Official website of the President of Russia

Документ   /

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

Greetings to all participants in the final, third stage of the United Russia congress. You are to discuss the party’s plans and to carry out rotation in its governing and central bodies. And of course, it is important to analyse the results of the autumn elections here, at the congress.

I believe that United Russia has performed well in the rather difficult, even extraordinary conditions of the election campaign, has withstood tough and open competition, won confidently, with a good advantage, and once again proved that it is a true leader, a party of popular representation with a parliamentary majority.

Once again, congratulations on your resounding victory. This result is extremely significant for our entire country, for its stable and effective development.

Your success was not determined by loud and attractive slogans, which mainly involve nothing but empty and impossible promises. You had a different campaign style, a different approach, a different attitude towards voters.

The party offered the citizens of Russia a constructive, fruitful and unifying agenda and presented a programme that it began to form long before the elections, during the course of meetings and conversations with people and through discussing topical, acute, pressing issues with them. The programme is rightfully called popular, because it is based on the proposals and initiatives of the citizens of our huge country, of all its regions. And what is important, each of its points is well-weighed and calculated from the point of view of implementation within defined, specific deadlines.

I believe that voters positively assessed the updated composition of United Russia. Volunteers, civic activists, and youth leaders became its candidates for election at various levels. Almost half of the composition of your faction in the State Duma of the eighth convocation has changed.

United Russia was one of the first major socio-political forces that supported the We Are Together volunteer movement and took an active part in it. Many members and supporters of the party became volunteers in the very first days of the pandemic: they helped doctors and nurses in hospitals and outpatient clinics, delivered food and medicines and did everything in their power to make people feel their care and attention in those difficult times. It is crucially important that you continue this work.

Of course, there is no other way because our policy and our common goals and plans are focused on the people, their needs, wellbeing and quality of life. This is an unconditional priority both for United Russia as the leading political force and for those present here today, as well as for hundreds of thousands of our colleagues and associates in all regions of the country.

I want to emphasise that the ultimate point of being a member of United Russia and working for it is to serve the people and respect the people. It is protecting, defending and implementing the interests of our citizens. I am glad that the party’s multifaceted activity is aimed at dealing with such issues all the time, not only during election campaigns.

I consider it a good thing that you are going to report to people annually, tell them about the party’s concrete activities and what it has achieved. We need to speak openly about sensitive issues and about those that have not been dealt with, and to suggest solutions.

I want to note that after the elections, the United Russia party immediately began implementing its goals. This shows responsibility, and the maturity of the political force. Because every word that we give people must become a real deed and the achieved result must change life for the better.

The people’s programme is already being implemented. Its priorities are reflected in the federal budget for the next three years. Our parliamentary faction not only supported this draft law but also made some important amendments of a social nature and helped ensure that some important decisions were made, such as increasing the minimum monthly wage and subsistence rate.

I would like to thank you for your support and for quickly implementing these measures that aim to raise people’s incomes, and I would also like to thank you for promoting other initiatives that we agreed on during the election campaign, including in June and August, at the Congress’ previous stages.

I would like to recall that, at the time, this concerned additional payments to senior citizens, the indexation of pensions and pay grades of service personnel and law enforcement officers, and new ambitious programmes to provide employment for young people, to relocate tenants of dilapidated housing, to develop a medical rehabilitation system, and to build and overhaul schools.

In the future, I am asking you to toughen public control over all these matters and other aspects seen as significant by the people. For this purpose, you should use the potential of party commissions, now headed by the leaders of the United Russia ticket. They successfully guided the party to victory, and I know that they are now ready to make their contribution to implementing various commitments.

Regarding the organisation of work in general, I suggest sticking to the following principle: you should set new and more ambitious tasks after accomplishing any particular task. Consequently, the United Russia people’s programme will be implemented in terms of various projects, and it will also develop as a living document, it will be renewed dynamically and in a high-quality manner, so as to meet the demands of the times and people’s current needs and expectations.

They reach out to you, those who represent them in the corridors of power, on the most pressing matters of concern to them. They hope that the most influential political forces will respond and promptly assist them.

I would like to note that we have all the resources for supporting people in addressing the matters they raise. And the party’s local divisions, the so-called grass-roots organisations, should play a key role here. First of all, it is necessary to consolidate detailed and result-oriented public dialogue at this level and, on the whole, to value and expand feedback that helps the party itself to grow and become stronger in terms of ideology and human resources, to rely on those who have won a reputation for themselves in significant public activities, science, business operations and creative spheres.

By relying on those who are talented, successful and caring, by taking their opinions into account and engaging them in joint projects, and by helping them to make a political career, the party ensures broad public representation, which is a strategically important mission. I am confident that United Russia can accomplish it through reliance on its prestige and considerable political experience.

The party was established 20 years ago. I remember its constituent congress very well. It took place on December 1, 2001. I would like to say that the ability to take responsibility for the country and to work for the people has been its strong side from day one.

The party more than once proved with its deeds that it satisfies these requirements. The essence of its activities was to make a decisive contribution to overcoming the systemic and sometimes deadly risks, which threatened not only people’s safety but the very existence of our homeland at the turn of the 2000s.

During the past 20 years, the party firmly and consistently held patriotic positions, which was clearly manifested during the adoption of fundamental, history-making and pivotal decisions on strengthening Russia’s sovereignty, protecting its national interests, improving its political system, boosting the economy, developing modern approaches to social problems, and supporting families with children.

I would like to emphasise the consolidating role of United Russia as a parliamentary party. Your efforts at the federal and regional levels are helping to rally patriotically-minded and responsible forces towards achieving our common goals and priorities. This is extremely important for adopting high-quality laws in the interests of our society and citizens.

I always count on you, on the United Russia party as a powerful and reliable political force, and on your professionalism and energy in addressing the large-scale tasks we have planned for the coming years and for the longer term.

I would like to thank you for your invariable support, to congratulate you on the 20th anniversary of the party, and to wish you success in your striving to move ahead at full throttle.

We stand together for Russia.