Russian President Vladimir Putin answered questions posed to him by journalists at the traditional big press conference at the World Trade Center (WTC). In the career of the head of state, this is the 14th in a conversation with journalists, and since taking office in 2018 - the first.

The event accredited a record number of media workers - 1,702 people. The press conference went beyond the scheduled time and lasted almost 4 hours. Most of the questions were asked by journalists from regional publications.

Economy, incomes, sanctions

The focus of the first half of the big press conference was on socio-economic issues. The event began with the announcement by the president of statistics on the growth of gross domestic product and industrial development of the Russian Federation.

“For ten months of this year, GDP grew by 1.7%. The forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development for the year is 1.8%. Industrial production grew at a faster pace. If last year growth was 2.1%, in January — October of the current year it was 2.9%, by the end of the year 3% is forecasted. At the same time, the manufacturing industries grow a little faster - 3.2%, ”Putin said.

Also, according to the president, in 2018 real disposable incomes of the population increased (0.5%), real wages (6.9%), unemployment decreased (4.8%). According to Putin, inflation in Russia remained at an “acceptable level” (4.1–4.2%), and the trade balance surplus should reach $ 190 billion by the end of the year.

The head of state stressed that the key goal of the economic policy of the Russian Federation is the transition to a new “technological order”. The economic breakthrough is designed to provide 12 national projects. Their implementation, as Putin believes, is aimed "at changing the structure of the economy, giving it an innovative character."

At the same time, the authorities place the main emphasis on human capital (education, health care, science). The effect of national projects should reflect on the dynamics of GDP. According to the forecast of the government, from 2021 the economic growth of the Russian Federation should exceed 3%.

Not paid attention to Putin and the situation with the sanctions regime. According to him, due to the restrictive measures imposed against the Russian Federation, the European economy has lost € 500 billion. Russia also suffered some damage, however, as the head of state noted, Western sanctions had a more positive and healing effect.

In particular, the support of domestic producers from the authorities has increased. Until 2024, Russian enterprises will receive 1,376 trillion rubles. The greatest successes in import substitution were achieved in agriculture and transport engineering, Putin stressed.

  • Grain Harvesting in Russia
  • Reuters
  • © Ilya Naymushin

One of the most important problems, according to the head of state, is the situation with recycling. Annually in Russia 70 billion tons of waste are produced, which most often accumulate in landfills, and some of them exist illegally. In this regard, Putin considers it necessary to build about 200 waste recycling plants.

Also, the Russian authorities intend to gradually get rid of the dollar dependence. Putin called for strengthening the status of the ruble as a reserve currency in the CIS space. However, for this, as the president noted, it is necessary to reduce the volatility of the ruble and form the financial infrastructure for settlements in Russian currency.

“The President has once again demonstrated that he owns a huge array of statistical data that allow to judge the state of the economy. The problem of technological breakthrough is not off the agenda. At the same time, it is very important that Putin does not speak dogmas, he highlights various problems and invites civil society for discussion, ”said Andrei Suzdaltsev, deputy director of the HSE Faculty of World Economy and World Politics, in an interview with RT.

"Dangerous line" and "Church of the Istanbul parish"

At the big press conference, journalists were interested in the actions of Moscow in the event of the United States withdrawing from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF).

Putin acknowledged that since the beginning of the 2000s, the missile control system, which had restrained the arms race, has actually collapsed. In his opinion, current trends are bringing the world “to a very dangerous line” because of the US desire to violate the strategic parity existing in the Russian Federation and hold back the development of Russia “as a possible competitor”. For this reason, as the Russian leader believes, Washington withdrew from the ABM Treaty and the INF Treaty.

  • Trident American Ballistic Missile Launch
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“The same thing under the START III Treaty, in 2021 it ends its existence. No negotiations have yet been conducted on this issue ... We are not achieving advantages, we are maintaining the balance, we ensure our security. We know how to do it. But in general, for humanity, this is very bad, because it brings us to a very dangerous point, ”Putin said.

Another trend threatening global security, the Russian president called lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. In particular, Putin pointed to the idea existing in the USA to start the production of low-power nuclear warheads. The Russian leader also drew attention to the inadmissibility of the use of ballistic missiles, both in nuclear and non-nuclear versions.

“The United States justifies such decisions as a way of punishing Russia or China — this is simply ridiculous. Accordingly, it is necessary that, in the United States itself, public opinion expressed some concern over the situation and put the question squarely before its government, before the congress. After all, these are very dangerous maneuvers, ”said military expert Alexey Khlopotov in an interview with RT.

A lot of questions were asked by journalists about the situation in Ukraine. First of all, the press was interested in the fate of the Ukrainian sailors detained in the Strait of Kerch and the assessment of the recent creation of a new religious structure - the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine” (PCU).

The provocative actions of the Ukrainian Navy in the Sea of ​​Azov and the emergence of an autocephalous church in Ukraine, Putin explained by the desire of President Petro Poroshenko to earn political points on the eve of the presidential elections scheduled for March 2019. According to him, "this is a bad way to raise the rating."

“As for the future of the Ukrainian military, they were sent and expected that one of them would actually die. And I see that great discontent in the ruling circles was caused by the fact that no one died. They expected that one of them would die. But, thank God, this did not happen. There is a consequence. After the criminal proceedings, it will be clear what to do next with them, ”the RF President voiced his position.

Putin recalled that on September 11, Ukrainian warships “calmly” passed under the arch of the Crimean Bridge, because they followed the established rules and did not take provocative actions. According to him, Kiev through the leader of the public movement “Ukrainian choice” Viktor Medvedchuk is now seeking the release of sailors. However, as Putin repeated, this issue will be resolved after the end of the investigation.

The president also spoke out on another pressing issue - the emergence in Ukraine of a new church organization. Putin called this event “direct intervention” of the Ukrainian state in the religious life of the country. The Russian leader is confident that there was no need to create a HCV, since Ukraine has its own canonical church, which is “practically completely independent” from the Moscow Patriarchate.

“This has never happened since the days of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, this is happening in Ukraine right now, they have created this united divisive church of the Istanbul parish ... And now look what dependence comes from Turkey, from the Turkish patriarchate. There and destination, a lot, and money, most importantly. I think that this is the main motive of Bartholomew (Ecumenical Patriarch. - RT ) - to subjugate this territory, and then also to earn money on it, ”Putin said.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin Answers Journalists' Questions

In the RT commentary, State Duma deputy Dmitry Belik suggested that Poroshenko was ready to go all-out in the election rage because the provocations in the Kerch Strait and the appearance of a new church did not bring him any serious popularity.

“Poroshenko proved his complete worthlessness as a politician and president. He takes no action to bring his military home. And most importantly, with its provocation, Ukraine showed the whole world that for Russia the “red lines” exist. Poroshenko's rating almost did not grow, people continue to despise him. By and large, he was already in a reserved place in the dustbin of history, ”the deputy concluded.

"Qualified Answers"

Summing up the big press conference, experts polled by RT stated that in 2018 the president’s conversation with journalists was lively and interesting. Journalists had the opportunity to ask a variety of questions, some of them were provocative. But all the questions and comments from the media staff were provided with “qualified answers”.

“Probably, this press conference was more acute than the previous one. There were questions about domestic policy, which I was very pleased. The president touched upon the elections held in our country, touched on the topic of a meeting with opposition governors. Foreign policy topics were touched on, ”said Andrei Kolyadin, board member of the Russian Association of Political Consultants, in an interview with RT.

Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, noted in the RT commentary that journalists did not always behave correctly: they made very long digressions and often asked the president several questions. According to him, the press conference showed that in Russia there are “really a lot of problems, but the president is aware of them and shares his concern about the situation in the country.”

“The president coped with time, workload and questions. I would not say that the conference had very unexpected questions, but some of them deserved attention. I personally remember Putin’s answer to the question of Channel One journalist Anton Vernitsky about the possibility of a nuclear war. The response of the head of state was just as alarming as the world situation is alarming. This suggests that the Russian leadership is indeed very concerned about this situation, ”Bruter stressed.