Vladimir Putin held a meeting with members of the cabinet. The head of the state demanded that funds not be misused during the realization of national projects. The President gave an example of misuse during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, where hundreds of millions of rubles were stolen. Putin said that embezzlement is going on even after dozens of criminal cases were opened.
Andrei Grigoryev reports on other topics discussed at the presidential meeting.
Vladimir Putin personally supervises the realization of national projects. Billions of rubles are allocated to programs meant to improve life in the country, and it's important that the money is used as intended.
Vladimir Putin: "The flow of funds must be clearly traced at all levels of government and all types of budget spending. I repeatedly said the same thing about our other major projects, for example, about the Vostochny Cosmodrome. I told you a hundred times, "Work transparently, a large amount of money has been allocated, the project is also practically national in scope." No. Hundreds of millions are being stolen. Hundreds of millions. Several dozen criminal cases have already been opened. The courts have made their decisions. People have gone to prison. No, no proper order has been introduced there yet. Thirty-five billion euros of capital have already returned to Russia, and now, as the president says, businessmen shouldn't be scared of criminal cases being opened based on information about this property".
Vladimir Putin: "The capital amnesty law completely bans the use of disclosures filed during the capital amnesty as grounds to start criminal prosecution. Nevertheless, such cases took place. The Presidium of the Supreme Court clarified this issue. The government, the Ministry of Economic Development should keep a watchful eye on what's happening in reality, in practice".
No repressive measures, only guarantees and new benefits. The experiment on simplified taxation of the self-employed, those who work in the service sector, was decided to be extended to the whole country today.
Vladimir Putin: "It was proposed with a minimal tax burden. How many people have joined this system and how is it administrated?"
Anton Siluanov, Russian Minister of Finance: "The experiment can be considered a success. More than 260,000 of the so-called self-employed have been registered. We propose to, next year, start gradually allowing the extension of this system to all subjects of the Russian Federation".
Vladimir Putin: "Mr. Medvedev, what do you think?"
Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia: "We discussed it with members of business communities. They also think that the results are not bad, and propose to make this experiment into a general rule according to the steps reported by Mr. Siluanov".
Support for small business, education, culture, the environment, health care. National projects seem to touch upon all spheres. Even the current influenza vaccination is being discussed today. There are enough vaccines, so the risk of epidemic is significantly decreased, but the procedure is still not as popular among the population as it should.
Vladimir Putin: Mrs. Skvortsova, you named the risk groups: medical staff, education, housing, and public services.
- Yes.
- Are members of the cabinet in the risk group?
Veronika Skvortsova, Russian Minister of Health:
- That's up to you, Mr. Putin.
- Since we work with people, and rather intensively, I think we are also in the risk group.
- Okay.
- Has the prime minister been vaccinated? No, he hasn't. And the head of the Presidential Executive Office? Which members of the cabinet have been vaccinated? One, two, three. Three people. Three people. Four, I've also been vaccinated. This means if you get flu, it's your fault. How else? You could avoid it, and you didn't. I ask you to think about it.
Avoiding dependence on imports is another task for national projects. They directly state that priority should be given to Russian manufacturers. Russian equipment is already used in the majority of infrastructural projects, but there are industries for which Russian equipment is simply not produced yet. Of course, they won't wait for new inventions. They need results here and now.
The defense industry is an illustrative example. Even small parts there are more often labeled "Made in Russia". It's also a matter of national security: maintaining continuous operation of defense plants.
Vladimir Putin: "They must keep operating, not producing pots and pans, as it was at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, but producing high-technology equipment and machinery. That's why we need to, first, order them to produce what they can, and, secondly, rhythmically finance this work. I ask you to present clear, intelligible propositions regarding the extension of part of defense facilities in the national projects".
The President and the cabinet will continue to discuss national projects, as many times as needed to make the country follow the planned route.
Andrei Grigoryev, Irina Kharlamova, Irina Vinogradova, Anton Kasimovich, Oleg Shavyrin, VESTI.
