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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear friends, Happy Rescue Workers Day!

Although other congratulatory statements have already been made, I decided to do it personally, because today is truly a celebration of your work, and the Ministry for Emergency Situations in our country has a unique mission and a unique reputation. I am certain that many good, kind words have already been said about you. I will only say three things, but I feel that they are also important.

First of all, the Ministry for Emergency Situations and all of its employees have a great amount of prestige, both in our country and abroad. I travel abroad frequently, and every place I have gone, if there is any kind of relationship between agencies, or if the Ministry for Emergency Situations has rendered assistance, the Ministry’s reputation is extremely high. It is like a hallmark, or a sign of quality. I will not spend much time talking about the high regard that our people have for the Ministry, since it is already common knowledge, but I will talk about something else.

You know that over the last several years, our country has produced, reorganized, or eliminated many different governmental agencies; some of them were more effective, some were less effective. Today, the Ministry for Emergency Situations is one of the best administrative structures in the country, a smoothly administrated and yet very personal mechanism that is able to resolve very difficult problems.

The ministry works as a single mechanism. That is the reason why you are able to deal with the challenges that stand before you, because, in essence, nearly every day, Ministry for Emergency Situations employees perform heroic deeds in the direct sense of that word.

It is very good that the Ministry’s work is progressing: every year, new subdivisions and new departments are formed. We are currently talking about a unified system of management, and regional centers. The creation of special alert systems is on the agenda. Our country needs all of this, and I am sure that the entire Ministry staff – everyone working there, including those in uniform and those who are in the civil service – will handle this challenge spectacularly.

Finally, there is a third issue, which I simply cannot refrain from discussing. The Ministry employs professionals of the highest order, and this is clear to everyone in our country. I would like to sincerely thank you for your service – for everything that you are doing for our country, and for doing it at such a high level. I am certain that in the future, the Ministry for Emergency Situations will continue to do an excellent job of meeting all the challenges that stand before it.

And last, but not least: today, I signed decrees about presenting national awards to employees of the Ministry for Emergency Situations and I would like to say that I congratulate each and every one of you; at the same time, I would like to inform you that one of the award recipients is the Minister for Emergency Situations, Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoigu.

I would like for you all to have a good rest – I am sure that the conditions are right for it. The upcoming year, of course, will bring you both joy and difficulties. It is probable that because of the problems existing in the world today, which have also affected our country, the future will bring new problems, which we all will have to resolve; but of all people, you are accustomed to these challenges.

So I sincerely wish you a wonderful New Year, I wish happiness and health for you and your families, and I would like to thank you once again for what you do. Happy holidays!