Meeting with Trusted Persons: 544 Putin Confidants

St. Andrew's Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Kremlin calls the attendees “trustees.” The first 14 of the 30 photos depict some of those trustees. Some will notice they’ve been seen before at the initiation of the campaign. IMO, readers will be surprised by their diversity. The opening minutes of the video show Putin’s entrance and the reception he’s awarded, while also depicting the grandeur of the hall. The event was short, under 40 minutes according to the video. Let’s read what was said:

Vladimir Putin: Dear friends,

I asked you to arrange this meeting in order to thank you for your joint work during the election campaign. We met on January 31-at its beginning, and now the results are known.

All of us should once again express our gratitude to the voters and citizens of Russia for the trust they have shown us. It is for us – all together. Because both you and I outlined our common program for the country's development.

Many of you have worked in very difficult conditions-both in our border areas, where neo-Nazis are shelling both peaceful cities and civilian infrastructure. In the Donbas, in Novorossiya, this required a special character, courage – I would not be afraid of this word-personal heroism.

Thank you very much for your work.

But, of course, after events of this kind and after such a result, which shows the great confidence of the country's citizens in what we are doing, and, most importantly, in what we are talking about as our plans, this imposes, first of all, a really big responsibility. Even, you know, the feeling is not anxiety, but a sense of responsibility increases many times.

Because people, of course, are waiting for the return, waiting for the implementation of what we are talking about and what our plans indicate as priorities. One way or another, all these plans are set out in the President's Message to the Federal Assembly. Of course, you all probably know this – at least the main provisions of the law. They are large-scale, the main thing is that they are all calculated and provided with funding.

It is only important for us to work together with you. Why jointly? Because here are people who themselves have achieved great results in the business to which they devoted their lives. And I very much hope that we will follow this path of creating and building a new Russia in all its components: in the economy, in defense capability, in art, in domestic politics, in the construction of our state and its state institutions, in general, in all areas, in order to do our country, our Homeland, and Russia will be even stronger, more attractive, and more effective.

We have everything for this. The most important thing is that there is the will of the Russian people, and this will was quite clearly shown during the election campaign and in its results. We have the necessary resources. There are good, internationally recognized schools.

But, of course, in each of the areas that we have identified as a priority for the development of the Motherland, much needs to be done. I really look forward to creative work and initiative. Because even calculated and financially secure areas of development still require a creative approach, require personal commitment from everyone who works for the benefit of the Motherland and for achieving results that will allow us to get closer to the goals of national development.

All this together, I am sure, is the goal of our whole life. Once again, I say this without any exaggeration, because each of those sitting here has already done a lot in their life and professional career in serving the Fatherland. When we say "service to the Fatherland", first of all, of course, and especially now, in this period of our history, of course, our soldiers, our heroes, who fight on the line of contact, defend the interests of our people with weapons in their hands, stand before our eyes.

This also applies to all other areas. I've just listed them – I won't repeat myself. But the result of the country as a whole depends on the aggregate result of each of them.

That, in fact, is all I wanted to say. I repeat, the main purpose of our meeting is to express our gratitude to you: thank you very much for your support. I wish you further success in your life and profession.

There is another element that I would like to draw your attention to. The campaign headquarters received more than 80 thousand requests. Approximately 40 percent, according to preliminary analysis, are just words of support for the candidate for whom people decided to vote, and I am very grateful for this. But all the rest, which is about 60 percent, is concrete proposals for further work, for organizing our activities in various areas.

I know that many of you have communicated with people, heard their wishes, and heard what our citizens would like to see as a result of our work for the next six years. I really ask you to summarize as much as possible what you have heard and what you have received from people.

As I have already said many times, and you and I are well aware of it: this feedback from people is a very important process of creative work. Because only by being sensitive to what is happening in society can we make the necessary adjustments to the large-scale plans outlined in the Message in a timely manner. And only in this way can you achieve the final result.

Therefore, I suggest that everything that has reached you, everything that you have heard from people, everything that you consider most important in the course of these contacts, be summarized and accepted together with the All-Russian Popular Front for implementation. For my part, I also promise you that I will focus all our executive authorities on this work. Of course, I will also appeal to the deputies of the State Duma – I met with the leaders of the factions yesterday. Everyone is focused on joint creative work.

In conclusion, I would like to once again express my gratitude. Thank you very much for your support.

(Applause.)

Alexey Zhoga [The man who back on 8 December 2023 asked Putin to run for president again]: Mr President, thank you very much for your kind words. Thank you for your appreciation of our work and for your appreciation of the work of the entire electoral staff, all the guys and young people who really showed heroism, especially in the front-line areas. They took an active part in the electoral process, and they also took an active part in the organization of elections.

Indeed, the frontline areas, the residents of the frontline areas can be called heroic people. Because despite the threats of the West, their attempts to disrupt the elections and carry out sabotage (we know that the surrounding territories were repeatedly shelled), people still consolidated, came to the polls and put the exclamation mark in the elections, which we saw in the end in percentage terms. The turnout was huge, with huge support from the entire population of our large country.

We have probably held thousands of meetings and events with our constituents together. Yes, indeed, we have received a huge number of requests. And they are still being received, and they are being sent to the personal mail accounts of our authorized representatives, and to the mail of the election headquarters. Yes, we will summarize all this data in full. We work and analyze.

In principle, some issues were resolved directly in the regions we visited, because they were at the regional level. The regional authorities also actively participated in addressing these issues. But all other questions that are really global and need your direct participation, they will be fully processed, summarized and transferred to you for study.

Some of the questions after the meeting on January 30, as you all heard in the Message of our President, were almost fully voiced in the development program of our country. Many thanks from all of us, from the people of Russia, for listening to the aspirations of the people. And as you said: You don't like to promise, you do.

Thank you very much for your hard work and to all our residents, all the voters for their heroic and patriotic feat – they came and made their choice. This is a truly historic event for the residents of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. This is the first time that we have participated in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. And the trust that they showed with their turnout is really worth a lot.

People ask me a lot: is this the expected result? I say: of course expected. Because I live in this region, I know the mood of our people, I know the mood of our guys, military personnel who perform their official duty. I know the mood of doctors and young people. They trust you completely. You are our leader, you are our President, you are our Supreme Commander. Thank you so much for your work. We are your team, we are ready to work 24/7, 365 days a year, to fulfill all your orders.

And indeed, as you have noticed, the work is not finished here, it is just beginning. We have indeed put together a program for the further development of our country and will now take an active part in its implementation under your leadership.

Thank you very much.

I would like to give the floor to Maria Kostyuk. This is the Hero's mother (posthumously) Andrey Kovtun and Head of the Department for Work with regions of the State Fund "Defenders of the Fatherland". Maria Feodorovna.

Maria Kostyuk: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

During the election campaign, I traveled through quite a lot of regions, starting from my native and beloved Far East, right up to the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, where we are most often located today. Mostly I met with our demobilized veterans and the families of the victims. This is the target audience of our Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, which you created almost a year ago by your decree.

What do I want to say? We do not work in our foundation, we serve, and it is an honor for us today. Today, we call our work at the foundation service, because our sons and our children were killed while performing a combat mission, protecting the peaceful life of the residents of Donbass and Novorossiya. Today we continue the work of our sons. Today we are returning our demobilized children to peaceful life. Today we are teaching the families of our fallen soldiers to live this life anew.

Of course, there were many meetings with our young people. I now want to say in front of all my colleagues, relatives and already such relatives that our young people today will teach any of us true patriotism, true patriotism.

There were a huge number of meetings with women of various faiths and nationalities. And all of them, as much as possible and as much as possible, help the front.

There were also meetings, which was unexpected for me, and there were and still are such citizens in our country today, for whom a special military operation has nothing to do with their lives, with the meaning of life, and they consider it something unusual.

So, during all this time, I have seen the level of support for you, Mr Putin, both at the regional and municipal levels. It is, I can say, huge, incredible, but it is unprecedented.

Society today has really consolidated around you. And even in spite of all the foreign policy dangers, even in spite of the fact that today there are some internal contradictions, today everything is washed away, today everything becomes clear. More clear and understandable meanings, and our values are more clearly visible. And those who are leaving today, they have been trying to hide for a very long time that they are not with us, not with our country.

And I would even say more that our society today for me and for all of us is like, you know, a cut diamond, when everyone is ready to serve the Fatherland today and everyone is ready to bring victory closer. This is probably what the election results showed today. And everyone needs to win. Our heroes, whom you mentioned today, who are on the front line today, need it as a result of fulfilling their military duty. Today, the families of the victims need victory as a memory of their sons, as a perpetuation of the memory of their heroism in the history of our great country. Our young people need victory today as an example of both patriotism and, I would even say, the modern feat of their contemporaries, their children, who are now basically growing up with them. Victory is needed today for all of us as the meaning of the greatness of our country, as faith in the future of our country and as faith in the future of each of us in our great country, led by you, our President. thank you.

Alexey Zhoga: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Maria Fyodorovna, please excuse me, thank you very much. Now I will not talk about everything, for the most important thing that you did. But your current work is highly demanded and needed.

When we created this structure, when we created the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, we said that its task is to reach every family. Of course, this is a super task. But in general, I see that you are moving in this direction. And I wish you every success. Thank you very much.

Alexey Zhoga: Dmitry Pekurovsky, Chairman of the Russian Union of Rural Youth, has asked to speak.

Dmitry Pekurovsky: Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Dear colleagues! Friends!

On behalf of all the youth of our beloved country, I congratulate you and all of us on this unequivocal victory.

For me, these elections were a lot of things for the first time. It was the first time I became a confidant, the first time I took part in debates. Realizing all the responsibility, I was terribly worried, proud and still proud. I am sure that the same feelings are experienced by our youth, volunteers, who are about 9 thousand across the country. They collected signatures in support, worked in election headquarters, at polling stations, and also as election observers, including foreign participants of the World Youth Festival.

I can safely say that the elections were held under the auspices of young people who actively went to vote. We see this among our students of the Russian Union of Rural Youth and other youth non-governmental organizations.

I thank you for the attention you pay to the development of rural areas and support for rural youth. This is the Cadres for the Countryside program, where we work with young people to create a new modern image of rural areas. This is the state program "Integrated Rural Development". This is the support of zemstvo specialists.

I have already said that many things were new to me. I am speaking to you for the first time today.

Our young people and our children have asked me to tell you that we have always supported you, we will continue to support you, we believe in you, we believe in the village and we are proud of Russia.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Dmitry Alexandrovich, we have a special event in such palace halls of the Kremlin, and it corresponds to the moment. But we must never forget the importance of the village and the people who work in it.

We are proud of the success of those who work in agriculture, they are simply incredible. I won't list these figures now, but until quite recently, a couple of decades ago, it didn't even seem to have occurred to us that we would be exporting agricultural products many times as much as arms exports. It hadn't even occurred to me.

When we started shipping grain for export, do you know what the problem was? Our ports were designed for receiving grain, not for shipping. This is a technical problem that has occurred. And now we are the first country in the world in exporting wheat.

The agricultural sector is becoming more and more high-tech and modern. In holiday interiors, all this is said easily. But life expectancy in rural areas is lower than the national average. It is growing here, thank God, it has reached 73 years on average, but in rural areas it is less. Social conditions are more modest. And you can still say a lot of things after this "but". This means that there is a lot to be done in rural areas.

And indeed, a lot of programs are aimed precisely at this. The rural mortgage is maintained, and the rural social development program is maintained. If we are talking about primary health care, then first of all, most of the funds that are allocated for this are intended for rural areas. First, we need to increase this support.

We will certainly do everything we can to support the industry and the social sphere. If this is not enough, but there are always few funds, the main thing is to look at how they are used and how effective their use is. We will improve all these mechanisms, including together with your organization.

Thank you very much.

Alexey Zhoga: I would like to give the floor to Anna Viktorovna Kudryavtseva, Deputy Director for Research at the V. A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology.

A. Kudryavtseva: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

I am a scientist, so I would like to say a few words about science, and especially about young scientists.

My scientific career began in the early 2000s. And at that time, the only chance to do science at at least an average level, let alone a high one, was to go abroad. And indeed, most of my classmates have moved abroad or just changed their field of activity. There are only a few left. And since that time, by historical standards, this is a very short period of time, we have managed to radically change the situation.

What do I see now as the head of the laboratory, as the deputy director? Young people come to our institute, young people with burning eyes, there are a lot of them. We now have about 160,000 young scientists. 44 percent of the total number of scientists are young. In other words, the share of young researchers has increased significantly. In the 2000s, it was about 20 percent. We have one of the youngest sciences in the world. And it's all thanks to you, the work of your team. Thank you very much.

So now we can really do science at a high level in Russia, in our country. And all this is thanks to such support measures as the creation, for example, of the Russian Science Foundation, and the popularization of science. I believe that the Znanie society, its reincarnation, has played a huge role. Across the country, children and adults are learning that science is great, that science is fashionable, and that it is our future. This is the future and the foundation of our technological sovereignty. That Russia will be independent of the technologies of other countries, at least the main technologies. This personnel base is the first step towards achieving this sovereignty. This is extremely important. Thank you so much for this.

Thank you very much for organizing the Year of Science and Technology, and now for a whole Decade of science and technology, and for building megascience-class installations in Protvino, Dubna, SKIF, and major infrastructure projects. Scientists are very grateful to you. Thanks

Vladimir Putin: What I'm going to say now is an inaccurate quote, word for word, but in meaning it's what was said. Academician Tamm once said that the next century will be the century of biology, just as ours is the century of physics. But the value of physics doesn't go away. But it is quite obvious that biology is becoming an equally important area of research as physics. Of course, this is largely the future. But the combination of all these directions gives the maximum effect.

We are proud of the achievements of our scientists. Indeed, today we are seeing a significant rejuvenation of science, a lot of researchers under the age of 35, when people achieve the best results in their creative activities.

I very much hope that the support measures that the state now offers and uses, I'm talking about mega-grants, as you probably know all this well, are attracting our specialists who once went to other countries, work successfully there, achieve results, and become Nobel Prize laureates. I know, I talked to them, met them. Many of them return, for some this temporary work turns into a permanent job, they set up their own laboratories here, attract young researchers to these laboratories, and are proud of them. And we are proud of you. We are waiting for your results.

For our part, we will do our best to support you.

Alexey Zhoga: Thank you, Anna Viktorovna.

Svetlana Alekseyevna Nemtseva, Chief Physician of the St. Luke of Crimea Starooskolskaya District Hospital, also asked to speak.

S. Nemtseva: Good afternoon, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich! Dear participants,

I'm from the Belgorod region. There are difficult times in the Belgorod region today, especially in the border areas: Belgorod, Grayvoronsky [city] district-there are daily attacks there today. And it is very important for us to feel your support.

The decisions that you make, in particular the creation of a special economic zone, the allocation of funds for the restoration of destroyed housing, to support the economy, farmers, and businesses – this is certainly important for every resident of the Belgorod region. As a doctor, your decision and your support for the construction of a new building of the emergency hospital in Belgorod is very important to me.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, a year ago, on February 15, we opened an infection center together with our governor Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Gladkov in Stary Oskol. This is the second infection center [in the Belgorod region], the same in Belgorod. This means that we are creating equal conditions for residents both in the Belgorod metropolitan region and in Stary Oskol. The quality and accessibility of medical care is becoming equal, and good medical care is available to residents, including those in the rural hinterland.

Now, during the election campaign, I went through all the districts and saw how much importance and what a huge result this project of modernization of primary care has. Think about it: in every central district hospital – repairs, in every central district hospital-the latest equipment: digital mammographs, fluorographs, ultrasound machines, ECG devices. I laugh and say, "You don't have a video-endoscopic complex," in a small CRH, absolutely small. They say, " Let's go." They are opening the cabinet – and now, in November, they received the national project. Another CRH, also quite small: "And we have a SCT [spiral computed tomography] device." It is very important.

Thank you very much for continuing this project of primary care modernization. Thank you very much from all the medical workers of the village for raising wages. Now-since March, in April there will be these payments.

I would like to ask you to pay attention to the hospital link: hospitals, hospitals, their repair, reconstruction and construction of new hospitals, primarily maternity hospitals and children's hospitals.

Another thing I would like to ask on behalf of all medical professionals is the development of the rehabilitation link, its improvement: so that in every small district, in a small city, this rehabilitation link is also available, including for our children who will return from SVO.

I have held more than 60 meetings, which is about three or four thousand people, and everywhere I have seen and felt great support for you. Our opponents have increased their pressure on us in recent days, but the shelling of Grayvoron and Belgorod, on the contrary, united us – they did not achieve the result they expected. We are united. Not a single doctor from Belgorod and the shelled areas – and the Belgorod region in general-left or left his workplace.

I assure you, we will not give up. We believe in you, we are together with you, and the victory will be ours.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: Svetlana Alekseevna, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude and admiration to the residents of the Belgorod Region and other border regions. I want to express my gratitude for your courage.

Of course, we will do everything possible to support people: those who have lost their businesses, ordinary citizens who have lost their homes, and many other indicators – I won't list them all. There is a lot to work on, and we will do everything-everything that depends on us.

Of course, the primary task is to ensure security. There are different ways here – they are not easy, but we will do it. I've already mentioned this, but I just don't want to go into details right now in this solemn atmosphere. But, of course, we will work on it.

He also talked about why the enemy is taking such actions. Of course, we can respond in the same way – we can respond in the same way: both on civilian infrastructure and on all other objects of this kind that the enemy strikes. We have our own views on this issue and our own plans. We will follow what we have planned.

As for the civil component of what you said about primary health care: we are extending this program, and appropriate resources are being allocated for this purpose. There is no doubt that all this will go further – with an emphasis on rural health care, on interregional centers. We will be engaged in equipping them. A significant amount of automotive equipment has already been purchased. Of course, we will pay the necessary attention to special medical equipment – as well as to personnel training.

You mentioned raising the level of wages in small localities. Everything seems to be quite good, but on the other hand, there are not enough personnel, which means that we are not working on something. The increases are modest, but still, raising the level of wages in small localities is just the first step towards providing the necessary number of specialists in rural areas, in district hospitals, and in other primary health care institutions. Everything will be implemented.

At the beginning, I said that it would be very useful if you summarized your suggestions, and we would take them into account in a specific work. That's what I've already heard. To be honest, we know about it. But if you have any additional thoughts, please, I tell you again: generalize, send us, we will work on it.

Thank you very much.

S. Nemtseva: Thank you very much.

Alexey Zhoga: Mr President, I would like to hear from the personnel of all your proxies, from the staff of the election headquarters, from the personnel of your entire team-the team of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, from all the citizens of the Russian Federation, I will not be afraid to say this, from almost a large number of the whole world, from normal citizens who I want to congratulate you on your win, on your victory.

We cordially congratulate you.

(Applause.)

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Colleagues-let me address you in this way-colleagues who have spoken here, talked about the expected victories and congratulated you on winning the elections. Victory in the elections is only a prologue to the victories that Russia needs so much and that will definitely happen.

Thank you very much. [My Emphasis]

Feedback from the people is such an easy thing to obtain, but it must be wanted and actually used; it cannot be merely a slogan. My impression: Putin aims to turn Russia into one massive soviet—the term for the traditional Russian village council—in the socio-political sense. the USSR claimed to be a union of soviets but actually fell far short of that goal. The underlying reasons for that failure are also the main reasons why the USSR failed—the goal was to be the triumph of the soviet people but the people weren’t trusted by those in power, while the ruling dogma was the people were in power. And thus a disconnect arose at the very beginning of the Soviet Era that grew overtime into the sickness that killed the USSR from within. Clearly, I’m not the only one who has thought about that and what might have been. Putin and many of his Team have certainly. The mistakes of the past are there to be learned from. Some things did work and still remain in place or are returning, while the West is utterly oblivious to the help it’s provided and continues to provide to Russia.

The Russians that ran away were never really Russians, and there are many Russophiles who aren’t Russian citizens. People from the Global Majority see what’s happening in Russia and compare those developments with what the West is doing. The West’s crapaganda is now seen as exactly that while Russia continues to do business and uphold its honor. What’s planned for the next six years and beyond is ambitious and necessary—plenty of work for those ready to go to work and build a better tomorrow. Gee, what a concept!

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