Putin works on New Testament for his successor

President Putin ordered to develop the concept of Russia’s social and economic development before 2020. The concept should be ready by February of 2008, on the eve of the presidential election (in March 2008). To put it in a nutshell, the next Russian president will have Putin’s economic program.

“We are currently working on the long-term concept of social and economic development of Russia before 2020. We expect a lot from this document. The concept must give a precise answer to the question of how and with the help of which tools we are going to achieve the goals set in the concept,” Putin said at a meeting with the economic block of the government. “I ask you to give appropriate attention to the issue because the concept must become the guiding line for legislative and executive powers,” the president added.

Putin already followed such strategy before, in the beginning of his presidency. Seven years ago the Center for Strategic Developments prepared the strategy of Russia’s development before 2010. The government approved the strategy in the summer of 2000, after the presidential election.

“The country does not need only the economic growth alone. The country needs the new quality of growth – new modern technologies that allow to take a worthy place in the global division of labor. The business initiative and the removal of artificial restrictions for its prosperity, the creation of the favorable investment climate boosting the attraction of home and foreign capital are the key aspects here,” the 2000 strategy said.

Nowadays, as long as the Russian economy has been rising for several years in a row, the head of state gave his first priority to different goals.

“The goal of the new concept is to determine ways and methods to provide the stable increase of Russian citizens’ well-being, the strengthening of the national security and the dynamic development of economy,” the new document says. According to the plan, the share of the middle class in Russia is to rise from 20 to 55 percent by 2020. The number of Russian people spending their vacations abroad is also supposed to increase five times; over 600 people out of 1,000 will own personal cars as opposed to the current 180 car owners out of 1,000 people.

The new concept of Russia’s development is to be considered at a session of the government on November 8.

The concept describes three ways of Russia’s development – inertial, innovative and the one based on the export of energy carriers. The first way leads to the reduction of the GDP growth by 3.2 percent in 2011-2020. The energy-based development gives an opportunity to grow with 5.3 percent, whereas the innovative way allows the economy to develop dynamically, showing the GDP growth of 6.4 percent a year.

The innovative way of the nation’s development requires the diversification of economy, the support of new technologies, the improvement of the demographic situation in the country, etc.

Experts believe that the approval of the new long-term development strategy proves the succession of political power in Russia after Putin’s resignation. In other words, the new concept means that Russia will be developing under Putin’s supervision after 2008.