Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday he had signed an economic stimulus plan for 2009.
Putin was speaking at a meeting of the government commission for regional development.
The plan, which was preliminarily approved by the government in March, envisages support for the financial system, as well as the housing, agricultural, auto and other industries.
Putin also said the federal government was prepared to increase its funding of regional programs aimed at alleviating unemployment. He went on to urge governors to closely monitor wage arrears in their regions, aid regional businesses and resolve corporate conflicts.
"Regional authorities should not seek to avoid solving the problems of specific businesses," he said.
Commenting on regional finances, Putin called on regional governments to revise their budgets faster and not to redistribute revenues from municipal budgets to regional treasuries, ITAR-TASS reported. As a result of the ongoing financial crisis, both the federal and regional governments have had to revise their budgets.
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