Putin threatens to sack top officials over social spending

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Vladimir Putin threatened to sack senior officials over a failure to carry out his orders on social spending in a warning to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's government, Reuters said.

Unofficial video footage released on Wednesday, April 17 showed Putin berating officials at a meeting on housing attended by several ministers including Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.

In the footage, published online shortly before Medvedev started a speech to parliament on the economy, Putin called for more action to fulfill his pledges on social spending intended to improve the lives of millions of Russians.

"If we don't do it, we will need to acknowledge that either I work inefficiently or you work badly and you will need to resign," he was seen telling Tuesday's meeting in the southern town of Elista.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that I am currently inclined towards the second scenario," he said. "I don't want any misunderstandings and I want us to talk honestly."

The comments were made after the president requested cameras be turned off at the meeting, but the video appeared on the Lifenews.ru website which has close ties to the Kremlin.

Putin, who replaced Medvedev as president last May after four years as prime minister, pledged to spend heavily on social needs after facing the biggest protests since he first rose to power in 2000. He reprimanded three ministers last year for not enforcing his social spending plans. One of the officials, Regional Development Minister Oleg Govorun, resigned shortly afterwards.