Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting
on preparations for the 29th Winter Universiade
Krasnoyarsk 2019.
March 1, 2017
10:00
Krasnoyarsk
1 of 14
Ahead of the meeting on preparations
for the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019 Vladimir Putin was
shown a layout of the facilities under construction.
Before the meeting,
the President was shown the layout of the facilities under
construction for the 2017 Universiade, including mock-ups
of a new airport complex, a sport training centre, a sport
arena and a downhill skiing centre.
The President also
visited Biathlon Academy sport complex and met with the winners
of the 28th Winter Universiade 2017 that took place
in Almaty.
* * *
Excerpts from transcript
of the meeting on preparations for Winter Universiade
Krasnoyarsk 2019.
President of Russia
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,
Today we will be
discussing preparations for the 2019 Universiade that will take place
here in Krasnoyarsk. This will be the second time that Russia has
hosted a Universiade and the first Winter Universiade
for the country. Of course, this will not only be a major
sports event for the Siberian region, but for the whole
country.
We already know that
holding sports competitions of this scale and magnitude provides
a powerful incentive for infrastructure development
and investment in the host region. The Olympics
in Sochi and the Universiade in Kazan changed these cities,
creating opportunities to upgrade not only the sports infrastructure,
but also the transport, tourist, cultural and social infrastructure.
It is important
to note that all funds invested by the government and all
our efforts have paid off. There were many doubts about the post-games use
of the sports facilities in Sochi and even in Kazan,
but they are probably more effective than similar facilities
in the other global cities that hosted such events.
See also
March 1, 2017
All these facilities are
working to full capacity. And the transport infrastructure,
communications, water supply and discharge systems, purification
facilities and electricity networks are working to the benefit
of the people. I hope they will continue working
in the future.
Krasnoyarsk, the easternmost
million-plus city in Russia and Siberia’s largest economic centre,
deserves to be given a new image and new development resources.
It has proved its right to become a major sports centre by successfully
holding large international competitions.
Today we had another look
at the construction plans, and I really liked
the layout. All the facilities will be located in a compact
group within walking distance from each other near the city, in fact,
just a few kilometres from the city centre. It will be very easy
for the people to use these sports facilities. And they
will give a powerful boost to the development of Siberian
Federal University.
One large event –
the World Ski Orienteering Championships – will begin
in Krasnoyarsk in a few days, on March 5. Winter
sports are extremely popular in Siberia, including Krasnoyarsk,
and we also know about the sports victories of people from
Siberia and Krasnoyarsk, victories that added to Russia’s sports
glory.
I have no doubt that
this demand will help create a strong volunteer corps in time
for the Universiade, the more so that the event organisers
have at their disposal the faculty and students of Siberian
Federal University, which will be the central base
of the upcoming competition and will take over many sports
and social facilities after the Universiade.
I would like
to say that our plans for Universiade have an additional
and very important element. The people of Krasnoyarsk expect us
to build not only modern sports facilities but also new roads, hospitals
and residential blocks, which will be used by athletes during
the games and by city residents later, as well
as a new airport.
They – I mean
city residents – have reasons to hope that their urban environment
will become safer and more comfortable. I want to say yet again
that we must live up to these expectations. We cannot disappoint
the people, as we agreed more than once.
Fulfilling our
obligations to the international sports community is no less
important. We are working to prepare the Universiade in close
cooperation with the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
FISU President Oleg Matytsin, who is our compatriot, will tell us his opinion
of the preparations for the games.
I would like
to stress that the authorities are closely monitoring preparations
for the World Student Games and have earmarked considerable
funds for them. Federal budget allocations for the planning,
construction, renovation and major repairs of sports facilities
amount to over 14 billion rubles. In addition, we have designated 3.6
billion rubles for transport infrastructure, 7 billion rubles
for healthcare facilities, and 6 billion rubles
for the games village.
Allocations equalled 8.9
billion rubles in 2014–2016 and 22.2 billion rubles
in 2017–2019. In all, the aggregate budget
of the Universiade is 40.5 billion rubles and includes not only
the construction and renovation of sports facilities but also
a cultural programme and the training of volunteers,
as I said. This is a great deal, and so we expect
a proportionate result from these investments.
We have two years left
before the Universiade, which is not that much given the scope
and diversity of the objectives we have set. We need
to understand how, to what extent and how well all
the initiatives under this project are being implemented, and whether
all the deadlines are being respected at every stage, which is also
important.
On a sadder
note, so far there are questions regarding the progress of these
efforts. Of 34 facilities, 12 are two to four months behind schedule,
including some sport and medical facilities. Specifically, there are
delays in the construction of facilities
at the regional clinical hospital, two transport infrastructure
locations and a number of sports facilities.
Let’s discuss all this
in detail today. Of course, I have all this information
in my files, but I would still like to hear your
perspective. We need to go through all these issues and look
at the situation with tenders and how these projects have been
organised. We need to catch up and most importantly prevent projects
from falling behind in the future.
Let me draw your
attention to the fact that, according to preliminary estimates,
delegations from 50 countries, as many as 3,000 delegates, are
expected to take part in Winter Universiade 2019. We must do
everything it takes for this celebration of student sports to be
held at the highest level, once again showing Russia’s openness
and hospitality, our readiness to establish constructive partnership ties
with all our friends.
Another issue
I wanted to raise has to do with clean sport. I am
referring to the anti-doping programmes. Mr Vitaly Smirnov [Honourary
Member of the International Olympic Committee, Head
of the Independent Public Anti-Doping Commission]
and I just had a conversation on this issue. I would
like to thank him for the efforts undertaken by his
commission in this area.
We know the latest
assessments from the officials at WADA and our colleagues from
the IOC, who note that the McLaren Commission had inaccurate translations
or inadequate evidence. Let me say again, and we said it repeatedly,
that Russia has never had, and I hope never will have, a state
system supporting doping. On the contrary, Russia will only combat
doping.
Of course,
and naturally enough, there is this issue of claims regarding
scratches of some kind on some of the test samples. We do
not understand what kind of evidence can we talk about because when we
provided the test samples there were no complaints. If there was
a problem with scratches of whatever kind, this should have been
noted in the relevant reports, but there was nothing of this
sort.
In other words,
these samples were stored somewhere, and we cannot be held responsible
for the storage conditions. But let me come now to my main
point. The main point is that we must pay heed to what this
independent commission says, despite the shortcomings in its work. We
must pay heed to its work and its results, and to WADA’s
demands, because we need to acknowledge that there are established
and identified cases of doping here, and this is a totally
unacceptable situation.
What this means is that
our existing anti-doping monitoring system has not worked effectively,
and this is our fault, and is something we need to admit
and address directly. I hope very much that the Investigative
Committee will see the needed investigation through to its completion
and will identify all those responsible for this situation.
As you know, we are
putting into place a new anti-doping system. It will be transferred from
the Sports Ministry and Government oversight
to an independent organisation, as many countries have done,
and not in any figurative sense, but quite literally.
The laboratory will be located on premises belonging to Moscow
State University, and we will help them to obtain the modern
equipment, technology and specialists they need. I hope that we will
no longer have any swindlers, who organise doping programmes themselves
and then flee abroad. I hope that our independent specialists
and foreign specialists will help us to develop a strict
and effective anti-doping system.
I hope too that
Vitaly Smirnov’s commission as a public organisation will continue
its work to supervise the anti-doping organisations’ work here
in Russia. Of course, we must also work to ensure that doping
does not arise in youth and student sport. These young people are
just at the start of their sports careers. Let me say once more
that we will do everything needed to organise positive, active
and effective work with all our partners, including WADA
and the International Olympic Committee.
Let’s start our work.
I give the floor to Mr Mutko.
Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko: Mr President, colleagues,
As you noted, Mr
President, there are exactly two years to go until the opening
of the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019. It will start
on March 2 and run for 10 days. There will 78 sets
of medals up for competition in 11 different sports. As you
recall, there were eight compulsory sports, and then after consultations
with you and recommendations, we decided to include two demonstration
sports, particularly bandy. They have been included in the programme.
More than 3,000 athletes
from 50 countries will come to Krasnoyarsk, and we expect audiences
of around 170,000 people. The most recent estimates from Almaty show
that around 1 billion people watched the 2017 Universiade. This is
a documented fact. I hope that we will have similar results.
Vladimir Putin: That’s
a solid figure.
Vladimir Mutko: Very
solid indeed.
Preparations are going
ahead at routine pace, as planned. Acting on your executive
order of 2014 and our obligations to the FISU,
the Government has approved the organisational and legal
decisions, established an organising committee, approved
a preparation programme for the event, drafted the relevant
concepts and plans that we need to carry out, and established
an executive director’s office. The mechanism has been launched.
Of course, we are drawing on our experience of holding past
universiades, and the Olympics, and we have abundant experience
here. In general, the organisational programme has been drafted
and is underway.
As far
as concrete results go, we have 42 items in our programme and we
have already completed 37. The preparation programme is going very well.
<…>
The FISU is giving
us a lot of practical help. They have made several inspection visits,
and they saw practically all of the tracks and facilities
and made their recommendations. Soon, the entire FISU headquarters
and their colleagues, who organised the universiade in Almaty,
will come here, and we will then finalise everything and adjust
and approve the final operational plans. I want to take
this opportunity to thank Mr Matytsyn [President of FISU] for this
support.
Work continues
on preparing for the sports events and preparing
the sports facilities. This is complex and large-scale work
and from time to time we encounter problems. As you noted
in your opening remarks, we are behind schedule on five events,
and this concerns above all the concept of putting
the universiade heritage to use. We agreed to approve these
plans during the second quarter. We are not hurrying on this
for the simple reason that the event will leave Krasnoyarsk with
a substantial heritage, and perhaps it could have more than just
a local student sport or regional dimension. It could be part
of work to build a number of interregional centres
and federal centres, given the proximity to Korea
and the Asian region with its great potential, and the fact
that we are building unique facilities here.
<…>
Another moment concerns
the concept plans for the opening and closing ceremonies.
We have not finalised them yet because we had to make decisions about
changing the overall approach. We watched the latest opening
and closing ceremonies. We understand your view that it would not make
sense to throw colossal sums into holding huge and pompous
ceremonies, but that the events should be solid and worthy.
We have decided that
the ceremonies should take place at the new Platinum Arena,
which is under construction. The Government and the organising
committee will settle this matter over the coming months. We have three
concept plans for the ceremony and we will approve them.
The budget has already been decided. I hope that we will settle
and close this matter within the coming month.
In conclusion,
I want to mention something that you spoke of too, namely, that
the first test competitions will start at the Biathlon Academy
in four days’ time. Our test world championship in ski orienteering
will start, with 150 participants representing 22 countries. This will enable
us to put the student campus through real tests now.
The participants will live at the university dormitories
and will compete at the Biathlon Academy. We will be able
to test all aspects of logistics and transport. I am sure
that this will help us to resolve all the preparation tasks. We have
a big programme of tests drawn up and will carry it out.
Of course,
Krasnoyarsk offers a unique urban concept too. Unlike Almaty, it is
a very compact city and the main facilities are located 10–15
minutes, maximum 20 minutes, from the Universiade village. Then there is
the right bank of the Yenisei, and that takes about 30
minutes to reach.
Of course,
the Government and city authorities still have a lot
of work to do on the road infrastructure, such as road
junctions and the protocol routes. They can perhaps make use
of the instruments the Government has put in place
for urban development to undertake the necessary urban
development work, roads and road infrastructure, beautifying yards
and building entrances, and so on.
I want to end
by saying that we have no worries or doubts regarding
the preparations. I am sure that we will be up to the task
and will meet the highest standards. We will give the city
a tremendous heritage and encourage people to get involved
in a wide number of sports, because the unique facilities
under construction here will be used not just by the city residents,
but also for high-level sports.
Vladimir Putin:
Of course there is no doubt that we will have everything ready, but
worries are inevitable when things fall behind schedule. I remember how
the preparations went for the Sochi Olympics. So, without
getting too stressed, let’s make up for the lost time and make
sure that things stay on schedule from here. You must monitor this
closely.
<…>
Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov: Mr President, we have no doubt that we will complete
the preparations and put in place all the conditions needed
for a successful Universiade. The Ministry of Sport is
constantly monitoring the preparation programme’s implementation.
I want
to mention another aspect. It is equally important to prepare
the national student team for a successful performance
at the event. The athletes are all aged from 17–25.
The Universiade will have 11 sports and 79 sets of medals. Most
of the sports are Olympic sports, and there are two non-Olympic
sports – bandy and orienteering.
We plan for Russian
athletes to take part in all events. The team will number around
400 people, 300 of them athletes. This will be the biggest team
at the Universiade. We will be competitive in all events
on the programme. Our main rivals will be, as usual,
the teams from Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan, and Ukraine.
In hockey, our main rivals will be the teams from Canada
and Kazakhstan.
Of course, it is
most important that we will take preventive measures to ensure that none
of the athletes use doping. We are already carrying out this work
with the main teams, together with the federations. We are carrying
out preparations for the event together with the Russian
Students Union and the different sports federations.
I want to thank
you for your support. I think that holding this kind of big
international competition will help to develop sports in Russia,
especially student sports.
<…>
Vladimir Putin: Regarding
the airport, we usually obtain a good synergy when we combine
transport options for getting passengers to and from
the airport. The question here is of potentially building
a rail link to the airport.
Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov: Mr President,
The airport is
indeed the gateway for Krasnoyarsk and the Universiade.
The pace at which the new terminal’s construction is progressing
today gives us all hope and confidence that the construction work will
be complete by the end of this year. Aside from
the transport link, there are issues concerning organisation
of the border control checkpoint at the airport.
The State Border
programme, which is coordinated with the Federal Security Service, did
originally earmark funds for organising an international border
checkpoint here, but this was cut during the budget adjustments
in 2016 and the investment part of the programme is
now only a third of what it was.
We therefore need some
financial decisions if we want the border control checkpoint to start
operating at the same time as the new terminal.
(Mr Sokolov went
on to speak about specific financial and organisational matters
concerning the construction of the rail link
to the airport terminal).
Vladimir Putin: Let’s
agree that you will take responsibility for resolving this task
as the organiser, but together with the Finance Ministry,
the regional authorities, the airport’s operator, and Russian
Railways. Get everyone together and discuss how much time you need
to reach a final decision.
Maxim Sokolov: Mr
President, as regards the border control checkpoint, we should have
a decision within a few weeks, literally.
As for the rail
link, we need to study this matter first with the designers
to see, at the pre-project stage at least, just what this
would look like. We will complete this work within a month.
Vladimir Putin: It’s
clear that the project should pay itself off within a certain time,
and this depends on the number of passengers transported,
but we debated, too, whether or not it was worth building
a high-speed rail link to the Sochi cluster, and we see now
that it is running at full capacity.
It was the same
in Vladivostok, when we discussed if there was real need to modernise
the airport and build a rail link there. But now this
infrastructure is in full use and working effectively. It has
produced some unexpected spin-off benefits too, namely, that Vladivostok is now
being used as a transfer point for other routes. You know this
better than I.
I think that we must
therefore look ahead, and remember, too, that Krasnoyarsk is a city
of a million people in the centre of Siberia,
and so it will always be able to play a needed role. If
the infrastructure is in place, the people will come. So long
as people in many regions of the Far East have to pay
more for electricity than in the rest of the country,
people will continue to leave rather than move to these regions.
Resolving one issue can
help resolve many others at the same time. You should therefore work
from the premise that we do need to go ahead with this project, with
minimum expense and as effectively as possible, of course.
We need to do it because infrastructure development is something we should
always focus on. Infrastructure development is the responsibility
of the state. Of course, you need to look at how
to involve the operator, and the regional and federal
authorities. Everyone should join their efforts on this. It’s better
to plan now.
Maxim Sokolov: Yes, Mr
President. The task is understood.
Vladimir Putin: As for the border
checkpoints and general security arrangements, I would like
to ask Mr Kolokoltsev and Mr Bortnikov to say a few words.
Please.
Minister
of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev: Mr President, ladies and gentlemen,
The Interior
Ministry, together with the Federal Security Service, is implementing
an array of security measures for Universiade 2019.
An estimate of available manpower and resources was made.
Information about the need for additional budget appropriations was
forwarded to the Finance Ministry and the Federal Security
Service, which is the main organisation here. However, the decision
to provide the required funding has yet to be made. I would
like to highlight certain problems that came up during
the preparations for the upcoming event.
(The Minister
of the Interior went on to address infrastructure
development issues.)
Measures to protect
buildings and installations under construction against possible terrorist
attack are not being implemented to the extent required. There is
a lack of inspection personnel and screening equipment
for imported materials and monitoring procedures. This will
significantly complicate the inspection of facilities
in the run-up and during the Universiade.
Furthermore, a final
decision on the provision of transport services
for the upcoming event has yet to be made. An operational
transport plan, which should take into account the existing
infrastructure, its capacity and the organisation of parking
and pedestrian crossings, has not been finalised. The Interior
Ministry is informing all agencies concerned on each
of the aforementioned problems to ensure an appropriate
response.
This is in brief
what we have accomplished so far.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Bortnikov.
Director
of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov: Mr President, I will not repeat what Mr
Kolokoltsev already said about the problems involved. These are objective
matters stemming from a shortage of financing, as we all
understand.
This notwithstanding, we
are giving due attention to ensuring the security
of the facilities planned or under construction. We are making
use of the experience that we gained during preparation
of similar events in Sochi and Kazan. At the same
time, I draw the attention of all parties concerned, especially
the law enforcement and security agencies, and all directly
involved in this process, to the need to ensure security
and anti-terrorist protection of facilities, taking into account
the current situation.
We have already set up
a working group on security, headed by my first deputy, Mr
Smirnov. All of the law enforcement and security agencies are
represented in this group. We are working actively with the regional
authorities. All security demands and requirements are brought
to the attention of the subcontractors and project
designers directly involved. Of course, we make compromises within
the limits of what is reasonable, in order to reduce the financial
costs involved.
But at the same
time, I want to remind all of the decision-makers involved
that the issue of security, especially anti-terrorist protection
of facilities, must receive due attention. This is our common responsibility
and it concerns not just how we build, but also what will happen later. We
must ensure the security of the people taking part in this
sports celebration.
Concerning construction
and operation of a border control checkpoint,
as the airport will have international status, of course, we
need to earmark the funds needed for the airport
to continue receiving foreigners entering the country. Developing
infrastructure and a growing city and region will,
of course, create new opportunities and will probably attract
investment too.
I see interest from
people who are already starting to operate the sites under
construction. The bids are coming in. There is interest from business
and other organisations that want to use this infrastructure. We will
therefore do everything necessary to resolve all security issues
at the proper level.
Vladimir Putin: And Mr
Matytsin.
International University
Sports Federation (FISU) President Oleg Matytsin: Mr President,
First of all,
I would like to express our gratitude to you on behalf
of my colleagues over at FISU for your support of this
project, Krasnoyarsk 2019, since the beginning of the bidding
campaign. We remember the meeting with you way back in Kazan, when
the decision was being made. For us, the President’s personal
attention to this project is a guarantee of its highest possible
status.
I’d like to take
advantage of this opportunity to express my gratitude
for the faith that I received as a candidate, when
I was nominated for FISU president. I hope I will live up
to this faith, considering the experience of Kazan
and the development of university sport in the Russian
Federation.
Cooperation with
the organising committee, the Ministry of Sport and all
the relevant agencies is proceeding in a positive
and constructive manner. We cooperate with all international federations
because, as you undoubtedly know, all competitions are held
in accordance with international federations’ requirements.
And in this regard, all technical delegates who have visited
Krasnoyarsk and who will visit it soon, share their experience.
As a result, certain adjustments have already been made
to the preparation process.
FISU has adopted
a strategy that envisions two main areas.
The first is
strengthening international sport cooperation with international sport organisations,
such as, above all, the International Olympic Committee
and international sport federations.
On the other
hand, we realise that university sport today should develop primarily through
partnership with universities. In this respect, the Krasnoyarsk
project is meaningful, because it is a centre of student life,
as it were – Siberian Federal University – and all
volunteer programmes and innovative programmes will be developed here.
Last year, we signed
a cooperation agreement with the International Olympic Committee,
the first in our history. All our programmes are being harmonised
in keeping with Agenda 2020. Thomas Bach’s words of greetings
at the Almaty Universiade was a first. I am confident that
this cooperation will continue.
And the second
point. It is important that UNESCO and WADA take part in these
programmes. I share your concerns. FISU will do its best to keep
sports competitions among students clean. We adopted an educational
programme jointly with WADA two years ago. This is a programme for universities,
it was translated into five languages and is now being implemented
in Russia and all countries where these languages are spoken.
Importantly, this is not
just a sports project. Of course, this is a multi-sport
competition, comparable to the Olympic Games in scale. However,
more importantly for us as an international federation, this is
also an educational and cultural project. Next year, the FISU
International Forum will be held here in Krasnoyarsk, attended
by representatives of 150 countries. We will certainly focus
on Russia’s experience, above all the experience gained during
the Kazan Universiade and the Sochi Olympics.
I would like
to point out the experience of Krasnoyarsk in organising
the Universiade, namely, the integration of businesses
and government agencies. I’d like to take this opportunity
to thank Norilsk Nickel for becoming a FISU partner. We have
launched the FISU Ambassadors programme, in conjunction with
the IOC Athletes’ Commission. This takes into account the experience
of the leading Olympic champions, the positioning of their
life values, and the values of the Olympic movement among
students. Therefore, I hope that the company will continue to be
our partner and that this cooperation will be expanded.
I have no doubt that
Russia has vast experience in training athletes and creating
a festive spirit and atmosphere during the Universiade. Russia
is an open country with a wealth of experience and rich
traditions, and people will enjoy visiting us.
Thank you.
Vladimir Putin:
I would like to thank you as well, and your FISU
colleagues, for placing their trust in Russia. I am confident we
will do our best to ensure that this event is held
at the highest level and contributes to promoting youth
and student sport.
Colleagues, there are
just two years left before the event. There are still quite a few
unfinished facilities. The infrastructure must be brought up
to a level befitting of such a major, ambitious event.
Much remains to be
done. It may seem that construction is underway and everything appears
to be fine. But we all know that the most important and critical
period – finishing the construction – lies ahead. This is true
for all kinds of projects of this kind and this scale.
To make sure everything runs smoothly, it is imperative to make
timely decisions and implement plans on time.
Let’s draw up a good
report of our meeting today, which would be yet another milestone
in implementing all our major plans that we have outlined. Mr Mutko,
please run it by our colleagues who are involved in this work,
and make sure that it is indeed a properly approved document, so that
no one can say later that someone was unaware of or was not ready
for something. And then give it to me for signing.
I want to say
some special words of gratitude to our colleagues – from Russian
Platinum, Musa Bazhaev, from Basic Element, Oleg Deripaska and from
Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin – for their active involvement in this
work. I hope that we will keep working together to achieve our goals.
I hope that
the Krasnoyarsk Territory authorities mobilise their resources
and capabilities to achieve this goal. All the more so since we
are well aware that sport is a critical thing, but, ultimately, everything
is being done for the residents of Krasnoyarsk,
the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the entire country.
This involves
a significant increase in capabilities to develop sport
in general and to create favourable conditions for people’s
life in this extremely important region of our country. It should
serve as a good impetus for developing the social sphere
and creating favourable and modern conditions of life.
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