NOVO-OGAREVO, January 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Private initiative is the driving force for Russia’s development, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
“The majority of citizens should accept with their hearts, souls and minds that private initiative is the driving force for the development of the country,” Putin said at a meeting with mass media editors on Wednesday, January 18.
In his opinion, people feel negative about business, including because of the unfair privatisation in the 1990s.
He cited market economies with so-called inherited money. “In some economies such wealth is build by generation after generation. But here it came into being as a result of shares-for-loans auctions,” the prime minister said.
Putin is convinced that this situation should be changed. He stressed the need for a fair distribution of state resources and state finances and instruments of development.
“When people see that millions and billions earned after unfair privatisation are used to buy football teams abroad instead of spending this money on the development of sport in Russia, when money is used for super consumption, including abroad, this only increases negative attitude towards business,” he said.
In his opinion, much has yet to be done to change people’s perception of business. “The state, the public and mass media should act accordingly so that people understood that a proper attitude towards work on the part of business can be as good a source of development as good work of every citizen,” Putin said.