I believe that caring for older persons is a priority task for the state and society at large. Unimaginably hard trials and tribulations were shouldered by our elderly people. It was they who worked hard to create the economic and industrial potential which the wellbeing of the Russian state was long based on. It should be noted that, in many respects, we owe our existence thanks to that potential.

Regrettably, today many elderly people are left alone, helpless and poor. Not only do they desperately need medical help and medicines, but sometimes also elementary care and assistance in their everyday life. Helping them is our duty.

In recent years we addressed the social protection of the elderly. Pensions have grown considerably. As of July 1 this year, the old-age pension is more than 8,000 roubles, which is substantially more than it was three or five years ago.

This year, special additional payments have been introduced for unemployed retired persons whose income is below the living wage. By the year 2012, the average pension is planned to be more than 1.5 times more than the minimum subsistence level. One must admit though that pensions are as yet too small, if compared with developed countries. In future they are sure to grow.

Not long ago I held a meeting in Kursk to discuss one thing – how to improve the quality of elderly people’s lives. I visited several places, including a boarding house for war and labor veterans and a social welfare service centre. I saw good techniques introduced to rid our seniors of having to arrange their lives according to rigid patterns, standing in queues in order to obtain all sorts of certificates and red-tape documents.

I also saw interesting initiatives, like a University for the Elderly Person, which stuck in my memory. This university is not only a center for leisure where elderly people can socialize, but also for extended education, since it is never too late to learn.

This kind of experience is certainly worth disseminating. We have about 40 million pensioners in the country. As of the beginning of this year, 30.7 million of them are able-bodied. All of them have huge professional experience and knowledge, and it is very good that many of them are ready to work on. What we need is to determine how to use their labor most efficiently.

Let me specially mention pensioners residing in rural areas, of whom we have more than eight million, as well as those living in areas which are remote and difficult to access. Accessible medical care is particularly important for them, along with the possibility of getting necessary medicines. In some small towns, let alone villages and settlements, there may be only one pharmacy or first-aid station, often poorly supplied with medication, people say. Unfortunately, it occurs everywhere.

At the meeting in Kursk, I instructed regional authorities and local governments to address this issue seriously. Also, let me address business. I am aware that the social sector is not the most profitable. However, our entrepreneurs, with support from state and social organizations, can still do quite a lot for elderly people, for instance by setting up special so-called social shops for them, with affordable prices; by providing them with mobile communications and new information technology devices. Our pensioners do follow the latest developments.

In our society, there are quite a number of people who volunteer to help elderly people on their own. This work of theirs can’t but be respected and surely needs support, including from the state. Each and every one of us, irrespective of our jobs or financial capabilities, can do something useful for elderly people.

They need our attention, our elementary sympathy, so let us not spare either time or effort to that end.