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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends, good afternoon.

I am happy to welcome everyone.

Created on the basis of our Olympic heritage, the Sirius Educational Centre received its first students almost ten years ago, on June 1, 2015. I congratulate schoolchildren, students, teachers, coaches, scientists and art professionals – all those whom Sirius has united and rallied – on this landmark date. I would also like to sincerely thank its staff and, of course, Ms Yelena Shmeleva, head of the Talent and Success Foundation, as well as the members of the Board of Trustees, for their work.

Sirius has become a unique phenomenon for our country due to the combined efforts of many people, a true team of like-minded people. It is a venue where young talents from all over Russia are offered broad opportunities for a confident start in life, learn from outstanding mentors, and participate in creating advanced technologies and products.

At the same time, we must advance and move forward, which is fully consonant with the spirit and concept of Sirius. It is fundamentally important in this regard that it should be closely integrated with the effort to achieve our national goals. Its role and contribution to the development of this country as a whole should grow.

This autumn, we will have a special meeting to discuss the results that have been achieved and to set new goals. While drafting these plans, we must take into consideration the ideas suggested by Sirius students themselves, its teachers and the community of its alumni, many of whom have achieved great success in science, culture and sports. We certainly see it as a matter of high importance that these young people be pro-active in sharing Russia’s fortunes and use their knowledge and talents for the benefit of their regions and our Fatherland as a whole. We will continue to support them in this regard.

Let me remind you that 6,500 of the most gifted students, including many Sirius trainees, have been paid 20,000 roubles a month annually since 2015. Practically all of them, after graduation from the university, are employed by Russian companies or have started a master’s degree or embarked on post-graduate studies at Russian universities. This is a very good result, which shows that the grant support programme is highly relevant and important for the entire educational process and has become a significant tool in promoting the national personnel potential.

What would I like to note in particular? The right to these incentivising monthly grants should be available not only to students who have shown outstanding academic achievements but also to young athletes, musicians, artists and performers. At Sirius, they are operatic singers and ballet dancers, winners and prize-winners at prestigious Russian and international creative contests and sports competitions.

I ask the Government to introduce the necessary amendments to the relevant laws, statutes and regulations so that the grant distribution mechanism is more consistent with the task of achieving not only technological leadership but also our cultural and value-based sovereignty.

Let me repeat: for Russia, technological breakthroughs are just as important as triumphs in sport and the arts. That is why, from the very beginning, Sirius has been shaped as a unique and genuinely well-rounded educational environment. Young physicists, mathematicians, hockey players and musicians all study under one roof. They attend sports competitions and concerts, as well as lectures in history, literature, art and the Russian language. It is precisely the study of the humanities that helps foster true citizens and patriots of our country.

This comprehensive and, I will stress again, truly harmonious development of children and young people must be at the foundation of all levels of education in Russia. And in this regard, we must preserve and build on the best traditions that once defined both the pre-revolution and Soviet systems of education.

It is especially important that music and art classes be delivered at a genuinely high and modern standard and without increasing the burden on students.

I believe it is essential for Sirius, together with leading educational institutions in the arts, to contribute to the development of a new methodology for teaching creative disciplines in schools. During my visit to Sirius today, one of the participants in the first meeting raised this point. I would like to discuss it later with our colleagues from the Presidential Executive Office and the Government. The issue is how we can strengthen the teaching of music – we talked about teaching music in preschool and primary school.

As for Sirius, let me stress once again: innovative approaches and practices are being developed and refined here thanks to outstanding educators and artists. These must absolutely be scaled up.

I am confident that the educational mission of Sirius has expanded significantly with the establishment of the new special secondary music school, where we are now gathered. I will add that a concert centre is also scheduled to open here this year. Based on what I have heard, it will be one of the largest and most advanced venues for classical music not only in Russia, but globally.

In this connection, I believe it is important that today’s meeting of the Board of Trustees focus specifically on the development of music education for gifted children. This should be considered in a comprehensive manner, including teaching methodologies, the advancement of Russia’s musical instrument industry (particularly for children), and of course, the professional development of art teachers.

We touched on this topic during our visit to Sirius in autumn 2023, which resulted in a number of additional decisions. Today, I would like to review how they are being implemented.

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