Mr. Putin reminded businessmen about their social responsibility and urged them to join the solution of socio-economic problems in the North Caucasus. The audience approved of the president's words that officials should guarantee and protect private as well as state property. As for tax case prosecutions, the president said that nobody was going to look for a criminal in every businessman.
On the whole, businessmen and officials see yesterday's appearance as a purely formal event. One should not see Putin's words as specific instructions to businessmen, a Kremlin source said. "He simply named the main tasks facing the country," the Kremlin official said to Vedomosti. "Now it is up to businessmen to decide whether they can help the authorities or not."
However, businessmen are hurrying to promote business in the North Caucasus. "Of course, we can work out a business project for the south, for example, legalize vodka production. But who will want to do so?" one person present at the conference asked.
Businessmen themselves refuse to believe that Mr. Putin's remarks will motivate officials to meet business halfway. "We have become so servile that officials have stopped taking us seriously," complains a RSPP board member. "What the president says to us is nothing but empty words meant for public consumption." "When 70% of the population want to see the oligarchs in prison, it is easier to keep a low profile and wait," another says.
"Communication between businessmen and the authorities in the RSPP format has been completely exhausted," says Stanislav Belkovsky, the president of the National Strategy Institute. In his opinion, major capitalists have lost interest in this organization. For example, Oleg Deripaska, RusAl's owner, Mikhail Fridman, an Alfa-Group co-owner, and Anatoly Chubais, chairman of Russia's Unified Energy Systems, chose not to attend the meeting.
