United
Russia Party congress
Vladimir
Putin addressed the plenary session of the United Russia
political party 17th Congress.
December
23, 2017
14:20
Moscow
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
Nearly
2,500 people are taking part in the congress, including 455 delegates
from the party’s 85 regional branches, heads of ministries
and agencies, State Duma deputies, representatives
of the regional executive and legislative bodies, secretaries
of United Russia regional political councils, and representatives
of the expert and scientific communities.
The congress
has two discussion venues on key items of the party’s agenda,
where the participants sum up the year’s results and set tasks
for the future.
*
* *
Speech
at the plenary session of the 17th United
Russia Party congress
Vladimir
Putin: Friends, colleagues,
Many
of you present here today took part in building the United
Russia Party. We did it at a complicated and critical stage
in the life of our state, when the nation needed
a powerful unifying force for its steady development,
for strengthening its statehood and addressing large-scale
challenges. The United Russia Party has achieved and continues
to achieve this goal. I am very pleased to note that
and would like to thank you for that.
United
Russia has earned its leading position by real actions
in the interests of the people, to the benefit
of our regions, and to the benefit of the whole
country. The people of Russia and all of us have walked
down a hard but monumental road of development. We did not sidestep
from the designated track and responded well
to the challenges of the hardest trials and crises,
including global ones, often completely out of our control. We stood
together in countering the assault of international terrorism,
in standing up for Russia’s independence and self-reliance,
and we showed unity in deciding the fate of Crimea
and Sevastopol.
We
turned around seemingly insurmountable trends in the economy,
demographics and social sphere. We ensured Russia’s enhanced security
and growing influence in the world. Huge infrastructure projects
and large-scale construction sites, new enterprises and advanced
industries are the results of our joint work.
If
we managed to achieve anything, the credit definitely goes
to the Russian people, their will, labour, confidence, sometimes
sacrifices, faith in patriotism as a key idea, belief
in their Motherland. All that is the decisive force behind our
progress
Yes,
we realise that we could have achieved more. This is always the case when
one takes up the most difficult tasks, when one sets ambitious goals.
And it is clear that if such super tasks are set, we can be sure from
the onset that we may fail in some areas. But it is much worse when
such ambitious goals are not set. Then nothing will come out at all.
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
At the same
time, we must honestly identify unresolved issues and persevere
in solving them, removing everything that impedes progress. We must set
even more ambitious goals and achieve results. There are many urgent
things we must work on. What has been done is just the foundation but not
a guarantee of further successful development. The future
depends on our ability to ensure that changes are irreversible,
to preserve and considerably augment what we have achieved over
the past years.
I would
like to emphasise, to draw your attention to the fact that
the irreversibility of achievements and changes means our
readiness to respond to global challenges, to defend Russia’s
statehood and people’s lives and security from threats
and shocks, and to lay the foundation for growing
prosperity for everyone.
Everyone
must be ensured a worthy place in the future. We must keep
opening up broad opportunities for the success
and self-fulfilment of each individual. Securing such continuity,
sustainable and uninterrupted development of the nation is
the main responsibility of all the constructive
and visionary political and social forces.
It
means that despite all the differences in opinions, approaches
and proposals on developing the country, we must be guided
by the citizens’ rights and freedoms, Russia’s long-term
interests and the strength of our statehood. We can succeed
in implementing our plans only on condition of general national
accord.
For our
country to live, to be revived, to preserve its identity, we
must protect the basic values existing in society. They are
patriotism, mutual understanding, concord between the peoples of our
multi-ethnic nation, and respect for our history, culture,
traditions, freedoms, rights and the dignity of man.
These
values fortify our resolve to work for the common good
and fuel the energy of volunteer activities. Caring, selfless
people make an invaluable contribution to solving specific issues.
They do not wait for somebody else to come and do it
for them.
People’s
responsibility, their participation in devising and implementing
the development agenda is the basis for a strong
and mature civil society, and undoubtedly, for a stable
political and state system.
Stability
must not meat inertia, stagnation, or a frozen petrified structure that
lags behind the challenges of the time. If it were like that,
everything could collapse at any moment and expose the country
to the risk of destruction and dissolution, as it
happened in our recent history.
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
We
remember those lessons of history and that is why we keep developing
our state and political system, making it more flexible, capable
of adapting to the rapid changes of the modern world.
The ability to meet the demands of people and society,
their growing desire to actively participate in the life
of the country – these are the things that we should be
guided by.
I would
also like to stress that nothing undermines stability and steals
the resource of development as much as untruth, injustice,
lawlessness, the rust of corruption and bribery, indifference
to one’s own country and distancing oneself from people’s needs,
whether displayed by politicians, officials, businesses or those who
call themselves “the elite.”
All
these things weaken and undermine sustainable development, our social
solidarity and stability. Let me underscore this – it is these
matters, not people’s fair demands to solve outstanding problems.
It
is my conviction that we should further expand the mechanisms
of direct democracy, fully release the potential of civil
activities laid in our Constitution, encourage the competition
of ideas, proposals and approaches to solving development
issues. We must have a respectful attitude towards competent
and responsible opposition. And being such opposition means not only
the wish and readiness to argue with the authorities
or to accuse them of every mortal sin. We are aware
of the problems the country is facing. Being responsible means
having a clear-cut programme of positive action.
Let
me emphasise that I see the key guarantee
of the irreversibility of change in a strong, responsible,
free civil society, as its structures operate for the sake
of creation, for the good of the people
and the country, and take part in addressing the most
complicated social issues.
Such
society rejects populism and idle talk. Such a society is resistant
to any attempts to destabilise it. It will never let the country
be dragged into chaos, be led astray, made weak and dependent. We know
that such examples are plentiful in many countries around us. It can
happen very fast if we are not committed to stability in society.
Colleagues,
the irreversibility of our development largely ensures
the firmness of Russia’ sovereignty and the combat
capability of its army and navy. Our strength is directed
at defence from external threats, from terrorism. We are not and will
not be looking for confrontation with anyone. We will continue
to pursue an open and honest foreign policy, we will strengthen
the Eurasian Economic Union with our partners, and promote our
initiative on establishing a new broader integration contour –
the Grand Eurasian Partnership. We are ready to work with all
countries – both in the West and in the East,
on the principles of trust and equality. Yet we will never
sacrifice the security of our citizens and our national
interests (Applause).
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
For our
people, for Russia to carry on, we must overcome the drastic
aftermath of the demographic gaps the country faced last
century, to preserve, and in the future to increase
the country’s population . This is what our new additional measures
on the support of motherhood, childhood and families with
children are targeting. I would even say that the whole policy, all
our work – in the economy, social sphere and other
fields – should be aimed at preserving the nation,
at solving the issues of demographic development.
That
means modern healthcare and promoting a healthy active lifestyle,
decreasing the mortality rate and increasing life expectancy
in the coming years. It means new schools, crèches
and kindergartens; creating a modern environment for living in cities
and rural areas; good environmental conditions, modern infrastructure,
utilities and roads; comfortable quality housing that is affordable
for millions of Russians. Finally, it simply means people’s wellbeing
and welfare – it consists of all of the above. We must
achieve continuous stable growth of real incomes for our citizens,
as well as pensions and social benefits.
We
must certainly continue our efforts to decrease the number
of people with incomes below the subsistence level, eradicate poverty,
decreasing its level and the number of low-income people, which
is a threat for the stability and unity of our society
as it denigrates people. The situation should become intolerable when
a person who has a good profession and qualifications gets
a meagre wage for his or her work and literally lives from
hand to mouth.
Let
me remind you in this connection that we should certainly not adopt
populist policies, give promises that cannot be kept or squander money
the way it was done in the 1990s. We remember that under
the pressure of circumstances Parliament and the Government
often approved decisions that could never have been implemented; then they did
nothing and took on new obligations that were never met either.
This
is a path that we must certainly avoid. We remember what it led to. It led
to 40 million people living below the poverty line in 2000,
which was almost one third of the population back then. Today
the figure stands at 20 million, and this figure too is
unacceptably high.
We
had a period when the figure stood at 15 million but,
unfortunately, crisis effects, external restrictions and falling demand
for our traditional exports in the world markets did their dirty
deed. But now Russia has recovered from the recession, we have reached
the stage of sustainable economic growth, and we must target
poverty by taking advantage of the economic growth
and labour productivity. We must do it the way we targeted inflation,
and we have managed to achieve positive results, as you know. We
must do the same in this case.
It
is vitally important to radically change this situation, as people’s
wellbeing, the wellbeing of their children and families, their
social perception and confidence in the future are
a guarantee of sustainable, progressive development of the country.
I am sure that we can and must ensure conditions for every
person regardless of age or any restrictions to be able
to raise their qualifications, open their own business or have
a good job.
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
What
must we do to achieve that? We must establish a new employment market
and a flexible modern system of vocational training.
Economic
crises, and as I have already said, and external
restrictions did not allow us to fulfil the task of reaching
an economic growth above the world’s average. But it is imperative
that we do it, and we will. Russia must not only secure a place among
the world’s top five economies, but also approach the level
of the advanced countries in terns of GDP per capita. It is
this indicator that shows the quality and technological level
of the economy, labour productivity and ultimately people’s
wellbeing.
To achieve
that, we will have to drastically modernise the country’s
infrastructure, which is a top priority task for the short term.
Raising efficiency and labour productivity in the traditional
branches of the economy, making a breakthrough here similar
to the one underway in agriculture, transport
and communications, telecommunications, the pharmaceutical industry
and the military-industrial complex of Russia.
Our
successful large and growing companies should enter the world market
and become global champions. Meanwhile, the top political, economic
and social priority for the coming years remains
the development of small and middle-sized business.
Russia
must become a space of true economic freedom for every
individual who has his or her own business, for tens
of thousands of new startups, small family businesses, farms,
self-employed entrepreneurs. This is also a guarantee
of the irreversibility and sustainability of our
development. We have to establish most favourable conditions
for efficient labour, investment, business initiatives, to remove
artificial barriers and unfounded restrictions. We will certainly pursue
this work in the future.
I believe
it important to continue improving and liberalising the existing
legislation, including by dropping all the vague, ambiguous, unclear
legal norms that are used by corrupt law enforcement officials
to harass businesses, to force them to pay up and defraud
them of their property.
Of course,
we should develop fundamentally new industries. This is crucial, there can be
no future without it. Industries related to the introduction
of advanced digital and industrial technologies, bio-engineering,
robotics. The branches are already shaping the future of modern
civilisation and must ensure our country’s sustainability, progress
and standing in tomorrow’s world.
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
Science
and education play an enormous role here. Russian schools must be
among the world’s best in terms of quality and scope
of training, and our colleges, vocational schools
and universities must adopt leading standards in training workers,
engineers, researchers and specialists of the new technological
paradigm.
We
focus on developing the abilities and talents each child, each
young person has. Work skills contests and grants for young
researchers, support of gifted school and university students,
the Sirius educational centre and the whole constellation
of children’s techno parks, creative groups – all these projects are
united by a common aim. This network must continue to expand. It
is much too narrow today.
This
means a successful future for the nation, its development that
will be ensured by the strong, creative, talented and bright
young generation of Russians. The key is that young people
in large cities and small towns, in the countryside
and in villages should have equal opportunities for self-fulfilment.
Only
then will we ensure that strong young professionals enter politics
and business, government agencies, industries, and all other spheres.
Patriotic, honest, daring, committed, active people who understand
and share the country’s development agenda and participate
in its implementation, who consider it to be their own agenda which
meets their dreams and aspirations. We must do all we can to ensure
such continuity. Young people are the people of the coming new
age. I am sure they will firmly stand up for Russia’s interests, will
lead the country along the path of progress, leadership
and prosperity.
Friends,
Russia is made up of millions of very different people with their
joys, hardships and problems. They toil, work, make families,
and raise children. And it means our centuries-old history goes on.
Our joint work, determination, energy and responsibility for Russia’s
present and its future is the most reliable guarantee of its
dignified, breakthrough, irreversible development.
I am
confident of our success because millions of Russians are with us. We
are together, we are moving forward. And there is certainly no power that
can stop Russia’s forward movement. We will make our way from one victory
to another. This is sure to happen!
<…>
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
Friends, Mr Medvedev,
colleagues,
I cannot but say a few
words, literally a few words.
Russia is a country with
a thousand-year history. But we should not treat it as a beloved
granny – give her medications on time so that she does not have any
pains, and do nothing else. Not at all.
We must make Russia young,
focused on the future, and it is becoming like that with every
new generation. But to achieve that we must resolve all those issues that
we have just spoken about. We must introduce significant changes
in the development of healthcare and education,
in infrastructure, because without healthcare and education we will
not solve another key task – bringing innovation into our economy,
developing digitalisation, biotechnology and so on, the things Mr
Medvedev has just spoken about in his speech. This cannot be done
by people who are not healthy or educated. All that is closely
interconnected in the modern world.
There
are very many people, both here, among this audience, and those who are
not here but who support us, who do their job, working on the ground,
as we say. They know that these tasks cannot be resolved with slogans
and catchwords alone or just by handing out money
to someone at a certain political stage without caring about
what will happen tomorrow. This is a road to nowhere. United Russia
has always been a very responsible political force and it has always
had a professional approach to tackling the challenges facing
the country.
What
does that mean? It means – and I would like to address
those who are responsible for taking concrete decisions in Parliament
and locally – it means that by identifying development tasks we
must make timely decisions, however debatable they might seem
at the time when they are taken.
We
must shed everything that stands in the way of Russia’s
renewal – we have a lot of things accumulated here –
everything that stands in the way of making it young,
forward-looking and driven. All that must be identified
and discarded. We must create mechanisms that will let us move forward.
Everyone
knows that we need funding to solve the tasks we have spoken about.
Where can we get it? Do we have funds or not? We do, but we have
to make a lot of adjustments to the tax system, we
have to absolutely and categorically ensure the development
of the pension system so that current retirees and those who
will retire in the future can be confident that everything is
reliable and stable in that area.
At the plenary
session of the 17th United Russia Party congress.
We
must continue to ensure the country’s defence capability. We have
a great many tasks, and we must act responsibly
and professionally, basing our actions on the long-term
prospects of the country’s development rather than
on the present-day situation. The key issue here is
the ability to explain to the people what is being done
and for what purposes, and what we are expecting
to achieve. In that case, the people will support us,
and we will be able to rely on them. And if something goes
wrong, we have to say clearly, honestly and sincerely, “Yes, we
wanted it that way but it turned out otherwise; we can see that and we
will rectify it with your support and with your help.”
This
is the only way to achieve what I spoke about
at the end of my speech. Only in that case will we be
able to march from one victory to another. I really count
on your support, thank you very much for it.
Thank
you.
