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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today, we will discuss an issue of particular social significance: the development of adaptive sport – a system designed to assist people with health restraints, offering them more options for living an active lifestyle, engaging in regular physical exercise, and participating in tournaments and competitions at various levels.

It is well known that sport has always been and remains an important resource for physical, psychological, and social support, as well as personal fulfilment. This resource must function effectively for the benefit of those who require special care and greater attention from the state.

Approximately 11 millions of our citizens have health restraints or disabilities, and more than seven million of them have no medical contraindications for engaging in sports. On the contrary, for many, it is even recommended for recovery and health promotion, enabling them to lead a full life despite their condition.

Authorities at all levels constantly supervise the entirety of challenges faced by people with disabilities. In recent years, much has been accomplished to improve the quality of life for these individuals – our citizens – so that they and their families do not have to confront their difficulties alone.

Social protection measures for people with disabilities are being refined. In line with modern accessibility standards, infrastructure in cities, towns, social, educational, and sports facilities is being transformed, while the quality and range of specialised equipment and services are expanding.

We are also actively developing systems for rehabilitation, health recovery, and habilitation – that is, training and acquiring new professional skills and competencies. Moreover, in accordance with new legal provisions, rehabilitation and habilitation systems must be developed comprehensively, complementing each other’s capabilities and combining medical technologies, psychological and pedagogical support, and assistance in social adaptation – helping individuals find fulfilment in their professions, creative pursuits, and, of course, in sports, the development of which we must discuss today.

I instruct the Government to develop and approve as soon as possible an action plan for implementing, at all levels of authority, legislation on the comprehensive rehabilitation and habilitation of people with disabilities – ensuring this is done with full consideration of the opportunities presented by adaptive sport.

Special attention goes to sports facilities. There are over 370,000 sports facilities in Russia, but less than ten percent of them currently have the specialised equipment and installations that are necessary for people with health restraints to engage in sports. I just mentioned that much is being done and much has been accomplished. But the fact that less than ten percent of these facilities are outfitted with specialised equipment shows that there is still a tremendous amount of work ahead. In reality, we are facing countless challenges.

A detailed inventory of all sports facilities must be completed before the year is out. Based on the results, a plan for their modernisation, major repairs, and proper equipment should be drafted. By 2030, the need for specialised equipment and gear must be fully met.

Additionally, please identify sites that can be used to create additional adaptive sports classes and adaptive physical fitness groups.

The quality of prosthetic and orthopaedic care is a crucial prerequisite for promoting active lifestyle and engaging in physical activity and sports. I believe the right thing to do would be to create a unified registry of organisations providing such care and to legally establish clear requirements governing their operations, first and foremost, the qualifications of their specialists, including medical personnel. This approach will help protect citizens from substandard services.

We must also step up efforts to support Russian manufacturers of prosthetic and orthopaedic products.

Naturally, public awareness and educational efforts play a key role in promoting adaptive sports. It is important to not only increase the number of television broadcasts, but also to provide more information to people in every region and every city as to where they can engage in sports, which classes or groups they can enrol in, and how to do it. For those who wish to train independently or find it difficult to visit a gym, methodological support and video lessons should be made available. All of this information should be available in a clear and accessible format, including on the Gosuslugi (public services) portal. Yesterday, my colleagues and I also discussed this on the well-known platform Russia – Land of Opportunity. The number of services available through this portal continues to grow. If it does not yet include what I just mentioned, the missing part should be added.

Importantly, additional support and promotion of adaptive sports projects must also be funded through extrabudgetary sources, including through the newly created Russian Sports Foundation. I expect it to become operational in July.

Let me reiterate that our goal is to makes sports classes and groups available and accessible for all people with health restraints, regardless of where they live, their income level, age, or physical condition. But this requires more than just infrastructure. We must also engage people in competitive activities. This not only lets individuals test themselves, but also opens up new opportunities for social interaction, making friends, establishing professional connections, and visiting other cities and regions. That is precisely the kind of active and eventful life which we will discuss today.

Therefore, I request that serious consideration be given to significantly expanding the competition calendar in adaptive sports – ranging from amateur and regional events to major open international tournaments – while also increasing the number of mass participation events, developing existing formats and creating new ones.

A separate and important task is to ensure the broadest possible opportunities for veterans of the special military operation returning to civilian life – often after serious combat injuries – to access sporting activities. I know many of them not only engage in sports regularly but have also joined national teams, competing at various levels, inspiring others with their courage and setting an example.

I have already issued instructions to include the Defenders of the Fatherland Cup tournaments in the schedules of nationwide and regional sporting events. It would be appropriate for these to involve both veterans of the special military operation and all those with combat veteran or military service veteran status.

Furthermore, the prestige of the Cup finals is being elevated, as they will now be held for the prize of the President of the Russian Federation. I request the Government to promptly resolve all related matters.

Another pressing task is ensuring proper remuneration for those working directly with people with health restraints: adaptive sports coaches, instructors, and medical professionals. We have repeatedly addressed this matter regarding professional athletes. Instructions to strengthen personnel capacity in this sector and support young specialists were previously formulated – I request an update on progress in this area.

Additionally, I believe we should increase prize money for our Paralympians, Deaflympians, and their coaches for victories in international competitions.

Colleagues,

The long-term development of adaptive sports should be aligned with achieving national goals and objectives, contributing to improving the lives of millions of our citizens, society, and the state. Work in this sphere must be systematic and well-coordinated.

I request the development of a Concept for the Development of Adaptive Sports and Adaptive Physical Culture for the period until 2030 with an outlook to 2036, along with an accompanying action plan.

Developing, approving, and implementing this concept represents a complex task requiring joint efforts. I count on the engaged, active participation of both the Government and the Presidential Executive Office, the State Council, relevant agencies, public organisations, governmental and interdepartmental commissions. Proposals made during today’s discussion must certainly be incorporated.

And crucially – while the concept is important – we must organise our work to ensure everything we agree today is implemented.

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Vladimir Putin: Of course, there is a special sense of urgency today regarding adaptive sports and enabling people with health restraints to exercise in general, since all these matters are relevant for our men who become disabled or suffer serious wounds during the special military operation.

The situation may change, but the way we approach this topic must remain the same. I would like to draw the attention to this matter of all our colleagues who are taking part in today’s meeting. Why? Because, as we have mentioned, in Russia, we have 11 million people with health restraints – these are 11 millions of our fellow Russians. We must take care of them irrespective of what happens, even if our country goes through very important events or finds itself at major historical junctures. We must pay special attention to this matter at all times. This includes our men who get severely wounded, as I have already said, and need this kind of support in terms of developing adaptive sports and adaptive physical fitness.

They will also need these opportunities later in their lives too. Therefore, the discussion we had today must go beyond addressing immediate objectives. We must aim for the long term by primarily focusing on the kind of people I have just mentioned.

Overall, you can see whether any given society is mature by looking at how it treats people who need the state to assist them. This is probably a primary factor in this regard. We must plan years ahead in order to make the necessary arrangements and allocate funding.

This is why the programmes as described by the deputy prime minister, and all the speakers today, must be realistic. They must address both the immediate needs and, as I have already said, be forward-looking by addressing the goals we have set for ourselves. We want 70 percent of our people to actively exercise and engage in sports activities on a regular basis. This also includes people with health restraints.

I would like to thank everyone who took part in today’s meeting, especially those who work as part of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport.

Colleagues, you all know this topic well and understand what we discussed today. I ask you to submit your proposals. If any of you did not take the floor but has some ideas to share, please go ahead and add them to the draft instructions. We will work on them within the Presidential Executive Office together with the Government.

Thank you very much to all of you, and all the best. Thank you.