there is great mutual interest between businesses, and the growth of trade is also an indicator of the restoration of our economy, of mutual interest.

Our relations with Russia are of a strategic nature, and we characterize them as such. We cooperate in all areas, including cultural, economic, energy, transport, and defense industry cooperation. And so it is a full-fledged relationship between friends, neighbors and close partners.

Vladimir Putin at a meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

I am also very glad that today's meeting is taking place on the sidelines of this trilateral summit. This is also a very important event on a global scale, I would say.

This is because this cooperation is based on deep historical roots and mutual interests, on the mutual support that our countries provide in the international arena.

So I am very glad to meet again and discuss important issues which I am sure will give a new impetus to strengthening our ties.

Vladimir Putin met with Ali Khamenei

President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with Supreme Leader and spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during his working visit to Iran.

Vladimir Putin with Supreme Leader and spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The conversation took place after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Iran Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. 

PHOTO:

Vladimir Putin and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Islamic Republic of Iran.

Russian President with Supreme Leader and spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Vladimir Putin and spiritual leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Vladimir Putin met with President of Iran Hassan Rouhani

President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a bilateral meeting with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani.

A bilateral meeting of Vladimir Putin with President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani.

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani

Mr. Putin, welcome to the Islamic Republic of Iran. We are very glad to welcome you here, in Tehran.

Apart from our commitment to developing bilateral relations, we have also reached a new stage in the development of international relations between Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

Over the last four years we have been stepping up the relations between our countries. The fact that this is the second time we meet in Tehran in the last two years further emphasizes the positive momentum in the bilateral relations between Russia and Iran.

It is highly satisfying that apart from developing our bilateral relations, our countries play an important role in promoting peace and stability in the region. By developing our relations we were able to defeat one of the most dangerous terrorist groups.

Trilateral cooperation between Russia, Iran and Turkey is indicative of efforts to restore peace and stability in Syria.

The Iranian government is committed to further strengthening relations with Russia, our important neighbor and friend, and advancing cooperation on peace and security matters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Mr. President, on my behalf, I would like to thank you for organizing today’s visit.

We have the opportunity to meet in bilateral and trilateral settings.

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PHOTO:

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani.

Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani.

Talks between Russia and Iran in Tehran.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Hassan Rouhani in Iran.

Vladimir Putin met with Rosseti CEO Pavel Livinsky

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Pavel Livinsky, CEO of the national grid company Rosseti.

The discussion between Vladimir Putin and Pavel Livinsky focused on the company’s operation and readiness for the autumn and winter season.

Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Pavel Livinsky.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

Mr. Livinsky, you have worked in this capacity for a month. I hope you had enough time to get up to speed. Rosseti is a large, if not a huge, company. Its subsidiaries distribute 80 percent of electricity generated in Russia. Overall, I believe the company’s financial standing is satisfactory. What is your net profit, 98 billion rubles?


Rosseti CEO Pavel Livinsky:

Yes, Mr. Putin, our target for 2017 is 98 billion rubles.

Vladimir Putin:

How much do you plan to spend on maintenance and business development?

Pavel Livinsky:

Mr. President, considering that our planned revenue is nearly 900 billion rubles, we plan to invest some 251 billion. These are huge figures even on the national scale. We have allocated nearly 60 billion rubles for maintenance. Taken together, these plans are necessary for maintaining the sustainable operation of power grids.

Vladimir Putin:

What do you think of these financial possibilities? How do you plan to develop your company’s economy?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

We will talk about the company’s specifics, and you will also tell me about preparations for the winter season and other issues.

Pavel Livinsky:

Mr. President, the top priority for me is to develop a reasonable pricing policy. Rosseti is a socially oriented company, which lives on the money paid by electricity users. Therefore, the rates must be fair and predictable. We are planning all our finances based on an inflation index of minus 0.1 percent, to stimulate innovation-based company development. Therefore, our top priority is to reduce costs, which is an area with potential.

Vladimir Putin with Pavel Livinsky, CEO of the national grid company Rosseti.

In general, if we compare, the Russian economy’s energy intensity is 50 percent higher than in European countries, for example. This certainly means we have good potential.
As for costs, capital intensity, and availability of personnel, after studying the issue thoroughly, I believe that there are resources for optimization.

Therefore, the main emphasis should be on innovative development for cutting costs. This includes smart grids and digital substations with maintenance costs half of those for conventional substations.
This should be combined with other efforts that directly affect the economy – reducing losses and fighting non-payments. The fewer arrears we have, the less we borrow. The loan burden, which needs to be serviced, is also a major encumbrance we plan to reduce.

All these measures taken together, I believe, will improve the financial and economic situation.

Vladimir Putin:

And now let us move on to the issue of winter.

Pavel Livinsky:

Regarding preparations for the winter. Mr. Putin, I think our main task for today is smooth operation during the autumn and winter. In general, the grid system is ready for this; half of our units already have their readiness certificates.

Some regions are already operating in the autumn-winter mode; others still have time to prepare. To date, headquarters have been set up in all the regions where our company has a presence; the facilities and personnel have been appraised and certified, emergency stocks and reserve energy sources prepared. As many as 50,000 people are on operational duty for potential emergency relief, or more than 10,000 teams. Approximately 5,000 backup energy sources with a total capacity of 400 megawatts have been tested and ready for operation. This is quite a lot. The grid system is ready to work through the autumn and winter.

Vladimir Putin:

Thank you.