Khusnullin reported on a conversation with Putin about a "tough" lesson for officials

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that he once surprised President Vladimir Putin with his tough decision.

"You know, when I started working in the government in 2020, according to the results of the first year, eight regions did not fulfill the road construction plan. I came with a report to President Putin and proposed to remove those responsible for the disrupted site — deputy governors, regional ministers and customers," Khusnullin said in an interview with TASS.

According to him, the president asked:

"Why so tough?"

"I answered: it is impossible to receive budget money and not perform the planned amount of work on time. He added: it will be a good lesson for everyone," Khusnullin said.

He added that then the president instructed to work out the issue with his administration and the heads of the regions. As a result, the deputy chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation noted, eight officials were removed from office.

"Since then, there has not been a single region that has not fulfilled the annual road construction plan," Khusnullin said.