United Russia Takes On the Crisis
A gathering at the Emergency Situations Ministry headquarters Thursday did not discuss earthquakes or floods, but a disaster of a different kind -- the economic crisis that has engulfed the country.
United Russia top guns left their black Volvos, BMWs and Mercedes outside to discuss the government's plan to alleviate the downturn and propose more ideas, such as developing internal tourism.
The event was one of the highest-profile discussions of the government's anti-crisis plan, which was released last week for national debate before the State Duma votes on it next month.
The gathering even drew the attention of party chairman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who ordered Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina at a Cabinet meeting later Thursday to consider the party's ideas.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin attended the meeting, as did Nabiullina and party members Mayor Yury Luzhkov, Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.
Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, the meeting's host and a senior party member, did not address the gathering, nor did Sobyanin, who left during the first break.
But despite the noted participants, the event earned only moderate coverage from news wires and state tv. Channel One broadcast one short segment about the gathering during its daytime newscast.
Nabiullina used the occasion to explain the government's focus on boosting domestic demand, containing inflation and maintaining social spending.
Boris Gryzlov, Duma speaker and chairman of United Russia's supreme council who effectively run the party, told his fellow leaders that the party wants the anti-crisis package to include measures to develop internal tourism, issue special control bonds for individuals and monitor priority construction projects more closely.
Gryzlov railed against banks that he said don't turn billions of dollars in state aid into loans for the real economy.
"We have helped banks, but the help hasn't reached its target in most cases," he said. "Saying that 25 percent loans are a form of help would be an overestimation, to say the least."
Gryzlov also took aim at protesters, reiterating United Russia's claims that some recent demonstrations drew incentive from abroad.
"I am speaking about attempts from the inside and outside -- and most likely both ways together -- to undermine the country," he said. "We saw the rallies in ... Vladivostok, where the demonstrators marched with a Japanese flag."
Vladivostok motorists in December protested against the government's decision to set prohibitively high duties on imports of used Japanese cars as part of the efforts to protect the local auto industry. Protest organizers could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Akira Imamura, director of the advice section at the Japanese Embassy, said Japan "has nothing to do with the rallies."
Deputy prime ministers, including Sobyanin, Igor Shuvalov, Viktor Zubkov and Alexei Kudrin, have been meeting lawmakers, governors, businesspeople and professors around the country to inform them of the measures and listen to any comments.
United Russia top guns left their black Volvos, BMWs and Mercedes outside to discuss the government's plan to alleviate the downturn and propose more ideas, such as developing internal tourism.
The event was one of the highest-profile discussions of the government's anti-crisis plan, which was released last week for national debate before the State Duma votes on it next month.
The gathering even drew the attention of party chairman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who ordered Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina at a Cabinet meeting later Thursday to consider the party's ideas.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin attended the meeting, as did Nabiullina and party members Mayor Yury Luzhkov, Moscow Region Governor Boris Gromov and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.
Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, the meeting's host and a senior party member, did not address the gathering, nor did Sobyanin, who left during the first break.
But despite the noted participants, the event earned only moderate coverage from news wires and state tv. Channel One broadcast one short segment about the gathering during its daytime newscast.
Nabiullina used the occasion to explain the government's focus on boosting domestic demand, containing inflation and maintaining social spending.
Boris Gryzlov, Duma speaker and chairman of United Russia's supreme council who effectively run the party, told his fellow leaders that the party wants the anti-crisis package to include measures to develop internal tourism, issue special control bonds for individuals and monitor priority construction projects more closely.
Gryzlov railed against banks that he said don't turn billions of dollars in state aid into loans for the real economy.
"We have helped banks, but the help hasn't reached its target in most cases," he said. "Saying that 25 percent loans are a form of help would be an overestimation, to say the least."
Gryzlov also took aim at protesters, reiterating United Russia's claims that some recent demonstrations drew incentive from abroad.
"I am speaking about attempts from the inside and outside -- and most likely both ways together -- to undermine the country," he said. "We saw the rallies in ... Vladivostok, where the demonstrators marched with a Japanese flag."
Vladivostok motorists in December protested against the government's decision to set prohibitively high duties on imports of used Japanese cars as part of the efforts to protect the local auto industry. Protest organizers could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Akira Imamura, director of the advice section at the Japanese Embassy, said Japan "has nothing to do with the rallies."
Deputy prime ministers, including Sobyanin, Igor Shuvalov, Viktor Zubkov and Alexei Kudrin, have been meeting lawmakers, governors, businesspeople and professors around the country to inform them of the measures and listen to any comments.
