Official website of the President of Russia

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.

We mark two occasions with this meeting today. As you know, our country celebrates Russian Science Day today, and I want to congratulate you, your colleagues, mentors, research supervisors, teams at university research centres and research institutes, our companies and enterprises, including those from the defence industry, scientists, engineers and laboratory workers from all regions of our enormous country and your colleagues from Donbass, the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, on this professional holiday. I want to express deep gratitude to the entire Russian scientific community for the hard work, achievements and loyalty to Russia.

And, of course, I would like to offer warm words of appreciation to you, especially because this year, your professional holiday brings special feelings as you receive the state prizes in science and innovation for young scientists. Without a doubt, it is great success and high recognition of your contribution to science, a well-deserved award for years of studies and diligent work, for your talent, ambition, dedication to your specialty, loyalty to the traditions passed on by your teachers and mentors.

It has become a good tradition to acknowledge achievements by young scientists on Russian Science Day. We know from history that many major scientific discoveries were made by young people. Nikolai Lobachevsky, Dmitry Mendeleev, Sofya Kovalevskaya, Igor Sikorsky, Alexander Popov, Pavel Cherenkov, Lev Landau and other outstanding researchers and designers became internationally known in the early days of their careers. So, I hope that you and your peers, all generations of young Russian scientists will be brave, determined and perhaps bold and daring, reaching for the most ambitious goals and seeking your own unconventional solutions.

You face tremendous tasks ahead. In the short term, Russia is to create or enhance its own critically important technologies in microelectronics, IT, industrial production, transport, medication design, development of new materials, and other essential areas of research, to achieve technological sovereignty and independence in producing many essential goods.

These are important goals that must be achieved quickly through intense development of unique and globally competitive solutions in medicine, environmental protection, energy, agriculture, industrial production and, of course, security. You will have to take non-linear routes and literally act like pioneers. We have a solid foundation with our strong scientific traditions and the research base created by your predecessors.

Your success clearly demonstrates that today’s science development programmes work effectively and that the support of schools, universities, research infrastructure, along with the development of new research centres and laboratories bring the needed results.

Friends, we will continue to follow the same course. As Russian science has exceptional significance for the further development of our country and its sovereignty, the state will create conditions and support your initiatives and the initiatives of your colleagues.

Again, congratulations! I hope that this prize will not be a peak in your career but just another stepping stone to new scientific heights, with the practical benefit of your discoveries for people, our country and the entire world being the main criterion of your success.

Once again, congratulations and best wishes.

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Vladimir Putin: Friends,

Once again, I sincerely congratulate you on your well-deserved awards, on receiving these laureate badges, and I would like to express my gratitude once again to those who were mentioned earlier, and not only to your mentors, your teachers, but also to members of the Presidential Council, because they did an outstanding job. It was a broad and thorough effort to select the most worthy discoveries and achievements from among others, specifically, your projects, and you personally.

I have something to ask you – please, I would be grateful if you would take a few minutes to tell us about them in more detail. Let us move over to the next table.