Accompanying the acting president in his trip to Karelia were Minister of the Economy Andrei Shapovalyants, Minister of Fuel and Energy Viktor Kalyuzhny, Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeny Adamov, Minister of Health Yury Shevchenko, Minister of Agriculture Alexei Gordeyev, State Customs Committee Chairman Mikhail Vanin, and Federal Border Service head, Konstantin Totsky.
Mr Putin visited the Petrozavodskbummash papermaking machinery plant and a children’s hospital in Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia. He made a round of hospital wards and talked to the medical personnel.
During their conversation, the acting president said one of the top government priorities was to raise the salaries of people working at state institutions, including teachers and doctors.
In Petrozavodsk, Mr Putin also attended a Coordination Council meeting of the North-West Association, which unites 12 Russian regions.