Shuvalov Promises Fairy-Tale Ending - (The Moscow Times)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin brought out the big guns to pitch the government's anti-crisis measures Tuesday, two days before United Russia, which he chairs, gathers with a mandate to promote the plan more aggressively.
The rollout included meetings, speeches and round tables headlined by people like Economic circumstance Minister Elvira Nabiullina, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, who said Russia could become the world's most desirable place to live by 2020.
Speaking in Voronezh, Shuvalov said the government's "strategic plans" for national development through 2020 remained in place despite "difficult conditions" and "the changing prices of our basic export commodities."
The management is doing "everything possible to make sure that Russia becomes the most desirable place to live in the world," he said.
"This is not absurd, nor is it a fairy tale," he said. "We have all of the necessary conditions for this."
He said one of the most important indications of whether the authority has been well-heeled would be the growth of the country's middle class to make up as much as 60 percent of the citizenry by 2020. Other targets are a fourfold growth in manufacturing productivity across the board.
Echoing comments made by Putin during the initial giving of the anti-crisis plan last Thursday, Shuvalov said the administration should be selective when deciding to bail out troubled companies.
"Rather than just saving an effort, we should see what kind of future potential this plan has," he said.
Shuvalov also talked about the necessity of reforming the "bureaucratic machine" to enable it to more quickly process documents that are vital in fighting the crisis.
"We need to be faster," he said.
The anti-crisis plan was also discussed in the State Duma on Tuesday, where Speaker Boris Gryzlov said deputies had suggested amendments to the government's 2009 budget.
"We interpret that there are a few points that can be clarified before it is brought to the Duma," Gryzlov said.
Specifically, Gryzlov said the Duma recommended that the projected budget deficit be lowered to 7.4 percent, so that it amounted to no more than 1 percent of projected gross domestic product. The budget plan for this year — approved by the administration last week and now awaiting conversation in the Duma — assumes a budget deficit of 8 percent of GDP.
Gryzlov was quick to point out that even with a deficit, the authority would still meet its social obligations and in some cases even increase financing for them.
Another proposed amendment would backtrack on plans to dip into the Reserve Fund to balance the budget. Extra money on the balance sheets of state corporations should be used instead, Gryzlov said.
Gryzlov, who heads United Russia's faction in the Duma, is not the first official to recommend a creative use for corporate funds: Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin said Monday that extra money on the balance sheets of corporations should be used to fund regional investment projects.
Gryzlov's assurances on social spending came after senior United Russia official Vyacheslav Volodin said Monday that every citizen was "safely protected," even though it was a "very difficult" thing to complete during the crisis.
The social theme was also touched on by many speakers at a round table at the Center for Conservative and Social Policy, an structuring within United Russia, according to a transliteration posted on its web site.
The media blitz comes on the heels of a closed-door meeting with 30 top United Russia officials on Friday, where Kremlin deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov urged party members to publicly rally around the state's anti-crisis policies.
Surkov set out three main talking points — social programs will not be cut, the economy will be oriented toward domestic demand and mothers and children will be supported, said Tatyana Yakovleva, a member of the Duma's health care committee who attended the meeting, Gazeta.ru reported.
Surkov has been quick to reprimand any deviation from the party line among rule officials. Last week, he attacked two Medvedev advisers, Igor Yurgens and Arkady Dvorkovich, who criticized the state's handling of the crisis.
United Russia leaders will meet with Shuvalov on Thursday to discuss the anti-crisis measures.
While social unrest has largely failed to be revealed, a greater proportion of the citizens is being buffeted by the financial crisis. A survey released Tuesday by VTsIOM, the state-run pollster, indicated that 44 percent of Russians view the economy as "in crisis," a 10 percent increase from December, and 12 percent said the economy was in a "catastrophic" state, compared to 1 percent last March.
The control is on a public relations drive "to show, first of all, that it has things under control and all things is procedure according to plan," said Leonty Byzov, a researcher with VTsIOM.
"The other reason is to absolve the authorities of any blame if things go wrong," he said. "By saying that things are under control, they hope that if things are going badly for someone, he will blame his mayor or governor rather than the state."
The rollout included meetings, speeches and round tables headlined by people like Economic circumstance Minister Elvira Nabiullina, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, who said Russia could become the world's most desirable place to live by 2020.
Speaking in Voronezh, Shuvalov said the government's "strategic plans" for national development through 2020 remained in place despite "difficult conditions" and "the changing prices of our basic export commodities."
The management is doing "everything possible to make sure that Russia becomes the most desirable place to live in the world," he said.
"This is not absurd, nor is it a fairy tale," he said. "We have all of the necessary conditions for this."
He said one of the most important indications of whether the authority has been well-heeled would be the growth of the country's middle class to make up as much as 60 percent of the citizenry by 2020. Other targets are a fourfold growth in manufacturing productivity across the board.
Echoing comments made by Putin during the initial giving of the anti-crisis plan last Thursday, Shuvalov said the administration should be selective when deciding to bail out troubled companies.
"Rather than just saving an effort, we should see what kind of future potential this plan has," he said.
Shuvalov also talked about the necessity of reforming the "bureaucratic machine" to enable it to more quickly process documents that are vital in fighting the crisis.
"We need to be faster," he said.
The anti-crisis plan was also discussed in the State Duma on Tuesday, where Speaker Boris Gryzlov said deputies had suggested amendments to the government's 2009 budget.
"We interpret that there are a few points that can be clarified before it is brought to the Duma," Gryzlov said.
Specifically, Gryzlov said the Duma recommended that the projected budget deficit be lowered to 7.4 percent, so that it amounted to no more than 1 percent of projected gross domestic product. The budget plan for this year — approved by the administration last week and now awaiting conversation in the Duma — assumes a budget deficit of 8 percent of GDP.
Gryzlov was quick to point out that even with a deficit, the authority would still meet its social obligations and in some cases even increase financing for them.
Another proposed amendment would backtrack on plans to dip into the Reserve Fund to balance the budget. Extra money on the balance sheets of state corporations should be used instead, Gryzlov said.
Gryzlov, who heads United Russia's faction in the Duma, is not the first official to recommend a creative use for corporate funds: Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin said Monday that extra money on the balance sheets of corporations should be used to fund regional investment projects.
Gryzlov's assurances on social spending came after senior United Russia official Vyacheslav Volodin said Monday that every citizen was "safely protected," even though it was a "very difficult" thing to complete during the crisis.
The social theme was also touched on by many speakers at a round table at the Center for Conservative and Social Policy, an structuring within United Russia, according to a transliteration posted on its web site.
The media blitz comes on the heels of a closed-door meeting with 30 top United Russia officials on Friday, where Kremlin deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov urged party members to publicly rally around the state's anti-crisis policies.
Surkov set out three main talking points — social programs will not be cut, the economy will be oriented toward domestic demand and mothers and children will be supported, said Tatyana Yakovleva, a member of the Duma's health care committee who attended the meeting, Gazeta.ru reported.
Surkov has been quick to reprimand any deviation from the party line among rule officials. Last week, he attacked two Medvedev advisers, Igor Yurgens and Arkady Dvorkovich, who criticized the state's handling of the crisis.
United Russia leaders will meet with Shuvalov on Thursday to discuss the anti-crisis measures.
While social unrest has largely failed to be revealed, a greater proportion of the citizens is being buffeted by the financial crisis. A survey released Tuesday by VTsIOM, the state-run pollster, indicated that 44 percent of Russians view the economy as "in crisis," a 10 percent increase from December, and 12 percent said the economy was in a "catastrophic" state, compared to 1 percent last March.
The control is on a public relations drive "to show, first of all, that it has things under control and all things is procedure according to plan," said Leonty Byzov, a researcher with VTsIOM.
"The other reason is to absolve the authorities of any blame if things go wrong," he said. "By saying that things are under control, they hope that if things are going badly for someone, he will blame his mayor or governor rather than the state."
