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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Volodin, I would like to thank you and the State Duma deputies for the work during the parliament’s 2025 spring session.

This session was held under the motto of the 80^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and as part of Defender of the Fatherland Year. A large number of laws were adopted, more than 300, correct? Laws related to state building accounted for the largest share of the newly adopted laws, followed by laws on the economic policy, the budget, finance, and taxation. In the first case, it is 23.3 percent, and in the second 15 percent. This shows that the State Duma focused on the main areas of activity.

There are 1,125 draft laws under consideration by the Duma, meaning there is a substantial and meaningful amount of work to be done during the autumn session. I am confident the work will continue just as intensively and with the same level of quality.

Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin: Mr President, thank you very much for the attention you pay to the work of the State Duma. Even the conversation we are having now shows that, in fact, you already know everything I was going to tell you with regard to the laws we have adopted.

So, I can only emphasise one thing: we are doing everything we can so that now, in a time of challenges, sanctions, and threats, our parliament remains consolidated and addresses the issues that concern people as professionally as possible, achieving the goals and objectives you have set. We maintain a high level of unity at over 70 percent.

Indeed, during the spring session – it is called so even though we are in late July – we managed to accomplish a great deal. Perhaps, most importantly, we achieved 100 percent legislative support for the implementation of the Presidential Address. The Government and regional authorities have all the necessary tools to address the tasks that you set out in your Address to the Federal Assembly.

In this regard, we reached a level that you constantly emphasise which is the importance of improving the quality of laws that we adopt meaning that these laws must be laws of direct action. We took a look at them today to find out that such laws make up 71 percent of the total. This is truly a sign that we are discussing the laws more thoroughly and approach their adoption more carefully. For us, quality and effectiveness take priority over sheer numbers.

Just as before, addressing the issues faced by our soldiers and officers participating in the special military operation and their families remains our top priority. This year alone, we have adopted 15 laws bringing the total number of laws on that subject to 139.

We have built a system, shaped the legal framework, and operate on the premise that everything changes, and if needed, in response to emerging challenges, we must improve legislation and adopt the decisions that match the situation and the demands of the time. That is why this area of focus remains under our constant attention and special oversight.

We monitor daily the issues that people come to us with. Over the course of the year, we have identified several priority areas, such as children’s health and summer vacations for them. Together with the Government, we are developing solutions and adopting legislation in this area, even though many of these issues fall under the purview of regional and local governments.

We also believe it is essential to maintain special oversight over issues related to protecting citizens from fraud, as technologies continue to evolve. You constantly raise this topic and draw our attention and the Government’s attention to it. Therefore, we are doing everything necessary in this area to promptly fulfil the President’s instructions, protect our people, and establish a legal framework that will enable law enforcement agencies to carry out their work.

Another important item on our agenda is the fight against illegal migration. Of the 21 laws adopted over the past year and this year, 17 were initiated by deputies. We passed them, and you supported us. As a result, we now see much more effective performance, including on the part of the control and supervisory bodies, the Investigative Committee, the Interior Ministry, in restoring order in this area.

We have also made decisions related to citizenship. We expanded the list of grounds for revoking acquired citizenship: there are now over 80 points on this list. These decisions were not only met with understanding but also supported by society, because in recent years, high social standards have been established in our country which naturally attract many people, but some come here with a purely consumer attitude; they break our laws and act dishonestly.

Taking precisely this into account, we developed solutions that send a clear message: if you respect our laws, know the language, honour our culture, traditions, and faith, then we welcome you. You can contribute to the development of our country, our common home. But if you are not ready to defend our country – and some are not – then you have no place here. By the way, among the new grounds for revoking citizenship, we introduced a rule that if a citizen fails to register for military service, they can lose citizenship. Last year alone, law enforcement agencies submitted 196 cases of such violations.

We believe that anyone who wants to become a citizen of our country must be ready to defend it. Therefore, when we address such issues legislatively, we are guided by the President’s agenda and the country’s development goals. And that is basically how we organise our work.

Now, as the State Duma deputies conclude their work, they will return to their constituencies to meet with voters, listen to their concerns, and gather proposals. Over the summer, they will work on these issues in the relevant committees, and in the autumn, they will prepare new legislative initiatives. For politicians, vacations are always relative. Of course, there will be an opportunity to rest a bit, but those who want to achieve real results will use every moment to increase the efficiency of parliament and, of course, to make a start for future elections.

I also want to express my gratitude once again for everything that has been done to create the opportunities we have today. If we look back at the 1990s, when the State Duma was first established, there was a lot of talk about democracy but no real substance, no clear powers given to parliament while there was plenty of rhetoric about rights and opportunities. Today, we now have all the necessary tools to work responsibly and to be accountable to the voters.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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