Vladimir Putin on the first steps to implement the National Projects

Andrey Vandenko

The National Projects. That’s a classic. The first step is always the hardest.

Vladimir Putin

Why?

Andrey Vandenko

At the end of the year, you said they still had not taken off.

Vladimir Putin

First off, That’s not what I said. Well, not exactly. That’s the first thing. Second, I always have to…

Andrey Vandenko

People did not feel the effects of the results. This quote is close to the original.

Vladimir Putin

Not quite so. First of all, I constantly have to keep my finger on the pulse of things, in addition, I have to keep them - those who are responsible for handling these tasks - all under pressure. And believe me …

Andrey Vandenko

Do you have to jolt them into action?

Vladimir Putin

Yes, jolting them into action is necessary. It is essential to keep people on top of their responsibility and under constant administrative pressure. Otherwise, as I have seen from sufficiently significant experience, that as soon as the pressure, the heat is gone, people generally begin to slack off and let their guard down. Now. This explains why I said what I said. That’s one thing. Second, it is true that far from everything has been accomplished. Out of 38 tasks set for this year, 26 have been accomplished, and the others have not.

Andrey Vandenko

For this year - you mean 2019?

Vladimir Putin

...The others haven’t been accomplished. Nevertheless, 26 targets were met. And you say that the people have not felt this yet.

Andrey Vandenko

It was you who said this.

Vladimir Putin

Well, yes. In some respects … I said the effects should have been felt. But in some respects they were not felt. But what is really important is to ensure that the people not just know, but feel the real effects of this. Take the slum clearance target. We’ve accomplished innumerably more than we had anticipated. And people were definitely able to feel the effects. That’s something quite clear, first of all. However, a solution doesn’t appear out of thin air, it has to be worked on and proper resources must be allocated. For this, those resources will have to be redirected from other courses of action. Funds will not appear out of the blue. We can say: ‘it should not be this way! And that’s it, right? But who is going to do this? It’s the people who do it. There is the objective of raising life expectancy. It has increased already. Even last year’s figures. That is thanks to a lower mortality rate. It has gone down significantly. That’s an actual fact. You understand, don’t you?

Andrey Vandenko

Population decline. But the year ended with a population decline

Vladimir Putin

What?

Andrey Vandenko

Last year ended with a population decline.

Vladimir Putin

Last year saw a population decline because …

Andrey Vandenko

And the rate was significant.

Vladimir Putin

260,000. I know. I know nearly every figure.

Andrey Vandenko

I have no doubts.

Vladimir Putin

And you don’t need any. Because I deal with this every day. It was clearly understood well in advance. Look at our situation. The number of schoolchildren has grown, and it will continue to grow in the coming years. Why? Because a rather sizable generation reached their reproductive age several years ago, say 7‑10 years ago. Yet, now the number of people that have entered into their childbearing years is far fewer. That was a result of two plunges in the birthrate: one in 1943–1944 and the other in the mid-1990s. These two bottomed out, causing a depression. So, we have less people in their childbearing years. The number of women aged 20 to 29 is down by 4.5 million. That’s it. These are objective statistics.

Andrey Vandenko

I’m not saying that we should not have the National Projects. I’m talking about what could be. You’ve had the experience of hosting the Sochi Olympics, right? the FIFA World Cup, and the APEC summit in Vladivostok. A target is set, a powerful shot follows and we score! Hooray!

Vladimir Putin

I don’t need any ‘hoorays’. I want to see the country thriving, steadily, confidently, rhythmically and comprehensively. What you’ve just told me, I certainly find very favorable. Not what you said, but when I see the outcome I am pleased. When I visit Vladivostok, during the drive from the airport, I glance back at the airport’s building first. During my previous visits it was still being built. That’s a stark contrast to what had once been there, right? Then I look at the Federal University – a whole campus has cropped up there. I always find it pleasant to see. And look at how Sochi is developing. But these are precise results, clear? In the meantime, we are going to make comprehensive achievements. Precise projects are not enough. All the instruments that might have been used before, including state programs, no longer meet the objectives that we are faced with. I have already said that and would like to repeat: the difference between the National Projects and the state program is that we identify item a) concrete tasks, for instance, demographically-related…

Andrey Vandenko

Seems so German.

Vladimir Putin

Yes, absolutely right – one, two, three… Yes, concrete tasks. Secondly, we identify the amount of resources, extra resources needed to fulfil these tasks. Thirdly, we appoint those responsible. We have never had this sort of targeting before. There are certain problems arising from the fact that we have national goals and the National Projects as a means of achieving these goals. We might need to combine these elements. Some colleagues have been calling for this. All this is to be arranged and fine-tuned in the process of practical work. We cannot just wait and watch the water flow under the bridge.

Andrey Vandenko

What makes your National Projects different from Medvedev's?

Vladimir Putin

There weren’t any Medvedev national projects, insofar as we are making such projects now.

Andrey Vandenko

In other words, back then it was just a campaign slogan, wasn't it?

Vladimir Putin

It was not a slogan, there were state programs back then. Let me point out the difference once again. A common problem was identified and then joint work was organized to tackle it. But it was unclear how to do it. However, as I said, now we have set the goals, for instance, demographically-related ones: to reach certain thresholds on average life expectancy. So, to achieve these goals we allocate earmarked resources to fight cancer, to address cardio-vascular diseases, to improve the traffic rules and to reduce road mortality rates, to build up the road network, and so on. Each issue implies personal responsibility. That is what the National Projects are all about. We have never used such tools before.

Andrey Vandenko

Are any of these National Projects under your constant control?

Vladimir Putin

All of them are.

Andrey Vandenko

All of them?

Vladimir Putin

Yes, of course.

Andrey Vandenko

In other words, in a way that…

Vladimir Putin

Yes, of course.

Andrey Vandenko

One of them has been monitored all the time...

Vladimir Putin

Life expectancy is the main integrator.

Andrey Vandenko

I have noticed that you mentioned it three times.

Vladimir Putin

Well, it illustrates all other issues. So, the mortality rate should diminish and life expectancy should increase. By the way, we have reached certain achievements in addressing these issues as well as cardio-vascular diseases and tuberculosis… the number of road accidents has abated, the number of fatalities, those killed in accidents, has significantly declined.

Andrey Vandenko

Yet, some skepticism remains…

Vladimir Putin

Skepticism has always been there, it is here and will always be here to stay. This is good.

Andrey Vandenko

Kudrin once again said that there had been no ties that bond and they were unlikely to appear.

Vladimir Putin

Skepticism always pushes forward those who must achieve concrete results. Kudrin has been doing a good job and when he was Minister of Finance he advocated a strict macroeconomic policy and less spending. Now he believes that…

Andrey Vandenko

Are you being ironic?

Vladimir Putin

No, I am not. It has always been this way. I remember him well enough as the Minister of Finance. He was against every issue. For instance, he strongly opposed building the ring road around St. Petersburg. He and Gref, the Minister of Economics and the Minister of Finance, visited me twice. They agreed to allocate funds to build the ring road around St. Petersburg only when I snapped at them. The same happened with many other projects. For instance, they were against building a bridge to Russky Island. “Too expensive,” they said. They were against certain infrastructure facilities in Sochi. “We do not need them. Too expensive,” they stated. In the end, everything was built and it keeps on working and lives on, thank God. In all cases, they kept saying that there were other more important objectives, that the macroeconomic situation must be taken care of, that the budget must not be thrown off balance. Now, he believes that we have enough resources, that we can ease macroeconomic and fiscal policy a bit and revise the cutoff price applied to oil and gas revenues, while allocating more oil and gas income, roughly speaking, to consumption.

Andrey Vandenko

Well, the viewpoint has changed.

Vladimir Putin

The viewpoint has certainly changed, and apparently we can see better, because the viewer is no longer afraid of being socked in the eye.

Andrey Vandenko

Aha… Even this way?

Vladimir Putin

Well, of course. As there is no direct responsibility. And the people he worked with – all of them - his disciples to an extent – they feel somewhat perplexed.