Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 1 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Dear friends, I am glad to be here today and naturally to talk to you. I lectured for a long time, almost 10 years, albeit at a different university as you know, at St Petersburg University. Doing what I love, especially in the legal profession, still remains close to my heart. But today of course I am not giving a class, I will not lecture, so I will keep my introductory remarks as brief as possible. I understand that you would rather ask your questions and get the answers. And, frankly, I find it more pleasant to answer them than to give some boring preamble. I will just say one thing: my colleagues and I came to Tomsk today in order to work on what is perhaps the most important topic on our agenda, namely the modernisation of our economy. The modernisation of Russia's economy must be based on new technologies, innovation and the radical restructuring of the country's internal economic structure. This is rather hard to do as our economy is quite complicated. The volume of national wealth and natural resources is massive and, strictly speaking, for many years we did not really work in this area: we were actually engaged in extracting and light processing of our natural resources and their subsequent exportation in order to make money. All this gave us a good income and allowed us to live ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 2 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск QUESTION: Mr President, during perestroika many outstanding scientists left the country and are now our competitors. What do you plan to do to avoid such a situation in the future? Thank you. DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Make those who left return by force and then put up an iron curtain so they cant get away again. (Laughter.) Well, what do I intend to do? You know yourself what we can do: create an attractive environment for living here. And this is our common task. Its not just my job. Here is the Governor, the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy [to the Federal District], the Rector, the Minister, other colleagues involved in dealing with all this. We need to create the sort of living conditions that normally attract people. Yesterday we were in an airplane, and my colleagues and I were discussing the subject of innovation, and there were some key people there from the Government Cabinet and the Presidential Executive Office. What we were talking about was a very revealing example for me: one of our truly outstanding young women left the country and ended up working abroad. Apparently she got sick of it and returned to Russia. On the whole, she is quite happy with everything here: the money is more or less acceptable, were about to resolve her housing problem, but there is one outstanding issue the infrastructure she needs for her work ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 3 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Mechanisms of the sort you just mentioned, programmes already up and running, this kind of supernatural, brand new mechanism does not yet exist. But I actually came here with a large number of officials and businessmen to discuss precisely such new mechanisms. After this exchange with you, there will be a meeting of the Commission for Modernisation and Technological Development, where we will be discussing precisely how to get the private business sector to fund such projects. Not so long ago I met with the major public companies and now Im meeting with private companies. It should be of interest to them to take part in all these projects. But figuring out exactly how to involve them is not so easy. On the other hand, we are well disposed to business, we respect it, but it must understand its responsibilities to the country and the future of our nation. What is the nature of this responsibility? Not only, for example, to pay adequate wages or to make certain investments, but to correctly identify priorities. There are major companies: they are all here, by the way, in the university building; you might run into someone, Mr Alekperov [President of LUKOIL], for example, walking down the hall and his colleagues as well. They have invested a lot of money in developing their businesses. This business, oil and gas ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 4 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск QUESTION: We have a great motto: Tomsk is the student capital of Siberia and so building a student campus in Tomsk has been on the agenda. The students here are developing design for such a campus. I would like to know what steps need to be taken to turn the design into reality. How can we attract financing to build these facilities in Tomsk? DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I think it is all in your hands, the hands of the regional authorities, and the hands of the authorities of corresponding universities.As far as the campus is concerned, I recall we examined its layout design several years ago and reviewed the scale model. It is a major project, and a fairly expensive one, thus, I think it should be implemented piece by piece. We are unable to launch construction for the entire campus all at once.In order to begin construction process, a public-private partnership should be established first, attracting potential investors from the private businesses as well as the state funding that we have available for such purposes.No doubt, we cannot do wonders overnight, but if we start building some facilities, things should gradually fall into place. Whats most important is to do something. I think thats about all I can say. What needs to be done? Certain energy and the will of the authorities must be applied. I hope [Governor of Tomsk Region] Mr ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students from Pacific National University.Part 1 May 21, 2009 Khabarovsk Встреча со студентами Тихоокеанского государственного университета. 21 мая 2009 года Хабаровск QUESTION: A summit between Russia and the EU will be held in our city. Why was our city the one selected? Was it in order to show the Europeans how expansive our nation is, so that they would fly here? PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You have just perfectly summarised the reasons I had in mind when I suggested the city of Khabarovsk to our EU partners. Last time, we met in Khanty-Mansiisk; we were sitting at dinner, talking, and they said, Wow, that was a long flight, five hours. I said, Yes, but keep in mind that in line with the concept of a united, so-called Greater Europe, which includes all of Russia, then this Europe stretches from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Far East, which means that we are still far from its eastern limits. Would you be interested in flying to a different place? They thought about it, and said, All right. But they didnt fully realize what that meant. I will be meeting with them tonight. I believe it is a 10-hour flight from Brussels, with a 9-hour time difference, so they will really get a sense of how big Russia is. You were right on point, this is exactly why Khabarovsk was chosen. But at the same time, if we are to talk seriously, this choice is very important, because we really are developing a partnership with the European Union. It is essential for ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Встреча студентами Тихоокеанского государственного университета Meeting Students Pacific National University

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 5 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск As for programmes for affordable housing and programmes for building single-family houses, I think they are priorities for nearly every region in our country, although there are some mixed results. For example, in some regions, most construction is centred on individual houses, as opposed to large apartment buildings. In the Belgorod Region, almost all of the new housing, about 70 to 75 percent of the total construction, are single-family homes. This is very good, because we need to implement this type of housing on the national scale. We have an expansive country, so we shouldnt all nestle together in apartment buildings. We should certainly spread people throughout the territory. RESPONSE: I would like to add something: our parents proudly lived their lives in Khrushchev-era flats [tiny flats with absolute minimum of conveniences but intended for a single family use] they were offered when Khrushchev led the country. I would like to see our generation one day living in Medvedev Apartments. (Laughter.) DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I agree. By the way, when large scale housing construction was first launched under Khrushchev, those tiny flats were not really something to be proud of. Furthermore, you probably dont remember this, but when people compared their housing standards, the Khrushchev-era flats were always considered the least ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students from Pacific National University.Part 2 May 21, 2009 Khabarovsk Встреча со студентами Тихоокеанского государственного университета. 21 мая 2009 года Хабаровск QUESTION: It is no secret that a lot of money is currently being invested within the federal program for developing the Far East and Trans-Baikal. When all of these plans are implemented, will attitudes change toward the Far East? Will people stop referring to it as a big village? DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You know, I think that the overall attitude toward your region has already changed entirely from what it was in the 1990s when our country lived through a fairly difficult period and the regions were to certain extent left to fend for themselves and developed through their own means only. This was a very hard time for the Far East, with many people leaving the region for other places. Now, the situation is gradually improving. I think that the overall ideological vision of the Far East has definitely changed, and in fact, I believe it changed about some 8 or 9 years ago. True, peoples mentality does not always change fast, and economic changes do not take place overnight, but all of us who are making national policy decisions feel that the Far East is, without a doubt, a key priority in the development of our country. That is also why so many meetings are currently taking place in the Far East. After all, symbolic gestures are important. The fact that I have invited our EU partners here is also a way ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Встреча студентами Тихоокеанского государственного университета Meeting Students Pacific National University

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 6 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск Whenever I visited a small town or a rural area, I would see the same thing: sophisticated equipment and little old ladies who, it might seem, had only ever used thermometers and other simple tools, but who were now very adept at using all these new technologies. This means that our people are intelligent, talented, and open to new training. Thus, this is not just a personnel problem, although I do agree that we need to give personnel training the utmost attention. National universities are an important resource, but not the only one. Moreover, I am sure that even if a medical school does not have the status of a national university, it can train brilliant specialists and physicians. After all, you personally did not study at a national university, did you? But you still consider yourself an excellent specialist. This means that everything is going well. Thus, it is important to have well-trained personnel perhaps, this is the most important component for success but we also need to create proper conditions to ensure that our medical facilities are adequately re-equipped with new technology. You mentioned replacing imported pharmaceuticals with national brands. This sector is very important. In the USSR we produced many medicines of our own; they were mediocre in quality, but they were distributed throughout USSR pharmacy ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск

Meeting with Students and Graduates of the St Petersburg State University Law Faculty.Part 1 June 21, 2008 St Petersburg Встреча со студентами юридического факультета Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета. 21 июня 2008 года Юридический факультет Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Good afternoon, dear friends,Seeing as a spare moment made itself available, I decided to use it to come here to see you. I am sure that everyone here today understands the value of the education received at the St Petersburg State Universitys law faculty, loves and values the faculty, and thinks about how they will live after graduating from its walls. This always distinguished the graduates whose portraits hang down below at the entrance to the faculty and who are our best promotional material. Most of you here today have your whole futures ahead of you. You should treasure this time at the faculty. I say in all frankness (and have said before in this hall, where I once listened to and gave lectures), that these are clearly the best years in life. Good things will come afterwards too, many interesting meetings, important work, social status, and money too, I hope. But these years are the best of all, the finest, because everything is only just beginning. I sincerely envy you and say this right from the outset. We had not planned any meeting. I will tell you honestly how this came about. I flew in yesterday, called our rector and ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Graduates St Petersburg State University Law Faculty Встреча студентами юридического факультета Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета ридический факультет

Meeting with Students of Tomsk Universities.Part 7 February 11, 2010 Tomsk Встреча со студентами томских университетов. 11 февраля 2010 года Томск QUESTION: If we want to use science to modernise the economy we first have to modernise science. I think it is an unacceptable situation when students studying radio physics, say, are practicing with equipment that is 30-50 years old. If it is innovation we want we need to have innovation in the universities, we need to have students studying it as part of the learning process. What is the solution to the problem? DMITRY MEDVEDEV: What is the solution? Investment is the only recipe. We cannot take modern equipment from one to give to another, and so the only solution is to invest money. But to be objective, you have to admit that we have made some progress in this area of late, through the national project and various recent measures. Overall, universities have received more than one billion dollars for modernising their technical resources. This is already quite a lot of money. But this does not mean that all the outdated equipment has gone. This brings me back to my starting point. Of course it is not possible to study in a modern university using equipment that is 30-50 years old. This is not a recent problem. When I was a student, I was in the humanities, but I worked at one point with my father at the technological institute and saw what the situation was like there for students in the late 1970s-early 1980s, there was ...
Теги: Дмитрий Медведев Dmitry Medvedev Kremlin Moscow President Russia Президент России Meeting Students Tomsk Universities Встреча студентами томских университетов Томск