- By Carl Schreck
From RFE/RL's Russian Service:
This journalist from the Stavropol Krai intends to ask when the First Lady of Russia will be announced. (Putin and his ex-wife, Lyudmila, announced in 2013 that they had divorced.)
Putin begins the press conference by reading out a litany of economic figures. GDP growing, inflation at an "acceptable" level, unemployment falling, hard-currency reserves growing, pensions on the rise, life expectancy is "slightly" up. Now proceeding to questions.
Without achieving technological breakthroughs, "the country has no future," says Putin.
TASS gets the first question about whether the so-called national projects need to be completed and whether they are properly defined. Putin stresses that the country needs to lay "a new technological foundation." National projects include development of health care, education, infrastructure, agriculture, digital technology, robotics. The president stresses that it is important to monitor the effectiveness of spending on these projects and that there have been problems in this regard. He partially blames regional leaders for not achieving results that average people can feel. "But if we don't set ambitious goals, nothing will be achieved," he said.
Second question comes from state Rossiya television. Cites former Finance Minister Kudrin as saying the economy has been stagnating. Asks what is the basis for Putin's hopes that the economy can make a "breakthrough." And is he satisfied with the team of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev?
Navalny takes issue with Putin's claim that wages are growing for Russians. Says state stats show in fact negative wage growth.
In response, Putin begins by talking about the 2008 global financial crisis and the "ups and downs" of the economy in recent years. Then says he is counting on the national projects to reorient the whole economy and create new avenues for development. Says government is predicting GDP growth around 3 percent for the next few years. Once again states the goal of becoming the world's fifth-largest economy and moving into a "new league" economically.
Next question from a journalist in Volgograd. He begins by noting that the city celebrated the anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad this year. Asks about the fate of a local military academy and Putin says he'll ask the Defense Ministry about it.