In his annual speech to the Russian political elite, Putin set out how he planned to raise people's living standards and boost healthcare and education, promising he would find extra money to back the pledges. Putin also laid out deadlines to close huge and sometimes apparently spontaneous landfill sites that have become a political sore for the Kremlin and angered many Russians who have seen them spring up near their homes, polluting the air. Bureaucratic red tape is of little interest to them," Putin told lawmakers and regional leaders.

Source: Putin, faced with ratings slump, offers Russians financial sweeteners