Greetings, dear readers. Our guest blogger for today is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation. I will have comments at some point, but for now, Putin has the stage. Enjoy.
From March 16, 2022, courtesy of the Kemlin:
Meeting on socioeconomic support for regions
2022-03-16 18:10:00
Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region
The President held a meeting, via videoconference,
on socioeconomic support for the constituent entities
of the Russian Federation.
"The main reports of the meeting were
presented by Moscow Mayor, Chair of the State Council Commission
on State and Municipal Administration and Head
of the State Council Working Group on Economic Issues
and Countering the Spread of the Coronavirus Sergei Sobyanin;
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin; Novgorod Region Governor, Chair
of the State Council Commission on Social Policy Andrei Nikitin;
Head of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chair of the State
Council Commission on Construction, Housing and Utilities,
and Urban Environment Rustam Minnikhanov, Kaliningrad Region Governor,
Chair of the State Council Commission on Small
and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurships Anton Alikhanov; and Head
of the Republic of Buryatia, Chair of the State
Council Commission on Transport Alexei Tsydenov. In addition, Prime
Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy
to the Urals Federal District Vladimir Yakushev, Minister
of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Agriculture
Dmitry Patrushev, and Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov also delivered
remarks.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon,
colleagues.
Taking part in our meeting are senior Government
officials, plenipotentiary presidential envoys in the federal
districts and heads of Russian regions.
We are meeting in a complicate period as our
Armed Forces are conducting a special military operation in Ukraine
and Donbass. I would like to remind you that
at the beginning, on the morning of February 24,
I publicly announced the reasons for and the main goal
of Russia’s actions. It is to help our people in Donbass, who
have been subjected to real genocide for nearly eight years
in the most barbarous ways, that is, through blockade, large-scale
punitive operations, terrorist attacks and constant artillery raids. Their
only guilt was that they demanded basic human rights: to live according
to their forefathers’ laws and traditions, to speak their native
language, and to bring up their children as they want.
During these years, the Kiev authorities have ignored
and sabotaged the implementation of the Minsk Package
of Measures for a peaceful settlement of the crisis
and ultimately late last year openly refused to implement it.
They also started to implement plans to join NATO.
Moreover, the Kiev authorities also announced their intention to have
nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles. This was a real threat. With
foreign technical support, the pro-Nazi Kiev regime would have obtained
weapons of mass destruction in the foreseeable future and,
of course, would have targeted them against Russia.
There was a network of dozens of laboratories
in Ukraine, where military biological programmes were conducted under
the guidance and with the financial support
of the Pentagon, including experiments with coronavirus strains,
anthrax, cholera, African swine fever and other deadly diseases. Frantic
attempts are being made to conceal traces of these secret programmes.
However, we have grounds to assume that components of biological weapons
were being created in direct proximity to Russia
on the territory of Ukraine.
Our numerous warnings that such developments posed
a direct threat to the security of Russia were rejected
with open and cynical arrogance by Ukraine and its US
and NATO patrons.
In other words, all our diplomatic efforts were fully
in vain. We have been left with no peaceful alternative to settle
the problems that developed through no fault of ours. In this
situation, we were forced to begin this special military operation.
The movement of Russian forces against Kiev
and other Ukrainian cities is not connected with a desire
to occupy that country. This is not our goal, as I pointed out
openly in my statement on February 24.
As for the combat tactics drafted
by the Defence Ministry of Russia and the General
Staff, this has fully justified itself. Our fellows – soldiers
and officers – are displaying courage and heroism and are
doing all they can to avoid civilian losses in Ukrainian cities.
This is what I would like to say
for the first time: at the very start
of the operation in Donbass, the Kiev authorities were
offered opportunities to avoid hostilities, via different channels,
to simply withdraw their troops from Donbass as an alternative
to bloodshed. They did not want to do this. Well, this was their
decision; now they will understand what is happening in reality,
on the ground.
The operation is being carried out successfully,
in strict conformity with the approved plan.
I must note that, encouraged by the United
States and other Western countries, Ukraine was purposefully preparing
for a scenario of force, a massacre and an ethnic
cleansing in Donbass. A massive onslaught on Donbass
and later Crimea was just a matter of time. However, our Armed
Forces have shattered these plans.
Kiev was not just preparing for war,
for aggression against Russia – it was conducting it. There were
endless attempts to stage acts of subversion and organise
a terrorist underground in Crimea. Hostilities in Donbass
and the shelling of peaceful residential areas have continued
all these years. Almost 14,000 civilians, including children have been killed
over this time.
As you know, there was a missile strike
at the centre of Donetsk on March 14. This was
an overt bloody act of terror that took over 20 lives. Shelling has
been ongoing during the past few days. They are striking randomly
at squares with the fervor of fanatics
and the exasperation of the doomed. They are acting like
the Nazis did when they tried to drag as many innocent victims
as they could to their graves.
But what is shocking in its extreme cynicism is not
just Kiev’s blatant lies and statements that Russia allegedly launched
this missile at Donetsk (they have gone as far as this), but
the attitude of the so-called civilised world. The European
and American press did not even notice this tragedy in Donetsk,
as if nothing happened.
This is how they have been hypocritically looking
the other way over the past eight years as mothers buried their
children in Donbass, as elderly people were killed. This is simply
moral degradation, complete de-humanisation.
It was no longer possible to tolerate this outrageous
attitude towards the people of Donbass. To put an end
to this genocide, Russia recognized the people’s republics
of Donbass and signed treaties of friendship and mutual aid
with them. Based on these treaties, the republics appealed
to Russia for military aid in rebuffing the aggression. We
rendered this aid because we simply could not do otherwise. We had no right to act
otherwise.
I would like to emphasise this point and draw
your attention to it: if our troops had acted only within
the people's republics and helped them liberate their territory, it
would not have been a final solution, it would not have led to peace
and would not have ultimately removed the threat – to our
country, this time to Russia. On the contrary, a new
frontline would have been extended around Donbass and its borders,
and shelling and provocations would have continued. In other
words, this armed conflict would have continued indefinitely. It would have
been fuelled by the revanchist hysteria of the Kiev regime,
as NATO deployed its military infrastructure faster and more
aggressively. In this case, we would have been faced with the fact
that the attack, the offensive weapons of the alliance were
already at our borders.
I will repeat – we had no alternative
for self-defence, for ensuring Russia's security, to this
special military operation. We will reach the goals we set. We will
certainly ensure the security of Russia and our people
and will never allow Ukraine to be a bridgehead
for aggressive actions against our country.
We remain ready to discuss matters of fundamental
importance to Russia’s future during the talks. This includes
Ukraine’s status as a neutral country, and demilitarisation
and denazification. Our country has done everything it could
to organise and hold these talks realising that it is important
to use every opportunity to save people and their lives.
But time and time again we see that the Kiev
regime, which its Western handlers have charged with the task
of creating an aggressive “anti-Russia” stance, does not care about
the future of the people of Ukraine. They do not care that
people are dying, that hundreds of thousands, or even millions
of people had to flee their homes, and that a horrendous
humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the cities controlled
by the neo-Nazis and armed criminals who were cut loose.
Clearly, Kiev’s Western patrons are just pushing them
to continue the bloodshed. They incessantly supply Kiev with weapons
and intelligence, as well as other types of assistance,
including military advisers and mercenaries.
They are using economic, financial, trade and other
sanctions against Russia as weapons, but these sanctions have backfired
in Europe and in the United States where prices
of gasoline, energy and food have shot up, and jobs
in the industries associated with the Russian market have been
cut. So, do not shift the blame on us and do not accuse our
country of everything that goes wrong in your countries.
I want ordinary Western people hear me, too. You are
being persistently told that your current difficulties are the result
of Russia’s hostile actions and that you have to pay
for the efforts to counter the alleged Russian threat from
your own pockets. All of that is a lie.
The truth is that the problems faced
by millions of people in the West are the result
of many years of actions by the ruling elite of your
respective countries, their mistakes, and short-sighted policies
and ambitions. This elite is not thinking about how to improve
the lives of their citizens in Western countries. They are
obsessed with their own self-serving interests and super profits.
This can be seen in the data provided
by international organisations, which clearly show that social problems,
even in the leading Western countries, have exacerbated
in recent years, that inequality and the gap between
the rich and the poor is widening, and racial
and ethnic conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth
of the Western welfare society, the so-called golden billion, is
crumbling.
To reiterate, the whole planet is now paying
for the West’s ambitions and the West’s attempts
to maintain its elusive dominance by any means possible.
Imposing sanctions is the logical continuation
and the distillation of the irresponsible
and short-sighted policy of the US and EU countries’
governments and central banks. They themselves have driven up global
inflation in recent years, and with their actions caused rising
global poverty and greater inequality across the world.
The question now arises – who will answer for the millions
who will die of hunger in the world’s poorest countries due
to growing food shortages?
Let me reiterate, the global economy and global
trade as a whole have suffered a major blow, as did trust
in the US dollar as the main reserve currency.
The illegitimate freezing of some
of the currency reserves of the Bank of Russia marks
the end of the reliability of so-called first-class assets.
In fact, the US and the EU have defaulted on their
obligations to Russia. Now everybody knows that financial reserves can
simply be stolen. And many countries in the immediate future may
begin – I am sure this is what will happen – to convert their
paper and digital assets into real reserves of raw materials, land,
food, gold and other real assets which will only result in more
shortages in these markets.
Let me add that the seizure of foreign assets
and accounts of Russian companies and individuals is also
a lesson for domestic businesses that there is nothing
as reliable as investing in one’s own country. I personally
have said that a number of times.
We appreciate the position of those foreign
companies who continue working in our country despite the brazen
pressure from the US and its vassals. They are sure to find
additional opportunities for growth in the future.
We also know those who cowardly betrayed their partners
and forgot about their responsibility to employees and customers
in Russia, rushing to earn illusory dividends from joining
the anti-Russia campaign. However, unlike Western countries, we will
respect property rights.
Here is what I would like to point out. We must
clearly understand that a new package of sanctions
and restrictions would have been imposed on us no matter what.
I want to emphasise this. For the West, our military
operation in Ukraine is just a pretext for imposing more
sanctions on us. Indeed, this time they are concentrated.
In the same way, the West used the referendum
in Crimea as a pretext, which, by the way, took place
on March 16, 2014, eight years ago today, when the residents
of Crimea and Sevastopol made the free choice to be one
with their historical homeland.
To reiterate, these are just pretexts. The policy
of containing and weakening Russia, including through economic
isolation, a blockade, is a premeditated, long-term strategy. Western
leaders are no longer hiding the fact that the sanctions are not
directed against individuals or companies. Their goal is to deliver
a blow to our entire economy, our social and cultural sphere,
every family, and every Russian citizen.
In fact, the steps designed to make
the lives of millions of people worse have all
the attributes of an aggression, a war by economic,
political, and informational means, and it is of a comprehensive
and blatant nature. Again, the West’s top political circles do not
even hesitate to talk about it openly.
The verbal tinsel of political correctness,
inviolability of private property and freedom of speech was
blown off overnight. Even the Olympic principles were trampled upon. They
did not hesitate to settle their score through the Paralympic
athletes. So much for “sport being separate from politics.”
In many Western countries, people are subjected
to persecution just because they are originally from Russia. They are
being denied medical care, their children are expelled from schools, parents
are losing their jobs, and Russian music, culture, and literature are
being banned. In its attempts to “cancel” Russia, the West tore
off its mask of decency and began to act crudely showing its
true colours. One cannot help but remember the anti-Semitic Nazi pogroms
in Germany in the 1930s, and then pogroms perpetrated
by their henchmen in many European countries that joined
the Nazi aggression against our country during the Great Patriotic
War.
A massive attack against Russia has also been unleashed
in cyberspace. An unprecedented information campaign has been
launched through global social networks and all Western media outlets,
whose impartiality and independence have proved to be a mere
myth. Access to information is being restricted and people are being
crammed full of all sorts of fake stories, propaganda,
and fabrication, or simply put, snake oil. It even got
to the point where American social media companies said straight out
that it was possible to post calls for the murder
of Russian nationals.
We realise what kind of resources this empire
of lies has at its disposal but, all the same, when confronted
with truth and justice, it is helpless. Russia will never stop trying
to make its position clear to the whole world. And our
position is honest and open, and an increasing number
of people hear, understand and share it.
I want to be as direct as possible:
hostile geopolitical designs lie behind the hypocritical talk
and recent actions by the so-called collective West. They have
no use – simply no use – for a strong and sovereign
Russia, and they will not forgive us for our independent policy or for standing
up for our national interests.
We still remember how they supported separatism
and terrorism by encouraging terrorists and bandits
in the North Caucasus. Just like in the 1990s
and the early 2000s, they want to try again to finish us
off, to reduce us to nothing by turning us into a weak
and dependent country, destroying our territorial integrity
and dismembering Russia as they see fit. The failed then
and they will fail this time.
Yes, of course, they will back the so-called fifth
column, national traitors – those who make money here in our country
but live over there, and “live” not in the geographical sense
of the word but in their minds, in their servile mentality
I do not in the least condemn those who have
villas in Miami or the French Riviera, who cannot make do
without foie gras, oysters or gender freedom as they call it. That is
not the problem, not at all. The problem, again, is that many
of these people are, essentially, over there in their minds
and not here with our people and with Russia. In their
opinion – in their opinion! – it is a sign
of belonging to the superior caste, the superior race.
People like this would sell their own mothers just to be allowed
to sit on the entry bench of the superior caste. They
want to be just like them and imitate them in everything. But
they forget or just completely fail to see that even if this
so-called superior caste needs them, it needs them as expendable raw
material to inflict maximum damage on our people.
The collective West is trying to divide our
society using, to its own advantage, combat losses
and the socioeconomic consequences of the sanctions,
and to provoke civil unrest in Russia and use its fifth
column in an attempt to achieve this goal.
As I mentioned earlier, their goal is to destroy Russia.
But any nation, and even more so the Russian
people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum
and traitors and will simply spit them out like an insect
in their mouth, spit them onto the pavement. I am convinced that
a natural and necessary self-detoxification of society like this
would strengthen our country, our solidarity and cohesion and our
readiness to respond to any challenge.
The so-called collective West and its fifth column
are accustomed to measuring everything and everyone by their own
standards. They believe that everything is for sale and everything
can be bought, and therefore they think we will break down and back
off. But they do not know our history and our people well enough.
Indeed, many countries around the world have long put
up with living with their backs bent, obsequiously accepting all
the decisions that come from their sovereign, looking up to it
subserviently. This is how many countries live. Unfortunately, in Europe,
as well.
But Russia will never be seen in such a miserable
and humiliated situation, and the fight we are waging is
the fight for our sovereignty and the future of our
country and our children. We will fight for the right to be
and remain Russia. The courage and fortitude of our
soldiers and officers, the faithful defenders
of the Fatherland, should inspire us.
Colleagues,
Clearly, the ongoing developments are drawing
a line under the global dominance of Western countries
in politics and the economy. Moreover, they call into question
the economic model that has been imposed on the developing
countries and the entire world in recent decades.
Importantly, the obsession of the United
States and its proponents with the sanctions is not shared
by the countries that are home to more than half
of the global population. These states represent the fastest
growing and the most promising portion of the global
economy. That includes Russia.
Indeed, it is difficult for us at the moment.
Russian financial companies, major enterprises, small and medium-sized
businesses are facing unprecedented pressure.
The banking system was the first to come
under sanctions, but our banks dealt with this challenge. They are working
literally around the clock to make payments and settlements
between individual clients and to ensure the functioning
of enterprises.
The second wave of sanctions was designed
to set off panic in the area of retail. According
to estimates, over the past three weeks, additional demand
for goods has exceeded one trillion rubles. However, our manufacturers, suppliers,
transport and logistics companies did everything humanly possible
to avoid major shortages in retail chains.
I would like to thank the business community
and the teams at companies, banks and organisations, which
are not only responding effectively to sanction-related challenges but are
also laying the foundation for the continued sustainable
development of our economy. I would like to make a special
mention of the Government, the Bank of Russia, regional
governors and regional and municipal teams. In the current
tough conditions, you are carrying out your responsibilities admirably.
Obviously, the attempts to organise
an economic blitzkrieg against Russia, demoralise our society
and push us around have failed, and so we are sure to see
attempts to bring even greater pressure to bear on our country.
But we will overcome these difficulties as well. The Russian economy
will adapt to the new realities. We will strengthen our sovereignty
in science and technology, allocate additional resources
to support agriculture, the processing industry, infrastructure,
and housing, and continue developing foreign trade ties to tap
into rapidly growing, dynamic international markets.
Clearly, in the new realities we will have
to make deep structural changes in our economy, and I will
not pretend that they will be easy or that they will not lead
to a temporary increase in inflation and unemployment.
In this situation, our task is to minimise such
risks. We must not just meet all the social commitments
of the state but also launch new, more effective mechanisms
for supporting our people and their incomes.
We will focus on protecting mothers and children
and supporting families with children. We have already made
a decision – you know about it – to introduce
as of April 1 payments for children aged 8 through 16 in low-income
families. The size of the payment will range from 50 to 100
percent of the subsistence minimum for every child. Currently
the national average is up to 12,300 rubles. Thus, we will have a uniform
system of support from when a mother first becomes pregnant until
the child turns 17.
I am instructing the Government to oversee
the operation of this system so that it quickly detects any changes
in the material status of families. That is, it is necessary
to make sure families start receiving state support as soon
as possible if the parents lost their jobs or faced other
difficult circumstances.
I also ask the Government to promptly analyse
the efficacy of the measures to support those who have lost
their jobs. Such measures must obviously be expanded, through the social
contract mechanism, among other.
I am aware that the price hikes are a big
blow to people’s incomes, and so we will take action to increase
all social payments shortly including benefits and pensions, we will raise
the minimum wage and the minimum subsistence level and also
the wages of public-sector workers. I ask the Government
to calculate the exact parameters for the increases.
To emphasise, even under the current difficult
conditions we must reduce poverty and inequality by the end
of the year. This issue remains quite solvable even now. I ask
the Government and the regions to focus on this task.
I will add that we understand that it is not only an economic issue
but also one of social justice.
At present, much depends on the lead
of the heads of the constituent entities
of the Federation and their readiness to assume
responsibility. I signed an executive order today on additional
powers for heads of regions – they will be authorised
to take flexible and responsive decisions to support our
citizens, the economy and social policy in light
of the situation on the ground. Let me remind you that we
streamlined our steps in fighting the coronavirus in exactly
this way, making it possible to consider the situation in each
region, city and village – and the situation is different
everywhere.
I am instructing all the departments
of federal bodies in the constituent entities
of the Federation to coordinate their work with
the regional authorities, and governors must establish operational centres
to ensure economic development and to personally lead this work.
What is the priority here?
Private businesses must play the key role
in overcoming the current problems as they can quickly rework
logistics, find new suppliers and increase output of in-demand
products. Supporting employment, incomes and wages and supporting
the stable, balanced performance of the economy in general
depend on how quickly private businesses will be able to find
the right solutions and take them.
That is why we must respond to external pressure with
the utmost entrepreneurial freedom and with support for business
initiative.
I want the Government, law enforcement agencies
and oversight authorities to continue their work on lifting
unnecessary administrative and regulatory barriers. Furthermore, it is
unacceptable to distract the private sector and regional
authorities from addressing the most pressing tasks and burden them
with all sorts of inspections and oversight procedures.
The lack of working capital
and the unavailability or high cost of loans is among
the key problems facing companies now, and the Central Bank was
forced to take appropriate measures. In this regard, I am
ordering the following steps to be taken.
First, companies that fulfill orders placed by government
authorities and companies partly owned by the state should be
paid for the delivered goods and services as soon
as possible, and reinvest the proceeds into business.
In this regard, I propose increasing the amount of advance
payments under government contracts. The advance payment must amount
to at least a half of the total amount
of a contract, and the payment term
for the delivered goods and services should be reduced
to seven business days. A similar decision must also be made
at the level of the constituent entities
of the Federation, municipalities and companies with state
participation.
Second, it is imperative to improve entrepreneurs’
ability to raise additional resources from development institutions,
by which I mean expanding the Project Financing Factory’s
activities (it is working well, and we know from practice that its
services are in demand), providing resources for business investment
plans through the Industry Development Fund (which is one
of the really well-performing tools), the Bank for Small
and Medium-Sized Enterprises, and also through regional support
institutions, including guarantee funds. I hereby instruct
the Government to allocate additional funds
to the constituent entities of the Federation to fund
these regional tools.
I want the Government and our colleagues
in the regions to pay attention to the fact that
the most important task is to ensure the availability
of goods on the consumer market, primarily essential supplies,
medications and medical products. Logistical complications and other
objective problems that result in price surges must be resolved quickly.
At the same time, it is imperative to rule out intervention
in price regulation. The increased supply of goods and nothing
else should lead to a decrease and stabilisation of prices.
Separately, I would like to address our exporters.
Whenever deliveries to international markets do not run smoothly, you
should send extra batches of goods to the domestic market rather
than reduce your production rates. This should objectively reduce domestic
prices, including those of gasoline, diesel, bitumen, metals,
and other export goods. I want the Government
and the Federal Antimonopoly Service, as well regional
authorities, to monitor these markets at all times.
Furthermore, considering the new challenges faced
by Russia, we must maintain and expand our long-term development
agenda, including the implementation of all planned federal
and regional projects. We must make full use of the potential
of our budget system as a tool for stimulation.
As we agreed, federal funding for various
projects, including construction projects, will be carried out in full.
Moreover, in December we decided on allocating additional funds if
construction costs went up for objective reasons.
I consider it important to note that there will be
no problems with federal budget funding in the current situation. Our
economy is generating adequate revenue. This means we will not have
to resort to emissions. In simple terms, the Central bank
will not have to print money. We have revenue – sound market revenue.
The problem is not rooted in money. Let me repeat that we have
the resources. The main difficulties are related
to the supply of spare parts, technology and construction
materials, and the need to organise the work
of subcontractors. Therefore, the deadlines and the methods
for implementing specific projects and project phases may be subject
to change. This will require the smooth operation of government
bodies and business representatives and expediting
the implementation of import substitution programmes. This is
an important point.
In the process, it is also important
to simplify the procedure for cooperation between
the regions and the federal government bodies and give
the regions of the Federation more freedom in using
resources and more opportunities for launching new construction
projects and programmes.
Additional funding for road construction has already
been allocated to the regions. I would like to ask
the Government to consider an increase in funding other
infrastructure facilities so work can start this year,
and the possibility of building up purchases from Russian
companies, for instance, with a view to upgrading public
transport.
Obviously, this will be a serious additional burden
on the budgets of the regions of the Russian
Federation. Therefore, as we agreed, we will additionally adjust
the subsidies to even out fiscal capacity. We will also use other
measures for supporting regional finances. Thus, all payments
on budget loans scheduled for this year will be suspended
and payments on commercial loans will be replaced with budget loans
wherever necessary. I would like to ask the Government
to study this issue in detail and dig to the bottom
of every case. Only a case-by-case approach will produce
the desired effect.
In addition, the Finance Ministry will provide
an additional unconditional credit line for every region. It will
amount to 10 percent of total revenue with repayment no earlier than
the end of this year.
We are going to maintain the same volume
of infrastructure budget loans. I am instructing the Government
to make arrangements for flexible management of this programme
and to take account of the challenges involved
in the implementation of the projects that I mentioned
earlier. The regions should be able to take swift action
on altering the portfolio and the contents
of the projects, and focus on the ones that can be
implemented as efficiently as possible in the current
circumstances. If need be, we will explore the possibility
of increasing the volume of infrastructure loans. This is
possible and is quite feasible. In general, we will closely monitor
regional finances and make additional decisions to support them, if
need be.
I would like to emphasise that direct communication
between all levels of government and a clear sequence
of actions are of paramount importance now. The State Council
and its specialised commissions have proved their effectiveness.
I want the public administration commission led by Sergei Sobyanin
to team up with our colleagues from the Government
and to focus on problematic items on the regional
agenda, to come up with the best solutions and to scale
them to all Russian regions. We have gained extensive experience from
combating the pandemic.
Colleagues,
Our economy, the state budget and private sector
possess the necessary resources to address long-term tasks. All
strategic and national goals that we have set for the period
to 2030 must be achieved. The current challenges
and the opportunities that they offer should mobilise us – this
is what we should set our minds to in order to achieve tangible
results in the interests of our people.
Clearly, we will need to fine-tune our programmes,
and we welcome the initiatives coming from business circles,
academics, and public associations. In this regard, I want
the regions to join in organising the forum convened
by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives titled, Powerful Ideas
for New Times, where every Russian citizen will have a chance
to present their proposals and specific projects for advancing
their respective cities, regions, and our country as a whole.
To reiterate, the current developments represent
a challenge for all of us. I am confident that we will come
through with dignity. By working hard and working together,
by supporting each other, we will overcome all challenges and emerge
even stronger, as has always been the case
in the thousand-year history of Russia. That is how I want
you to think about this work.
Let us move on to discussing the agenda."
<snip>
