A Congress of the People - Putin Shares Plans With "Honored Russians" About Upcoming Election
Now, let's talk about the presidential election. To conduct a direct dialogue with the voters, not to give unrealistic promises and to respect the other participants of the campaign. Vladimir Putin called upon his proxies to follow this advice. He met with them today in the Gostiny Dvor. The conversation with famous and honored Russians wasn't just about the pre-election strategy but also the strategic plans of Vladimir Putin in the upcoming election.
Pavel Zarubin will talk about these plans.
More than 500 people from all over the country, the world famous, and those whose names aren't that well-known but each one of them makes Russia stronger. These people became Putin's proxies. Each of them had their reasons to make such a decision.
Svetlana Zakharova, principal dancer, Bolshoi: "He's the one who supports his country, his motherland, with all his heart and soul".
Sergey Kryakin, Russian chess master: "I'm from the Crimea, I was born there, but it's not only about it. I think his policy, both internal and external, is very strong".
Vladimir Menshov, film director: "The fact that he's extremely hardworking and his unselfishness are obvious to everyone".
- He's a strong, wise, and just leader.
Today, Putin isn't talking about future tasks, he says "super-tasks".
Vladimir Putin: "We need to provide such a leap in the country's development, to give such a dynamic so that after these next six years pass, even if there are some failures in the country's life, some difficulties, some unforeseen circumstances, the acquired pace, inertia of the movement were so powerful that Russia would still go ahead. This is the super-task. To do this, we need to eliminate everything that stops this movement. No matter how much we want to cling to something that seems so dear and close to us. All that prevents us from going forward, should be cleaned, discarded. We need to understand that without modern healthcare, education, infrastructure, without genetics, biology, we simply won’t be able to survive".
The state achieved what previously seemed to be impossible. Raising state employees' salaries up to the market average. And this is only a part of what was done.
Ilya Demakov, history teacher: "During almost 10 years that I've been working in a school, I've been seeing how the space undergoes changes where the children get their education. And we can be proud of this space".
Vladimir Putin: "We must never lower this bar, we must preserve its level and provide it with appropriate funding, both from the federal and regional budgets. We need to watch this carefully".
The proxies ask about the problem that becomes acuter every day, the Internet's influence on society. The space of freedom that more and more often violates the main rights and freedoms of real people, not virtual ones.
Vladimir Putin: "We aren't living in 1937, are we? One says whatever they want, especially on the Internet. A pie wagon won't come for you tomorrow, it's obvious. Why hide? The society, of course, must protect itself from some destructive forces. They surf the Internet, watch what happened in the US, and then there are crimes in our schools. Without any reason, they just saw a lot of it. Each parent must have thought about their child. This self-defense must grow from within society. But it should not be harsh and anti-democratic, no, but society has the right to defend itself. All that isn't forbidden in the law, is allowed".
Many famous sportsmen are among Putin's proxies. The first interview of Anton Shipulin about what's happening around the Olympics and his name.
Anton Shipulin, biathlon Olympic champion: "We have no explanation for what's happening. Everything is based on some suppositions, talks, rumors. So, we have no official decisions about what, why, and how it's happening".
Vladimir Putin: "Dima will rock now".
Dmitry Guberniyev: "How will we build relations with the IOC and whether we should do it? "
Vladimir Putin: "It's just one of the lines of attack. They caught this imbecile Rodchenkov and brought him there. Listen... This man obviously has problems with the law as well. He's talking but he was breaking the law. He must be put in prison. Moreover, we're told that he's working under the US special services control, and it's good. For whom? It's bad for us. He works under control. Well, it's nice. But not for us. In no way should international sports and the Olympic movement be turned into a backyard of some dirty political process. Should we work with international organizations? Of course. First, there are no other organizations, and second, there are many people there that are, trust me, kind towards our country, that support international sports, and I hope that this page will be turned soon. We'll support financially and morally all our sportsmen who couldn't participate in this Olympics".
Dmitry Guberniyev, sports commentator: "I expect that this team, which is, unfortunately, hurt and incomplete, will do everything to win, and I'll sing our anthem on the air. Right after they finish".
He didn't want to leave the podium until the Russian anthem sounded. They put the wrong music back then. Wrestler Roman Vlasov is also a proxy.
Roman Vlasov: "Mr. Putin is our stability, our strength, our support, our leader".
Irina Viner-Usmanova, gymnastics coach: "They started singing the anthem with such love and happiness after Putin appeared".
Alexander Povetkin, boxer: "He's a strong president. We perfectly see what's happening in the world. I think we need such a president".
Yury Sushkov, Head of Lipetsk Aviation Center: "15-20 year ago, we didn't know what to feed soldiers with and what fuel to put into planes and tanks, our ships. Today, we aren't talking about this, we're talking about tactics and strategy, about military readiness. Anyone would want to serve in such army".
Vyacheslav Bocharov, Hero of Russia, spoke of the importance of patriotic work with the youth. In Beslan, he was the first to enter the school to save the children and was seriously wounded.
A person can't exist without respect to their country, pride for it and its history, as Putin thinks. He shared some details of a document he read lately about his forefather, who was awarded the Cross of St. George for conducting a forced crossing Danube. A direct quote from an Emperor's adjunct's letter.
Vladimir Putin: "Your unit is honored to fight for the Danube and be the first to step on the enemy's territory." They were sent to die. Literally. To die. And they said: "you're honored to fight for the Danube and be the first to step on the enemy's territory." When I read such things, they stay with me for my whole life".
The movie Going Vertical caused an uprise of pride for our country and its history. It was filmed with the support of Russian TV channel and the TriTe studio.
Vladimir Putin: "Thank you very much for the movie".
Vladimir Mashkov: "Going vertical to victory".
Putin reminds his proxies about the most important thing. About the upcoming dialog with people.
Vladimir Putin: "When we meet with people, we can't give promises that we don't know how to keep. We must be responsible in this, and attentive. People will forgive anything. But they can't forgive a lie. That's right of them".
Thus, according to Putin, everything must be checked, calculated and accomplishable.
Pavel Zarubin, Alexander Antonov, Nikita Fomkin and Pyotr Ravnov, Vesti