 RUSSIA IN FACTS |
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Social sphere remains government priority in 2004 says prime minister
In a speech at the first plenary session of the new State Duma, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov noted that
"reform of the social sphere in general" would form the thrust of the government's legislative work in
2004. On the economy, he promised to tackle unemployment, to allow small and medium-sized businesses to flourish and
noted growing confidence in the rouble. The following is the text of a report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.
Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Moscow, 16 January: The rate of investment growth in the Russian economy went up six times in 2003, Russian Prime
Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said, addressing the first plenary sitting of the State Duma this year. "In this light
Russia's investment rating does not look accidental," he said. In his view, the country has now embarked
"on the trajectory of doubling GDP in 10 years' time".
Growing confidence in rouble
The head of government also mentioned the Russians' growing confidence in the national currency, the rouble.
"The strengthening of the rouble has resulted in the de-dollarization of the economy," he said. The prime
minister noted that the population's savings in roubles in Russian banks had "seriously increased".
Poverty and raw materials trap
At the same time, Kasyanov said the situation in the social sphere in Russia remained difficult. "At present
27.8 million people in the country live below the poverty line," he said. In this connection, the prime minister
stressed, "all our economic targets should be directed at resolving problems in the social sphere".
At the same time the head of government admitted that the Russian economy "is in a raw material export
trap". Russia still depends rather a lot on foreign market trends. In 2003, the Russian economy relied 50 per cent
on domestic demand and 50 per cent on foreign demand. According to the prime minister, raw material exports in 2003
amounted to 18 per cent of GDP. Economic growth using internal resources was provided by the construction and trading
sectors of the economy. "There is still a lot to do in this respect," Kasyanov said.
Personal safety, unemployment, privatization
In his speech to the State Duma the prime minister said one of the urgent tasks facing the Russian government was
creating conditions for strengthening civil security. "How safe a person feels when he leaves the house" is
very important, he said.
Reform of the social sphere in general, the prime minister said, will become the main direction of the
government's legislative work in 2004. Unemployment and the social evils accompanying it remain one of the main
problems, he said. In this connection the government intends to step up its social policy in the regions, particularly
in southern Russia. It plans to give more attention to young people and to the development of small and medium-sized
businesses. The 22 priority bills which the government is to submit to the State Duma in the immediate future include
the creation of a comprehensive social insurance system, including medical insurance, the continuation of pension and
education reforms, the continuation of the labour and migration policy and a revision of the remuneration system. The
government intends to continue administrative reform, in particular in the part relating to reducing the state's
participation in the country's economy. In Kasyanov's view, "this will be helped by continuing the
privatization process, the reorganization of inefficient enterprises and devolution of power between different levels of
state power".
Housing
At the same time the prime minister promised that the government would create an efficient system for citizens on low
incomes to buy housing. Replying to State Duma deputies' questions, he admitted that the construction of social
housing using state and municipal resources "remains a big problem". In this connection, he said, the
government intends to create conditions for citizens on low income to buy such housing.
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