Andrey Vandenko
Why aren’t you asking me about what I am holding in my hands?
Vladimir Putin
Well, it is an iPad, I assume.
Andrey Vandenko
Oh! We decided to check the most popular searches for the surname Putin.
Vladimir Putin
All right.
Andrey Vandenko
What topics do you think our public is interested in?
Vladimir Putin
I do not know.
Andrey Vandenko
Take a look.
Vladimir Putin
All right.
Andrey Vandenko
We can say it out loud.
Vladimir Putin
So "Putin biography", "Putin Instagram", "Putin Georgia", "Putin press conference 2019", "Putin young", "Putin Poland", "Putin family and friends", "Putin age", "Putin fired generals today", "Putin Nord Stream", "Putin Zelensky", "Putin lookalike proof".
Andrey Vandenko
I like the last one — "Putin lookalike proof". Are you the real Putin?
Vladimir Putin
Yes.
Andrey Vandenko
Do you have a double?
Vladimir Putin
No.
Andrey Vandenko
Never had one?
Vladimir Putin
No.
Andrey Vandenko
Has that [topic] ever popped up?
Vladimir Putin
Yes.
Andrey Vandenko
So?
Vladimir Putin
I discarded the idea of any doubles. This was during the toughest time of our war against terrorism.
Andrey Vandenko
So, at the beginning of the 2000s?
Vladimir Putin
Yes.
Andrey Vandenko
So, that double was supposed to go to places where it was dangerous…
Vladimir Putin
Well, so he would go there, appear…
Andrey Vandenko
So no double?
Vladimir Putin
No.
Andrey Vandenko
All right. Let us switch to another topic. Digitalization and artificial intelligence. Why is everybody dreaming of going to Silicon Valley, but not Skolkovo?
Vladimir Putin
Firstly, not everybody. The brain drain is on the decline. And in general …
Andrey Vandenko
I can tell you what it is like.
Vladimir Putin
Ok, I do not doubt that it still exists. Because people are like fish. Fish tend to search for better waters, while people look for better places to live, as a well-known saying goes.
Andrey Vandenko
And the state?
Vladimir Putin
I will tell you about the state, too. But a skilled workforce, or let us put it differently – top-notch specialists and employees, look for better places to employ their knowledge, capabilities, and skills. Wherever the pay is better, that is where they go. It is as simple as that. Consequently, the government should create conditions to attract first-class specialists. There are two ways of doing this.
Andrey Vandenko
So...
Vladimir Putin
Either we isolate ourselves the way it was done in…
Andrey Vandenko
You mean keep them from leaving?
Vladimir Putin
Grab hold of them and don’t let them out. Saddle them with some extra liabilities. For instance, someone who’s received a higher education cannot leave the country, that individual will have to work here, that person will have to work their way somehow to offset the cost of that education. And so on and so forth. This is what has been proposed for the health care sector. Either a labor market for…
Andrey Vandenko
For oneself?
Vladimir Putin
In general, in principle if a person studies at the government's expense, he is obliged to work or offset the cost of the education. This is one of the ideas. It means…
Andrey Vandenko
And what do you think of this?
Vladimir Putin
?
Andrey Vandenko
And what do you think of this?
Vladimir Putin
By and large, this is a potential option. It is possible. If a person studies…
Andrey Vandenko
Sounds like serfdom.
Vladimir Putin
Why? Well, if you pay for your education yourself, you have the right to go anywhere and work wherever you please. But if you get education at the government's expense, especially if your region pays for your education hoping that you’ll come back…
Andrey Vandenko
I agree.
Vladimir Putin
Then it is quite fair. If you do not want to work there or if you are unable to comply with the terms of the contract, then you are expected to refund the costs. That’s quite fair. The other option is to create conditions, to pay better. As you know, it just seems easy. Civil aviation began to pay decent salaries because it needed foreign experts, which resulted in a labor market imbalance. It affected military pilots who eagerly began to leave the armed forces, flocking to work as co-pilots in civilian airlines. The same is happening here. So, we should think over this matter. There is a need to raise salaries, but how do we do this? One option is through grants. We have just developed a vast system of grants. It encompasses not only the IT segment, but also the high-tech industry in general. And it works well. I guess that you have gotten some statistics ready there on how many people are leaving. But take a look at how many people are coming in. There is an influx now.
Andrey Vandenko
The amount of people who are leaving is the same number as those employed at Mail.ru, which represents the number of people leaving every year.
Vladimir Putin
Maybe. But Mail.ru keeps making progress as well. You see? Yandex is thriving too.
Andrey Vandenko
So it updates annually...
Vladimir Putin
Listen, Yandex is developing as well. They did not exist in the past, but now they do. And they compete well, even with large global companies, such as Google among others. This proves there is progress. It is impossible to retain it all. Or maybe, we should not train such a great number of people. It is a lose-lose situation. There are also people who return. And their number is not as meager as you may think. I met them, the recipients of the so-called megagrants and ordinary grants. They are very interesting people, interesting guys, with good work experience both in our country and abroad. Many of them have a strong desire to return. And we are bringing many of them back, we are creating conditions for them and setting up laboratories, along with offering them special salary packages. You know what I found quite interesting and what made me happy? Not only do they themselves want to work, but they also want to bring along our young people and postgraduates, and create scientific, research and industrial groups from them. And they are succeeding. They are making progress in different fields: genetics, biology, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
Andrey Vandenko
In other words, it is not something like ‘just let them leave, and another generation will arise.
Vladimir Putin
No, nothing like that. That is not our approach. But it is a long and complicated process.
Andrey Vandenko
And how do you generally feel about the innovations of the last 20 years, I mean electric cars, iPhones, smartphones, and the like.
Vladimir Putin
Technological progress cannot be stopped, nor should it be. We won’t do this.
Andrey Vandenko
Do you feel at ease with that?
Vladimir Putin
I feel at ease because I do not use any of these devices. I merely have other opportunities.
Andrey Vandenko
I saw you calling my namesake, the lad who was skiing at the Krasnaya Polyana resort at your invitation. You were using a smartphone.
Vladimir Putin
Well, indeed, I was calling.
Andrey Vandenko
I did not catch what model it was you were holding...
Vladimir Putin
Your friend Peskov gave it to me so that I could call. In all other situations, it is far easier for me to use a special phone line to be connected to any number.
Sources: Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Russian Foundation for the Development of Information Technologies.