Putin on "Foreign Agents":
"After introducing the law on foreign agents, some organizations receiving funds from abroad changed their system. The funds started being sent to individuals and those individuals later were giving that money to the organizations, which then legally were not financed by foreign sources. But in fact they were. That was the idea [of the law]."
- By Mike Eckel
Question about domestic violence.
Background: Another piece of social policy legislation bouncing around the State Duma and elsewhere has hit a chord within some parts of Russian society, particularly liberal circles: domestic violence.
In particular, the push to criminalize it: that is, spousal abuse and child abuse.
There've been at least 40 efforts over the last decade to pass such bills. None of them has passed even the first reading.
Another effort is under way, and as before, conservative organizations and advocates of so-called traditional values have mobilized to defeat it. The opposition to the measure basically boils down to: the government shouldn't be regulating what goes on within a family AND such efforts are anti-Russian, an import of Western values.
For liberal-minded Russians, particularly in the biggest cities -- Moscow, St. Petersburg-- it's an outrage that it's the 21st century, and it's still not a crime in Russia if a husband beats his wife.
Putin dodged the question, which reflects in part his need to further foster support from conservative sectors of Russian society, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which doesn't support the legislation.
"I have a mixed attitude. I am against violence against children and women. I have not read the bill. Do we need it? I don’t know. Let's calmly discuss it," he said.
The full transcript of the press conference is available on the presidential administration's website.
Putin's comment on the need for skilled migrants is significant at a time when Russia’s demographic problems (low birth and fertility rates) are being partly countered by the continuing influx of migrant workers, predominantly from Central Asia. This is an increasingly relevant issue in Russia.
Ivan Bulshakov, head of the opposition Yabloko Party's analytical department, offers this analysis of Putin's traditional media event.
"I don't understand why it is so interesting to watch and discuss Putin’s annual press conference. He does not say anything new at such events; he does not announce managerial decisions. The main narrative of these conferences is that I’m not going to change anything -- I did, I do, and will continue to do so."
- By Mike Eckel
Pension reform.
One of the most unpopular policy changes of Putin's 20 years in office has been the decision to raise the age when Russians can retire and start receiving state pensions.
The changes prompted public protests in many cities, and the issue is one of the top ones cited by public opinion survey respondents when asked why they disapprove of Putin.
Putin said that there would be no other reforms to the pension system, seeming to quash any hope that there might be some other adjustments that might undo the earlier changes.
"All decisions have been made, the law has been strengthened, and no changes are planned there, no new pension reform is being prepared or even discussed - neither in the government, nor in administration, nowhere," he says.