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Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko: Mr President, first of all, let me congratulate you on Russian Parliamentarism Day, because, to be honest, it is thanks to your support that the parliamentarism system has been established in Russia, and it is one of the best in the world.

This is an opinion which others share with us. When we discussed amendments to the Constitution, it was your initiative to transfer part of presidential powers to parliament. This, of course, made the Federal Assembly’s role and significance more tangible, and confirmed your belief in the importance of this democratic institution. It is true. Thank you very much. We remember this. I would also like to congratulate you on this day.

I want to thank you for keeping the tradition to meet with the Federation Council at its headquarters every year on Russian Parliamentarism Day. Our large parliamentary family is gathering here during these days: all heads of regional parliaments, for whom it is an important event. This is a platform where we can discuss problems with the regions and align our positions on the future plans for our legislation. I remember that I suggested this to you, you supported this idea, and this became a good tool to strengthen the federal structure of the state. Thus, parliamentarians at all levels, the Government and the President show such great respect for regional legislatures. Thank you for the tradition.

I would like to say that we have all been in high spirits recently. Today, we expressed our gratitude to both the soldiers and commanders for the complete liberation of the Kursk Region from Nazi forces. Mr President, this is truly a remarkable achievement. Under your leadership, the operation to clear the Kursk region was conducted with exceptional professionalism and precision, ensuring the safety of civilians. This is why everyone is feeling so optimistic.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: You know, I have spoken with commanders who made a special contribution to this work, though I could not name all of them. The FSB special forces, border guards, and National Guard servicemen performed with outstanding professionalism. Most importantly, however, our citizens demonstrated remarkable resilience and courage. It is our responsibility to ensure that their confidence in our ultimate victory continues to strengthen – and it undoubtedly will.

We definitely need to look into this, Ms Matviyenko. You work closely with the regions, and I am in regular contact with the Acting Governor of the Kursk Region, Alexander Khinshtein. I spoke with him just yesterday or the day before. Together with the Government, we must once again look into what needs to be done in this region specifically and in other border regions to support the people, to help them get through these ordeals with dignity, and to meet all the state’s obligations to our citizens on time and in full.

Valentina Matviyenko: Mr President, we will certainly be involved.

In your speech today, you highlighted several priority issues that parliaments should focus on. We will incorporate these into our decisions and, of course, we will actively work on them.

The meeting addressed very important matters. The 80th anniversary of the Victory, how we can preserve the memory, combat falsification of history, and maintain strong relations with our foreign partners. Another critical issue is the staffing of the healthcare and education systems, a particularly sensitive topic. Mr President, there are challenges, and you are well aware of them. However, we had a productive discussion, and at least we have outlined the steps we need to take to move forward.

Vladimir Putin: Is the Interparliamentary Assembly functioning well? Is everything running smoothly?

Valentina Matviyenko: Mr President, the Interparliamentary Assembly has become a significant body. Parliaments from various countries and interparliamentary organisations are eager to join as observers.

We have just held a ceremonial meeting to mark the 80th anniversary. Despite the criticism from Brussels, all the parliamentary speakers attended in person, and there were large delegations. We not only laid wreaths and flowers at Piskaryovskoye memorial cemetery, but each sovereign state, as well as the Union republics, now have a stele at the cemetery. Everyone paid their respects to their soldiers. There were powerful speeches emphasising that this is our shared victory! This is our collective memory, and we will stand united in our efforts.

We have gained such momentum in model legislation, because it is very important for us to align the legal aspect in the post-Soviet space. This is important for businesses, as well as for cultural and humanitarian projects. Model laws are developed with the participation of all CIS parliaments, experts and research organisations. This is not something imposed by someone but our joint work, and most of these model laws are either fully or partially implemented in national legislations. Thus, we are bringing together and aligning our legislation.

We monitor elections at all levels. I mean presidential and parliamentary elections. We have created an institution at the Interparliamentary Assembly to monitor elections and develop democratic institutions. When we started working actively, the OSCE ODIHR, which came to our countries with pre-prepared reports saying we have nothing democratic here and everything is wrong with us, stopped coming because we have professionals working there which provide an unbiased picture of the elections.

Of course, this also includes exchange of legislative experience and common projects we are working on – there are quite a number of them. I would like to thank you for supporting the Memory Train project, when school students from all CIS countries travel on a train for two weeks. This year, we managed to gather children descendants of all the USSR peoples, including the Baltic states and Ukraine. After such trips the children change and view our common history differently.

The Federation Council is working in a coordinated and proactive manner, fulfilling all the tasks you have set. Moreover, whenever we identify areas that require improvement, we ensure active parliamentary oversight and work closely with ministries and agencies to help progress. Naturally, a major priority has been the special military operation and support for its participants, with senators introducing a number of legislative initiatives on their own. It seems that a great deal has indeed been accomplished. However, as we look deeper, we admit that there are still aspects that require further attention and we have been actively continuing this work.

You know, Mr President, the patriotic sentiment in the country is up, and there is a strong sense of unity. You managed to create an atmosphere of respect for everyone fighting on the frontlines. That matters a lot. We have three Heroes of Russia and participants of the special military operation in the Federation Council. I am a mentor of a captain of the military medical service, a field surgeon, a graduate of the military medical academy. You know, these are pure-hearted unique people. The anniversary celebrations will be a success, I am sure of that, but patriotic education should continue, and veterans of the special military operation should be made part of it.

We are doing this and planning it with the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. The pace of prosthetic care should be increased. You issued instructions to this end, and you visited the Central Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics. Rostec and the Ministry of Industry stepped up as well. Each time we travel to a region, we visit the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and talk to its employees. They are doing vast amounts of work, but we need to step up the efforts and to make sure that we have modern prosthetic devices that make it possible to socialise patients, etc.

The Council on Demography was created with your direct involvement. They have launched a lively discussion in society. There are things they criticise and things they support. They have created an expert council. Mr President, they have a vast legacy that they have submitted to the Government. After the Demographic and Family Development Strategy gets approved, the Government will draft an implementation plan. We are actively involved in this work and are submitting our ideas and proposals. I have also sent our proposals for your consideration. You may support them and maybe even include some of them in the Address. Every time you mention something in your Address, people take it as something that needs to be acted upon no matter what.

Of course, there are objective circumstances, and no one has any illusions about what things are in real life. Clearly, this is the demographic situation around the world, not just in Russia. Nevertheless, we need to launch long-term projects that will yield results. We have such proposals ready. I will not go into details, though.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I am aware of that. But we need to make sure this topic is always in the spotlight. We need to make a healthy large family a prestigious thing. This is what matters most.

Everything else is important, as well. The material side of things is also important, and organisational support matters a lot as well. However, the sentiment in society is what matters most.

Valentina Matviyenko: Mr President, you know what I like most? The fact that the governors have stepped up personally. I meet with many of them, and this is the top issue for them. There are good outside-the-box regional programmes in the Nizhny Novgorod region and other regions. Each region has its own capabilities and traditions. I was in Komi not long ago. The birth rate there is 1.5, which is higher than the national average. In other words, we need to tread carefully in each region. In general, we are working hard on it.

Vladimir Putin: Ms Matvienko, you and I know well that if there are people, there is a country. If there are no people, there is just territory.

Valentina Matviyenko: This is true. Our enemies, Ukrainian Nazis, they do not even say the word “people.” All they say is “territories.” We are for the people that they killed, the people who lived there. For them, people do not exist. For us, there are people, and for them there are territories. That is how things are all over the country.

In general, this is a very relevant and important matter. We have your instruction, and we will work on it.

This year, there will be 32 regional election campaigns to elect regional heads and heads of parliaments. For the Federation Council, too, every single day of voting means renewal, fresh people and fresh blood. Some governors and legislative assemblies renew the term of some officials, or reappoint them. That is the way the Federation Council is organised and, according to our Constitution, it is the only body of power that never stops working. But the single voting day system allows us to change 20 to 30 percent. This is important, because new competent people come into the picture and help us update our work.

Thank you.

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