Official website of the President of Russia

Документ   /

At the Rossiya National Centre, the President toured the Everything for Victory! exhibition covering three years of the Popular Front’s work.

In particular, the President visited the stands on the humanitarian mission supporting Donbass and Novorossiya, latest developments in prompt evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield, and achievements by the Kulibin Club for manufacturers of drones, electronic warfare, intelligence devices, and other innovative products for the military.

Later, Vladimir Putin spoke at the Everything for Victory! awards ceremony and presented commemorative figurines to the award winners: the Maly family from the Donetsk People’s republic, Russian Dome Chief Designer Ivan Soldatov, and the Sewing Troops of Russia organiser Olga Yazeva.

The Everything for Victory! awards were established by the Russian Popular Front in 2024 to honour volunteers for helping participants in the special military operation, their families, and civilians in the new and border regions of Russia.

* * *

Everything for Russia! awards ceremony

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.

I am delighted to be here at the Everything for Victory! Forum today. I welcome all participants – everybody who contributes to our common cause, to fighting for our country’s national interests and the future of Russia.

Determined people with strong beliefs and true patriots from all regions of our vast country have gathered here. I thank you for your hard work and for your sincere, devoted service to the Fatherland. Thank you very much.

The Popular Front’s mission is to bring together activists who truly care – people like you and millions of our comrades. “Comrade” is a salutation common in the army. Naturally, it fits you very well.

The Russian Popular Front has become a mass public movement thanks to the support of the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens and their ambition to defend the inherited life principles and values together, to fight and work hard for a common outcome, for national success, for peace, and for the safety of our children.

I would like to note that since its creation, the Popular Front has taken charge of solving the most complex and pressing issues. Wherever going gets rough and people need real assistance rather than paperwork – you are there for them, implementing large projects, responding to challenges, rallying people, and directing their energy and aspirations. In short, the Russian Popular Front has become an effective civil society institution for promoting civil solidarity, consolidation, and fostering civic engagement and public oversight.

When our nation was confronted with a direct threat, with growing external aggression, with more punitive operations against the residents of Donbass and Novorossiya, the Popular Front undertook this mission – one it felt obliged to take, because the Popular Front is part of our nation.

Since February 2022, you have made continuous efforts to provide aid to our heroes fighting on the frontline – the defenders of the Motherland – their families, the Armed Forces as a whole, our defence industry, and everyone who fulfils their duties as patriots and people of conscience.

We will always remember those who gave their lives for the Fatherland.

I must share with you that on July 2, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Mikhail Gudkov was killed at his combat post. Allow me to add that he was a son of the Donetsk Region. A model Russian officer, he had taken part in the special military operation from the very first day, commanding the legendary 155^th Separate Guards Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet – a unit that earned immortal glory in the fiercest battles across the most critical theatres of war. Together with his comrades-in-arms, he stood firm in defence of and later helped liberate the Kursk Region. Henceforth, this brigade will bear the name of General Gudkov. He fell in combat, faithful to his duty until the last. I had appointed him Deputy Commander-in-Chief – a position that did not require him to enter battle formations or inspect frontline command posts. Yet he saw it as his sacred obligation to Russia, and he fulfilled it without hesitation.

I ask you to honour the memory of Mikhail Gudkov, his comrades-in-arms and all Russian fighters who died in the battle for the Motherland with a minute of silence.

(A minute of silence is announced.)

Today I signed an executive order awarding Hero of Russia Mikhail Gudkov with the second Gold Star. A street in Donetsk and a school in the DPR will be named in his honour. The name of twice Hero of Russia Gudkov will be borne by a branch of the Nakhimov Naval School in Mariupol – in the city for which he fought, bringing the liberation of Donbass and Novorossiya closer. We will do everything to support his family, and the loved ones of his comrades-in-arms.

Friends,

Everything for Victory! is a well-known historical slogan that every one of us understands. This slogan first emerged in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, becoming a symbol of our era – of the struggle for freedom and justice, for the security of our borders, and for the right of the Russian people to independently determine their own path of development.

We will achieve that – there is no doubt. Because together, we are a colossal and unbreakable force in its justice and internal unity.

I want to say a big thank you to the millions of people for whom Everything for Victory! has become a slogan and a call for action. I am grateful to everyone who helps the front, our soldiers and officers – the true heroes dealing with the crucial challenges of defending the Motherland in the harsh conditions of combat; to everybody who donates money, clothing, essential items, appliances, household items, and literally gives away what they own, building entire humanitarian convoys to support the residents of Donbass, Novorossiya, and our border regions.

Over these three years, millions of our citizens have joined the Everything for Victory! campaign, along with major corporations and small companies, private entrepreneurs, and numerous work teams.

As previously mentioned, a total of 54.5 billion rubles has been raised through ‘popular’ contributions to support the special military operation. This includes over 45 billion collected in direct response to requests from our military and combat units. Thanks to these efforts, the frontline has received additional vital equipment, machinery, UAVs, first aid supplies, more than 14,000 vehicles and transport units, among other critical resources.

I want to emphasise that this is the outcome of the Everything for Victory! campaign alone. At the same time, we see that public support is larger and truly popular, coming from the entire country without exaggeration.

Volunteering fellowships are emerging across every region of Russia. Workshops and even full-scale production facilities are being established through both public and private initiatives. Citizens are forming grassroots units like the sewing battalion just mentioned. To put this into perspective, their production of camouflage nets alone has reached 20 million square metres.

The Kulibin Club, created in cooperation with the Defence Ministry, has proved itself an excellent active group. We have just seen the impressive products made by our inventors, innovators and talented engineers at the exhibition.

These pop-up design bureaus – effectively, teams of Russian innovators tinkering in garages or hunched over laptops – sometimes roll out equipment that rivals, even surpasses, the quality and effectiveness of some NATO-standard gear that our opponents use.

Do you know why this happens? There is something I have just realised. These initiatives are so effective because they are directly linked with our soldiers fighting at the frontlines. You, your colleagues and comrades know what they need, where they need it most, how critical it is in this season, and they are guided by this information, adapting their projects – this is why this works. Those are not commercial imports – these are products that our fighters need right here and now, delivered by extremely talented people. This is remarkable. I would like to thank you once again.

For example, the Popular Front alone has delivered 110,000 drones of various modifications to the troops, including strike systems on fibre optics, resistant to interference. According to our experts, these drones have already destroyed enemy equipment worth over 2 billion dollars. (Applause.)

Good. Let Western taxpayers see these figures and ask themselves how their governments are spending their money. This is where their taxes vanish – instead of fixing their healthcare systems, which are far from perfect, upgrading housing and utilities, raising wages, or creating jobs for the numerous migrants they are failing to integrate. At least then, those immigrants could fill real labour shortages rather than competing with locals for work. They do not always succeed. These countries have no shortage of problems – we know ours well, but theirs are spiralling. And the longer they pursue this policy with regard to Russia, the deeper they will sink.

On the information front, we now have 60,000 battle-hardened cyber warriors – skilled programmers and IT specialists standing at the digital forefront. They are fighting for their country and truth itself: defending our values, safeguarding our national interests, and securing the information space by hunting down harmful content, debunking false narratives, and neutralising information attacks that threaten our social unity, ethnic cohesion, and religious harmony. This is highly important work.

Many creative professionals – popular musicians, singers, and actors – have created and added to their repertoires vibrant new works about love for the Motherland and our heroic soldiers. They perform these songs at the frontlines as part of cultural outreach teams. Meanwhile, heartfelt letters from children across Russia’s regions continue to warm our fighters’ hearts – for this touching initiative, we owe special thanks to the school teachers who organised it.

To reiterate, our Armed Forces, the participants and veterans of the special military operation, as well as their families and loved ones enjoy truly nationwide popular support.

Our entire country stands as a united and consolidated people’s front. Your initiatives, caring attitude, energy, and everyday work must be directed towards enabling millions of people to contribute to Victory and be guided by our main goal which is safe and peaceful future for Russia. This is what all of us are working for, and our servicemen are fighting for on the front lines.

Once again, thanks go to you and all your colleagues, and everyone who is of one mind with you. I wish you success.

Thank you very much.

Friends,

At the previous forum in Tula, we discussed the importance of objectively recognising actual accomplishments and rewarding the best people.

The forum organisers have entrusted me with presenting Popular Front’s Everything for Victory! awards. I am honoured to do that. Thank you.

Announcement of the Everything for Victory! award winners.

Olga Yazeva: Mr President,

Friends,

I am a happy person today. I am really honoured to receive this award. This is a shared award. It belongs to you and me. I am a mother. My elder sons decided to stand up in defence of our beautiful Motherland. My heart is full of love and gratitude; there is a place in it for every Russian warrior.

Love is patient and merciful. Love weaves camouflage nets, knits and sews things, puts together parcels, covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. With love on our side, we are bringing Victory closer. We have become one great family, in which everyone believes, loves, hopes, and waits. We will win! So it has always been, so it is, and so it will always be. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Congratulations, friends,

I want to say to the recipients of their well-deserved awards that a mother’s heart is always with her children, her sons, especially those of them who are defending our homeland risking their lives and health. But our hearts are with you as well. The hearts of all our people, all the citizens of our country are with our troops on the front line and with their loved ones.

Thank you for your work. Thank you.