The main themes of the 17th straight line with Russian President Vladimir Putin were the level of incomes of the population, the situation in the health sector, problems of small and medium business, “garbage reform” and “anti-drug” article 228 of the Criminal Code. The Russian leader also answered questions related to the country's foreign policy and defense capability.

In total, the communication of the head of state with the people lasted 4 hours and 8 minutes. Vladimir Putin managed to answer 81 questions. In total, the Information Processing Center received 2.6 million questions. Recall, the record for the duration was set in 2013 (4 hours 47 minutes), by the number of answers to the questions - in 2011 (96).

Standard of living

A huge number of complaints and questions was associated with a deterioration of welfare. Citizens expressed dissatisfaction with the level of wages, which sometimes turn out to be below the minimum wage (SMIC), that is, 11,280 rubles.

Vladimir Putin noted the inadmissibility of such a situation. He also stressed that the increased credit liabilities of the population have a negative effect on the dynamics of real incomes. In this regard, he urged the Central Bank to draw attention to the problem of growing indebtedness of individuals.

“Real disposable incomes, which, as statistics show, are falling, consist of many indicators - of income and expenses. One of the indicators of expenditure today is payments on loans, and banks now provide loans to citizens, so to speak, on the security of 40% of wages, which, of course, is fraught, ”Putin stressed.

According to the head of state, the incomes of the population have actually declined in recent years, but now they “have begun to recover.” In particular, the average salary in the economy in May 2019 increased to 48.5 thousand rubles.

True, the president drew attention to the fact that this figure is an average indicator, since there is a “big difference across industries and regions.” In 2019, according to Vladimir Putin, the monetary allowance for servicemen and Emergencies Ministry personnel will increase, pensions will be indexed.

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In addition, the state intends to improve the social welfare of families. Now the authorities allocate 10.5–11 thousand rubles a month for the first child. This amount is received by families with an income below one and a half subsistence minimums per adult (about 17 thousand per parent). From January 2020, this measure of support will extend to families with a cumulative income of about 45 thousand rubles and less (two subsistence minimums per parent).

Putin also promised that the state would pay needy families a benefit for a child from 1.5 to 3 years in the amount of one living wage, instead of the current 50 rubles. The government is currently deciding what the criteria will be for receiving this payment.

The key condition for raising the living standards of Russians, Putin, called the implementation of national projects. As the head of state explained, they are designed to increase labor productivity through the development of high technologies and progress in the field of artificial intelligence.

“Actually, the general way to solve a problem is not even a government infusion to or from here, into some kind of industry. The general way is to increase labor productivity, develop the economy and on this basis increase and improve the standard of living of citizens, precisely on this basis. And everything else is accompanying things, ”said Vladimir Putin.

"Unconditional Priority"

During the direct line, Vladimir Putin stressed that the health and life of people is an “absolute priority”. The state pays special attention to the situation with cancer diseases. The fight against oncology is highlighted in a separate area of ​​the national project "Health".

Authorities doubled funding for drug purchases. For example, 150 billion rubles were allocated to chemotherapy events in 2019, which is 70 billion rubles more than in 2018.

Receipt of medication remains a problem. As Vladimir Putin stressed, they are procured in sufficient quantities, but the distribution of medicines across pharmacy chains is poorly organized. According to the Ministry of Health, serious organizational and logistical flaws were identified in 30 regions.

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“Staff hunger” in the system of state medicine remains on the agenda. According to the president, Russia is experiencing a shortage of 25 thousand doctors and 130 thousand representatives of the “nursing staff”. The situation is especially acute in small towns and villages. According to Vladimir Putin, this issue will be resolved through wage increases and better living conditions for young professionals.

“Again, now I will say that I heard now that wages are low. In the country as a whole, they are growing, this year they have already grown up with doctors and somewhere a little bit overtake 77 thousand. In the whole country, this is Moscow, Petersburg, there are large salaries. There are regions where there are very small wages, and we certainly need to align this, ”Putin said.

At the same time, according to the President of the Russian Federation, the overall situation in the health care system has improved. In recent years, the number of outpatient facilities has increased by 26%, from 300 to 500 feldsher-obstetric points (FAP) are commissioned annually in the regions. In 2019, 390 new FAPs will be opened, another 1,200 points will be repaired.

“Mobile medical care is developing in small towns. Already 3,800 brigades have been created, and in the next few years, in the next three years, approximately 1,300 such mobile brigades are planned to be launched ... This will all be done from the point of view of accessibility to the primary level of health care, ”Putin said .

“Garbage Reform”

A lot of questions of citizens concerned the so-called "junk reform." Complaints were associated with interruptions in waste collection, expansion of landfills and landfills. Vladimir Putin stated that these problems had not been solved for decades.

According to the president, annually Russia “generates” 70 million tons of garbage, while “no one is engaged in industrial processing of this waste”. The head of state also drew attention to the fact that for a long time an adequate calculation of tariffs for garbage collection was not carried out.

“This is a big problem with us. It did not appear yesterday. We have talked about this many times, going back to it. By the way, it was literally two or three years ago that we started talking and doing it. Strange as it may sound, but this is a fact, the push was just another straight line, ”recalled Vladimir Putin.

The head of state sees a way out of the current situation in the implementation of the previously adopted program, which provides for the construction of 200 garbage processing complexes. The amount of funding will be 300 billion rubles, half of the funds will be allocated from the budget, the rest will be private investment.

“We need to solve these problems”

During the “Direct Line”, like a year ago, the question was raised about the status of refugees from the south-east of Ukraine. The Lyulkovich family, who fled from Dzerzhinsk (Donetsk region) to Naberezhnye Chelny (Tatarstan) in 2014, shared their problems. She faced numerous bureaucratic difficulties due to her uncertain status and lack of social guarantees.

Now the family cannot take advantage of the simplified procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship, since Dzerzhinsk is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is not part of the DNR. Recall that in April 2019, the President signed a law, according to which residents of unrecognized republics can obtain Russian passports under a simplified scheme.

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Putin promised to resolve the issue of the family of Ukrainian refugees, after consulting with the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. The president also announced his readiness to make additional changes to the legislation in order to simplify the process of obtaining Russian passports to citizens of Ukraine as much as possible. As the head of state stressed, obtaining Russian citizenship should exclude requests for the issuance of any documents in Ukraine.

Developing the theme of Donbass, Vladimir Putin called on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to begin addressing the issue of a peaceful settlement. In particular, the Russian leader advised his colleague to begin a direct dialogue with representatives of the unrecognized republics, to stop the shelling and lift the economic blockade of uncontrolled territories.

“If he was at the place where he is now, became the head of state, then he should solve these problems (of Donbass. - RT ). Especially during the election campaign, he repeatedly spoke about this ... In modern history there is not a single example where conflicts of this kind would be resolved without direct dialogue, ”said Putin.

Commenting on the foreign policy course of the Russian Federation, the president said that Moscow is not going to abandon its fundamental interests for the sake of lifting the sanctions. According to him, Russia "did not swear to anyone," and all parties suffered from the effect of restrictive measures, and the West suffered the most.

Referring to expert estimates, Putin said that because of the sanctions, Russia did not receive $ 50 billion, the EU lost $ 240 billion, the US - $ 17 billion, Japan - $ 27 billion. In general, the head of state believes that restrictive measures had a positive impact on the domestic economy. The import substitution program was the impetus for the development of individual industries, in particular, marine engine-building.

Vladimir Putin did not ignore the policy of the United States. He stated that the US military operation against Iran was unacceptable and stressed that Moscow is not going to conclude any deals on Syria with Washington.

“What does the deal mean? We do not trade either our allies, our interests, or our principles. You can negotiate with partners about solving some pressing problems, ”Putin explained.

Vladimir Putin also said that Russia is making the necessary efforts to protect against cyber attacks. He said this when answering a question about the publication in the American newspaper The New York Times, devoted to the cyber attacks of the US military against the Russian energy infrastructure.

“We need to react to this somehow, to understand what is at stake,” the Russian president said.

According to him, Moscow has repeatedly offered the United States to begin a dialogue to work out any rules in cyberspace, “but so far they have not received any intelligible answer.”

“Regarding the work of our critical infrastructure, energy, other areas, of course, we need to think about how to protect ourselves from any cyber attacks and any negative impact. We are not only thinking about it, but also doing it, ”said Vladimir Putin.

"Strategic objectives"

In a conversation with RT, the co-chairman of the National Strategy Council, Joseph Diskin, noted that on a straight line, Vladimir Putin showed a high degree of immersion in the internal problems of the Russian Federation. The President paid priority attention to regional development issues, the expert believes.

“Vladimir Putin once again surprised by the depth of knowledge of the issues on the agenda. During the direct line, the president called many facts and figures that allow citizens and the expert community to assess the situation in the country. The head of state gave clear and specific answers to all the questions, spoke about what had been implemented, pointed out the mistakes of the authorities and made it clear what remains to be done, ”Diskin said.

According to Diskin, it is no coincidence that Vladimir Putin paid so much attention to national projects. As the expert believes, the head of state sought to convey to the audience the idea that the future of the country and the standard of living of each citizen depend on the success of their implementation.

“Without a strong economy and technological breakthrough, Russia will not be able to ensure its security and well-being. This is probably the main thing that the president spoke about on a straight line, thus answering many questions at once. It is the national projects that must solve these strategic tasks. GDP per capita will increase - salaries will crawl up, resources will appear in order to invest more money in the social sphere and defense, ”concluded Diskin.

Method of "feedback"

The straight line has existed since 2001. Vladimir Putin’s communication with citizens did not take place only twice - in 2004 and 2012. Until 2009, the dialogue with the people proceeded in the form of a videoconference. For the past 10 years, the head of state has been answering questions in the presence of an audience that consists of representatives of business, science, and popular artists.

The format of the straight line is constantly being improved. The development of social networks and the mass distribution of electronic gadgets have a great influence on it. Now you can communicate with the president using laptops and mobile applications. In addition, since 2018, members of the government and heads of regions have been in touch with the president and the people.

The direct line is a way to reach the authorities and ask for help in an extreme situation. For example, on June 15, 2017, Valentina Sakovskaya, a resident of the Krasnokumskoye (Stavropolie) village that suffered from the flood, drew Vladimir Putin's attention to difficulties in obtaining monetary compensation and housing certificates. A year later, as RT found out, the woman moved the new house with her children, and the damaged housing for Sakovskaya turned into a summer cottage.

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Some problems raised in a straight line led to systemic changes. In particular, in 2018, Vladimir Putin complained about the rise in gasoline prices. As a result, the government has taken comprehensive measures to curb the increase in the cost of fuel.

Last year, the head of state complained about the bureaucratic difficulties faced by refugees from the Donbass. In April 2019, the President simplified the procedure for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the DPR and LPR.

Aleksey Mukhin, General Director of the Center for Political Information, told RT that the direct line has proven its effectiveness as a way of “feedback” of the president with the people. Such a format allows solving issues that often fall outside the purview of the federal government and regional authorities, the expert said.

“Few of the world leaders withstand hours of marathons with questions from the public, and quite sharp and topical. At the same time, a straight line allows the president to receive first-hand information. Of course, all questions are simply physically impossible to answer, but they are processed and then brought to the attention of the executive authorities and governors, ”Mukhin said.