Official website of the President of Russia

Transcripts   /

President Vladimir Putin: Dear comrades,

Officers and generals,

We have gathered in the Kremlin on the occasion of conferment of higher officer ranks and on your appointment to new positions – in this beautiful ceremonial hall, the hall of Russia's military glory.

But we all know that unfortunately, our country does not yet look as beautiful as the Kremlin Georgievsky Hall.

Russia faces many problems of a political and economic nature, and of opposing criminal encroachments on the lives and health of our citizens, and on the country's security.

Russia is opening up to the world, and this process will continue. In receiving all the advantages from integration into the world's economy, the world's humanitarian sphere, we also encounter all the problems that the world faces. And unlike many other countries in the world, we are not yet sufficiently ready to effectively combat these problems. We are not ready for a whole range of reasons. But we have no other path besides Russia's integration into the international community, although on the other hand we can not allow criminals and terrorists, the people who want to destroy our country, to walk all over us, because otherwise all our efforts will become meaningless. And to stop this from happening, we must increase political stability in the country, and increase efforts in the growth of the economy, and solve social tasks effectively. But without an effectively functioning mechanism of law-enforcement bodies, we will not solve these tasks either.

The methods and means that we must find and choose to solve the tasks that lie before us in this sphere must be adequate to the threats that the country faces.

It is impossible to calculate and see everything down to the last detail in advance while sitting in the Kremlin, the White House or any other major centres. A great deal depends on you, on the people who must sense the situation more professionally in every area that is entrusted to you. And not just to sense it, but to react with talent and initiative to everything that happens in these spheres. I expect you to work with initiative. And of course, to work in the spirit that has always been characteristic of the Russian army and Russian law-enforcement bodies, in the spirit of selfless service to your duty and your people.

I congratulate you once more and wish you all the very best.