Vladimir Putin briefed those present on the results of his trip to the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyak Region and said he supported the plan of the merger of the two regions. He said he had signed a decree aimed at leveling out the living standards in the Komi-Permyak Region and the Perm Region and had instructed the Government to disburse, under due procedure, the money for the building of the infrastructure facilities referred to in the decree.
Vladimir Putin expressed concern over the persisting problems in the fight against piracy and in protecting intellectual property. He discussed the topic with the Russian film makers at Mosfilm Studios on November 1. Deputy Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev reported to the President on the measures being taken to combat pirated products. He said that in the nine months of this year 70,000 enterprises had been inspected, of which 482 were shut down because they were operating illegally, and 2,724 criminal cases were opened. The Interior Ministry was introducing amendments to the laws to step up the fight against counterfeiting.
Vladimir Putin also touched upon the topic of Mosfilm privatisation noting that the Government must take into account the opinion of the top executives of the film studios, directors and the representatives of creative unions in taking the decision on privatisation. He stressed that the film studio had not become fully integrated into the market economy and was only making the first steps.
Deputy Prime Minister Galina Karelova told the President that the Pension Fund had sent letters to the country’s pensioners regarding the accumulated parts of their pensions. Vladimir Putin drew Ms Karelova’s attention to the need to constantly monitor this work.