    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 25, 2002]
    [Pages 888-894]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Students at

    St. Petersburg State University in St. Petersburg
    May 25, 2002

        President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
    Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for having me here. It's a
    great pleasure, as always, to be with young people, but especially here
    since I graduated from this university; it's a double pleasure for me to
    be here. But this university played a dual role in my career. The first
    time, when they basically gave me a present--they just gave me the
    degree that I earned--that was the one important part. [Laughter]
        The second very important facet in my life was when I worked here
    for the rector of the university as an assistant, helping him in the
    area of international contacts between and among various universities.
    And what I was doing was doing the same thing the rector was just
    talking about; I was setting up the initial contacts between our
    university and various other universities around the world. So what we
    did once, we invited the president of a midsize college from St.
    Petersburg, Florida, to come here and pay us a visit, since they had the
    same name. So then, what I did is I talked the former mayor, Mr.
    Sobchak, to receive this president of this college. So he, in turn,
    invited him to come to the United States. And this Mr. Carter, who was
    the head of this college in St. Pete, arranged a visit with one of the
    Presidents of the United States at the time, and I think his name was
    Bush. [Laughter] After that, he invited me to come to work for him, and
    the rest of my career is history, as they say. [Laughter]
        Well, to be very, very serious now, it's really a great pleasure to
    have business and dealings with students because students are very
    direct, as you know. And they also feel the rhythm of civilization as
    it's changing.
        When we were guests of the Bushes in Crawford, Texas, we also were
    given an opportunity to meet with young people. I think this will become
    a very fine tradition.
        President Bush. That's right.
        President Putin. And I think Mr. Bush
    also was waiting for this opportunity, because he asked me several times
    about this possibility. Well, George Bush and I don't know each other
    for that long; I think it's a little bit less than 2 years. But what
    we're trying to do is establish the environment which would be very
    conducive to having people in both of our countries meet, have
    opportunities to make contacts, and get along better.
        I don't want this to sound like a major report here, but I just want
    to inform you that we have just signed two major agreements between our
    two countries. One of them is having to do with the reduction in
    strategic arms of the two countries, and the other one is called an
    agreement on a new strategic relationship between the two countries. As
    we all know, people are divided into two groups, optimists and
    pessimists, and the pessimists will always find something wrong.
    Optimists, however, will find in these two documents that we signed a
    lot of things that are very useful and beneficial.
        But it's wonderful to deal with young people because, by their very
    nature, they're optimists and they look into the future. And that's why
    we're here, among other things.

    [[Page 889]]

        So today, when we were coming to the conclusion of our visit to the
    Hermitage--and we were running late so we were in a hurry--Mr.
    Piotrovsky, who really had very little time, said, ``By the way, before
    we leave I want to show you a portrait,'' which was a portrait of our
    great Tsaritsa Catherine the Great. And Mr. Bush, without missing a
    beat, said, ``Oh, and by the way, where is the portrait of Potemkin?''
    [Laughter]
        So when you ask questions, I ask you to give me the easy questions
    and give Mr. Bush the tough questions. [Laughter] And with pleasure, I
    give the word to George Bush.
        President Bush. Thank you very much. Madam President, thank you for your hospitality. Laura and
    I are honored to be here at this famous university. I'm particularly
    pleased to be coming to this university because it is the alma mater of
    your President and my friend, Vladimir Putin.
    But even more importantly, it is Mrs. Putin's
    alma mater. [Laughter]
        The President was talking about a seminar
    on international relations. I guess this is the most sophisticated
    seminar on international relations that you could possibly have. So I'll
    give you a quick insight as to what it's like to be involved with
    international relations.
        There we were, as guests of the
    Putins in their private home last night. We
    talked about our families; we talked about our passions; we talked about
    matters of life that friends would talk about. The best international
    relations start when people care about the other person, when they try
    to figure out how the other person thinks and what makes the other
    person's life go forward. We've had a lot of negotiations, of course.
    But the thing that impressed me the most about the President and his
    wife was how much they loved their
    daughters. That's a universal value. It's an
    impressive value.
        When I got out of college in 1968, America and the Soviet Union were
    enemies--bitter enemies. Today, America and Russia are friends. It's
    important for you to know that that era is long gone as far as I'm
    concerned. The treaty we signed says a lot about nuclear arms. It speaks
    about the need for peace, but it also says the cold war is over, and
    America and Russia need to be and will be friends, for the good of the
    world.
        And so it's my honor to come. I look forward to answering your
    questions. Since Vladimir went here to St.
    Petersburg, it only seems fair that the hard ones go to him. [Laughter]
    We'll be glad to handle your questions.

    Russia's Brain Drain

        Q. [Inaudible]--from the Sociology Department, and the question is:
    Everyone knows what the brain drain problem is, and it is an open secret
    that the traffic of brain drain is mostly oriented to the United States.
    I wonder what the Presidents of these two countries think about this
    problem.
        President Putin. I'll tell you right
    away: He'll say it's good; I'll say it's bad. [Laughter] But if you look
    at it a little more deeply, I'll get a little more serious and give you
    some more detail. There are two methods for stopping this occurrence:
    First of all, close the country down once again and create such
    regulatory conditions where people will lose the right to move freely;
    second is, in a free economy, to create economic conditions, conditions
    of prosperity for all those people so that they wish to stay here and
    work. And I think we have to take the second path.
        President Bush. I--first of all, there's a lot of brains in this
    room, and you get to decide whether there's a brain drain in Russia. I
    tell Vladimir all the time--I mean, Mr.
    President all the time that Russia's most precious resource is the
    brainpower of this country. And you've got a lot of it. It's going to
    take a lot of brains in Russia to create a drain. There are plenty of
    bright and smart people in Russia. Your history

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    says that. I'm absolutely convinced that the future of this country is
    incredibly bright, first, because of the great imagination and intellect
    of the Russian people, and second, because you've got a leader who
    understands that freedom is going to enhance the future of this country.
        You need to know that my view of foreign relations is not only to
    promote peace, but it's also to work with our friends the Russians so
    that the quality of life in both our countries improves.
        And so, finally, your question had a little bit of a slightly
    pessimistic tone to it--only slightly. I'm optimistic about Russia, and
    a strong and prosperous and peaceful Russia is good for America.

    Future of the Russian Economy

        Q. [Inaudible]--from the Department of Economics, and I would like
    to ask this question: We are involved in high technology exports, and my
    question in fact is, when will the time come when the bulk of the
    exports from Russia would be high technology and high-technology
    products, and not the primary products like oil and wood as the
    situation is now?
        President Bush. Good question.
        President Putin. It's a very professional
    question. And you, as an economist, understand very well that this
    situation did not just happen yesterday. The world market demands those
    products that are competitive. And the things that you mentioned, the
    high-tech kinds of things that you mentioned are in great demand in the
    world marketplace. And it's a no-brainer to understand that there were
    the kinds of talent and the kinds of products in the old Soviet Union
    that, in fact, had been in demand, because the best brains were directed
    precisely in that direction in those days.
        One of these areas, for instance, is missile technology, and our
    cooperation with the United States in this area can be measured in the
    billions of U.S. dollar equivalents. And during this summit, we
    dedicated a substantial portion of our discussion time precisely to this
    issue, which I consider very important if we are to remove many of the
    things that are obstacles in allowing high tech to come into Russia. And
    these obstacles and limitations were placed upon us back in the days of
    the Soviet Union and by their very inertia continue on and on.
        Therefore, many of the products come into Russia from third
    countries, from Europe, from Asia, and not from the United States. We
    think that it's not good for our bilateral relations with the United
    States. We have to do better. And that's why a great amount of time was
    spent by President Bush and myself in trying to find ways to remove
    these obstacles. We also spent a lot of time thinking about what we,
    ourselves, have to do internally in Russia to help get rid of these
    obstacles.
        But since we have the high-level esteemed guest in our midst, let me
    just direct our question to our bilateral affairs, and that is, what we
    need above all for Russia is an absolutely nondiscriminatory access to
    world markets and to U.S. markets. And we don't need preferences; we
    don't need subsidies; we don't need special favors. We just want normal,
    simple, ordinary, fair trade relations.
        President Bush. The role of Government is not to create wealth. The
    role of Government is to create an environment in which the entrepreneur
    or small business or dreamer can flourish. And that starts with rule of
    law, respect of private property, less regulatory burdens on the
    entrepreneur, open banking laws so that all people have access to
    capital, and good tax policy.
        Private ownership in Russia is a little more than 70 percent. That's
    a significant change. More and more people are owning small business.
    That's incredibly important, because that phenomenon makes sure that the
    elites don't control the economy.
        There's one piece of good news about Russian taxation, and one that
    I learned about yesterday, which Vladimir and
    I haven't had much time to talk about, that's

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    troubling. The good news is that the flat tax in Russia is a good, fair
    tax--much more fair, by the way, than many Western countries, I might
    add.
        I am worried when I heard that some Russian goods--there is an
    export tax on Russian goods. And the trouble with that, of course, is
    that no matter how good your goods are, if you price yourself out of the
    market, no one is going to buy. So that's a barrier. There's also
    barriers coming from Western countries that we've got to eliminate.
    Export controls on high-tech goods are problematic, that we're now
    reviewing in the United States.
        And very briefly, it is very important for the infrastructure to be
    modernized as quickly as possible, so that information from around the
    world moves quickly, freely throughout Russia, so that an entrepreneur
    such as yourself are able to learn from other entrepreneurs being
    connected through the Internet, which is going to be a great source of
    ideas and potential wealth for Russia.
        Okay.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. [Inaudible]--from the Foreign Affairs Department, and the
    question is addressed to President Bush: What is the image of--
    [inaudible]--that exists in the United States setup, and how this image
    of--[inaudible]--influences----
        Audience member. Image of Russia.
        Audience member. Image of Russians.
        President Bush. Image of Russia in the United States?
        Q. ----what image of Russia--Russians exists in the American
    political setup, and how this image of the Russians influences the
    taking of decisions in the area of American foreign politics?
        President Putin. This guy is very tricky;
    he's a very tricky young fellow. Mr. President, he's going to listen to
    your answer, write a dissertation, and get a degree. [Laughter]
        President Bush. Most Americans--by far, the vast majority of
    Americans are very pleased by the fact that the United States and Russia
    is entering into a new era. We've got a new war to fight together. We're
    joined to fight against bloodthirsty killers. These people hate freedom.
    They hate multiethnic societies. They can't stand religion. And it's a
    threat to America, and this is a threat to Russia, as you all so well
    know. In this country you've been hit by terrorist acts like we have
    been hit by terrorist acts.
        The American people truly appreciate the cooperative spirit of the
    Russian Government and truly appreciate the sympathies of the Russian
    people for what took place on September the 11th.
        It's an interesting question about leadership. Does a leader lead,
    or does a leader follow? Does a leader lead opinion, or does a leader
    try to chase public opinion? My view is, the leader leads. And my
    administration, along with Secretary of State Powell and National Security Adviser Rice, are going to do everything we possibly can do to
    make relations with Russia strong and friendly and cooperative and
    productive for both people.
        Good foreign policy--good foreign policy sets a foundation that is
    so firm that it won't crack if one nation or the other gets weak in the
    commitment to friendship. And we're laying a strong foundation.
        President Putin. I have to say that we
    have political leaders, we have public leaders, we have journalists. Our
    journalists and people who are specialized in the ministry, for
    instance, of international relations and foreign affairs and other
    specialists, in many other departments and agencies, confirm what
    President Bush has just said.
        President Bush. Yes, ma'am. Sorry.
        Q. The student of the Management Department, and the question is
    addressed to President Putin: Our countries have lived through quite
    different relations. While in the Second World War we had one type

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    of relations, relations very close and friendly; and then the cold war
    came. And my question is, as a result of this evolution of
    relationships, what is the state of our relationship between these two
    countries now?
        President Putin. You're studying
    management, right? Are there any people from the History Department? And
    I think the people from the History Department will probably support me
    in saying--in my saying the following: The World War II period and the
    cold war period were but two of the most contrasting and sharpest
    examples of the evolution of our relations. But we can talk about a lot
    of different episodes in our cooperation.
        But it really began in the times of the Revolutionary War in the
    United States. At that time, the Crown of England appealed to Catherine
    the Great and asked for support in quelling the rebellion in the United
    States. And the Russian sovereign turned and said, that's not what we're
    all about, and declared a military neutrality vis-a-vis the war. And
    this neutrality played a significant role in the--allowing the United
    States to gain its independence and gain its foundation.
        And today I'm going to present to President George Bush two very
    interesting documents, two original documents having to do with the
    earliest days of our diplomatic correspondence between our two
    countries.
        The world was changing over time; our relations were changing over
    time. Today, for instance, the United States is our number one trading
    partner for Russia, both in terms of the number of goods that are traded
    and also in terms of the accumulated investments that we have from the
    United States in Russia. The United States is a great and powerful power
    and has an economy that is powerful enough to a great extent to
    determine world economics.
        For decades, we voluntarily, on our own, created walls and barriers
    around ourselves and decided to live alone within these walls. And in a
    time when high technology is absolutely mandatory to the beneficial
    development of any country, this circumstance today is just
    unforgivable. And today, in the realms of national security,
    international security, economics, trade, we now are beginning to blend
    in together with the world economy at large.
        You can call our relations today a multi-component kind of a
    relationship depending on many, many different aspects. But I want to
    name the one and most important aspect. Over the last year and a half or
    2 years, what we've experienced is a huge growth in confidence and trust
    manifested between our two countries. And it is precisely this
    distinguishing characteristic which colors our relationship.
        If you're sitting next to the First Lady of the United States, I
    can't say you can't have a question. [Laughter]

    Leadership

        Q. The lady is from the Management Department, and she addresses her
    question to both of you gentlemen: To make up a manager, many factors
    are involved. What were those factors that shaped you as leaders, as
    managers?
        President Bush. I understand a leader can't do everything. And so,
    therefore, a leader must be willing to surround himself, in my case,
    with smart, capable, honorable people. A leader must be willing to
    listen, and then a leader must be decisive enough to make a decision and
    stick by it.
        In politics, in order to lead, you've got to know what you believe.
    You have to stand on principle. You have to believe in certain values,
    and you must defend them at all costs. A politician who takes a poll to
    figure out what to believe is a politician who is constantly going to be
    trying to lead through--it's like a dog chasing its tail.
        And finally, any leader must--in order to lead, must understand,
    must have a vision about where you're going. You must set clear goals
    and convince people of those goals and constantly lead toward those
    goals.

    [[Page 893]]

        And finally, you've got to treat people with respect on your team.
    And by respecting people, they become--they become better members of the
    team and, therefore, give better advice and work toward the same goal.
        President Putin. To be successful in any
    kind of business, in any kind of enterprise, you have to have two
    qualities: You have to have a sense of responsibility, and you have to
    have a sense of love.
        Unfortunately, we have to come to an end here. Somebody is going to
    start crying back there if they don't get a question.

    Russia and the World Trade Organization

    [At this point, the questioner spoke in Russian, and a translation was
    not immediately provided.]

        President Putin. I did the right thing by
    giving the question to her; she's asking President Bush instead.
    [Laughter]

    [At this point, the questioner spoke in Russian, and a translation was
    not immediately provided.]

        President Putin. Great question, WTO.
        Q. The question is for President Bush from--[inaudible]--from the
    Department of International Relations: What specific and concrete steps
    can we expect from the United States in order to support our accession
    to the World Trade Organization?
        President Bush. Starting with having a President who thinks you
    ought to be in the WTO--and I think you ought to be. And I think the
    accession to the WTO ought to be based upon the rules that every other
    nation has had to live up to, nothing harsher, nothing less harsh.
        And I've told Vladimir in private and
    I've told the American people, I'm for Russia going into the WTO, just
    like I've asked--just like I asked Congress yesterday once in a press
    conference in Russia to get rid of Jackson-Vanik.
        So, to answer your questions, I vote aye, assuming that the
    President--the Russian Government continues to reform her economy, open
    it up, make market-based economy work. And that's exactly what the
    intentions of this President--that's the intention of this
    President.
        President Putin. George said it very
    well. The President of Russia has to want to be a member of the WTO. And
    he said that he's for it. If that's sufficient, I'm in. [Laughter] But
    on conditions acceptable to Russia. [Laughter]
        Dear friends, I want to thank you. I would like to thank you for the
    warm and friendly atmosphere in which we were, and it is of great
    importance for me personally, because indeed I want very much our dear
    guests to enjoy my native city. And although, of course, our movements
    create some hurdles for the movement of other people in the streets of
    Moscow, but, as George pointed out, the people are not very cross with
    us, since they wave their hands at us and smile at us. [Laughter] And
    today we had a friendly and kind atmosphere here, and the questions were
    in that spirit. And I am grateful to you for that.
        And as I promised, I would like to hand over to President Bush the
    copies of the first diplomatic documents. And these documents actually
    initiated--they started the diplomatic letters exchanged between our two
    countries, and they date back to 1780.
        President Bush. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The remarks began at 3:17 p.m. in the school's Ceremonial Hall.
    President Putin spoke in Russian, and his remarks were translated by an
    interpreter. President Putin referred to Anatoly Sobchak, former mayor
    of St. Petersburg, Russia; and Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, director, State
    Hermitage Museum. President Bush referred to Ludmila Alekseyevna
    Verbitskaya, rector, St. Petersburg State University; and President
    Putin's wife, Lyudmila. President Bush also referred to the Jackson-
    Vanik Amendment, which places restrictions on normalized trade relations
    between the U.S. and Russia and other countries of the former Soviet
    Union based

    [[Page 894]]

    on their economic structure and emigration policies. A portion of these
    remarks could not be verified because the tape was incomplete.