Putin reports government’s performance in 2010 to State Duma

Russian media have called the event a pre-election speech. In the forthcoming elections the United Russia party will be campaigning under the banner of Strategy 2020 - a program for action Putin initiated in 2008. The leader of United Russia has now outlined a number of specific themes of the election campaign.

Putin preferred to sidestep political topics in his speech. The emphasis was on social issues. He confirmed that the government would never drop its social obligations to citizens. The government intends to continue and build up social programs, and for that there are emerging new opportunities, assured the prime minister, referring to the oil and gas revenues.

Putin has set an ambitious goal: by 2020 Russia is to enter the five largest economies of the world, and its "GDP per capita is to achieve a level of more than 35 thousand dollars per person." "This is higher than the current rates in such countries as France and Italy," he said.

To cope with this task Russia this decade should achieve at least a two-fold increase in labor productivity, and in key sectors of the Russian economy, by a factor of 3-4, the prime minister said. In addition, the Russians are to raise the share of innovative products in total production from the current 12% to 25-35%.

To do this, Russia needs a "decade of sustainable development." He explained that he understood that as lack of "all sorts of erratic moves and reckless experimentation, sometimes based on unjustified liberalism or social demagogy."

According to Putin, Russia should make an effort to ward off dictating from abroad.

"Let's be honest: in the modern world, if you are weak, there is always someone who wants to come or fly in and unequivocally recommend in what direction you should move, what kind of policy conduct, and what path choose," said the prime minister. Behind this advice - "unobtrusive and quite friendly at first sight," according to Putin, "there really is rude dictating and meddling in the internal affairs of an independent state," and "we all understand this very well."

"We need to be independent and strong," the head of government said, ITAR-TASS reports.

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