Putin rejected “fish Thursdays” and said nothing about the ruble

Young people don’t eat fish at all.

Vladimir Putin refrained from commenting on the situation on the foreign exchange market: the collapse of the ruble was not discussed at the meeting with members of the government. The main topics of the virtual session were natural disasters, global warming and fish consumption. Statements that “the majority of the population does not care about the ruble-dollar ratio” before the meeting of the GDP with officials were confirmed by sociologists: 70% of Russians, according to a recent survey, do not follow the national currency. However, they also practically do not eat fish – it is too expensive.

The government has not yet clarified its position on the developments in the foreign exchange market. The prevailing mood at the top can only be judged by indirect signs: first of all, by mutual claims exchanged between the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, and criticism of the Bank of Russia from the lips of presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin. Vladimir Putin himself decided to stick to a common line and not make this topic public. The meeting with members of the Cabinet began with a discussion of the tragedy at a gas station in Dagestan. Tatyana Golikova said that a total of 119 people were injured, including 20 children – all the necessary medical and financial assistance is being provided. “We are all worried about what happened, for those who suffered. We express our condolences to all the families of the victims,” the president said on behalf of the members of the government, asking to keep the situation under control.

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, bombarded the participants with facts and figures that have not lost their relevance for several years in a row. (And they are also regularly discussed at all levels, albeit without much effect) Natural disasters have been raging in Russia all summer: 11 thousand fires have been registered, the fire has covered 4 million hectares, which is one and a half times more than last year. Kurenkov tried not to miss a single detail, even naming the amount of water poured on the fire – 23 thousand tons. However, residents of burning regions are advised to prepare for new tests: the forecast, according to the minister, is unfavorable – there are risks of fire spreading to housing.

Similarly, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported on the situation with floods and floods. The meeting participants learned how many heat guns, generators and motor pumps were delivered to the affected regions and who helped the neighbors and how. Now the situation is normalizing – the water level is decreasing. But the tests were not yet over. Kurenkov recalled the approach of a new typhoon to the Far East and asked for financial support to the authorities of Primorsky Krai. “There are a lot of victims,” he said.

Vladimir Putin agreed with the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations that in no case should we relax. Fires and floods are consequences of global warming. This year, the President recalled, the average temperature on the planet rose to 17.24 degrees Celsius, breaking the record of 2016, when it was 16.9 degrees. In the second half of August, the heat was established not only in Central Russia, but also in Siberia. “What’s the forecast?” – he asked the Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov about the prospects. It turned out that nothing good is to be expected in the near future.

The number of dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena will increase, and actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gases will have an effect at best in the second half of the century, the minister warned. However, Russia, despite the cataclysms, in any case will be in a better position than the island states that will flood the ocean. To minimize the negative effects of global warming, Kozlov suggested not delaying adaptation: in particular, strengthening underground utilities in areas no longer permafrost, building water conduits where severe drought is expected, building additional dams in the Far East, and so on. At the moment, according to the minister, only 59 regions have developed corresponding plans. And the rest should hurry up. “We need to adapt to the inevitable changes and take this into account in our current life,” the president supported.

No less detailed than global warming, the meeting discussed the situation with the consumption of fish. Vladimir Putin said that Russians eat an average of 22.6 kg of fish per year, while according to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, there should be at least 28 kg. The governor of Kamchatka noted that in reality things are even worse – consumption is only about 50% of the norm. And young people do not eat fish at all. Although there have been no problems with this type of product for a long time – moreover, the current salmon season will almost repeat the record of 2018. The head of Kamchatka proposed the president to adopt a comprehensive state program to stimulate the consumption of fish by the population, and as a first step to return “fish Thursdays”, which “everyone remembers well from the Soviet era.” Thus, in his opinion, officials could contribute to improving the health of Russians. However, Vladimir Putin did not support this idea. In his opinion, “fish Thursdays” in the USSR were caused not by concern for citizens, but by the notorious shortage. “Most likely, the shortage of meat products in retail chains,” said VVP. However, to stimulate the domestic consumption of fish, according to him, “of course, it is possible and necessary.”

The meeting participants raised the question of price before the head of state: despite good catches, fish on the shelves is indecently expensive (For example, fresh-frozen pink salmon is 500-700 rubles per kg, depending on the degree of processing, salmon is around 2 thousand rubles per kg). This is also due to transportation tariffs, which have increased by 45% compared to last year, and this, as the governor of Kamchatka explained, “falls on the wallet of our citizens.” Now the government subsidizes the transportation of only the cheapest fish – pollock. The head of the Federal Agency for Fishery, Ilya Shestakov, proposed extending support measures to at least pink salmon. “This will make it more accessible,” the official promised.