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President Putin: First of all I would like to make a small remark on what Vladimir Petrovich [Lukin] said. He said that we should only look after people who live honestly, and there is no point in looking after the rest.

I hope that this does not at least apply to the head of state, because both law-abiding citizens and those who unfortunately sometimes break norms of morality or the law do not have any other President. I expect that the duties of the human rights representatives also include observing the interests of those who have broken the law, but who nevertheless need attention from public organisations and the state.

As for the speech by the General Prosecutor, I would like to thank Vladimir Vasil’evich [Ustinov] for his thorough report. In his speech, he quoted one of our literary classics, who asked who is more important in Russia: a university professor, minister or policeman? As we heard, the preference was given to the last of the three.

You know, if this was the case in Russia in the past, now I would like to say: in modern society, in the modern state –at any rate, in one that expects to have a future and wants to have a future, the main priority and the main figure is the citizen – a person who is absolutely liberated and free regardless of where he lives and what he does, a person who feels capable of realising his best qualities, a person who is free, but at the same time is certain of the solidity of state institutions.

Judging from the analyses that we heard today, we are still a long way from solving this task, but I am certain that we are capable of solving it. And in achieving this goal, the most important role is played by you, the people in this hall today, all the employees of the prosecutor’s office of the Russian Federation.

I would like to wish you a Happy New Year, and wish you success.

Thank you.