Putin to Minnikhanov: “I will certainly support your nomination”

Medicine: promptly deployed capacities

Before making a significant speech about the support that Vladimir Putin will provide to Rustam Minnikhanov in the presidential elections in September, the president of Tatarstan reported on the current social and economic development of the republic and how Tatarstan is fighting against the coronavirus.

Special attention is now being paid to the preparation of the healthcare system and the provision of qualified personnel to medical organizations. 6,048 medical workers of the republic have already received all additional payments in April (179 million rubles have been spent on this). The hospital stock has been prepared in a timely manner: 2,577 beds have been deployed in 26 medical institutions, and 31% of them are being occupied. All hospitals have been equipped with equipment, provided with medicines and PPE.

In addition to the existing hospital stock, on May 14, the building of the infectious diseases hospital in Naberezhnye Chelny was commissioned with 88 beds, with the possibility of expanding to 164 beds, a modern complex. On August 15, a new modern infectious diseases hospital with a laboratory building in Kazan with 232 beds will start operating, with the possibility of expanding to 504 beds.

To ensure the isolation of those who arrived from outside the Russian Federation, 1,100-seat observatories have been deployed in the republic.

The pace of testing of residents in the republic is increasing daily, about four thousand tests are being made a day.

Personal protective equipment: established production

The republic quickly deployed the capacities for the production of personal protective equipment. In Tatarstan, there are two of the four largest Russian producers of raw materials for disposable masks and suits. These are the companies Polymatiz and Elastic, which since the beginning of the pandemic have increased the export of medical raw materials almost twofold — up to 1,350 tonnes in May.

There had been no production of disposable masks in the republic. On April 10 of this year, thanks to Tatneft, the first lines for the production of masks arrived in Tatarstan. A day later, one of them started operation. Now the line has also been purchased by KAMAZ.

Today, the total production capacity can provide more than 15 million masks a month. About 80 sewing enterprises, as well as our major companies such as Tatneft and KAMAZ, have launched the production of protective equipment, including masks and suits.

Fifteen enterprises of the republic have launched the production of antiseptics in sufficient volume. For example, since the end of March, Aromat company has increased production 15-fold. The production of disinfectants has been established at TANECO, Nizhnekamskneftekhim and a number of our other enterprises.

As of today, 2,475 cases have been registered in the republic. 954 people are being treated in hospitals, 21 of them are on ventilation. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of doctors, eight people who had chronic diseases could not be saved. 1,362 patients recovered. The situation has stabilized, with growth rates of about 3,6% over the past 10 days and 3% over the past 24 hours.

Taking into account the priorities of the republic, decisions are being made on the gradual removal of restrictive measures. Since the beginning of April, we have gradually started the operation of enterprises. Since the beginning of May, all enterprises have resumed work in strict compliance with sanitary measures. This made it possible to avoid a significant drop in volume indicators. The volume of industrial production for April this year by April 2019 amounted to 94%. The figure for electricity consumption is also the same: a decrease of 7%.

But, unfortunately, due to price problems in the oil and petrochemical market, the decline in demand for these products (we have more than 50% of both petrochemicals and refined products — the export direction) has significantly reduced the revenue part of our budget. According to the Federal Treasury for the last 4 months, we make up 11% of the total fall in the Russian Federation. As of May 1, we have a gap of 25 billion in tax payments from 2019, of which about 20 billion — income tax, and 80% just fall on the oil industry, refining and petrochemicals.

Rustam Minnikhanov thanked the president for the special support of the machine-building, automotive, industrial, transport, energy and other key sectors of the national economy. “For example, KAMAZ made 3,113 cars in April. In May — at least 2,800 cars. I spoke with the director of the helicopter plant — everything is working in the current mode, just like at the aircraft factory. Everything is working at the same level thanks to the decisions of the president," the president of Tatarstan said.

Oil refining and petrochemistry are working in Tatarstan, but the promotion of products for export is difficult, and our Western partners are imposing duties and restrictive measures.

The agro-industrial complex is operating in the current mode, we have almost completed the sowing campaign, and together with Tatneft we have implemented a programme to provide agricultural workers with fuel at a discounted price. Subsidies to support the village have been allocated. Agriculture is operating normally.

As for building and road construction industries: they have been equated to continuous-cycle enterprises and continue to operate in the current mode. This year, we were supposed to introduce 3 million square metres of housing. At the moment, we have already introduced 30% of the annual plan. There are two constraints on housing construction. The first is mortgage rates. The programme of preferential mortgage lending received more than 1,300 applications for 3,6 billion rubles. The rural mortgage programme received 4,000 applications for 10 billion rubles. And the second factor: early provision of integrated development of the territory with social and railway infrastructure. “I would like to ask you to increase funding for the federal programme Stimul at the rate of 8,000 rubles per 1 square metre of housing. All regions of our country need this," said Rustam Minnikhanov.

Measures to support the population and economy

“The implementation of national projects is an undoubted priority of our work," Rustam Minnikhanov said and promised to make every effort to do so. In 2020, it is planned to spend 26.4 billion rubles on national projects, and 20% has been fulfilled by the beginning of May. Within their framework, 50 republican programmes are being implemented.

Then Rustam Minnikhanov reported about how in the republic the work is underway to support SMEs. He announced a number of important figures. For example, the tax payment deadline has been extended to 40,000 enterprises, and more than 33,000 of them will receive subsidies for urgent needs in the amount of more than 3,4 billion rubles. Banks have restructured more than 1,900 loans for enterprises in the republic with a total value of 23 billion rubles. Interest-free loans have been approved for 684 enterprises totalling 1,5 billion rubles.

“Taking into account the application of small business representatives, we are implementing republican support measures for 1,3 billion rubles," Minnikhanov said and listed the full range of measures of this support. The republic has provided for a deferral and the municipal and state property lease exception for entrepreneurs for 380 million rubles and has also developed a mechanism to support residents of the largest industrial parks in the form of deferred lease payments for 400 million rubles.

The main recipients of support, as Vladimir Putin instructed, are enterprises that have kept jobs.

On the measures of social support, Minnikhanov said:

• 640,377 children from 3 to 16 years in Tatarstan will receive a 10,000 rubles allowance;
• 27,375 children from 3 to 7 years old will receive a monthly allowance of 4,686 rubles;
• the doubling of the monthly allowance for the care of the first child up to one and a half years will cover 6,500 families in the republic;
• federal additional payments from 10,000 to 40,000 rubles will be received by 1,006 social workers;
• 14,774 people dismissed after March 1 will receive unemployment benefits in the maximum amount of 12,130 rubles. 10,636 people will receive 3,000 rubles per child from April to June;
• businesses of the republic have become involved in providing assistance to socially vulnerable categories of the population. 55,000 families with low incomes will receive food packages that include all the necessary products 4 times during this time. Also, 7,000 foreign students who have found themselves in a sharp drop in income also receive support. In total, 227,000 sets will be distributed at a cost of 1,200 rubles each.

The number of officially registered unemployed in the republic is 51,768 people, on January 1 it was 10,903 people. There is an increase of 4,7 times. But only 25% of them lost their jobs after March 1.

The gradual lifting of restrictions has started the recovery of the economy. For example, the underemployment rate has decreased by 10% over the past week.

What Minnikhanov offered and asked

To revive the economy and stimulate domestic demand, Rustam Minnikhanov announced several proposals developed by the leadership of Tatarstan:

• to expand support measures in the form of salary loans at 0% and 2% (from June) to all enterprises in the real sector that have lost at least 30% of profits, and not only those that belong to the list of affected industries;
• to consider the possibility of increasing the guarantee limit through VEB.RF for regional banks that do not yet have the opportunity to participate in business support banking programmes;
• to include large and medium-sized enterprises that have additional, rather than core, activities in the affected industries. Otherwise, banks are providing soft loans for working assets not to all such enterprises;
• taking into account that the republic belongs to regions with a high standard of living, we should equate Tatarstan with Moscow and Saint Petersburg in terms of providing loan repayment holidays (to increase the limit from 2 to 3 million rubles);
• to give the regions the power to address who is exempt from penalties for late payment of housing and utilities (currently, they are charged to no one, and this allows even solvent customers not to pay).

The president of Tatarstan also voiced several requests for support. First, on August 15, an infectious diseases hospital with 232 beds will be introduced in the republic. The standard construction period was 18 months, and it is being introduced in 3,5 months, and in this regard, Minnikhanov asked Putin for financial support. The Russian president promised to consider the issue.

The second request of Minnikhanov was to support building the Great Kazan Ring, an important infrastructure facility. The first stage is being completed, “I wrote to you about the second one, and we would be grateful for your support.” Putin asked for more information about this project, and Rustam Nurgalievich explained that it would be a highway encircling Kazan, and the Russian president promised: “I will definitely give instructions to the ministry of transport.”

“I invite you to visit our holiday”

Then Minnikhanov told that the republic has planned celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Tatarstan and invited the president of Russia to attend: “I invite you to visit our holiday on August 30 because you have done so much for Tatarstan over 20 years, and we are sincerely grateful to you.”

The republic is developing and is among the leading regions in terms of its key indicators. We strive to consistently defend the national interests of the country within the framework of foreign cooperation, including through the Russia — Islamic World line.

And then there was, perhaps, the main moment of this meeting: Rustam Minnikhanov reported that his term of office expires in September. “I am sincerely grateful to you for your support and trust. I'm a member of your team. If you approve, I am ready to run further," the president of Tatarstan said.

In response, Vladimir Putin said: “Regarding your powers, I know that they are about to expire. Tatarstan is a leader in terms of key indicators among the regions, but all this has been achieved as a result of your work at the head of the republic. Therefore, I will certainly support your nomination and would like to thank you for everything you have already done and wish you success in the future.”