Irritation of the president: Putin, scolding Manturov, sounded pain in his voice

How was the first meeting of the GDP with the government after the New Year

At the first meeting of Vladimir Putin with members of the government in 2023, it turned out that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was dissatisfied with the state defense order. “There are no contracts! The directors told me! Well, why are you, in fact, playing the fool? he publicly scolded Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. Putin demanded to inform the airlines within a month how many military and civilian ships they will order in 2023 and in the future. Manturov tried to argue, but in the end he promised to “do everything possible” based on the possibilities of the budget.

Vladimir Putin, who missed the New Year’s meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, decided not to leave officials without wishes and congratulations. He began his first meeting with ministers in 2023 by thanking for the work done and listing the tasks that the government will have to deal with in the coming months. These traditionally included the fight against poverty and ensuring the growth of real incomes of citizens, the development of road infrastructure, the creation of new industries and jobs. Putin urged officials to expand foreign economic ties and pay special attention to demographics. The integration of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into the single socio-economic space of the Russian Federation was also among the priorities. The President recalled that by the end of the first quarter, the Cabinet of Ministers must prepare a special program for the development of new entities so that by 2030 they are no different from the rest. “It is important to set clear, understandable guidelines for citizens, what will be built in their cities and towns, what facilities will be restored and when, how families’ incomes will increase, what kind of assistance they will receive from the state,” the GDP minister admonished.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova was supposed to report on measures of social support for residents of new regions of the Russian Federation at the meeting. However, for some reason, they decided to make her message closed, and in the open part to hear reports from Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov, Alexander Novak and Marat Khusnullin, as well as some ministers. There were no signs of a scandal, but it almost happened when Manturov decided to argue with Putin about the state defense order. The President argued that the airlines do not have an order even for 2023 – “they do not understand how much the military department will order them and how many civilian ships will be ordered.” The Deputy Prime Minister insisted that all the parameters had been confirmed, moreover, loans had been taken (primarily for the production of helicopters) in order to launch cooperation to equip ships with engines. “The capacities are all made up both for this and next year,” he tried to convince Putin. But the Supreme Commander-in-Chief had other data, received, according to him, personally from the leaders of the defense industry. Therefore, Manturov ran into a public obstruction.

“What are we going to dive with you. Let’s talk with you after the meeting … Well, are you really playing the fool? When will there be contracts? Putin interrogated him with undisguised irritation. The Deputy Prime Minister had no choice but to promise that soon – within a quarter and based on the possibilities that the budget has. The president paid no attention to the last clarification. And the words about the quarter caused another irritation. “For a long time! Too long!” – VVP shouted with pain in his voice and demanded that “everything be done within a month.” “What we are talking about? Don’t you understand the conditions in which we live? he drilled Manturov from the screen with an extremely unkind look. However, Dmitry Peskov has already said that nothing threatens the official’s career: criticism at the meeting is a “normal workflow”, and the head of state actually has no serious complaints about the work of the Deputy Prime Minister.

It was a little easier for Alexander Novak than for Manturov, but it was also not easy. It was obvious from the speaker’s face that the situation on the oil market was not developing in the best way due to existing and upcoming restrictions, but he clearly did not want to go into details. As a result, Putin learned that the oil companies have not yet complained about anything. And they try to fulfill his decree: in particular, they avoid mentioning price ceilings in contracts. (However, according to experts, the contracts are typical and such things are basically not indicated in them.) Novak explained that the risks of contractors and carriers working with Russian companies are included in the freight price. Due to its high cost, oil from the Russian Federation is sold at a big discount, and this, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, is the main problem at this stage. “But I hope that this situation will be temporary. The discount should decrease over time, ”he said not very confidently.

Another problem for the industry, Novak called the embargo on the supply of petroleum products, which comes into force on February 5, and the plans of Western countries to set a price ceiling for fuel oil, diesel and kerosene. Putin demanded that Novak come to grips with the discount. The discount on oil, he said, should not create problems for the Russian budget. “Discuss, then report your proposals to me separately,” the GDP ordered.

Although earlier in the Kremlin they urged not to believe the information about Russia’s significant losses due to the oil ceiling (it is alleged that Moscow is missing about 160 million euros per day), judging by Putin’s reaction, they still exist. In December, the average price for Urals was $50 per barrel, which is one and a half times lower than in December 2021, and $20 less than necessary to fulfill budget obligations. In turn, Brent oil costs more than $80 per barrel.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28948 dated January 12, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Putin against “fooling around”