At the beginning of the conversation, Putin said he hoped to work constructively with parliament, although disputes were inevitable. And the most immediate task is to work on the implementation of the speech to the Federal Assembly.
“The most important thing is to save people. This is to help our families, stimulate demographic processes, support youth, young families, families with children and, of course, large families, it is to educate the younger generations, and all this can Of course, this can only be done on the basis of economic development,” Putin emphasized. Another direction is the development of the potential of Russian regions, the potential of both subjects and municipalities, and the creation of their own tax base. “And, of course, the modernization of the infrastructure of cities and rural areas,” Putin noted. The president also emphasized that today it is especially important to strengthen the defense capabilities and security of the Russian state.
On the other hand, Putin highlighted the role of deputies in the formation of the new government. “They will approve not only the president of the Government, but also his deputies and ministers from the civil bloc,” he stated. The president asked the State Duma to be guided in this process by the “interests of the cause” and not by corporate and partisan interests. “First of all, select and approve people based on their personal and business qualities, their ability to solve the problems that the country is about to solve,” said the president.
The faction leaders responded with their proposals for further development of the country. The first to speak was the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, who spoke about the need to regulate prices for essential goods, gasoline and tariffs for housing and communal services. He asked Putin to support the corresponding bill. Zyuganov cited China’s experience as an example.
“Xi Jinping carried out this operation brilliantly. I discussed it with him when he was working as mayor of Shanghai. It is behind schedule and needs your support,” Zyuganov said. The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation also expressed hope that Putin’s first visit will be to the East and not the West. “Comrade Xi Jinping is looking forward to seeing you, he loves our country very much,” he said. “He’s fine. Definitely, no jokes, I will take into account what he just said,” Putin responded.
The chairman of the “Just Russia – For Truth” party, Sergei Mironov, asked Putin to consider the issue of rewarding the governor of the Belgorod region, Gladkov, as well as the creation of an agency for veterans affairs and a ministry of demography. “In relation to his special attention to demographic problems and the announcement of the Year of the Family, I think that if we had a special Ministry of Demography within the government, it would probably be absolutely correct,” he said.
The question of demography was also raised by the leader of the LDPR, Leonid Slutsky. He said Russia should once again be a country of large families. “And the first step is to reestablish children’s groups for children from three months to a year and a half, so that young mothers combine motherhood with a professional career,” believes the deputy. Slutsky also suggested that the president issue war veterans certificates to military officers serving in the Northern Military District area.
The head of the “New People” faction of the Duma, Alexei Nechaev, proposed creating a position responsible for demography in Russia. “Many people say that in our country there are no people responsible for demographics. Well, someone tells you that you are responsible, but we can’t have a president who is responsible for everything. He is doing his job, so let’s relieve him of the burden of I work somehow.” Nechaev noted that now issues related to demographics are distributed among different departments.
The leader of the United Russia faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Vasiliev, told the president that deputies are working on 80 projects to implement Putin’s message. “The message was addressed to all the people. We have worked on all the proposals. There are 80 bills in process, of which 47 are in preparation for the second reading,” he said. The deputy stressed that the message of the President of the Russian Federation about United Russia is an action program.
Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin concluded the parliamentarians’ speech. He said that Putin’s victory in the presidential elections is perceived as a victory for all citizens.
“Today we had the first meeting of the State Duma after the last elections and all deputies, regardless of party or faction affiliation, asked to convey congratulatory words,” he said. Volodin also stated that the appointment of members of the Cabinet of Ministers is a control. “Therefore, we hope to pass this stage with dignity, understanding the country’s responsibility, putting the interests of Russia before the internal interests of the party,” Volodin said. According to him, there may be many parties, “but we have one homeland.”
Putin, concluding the meeting, said that attempts by Russia’s enemies to intimidate the Russian people lead to the opposite result. “You see, this is what our enemy does, hoping to achieve a result, he achieves a result, but exactly the opposite of what he expected. That’s all,” he said. According to him, the opponents do not understand who they are facing. “With Russia! This remains a community of people united by common goals, even regardless of their ethnic origin and religious characteristics. We have a common culture, there is something that unites us all,” the president said.
Addressing parliamentarians, Putin also warned that it is too early for Russian authorities to rest on their laurels. “We still have – in the lives of our people – a lot of all kinds of stupidity and injustice, from the lowest level to the very, very high. And now we cannot rest on our laurels, say that all this has passed, now we will sit as usual and function,” he said and asked the faction leaders to pay special attention to this. “Of course, we need to join forces in the interests of the state. We all need to work together,” the president added.
