Russian Meritocracy: Leaders of Russia Contest

With the winners of the Leaders of Russia contest.

The Kremlin’s readout:

“The Leaders of Russia Management Competition is one of the projects of the Russia – Land of Opportunities platform. It has been held since 2017 on behalf of the President in order to find promising managers of a new generation and further support their professional growth.”

Some readers have asked if Russia’s meritocratic given the great number of contests and competitions over most of the socio-political spectrum. Putin’s recent conversation with the female flight school graduates holds the answer as he said whoever the best business person is ought to the first choice for whatever position, not the person’s gender, that women can strive to attain whatever their aspiration. He just said that they shouldn’t forget they are women and that as such they have a singular responsibility to perpetuation. Putin has described that delicate subject with great tact. This particular contest is open about what it seeks and why. The winners aren’t youngsters and in many cases are already well seasoned. A roster is available via the transcript website. And now for the dialogue:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon! I welcome you all!

Our meetings with graduates of the Leaders of Russia format and platform are regular. The goal is simple: first of all, to congratulate you on the result, and secondly, to listen to your opinion about what happened and how it was, what you encountered in the course of contacts with each other, during conversations and classes with those people who came to you in various formats.

I must say that (this is already our fifth issue) over the years, more than a million people have passed through this system. This is the biggest, largest personnel forum not only in our country, but also in the whole world, probably. That's cool.

And it is also very important that the people you met, talked to, formulated tasks, evaluated results, achieved a lot themselves, and they are really objective "evaluators" of what you have done.

And the third point that I would like to draw your attention to is that this year you were able to work in the territories as well. I know that there are people here who already work on the territory, but nevertheless it was important for everyone else to try their hand at solving regional problems. This is a very important element of preparation, competitive selection, and determining your own capabilities. I would like to thank our colleagues in the regions-the heads of the regions – for providing such an opportunity.

I am also pleased to note that in the number of applications, which was very large, there are more and more people who live permanently abroad, but show interest in our country and show their desire to work in Russia. An accelerated and simplified procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship is provided for them. 29 people from 12 countries have already made this decision. Moreover, representatives not only from non-CIS countries – the USA, France, Greece, Bulgaria - but also from the CIS countries.

It is also important that we attract colleagues from new territories, from new regions within the framework of the Leaders of Renaissance program. I know there are some of them here, too. You can probably tell us how it went.

You also know that a new page is being opened-this is [the program] "Time of Heroes" - for those (and there are also such people here in this audience) who have taken or are taking a direct part in serving the Motherland in the zone of a special military operation. Since March, we have started accepting applications, and already 30 thousand applications have been received. It is clear that there should be, and will be, a fairly strict selection process. This will not be a one-time promotion, but we will hold it on a regular basis. So those who don't get there on the first visit have every chance to repeat the application and get on this platform. For those who do not have higher education, we will create conditions so that people can get this education, if they, of course, want it, if they have such ambitions.

Getting a specific position is not an end in itself for the events you took part in. Nevertheless, 470 people already work in high-level positions in the federal center in one way or another. We have, in my opinion, six deputy federal ministers, five deputy governors in the regions, and there are even governors, 10 people work at the level of heads of municipalities (I see some here), in the State Duma, in the Federation Council, in our large companies with state participation, in general, in various areas and sufficient at a high level.

It is very important that in the course of training, a certain community of people develops who are trained, pass this competitive selection. This is also very important, I have already heard about it from graduates of previous years. We manage to maintain these relationships, exchange useful information that can be used at a particular job, but, I repeat, receive information from sources that you trust and who themselves are very competent in their fields.

Well, this is probably all I would like to say at the beginning, but I would like to hear more from you, I repeat once again, your assessments and your suggestions for improving this system of personnel selection.

I have already said many times, and I want to repeat it again: the main advantage of this work, the main advantage of this system, training and selection of personnel, is that it is not a" vertebral " system, it is not based on calls, but on personal and business qualities. [Meritocratic]

You are welcome.

Alexei Komissarov, Director General of ANO Russia – Land of Opportunity, Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration: Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich.

We recently summed up the results of the fifth anniversary season. At the end of February, this happened. During this time, since 2017, when you commissioned this competition, we have received more than a million applications, by the way, not only from all corners of Russia, but also from 150 foreign countries. We have more than 500 winners, 470 people received various serious appointments: someone became a governor, someone became a mayor, someone headed a hospital, someone a large enterprise.

Perhaps the most important thing to note and what I was asked not only by the "Leaders of Russia", but also by all the participants of the platform "Russia – a country of opportunities" that you created, is to say a huge thank you for creating a whole stable system, a real system of social elevators in our country, when every person, regardless of their age, is able to it depends on where he was born, in what family, what prosperity in the family, what opportunities there are, can realize his abilities, can show his talent. Of course, this requires not only a certain desire, but also perseverance to show. But we see and know that with such perseverance, anything is really possible in our country.

I would like to start with the participants of our fifth anniversary season, those who have recently joined such a close-knit family of "Leaders of Russia".

With us today is Yulia Shugina. Now the Year of the Family has been announced. Julia helps babies to be born, but I think that she herself will tell you about it better.

Julia, please.

Vladimir Putin: Please, please.

Yu.Shugina: Thank you very much.

Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

My name is Yulia Shugina. I'm 32 years old. I was born and raised in Smolensk in a family of doctors. This large medical family is not just limited to parents, but also grandmothers, uncles, and aunts. And, despite a rather difficult life in the 90s in a family of doctors, my parents supported my choice, and I went the way of the heart, I became a pediatrician, a surgeon.

I started out as an operating room nurse. After the second year of university, I washed instruments and floors at night and occasionally had a magical opportunity to stand as an assistant at the operating table, for which I am very grateful to my colleagues from Smolensk.

Now I am the head of the Department of Neonatal Surgery at the Moscow Regional Perinatal Center.

Vladimir Putin: Neonatal surgery?

Yu.Shugina: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: So you do operations for newborn babies?

Yu.Shugina: I operate on children, many of whom can barely fit in the palm of my hand.

Vladimir Putin: My God, aren't you afraid?

Yu.Shugina: No. This is what I've always wanted, this is who I've always seen myself as. And in 2022, I accepted this challenge when I was offered to open a department from scratch on the basis of a perinatal center. At first there were thoughts: "God, I really will." And there was a misunderstanding of the team, and there was nothing, we had to understand the documents, get licensed-such absolutely non-medical things, but we managed. I have a lot of very good subordinates, they all came to me from the center. I have people who have gone through real combat training. This is, for example, one of my most experienced operating nurses – Olga Nikolaevna Kizhaikina. She went through both Ossetia and Chechnya, and now we are fighting with her for the life and health of babies in the operating room. And of course, it is a great happiness for a doctor to see them come as healthy boys and girls. But I think that very few people can understand how we feel when we operate on such children, when we nurse them, when you understand that this is the first long-awaited child in 20 years of infertility or this is the first successful IVF attempt out of eight or nine. And of course, this is a very big responsibility, but also a great privilege.

We save babies not only on the basis of our perinatal center, we implement…

Vladimir Putin: Mostly joint surgeries, right?

Yu.Shugina: No, mostly these are operations on the intestines. We have such aspects as the disease of preterm survivors – necrotizing enterocolitis. Of course, the best operation is the one that didn't take place, and we are doing a lot of scientific work in terms of prevention. But the work is cool, team work. Last year, we started implementing the project of a field surgical team. We operate and consult at all sites of maternity hospitals in the Moscow region thanks to our chief freelance neonatology specialist Anastasia S. Petrova and those people who responded to this project. And this is really what helps to reduce infant mortality in the region, but this is only due to cool teamwork. This was not always the case: in 2022, when I arrived, there was also professional jealousy, there was a lack of understanding of why the team needed a surgeon. And at that time, I really lacked non-medical knowledge: in management, in economics, somewhere I lacked diplomacy. For this knowledge, I came to the contest "Leaders of Russia" in order to develop further, I did not come alone, I came with my beloved man. Despite the fact that he couldn't get past the regional stage, this competition was a non-zero-sum game for us. He got a future wife-a super finalist of the fifth season and a huge desire to participate in the sixth season and develop, I got a training grant that will allow me to catch up.

Vladimir Putin: We will assume that he simply pushed you up.

Yu.Shugina: Yes. And it is also very important that you have an environment that helps you, that supports you. I was lucky: these are my parents, my sister, my beloved man, and my colleagues. I really want this competition to become even more popular, so that ordinary doctors and health care organizers will not be afraid to enter it and develop, because together we can make our health care better. I'm sure.

Vladimir Putin: And you, when you came to the contest, who were you and who are you now?

Yu.Shugina: I came to the contest recently, only last spring.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I understand.

Yu.Shugina: I was already the head of the department. We're just getting started. We will soon have mentors.

Vladimir Putin: And where is the perinatal center located?

Yu.Shugina: In the Moscow region, in Balashikha.

Vladimir Putin: The rate of child mortality in the region has probably decreased after the establishment of this perinatal center?

Yu.Shugina: This perinatal center was the second to appear in Russia. We are one of the flagship projects. This year, the center's team has been saving babies for 20 years. In total, there are five centers and one large center for maternal and child health in the Moscow Region. This is what really helps.

Vladimir Putin: That's great. What are your ambitions? What did you want to do in the near future?

Yu.Shugina: Of course, I would like to lead some kind of multidisciplinary children's clinic, or maybe create one from scratch. Because I realized that the challenge of creating something from scratch is very interesting. And in the long term of ten or fifteen years-we'll see.

Vladimir Putin: Specifically in the Moscow region?

Yu.Shugina: No, I don't get attached to the region.

Vladimir Putin: Now you need to consult someone.

Yu.Shugina: Yes, now I need to consult someone, definitely.

Vladimir Putin: I congratulate you.

Yu.Shugina: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Alexander Komissarov: You spoke about perseverance. We have a participant who tried to win the contest five times – Dmitry Volkov. From the fifth time it was possible. I think Dmitry will tell you how. Now he works in the Ministry of Digital Development.

Dmitry, you have the floor.

Dmitry Volkov: Hello, Mr President!

My name is Dmitry Volkov, I am 30 years old. I was born in the city of Krasnoyarsk, now I live in Moscow.

I have quite an interesting history of getting into the civil service. I'm a rocket engineer by training. I went to learn how to design and create spacecraft. I didn't even think about the civil service at all. Once, in the fifth year of university, I accidentally saw an ad in social networks about recruitment for an internship program in the authorities. I thought I'd try my hand at it. If I succeed and like it, I will try to go there to work. If you don't like it, this is also a result, at least it will happen before employment.

I applied for an internship at the governor's office. I found myself in the company of very professional, very caring mentors who were able to literally change my understanding of the civil service. And the most important thing is that I realized that my technical knowledge and skills, it turns out, are very much in demand in public administration.

I've been in the civil service for eight years now. I started out in a small government agency, then worked in the regional administration.

Vladimir Putin: Did you graduate from high school and go straight to work?

Dmitry Volkov: Yes, I graduated from a university, and it's time to start self-determination.

Vladimir Putin: And who hired you in the administration?

Dmitry Volkov: I was hired as a leading specialist in the Innovation Development Department, in the innovation support department. We were engaged in supporting technology companies.

Then, in 2020, I moved to the Ministry of Digital Development and joined a new team. For the last two years I have been working as a deputy director of a department in the Ministry. Our team develops services on the Gosuslugi portal, which means that we strive to ensure that people can conveniently, quickly, and online get all the necessary services and solve their questions. First of all, we test each service for ourselves. For example, two years ago, my wife and I applied for marriage registration through Gosuslugi. She then made me an offer, chose the registry office herself.

Vladimir Putin: A talented manager.

Dmitry Volkov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: It's so obvious that it was she who proposed to him.

Dmitry Volkov: I paid the state duty myself, which is also important.

Vladimir Putin: Where does she work?

Dmitry Volkov: She works in the HR department of a construction company in Moscow.

Vladimir Putin: So she works in business?

Dmitry Volkov: Yes, in business.

Vladimir Putin: That's right, you're an employee. Let him take care of the financial expenses.

Dmitry Volkov: Of course, I didn't build the spacecraft and I don't participate in its construction, but I don't feel upset at all, and I am very proud that I am working on one of the most ambitious projects. Today, more than 110 million citizens are users of our portal.

If we talk about the contest, as Alexey Gennadievich [Komissarov] said, I am participating in the Leaders of Russia contest for the fifth time. I started when I was still 23 years old, I was very young, but even then I set myself the goal to pass the assessment and understand what qualities you need to develop in yourself in order to work and manage on a national scale in the future. For the fourth time I managed to reach the final, and the fifth season brought me two victories at once: I entered the top hundred, and I had a daughter.

With the contest, you can say, and with the victory, a new stage in my life and, I hope, in my career began. I would like to thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and all the organizers for the opportunity to join and be part of the big team "Leaders of Russia". Thanks

Vladimir Putin: And we will all thank your wife for giving you a daughter.

Dmitry Volkov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Good luck to you. All the best to you.

Dmitry Volkov: Good luck with your election. We're here for you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

How is your career developing in the ministry now?

Dmitry Volkov: I'm still working in the same position.

Vladimir Putin: Deputy Head of the Department, yes?

Dmitry Volkov: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: It's clear.

Specifically, what do you do? What do you do?

Dmitry Volkov: Specifically, digital services in the field of social protection. We are currently working on creating a digital ID card for a large family.

Vladimir Putin: It is very important. Thank you very much.

Dmitry Volkov: We are also launching projects in new regions…

Vladimir Putin: Are there any difficulties in creating this digital service for large families?

Dmitry Volkov: Not yet, in principle. The Ministry of Labor is currently developing a regulatory framework, and we are designing a service. That is, now such a stage of preparation. We hope to launch it by the end of the year.

Vladimir Putin: What's taking so long?

Dmitry Volkov: Because in general, the regulatory framework takes longer to form.

Vladimir Putin: So the Ministry of Labor is to blame?

Dmitry Volkov: No, it's a complicated process.

Vladimir Putin: Well done.

Dmitry Volkov: It's a complex process: you need to create a data bank. It already exists, and the regions are beginning to transmit information there. This is still in test mode. A large multi-dimensional work, integration of several systems – a regional system, a system of the Ministry of Labor, a digital platform and a portal of public services as the final recipient.

Vladimir Putin: It's a big job. The faster the better, right?

Dmitry Volkov: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: I'll also talk to the Ministry of Labor.

Thank you very much.

Dmitry Volkov: Thank you.

Alexey Komissarov: Not only doctors and civil servants participate in the competition, but also those who work in business. Alexander Isakov worked his way up from engineer to director of a plant in the Lipetsk region.

I would like to pass on another word to our next participant – Vladislav Vakhnin. Vladislav, despite his young age, manages such a serious project at Gazprom Neft-the Prirazlomnaya platform, our Russian Arctic. I think that Vladislav himself will tell you.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Mr President, good afternoon!

Vladislav Vakhnin, 27 years old, I am an oil engineer. Born and raised in Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, I studied here in Moscow, and then went to Krasnoyarsk for work.

To be honest, before moving to Krasnoyarsk…

(To D. Volkov.) Vladimir Putin: You are from Krasnoyarsk here. (To V. Vakhnin.) And you are from here - to Krasnoyarsk.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Yes, but before I moved to Krasnoyarsk, everything beyond the Urals was far away and poorly understood. As a result, during the few years of living there, I fell in love with Siberia, with the people who live there. In Siberia, I had my first big professional victory – in the company where I worked at that time, we created and launched the largest digital model of the field.

I have been living and working in St. Petersburg for the last two years. I joined the Gazprom Neft team, which has been implementing the first and only oil production project for 10 years.

Vladimir Putin: What company did you work for first?

Vladimir Vakhnin: Before that, I worked for Rosneft in Krasnoyarsk, where we were engaged in the development of deposits in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Vladimir Putin: It's probably a huge province there.

Vladimir Vakhnin: It's a huge, huge oil and gas region. As you know, one of the world's largest oil and gas projects is currently being implemented there, which I was also involved in.

Now – on the equally interesting and unique project "Prirazlomnaya". I specifically work in the mining management center. We remotely coordinate production processes on the platform. This includes oil production, preparation, and shipment. At the same time, we receive 13 thousand data from the platform every second. To work with such an array, we use various modern digital solutions.

(To the audience.) Vladimir Putin: My colleague probably told you, if not, I will tell you that they practically manage the production, sitting in the center. And even, in fact, drilling is done sitting in the center.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Absolutely true. Today, Gazprom Neft has built its technology so that we can keep in touch with the personnel on the platform every second and help them solve the production tasks that they face. But without a "digit" it is impossible. Therefore, we are currently developing domestic tools that will allow, for example, to automate work with digital twins of Prirazlomnaya . There are several of them now. We stitch them together in a single system to make calculations more accurate and operation safer.

But at the same time, in addition to professional growth, working at Prirazlomnaya opened up for me, on the one hand, the romance of the Arctic, and on the other, its strategic value for our country. Therefore, I did not hesitate for a second when choosing [the Deputy Prime Minister-Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District]as the mentor of the competition Yuri Petrovich Trutnev. It oversees these regions. I hope he gives a positive answer. We haven't had time to talk to him or see him yet.

Also, of course, as a result of winning the Leaders of Russia award, I became one of Gazprom Neft's high-potential employees. This also opens up new professional prospects for me. In general, of course, I am grateful to the company and its management. They actively support and encourage participation in such a competition.

Vladimir Putin: Gazprom Neft is a high-tech company and pays great attention to this.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Absolutely. In general, I have been familiar with the platform" Russia – the land of opportunities " since I was a student. I then became a silver medalist at the I am a Professional Olympiad. And today, on the example of his friend, the super finalist of the third season of Leaders of Russia Nikita Dadakin, he himself successfully took part in this competition.

I can say with confidence that it is a growth point on my life path. And unlike most of those gathered here today, I am only at the start. But I hope that it will be as bright as my colleagues'.

Vladimir Putin: Did the management of Rosneft help you in solving the tasks that were set during this competitive selection?

Vladimir Vakhnin: Rosneft or Gazprom Neft?

Vladimir Putin: Gazprom Neft, I'm sorry.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Absolutely. As you know, the company is actively involved in the preparation, especially the organization of various educational programs. Therefore, even before the final, the day before the final, we organized an immersive training for our employees with the involvement of actors. In other words, the company's contribution here is enormous, and I am grateful to it, of course.

Vladimir Putin: You see. A modest official from the Ministry of Digital Development certainly did not have such support.

V. Vakhnin: This is only a plus for him, of course, this is a revealing story.

Vladimir Putin: I wish you every success.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: There is a lot to do there, and the company is very promising. It is the largest taxpayer in Siberia. This is so, for example, simple. In Siberia, this is the largest taxpayer – Gazprom Neft. They have a large cluster there, which is developing well. Law-abiding behavior, a law-abiding company for the host country. They work very efficiently and do a lot in the field of innovation, that's for sure. Of course, this is a good place for employees like you.

Vladimir Vakhnin: I am sure that there will be a place. Thanks

Vladimir Putin: This is a very important area, no matter what you say about renewable energy sources, and by the way, Gazprom Neft is also thinking about this, I know. Therefore, for a very long time, humanity will deal with the issues of hydrocarbons, their extraction and use, and the work will last for 100 years.

Vladimir Vakhnin: 100 percent. Moreover, the offshore production competencies that Gazprom Neft is developing are not so many regions where Prirazlomnaya is one of them…

Vladimir Putin: What depths do you have there?

V. Vakhnin: About 2.2-2.5 thousand meters.

Vladimir Putin: A lot. This is a difficult job.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Yes. Therefore, working on the shelf…

Vladimir Putin: How much is there in the Gulf of Mexico?

Vladimir Vakhnin: You know, I won't say it offhand, so as not to deceive you... but do you mean the depths of the sea?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, yes.

V. Vakhnin: I misunderstood: I was referring to the depth of the reservoir. No, the sea depth in the Barents Sea, where we work, is about 20 meters. In the Gulf of Mexico, I think, a little deeper, but the uniqueness of our object is the Arctic conditions, this is the ice situation.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

Vladimir Vakhnin: The ice is up to 4 meters thick, so we have our own difficulties.

Vladimir Putin: But the platforms are powerful, and I think they can withstand any ice.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Absolutely true. Russian project, Russian engineers assembled and built in Russian factories. Ten years since you started the first shipment in April 2014. And since then, we have been operating trouble-free and uninterrupted.

Vladimir Putin: That's great. I congratulate you.

Vladimir Vakhnin: Thank you.

Alexander Komissarov: Mr President, when the special military operation began, the organizers ' phones exploded with questions and messages from contest participants about how to help: some provided humanitarian aid, some volunteered, some went to the front, and we have many such examples.

You have met, and we had Ilya Shtokman on our Supervisory Board, who after the competition took the position of first Deputy mayor of Nizhny Novgorod and from this position volunteered for the front and is now there.

Someone from Krasnodar, Denis, was a reserve colonel, helped train volunteers, and then he himself led the detachment and now also carries out the corresponding service.

Alexander Glukharev from the Tyumen region volunteered and first led a company, and now is the commander of an assault battalion.

Vladimir Putin: I was in command of a company.

A. Komissarov: I was in command, yes. He commanded a company, now the commander of an assault battalion. There are many such examples: from Sevastopol, from our other cities.

With us today is Amir Akko from Karachay-Cherkessia. Amir was mobilized in 2022. I think he'll tell me about himself.

Vladimir Putin: Please, Amir.

Alexander Akko: Good afternoon, Mr President!

I was born and raised in Karachay-Cherkessia. At the moment, I am a conscripted member of our Armed Forces. Father of three children.

Before participating in the competition, I worked in one of the largest greenhouse farms in our country – the Yuzhny agricultural complex, where I went from a locksmith who turns bolts and nuts, all covered in oil, to an engineer. Participated in the first season of the contest. Unfortunately, I took 31st place: it was very disappointing, because I had to get into the top thirty.

Vladimir Putin: And how many participants were there in total?

A. Akko: In the first year, 300 people came from the North Caucasus Federal District for the semifinals.

Vladimir Putin: Good result.

A. Akko: It was a shame. But I also realized that I could have achieved more.

I initially went to the contest with thoughts: where can I, a former locksmith, a simple engineer, compete with the coolest managers?

Vladimir Putin: Russia is a country of opportunities.

A. Akko: Yes.

The next year, I was just going forward, and I was able to make it to the super final of the competition. I sent an educational grant to study at the Higher School of Economics and RANEPA. And I was noticed by the management of Gazprom Gas Distribution Cherkessk, a resource-supplying organization in our republic. They invited me to their place. Over the past three years, I have changed several positions, reaching the position of Deputy head of the operational service for the city of Cherkessk and 20 localities that are adjacent to it.

In the fall of 2022, I received a summons. I had no doubts – go, don't go, take, don't take the summons. There were no such thoughts at all. I had experience of military service in North and South Ossetia. I spent a lot of time on exercises, where we conducted live firing. I knew that my experience could be useful and I could help our guys.

Of course, my family was very worried. I am the only child of my elderly mother. My wife was left alone with three small children, with my mother, but we all made it through. We managed it, and my friends, our relatives, colleagues helped us, even the guys from Leaders [of Russia] helped us: they bought me some gear and sent it right there. I am very grateful to all these people.

During my participation in the fighting, I managed to visit the right bank of the Kherson region, the left bank, the Zaporozhye region, and the Vremyevsky sector of the front. In my spare time from fighting, I was engaged in physical development, I was engaged in reading, and I also discovered a creative streak in myself. I started keeping diaries from the first days, already more than 100 chapters. I called them "Diaries of the mobilized". I wrote several short stories, a couple of dozen poems. It really helped to distract from all the hardships, better than any doping or bad habits.

Looking back, I don't regret anything. Any decision in your life should be made carefully and responsibly. If you have already started on the path, you need to go to the end.

Just recently, I made another decision – I think it will be a landmark one. I watched your Message to the Federal Assembly, heard about the "Time for Heroes" program, and, of course, immediately applied on the same day.

Vladimir Putin: That's right.

A. Akko: Everything. Now I'm waiting for the result.

Thank you very much.

In general, I want to express my gratitude to you for this program not only from myself, but from all those guys who are currently there and who can really get the opportunity to develop and move on.

Thanks

Vladimir Putin: First of all, I want to thank you for your position.

As you know, our most important weapon is the consolidation of Russian society and the attitude towards the Motherland that you and the people with whom you served and still serve demonstrate. This is the most important, most powerful weapon. And those people who expected to suppress us with the help of economic sanctions, with the help of armed force, they did not take this into account and cannot take it into account, because in order to take this into account, you need to be a citizen of the Russian Federation, a part of our common culture.

I would like to repeat once again: thanks to people like you, we now feel absolutely confident and look forward to the future in the economy, in the social sphere, and in the security sphere.

A low bow to your mother.

A. Akko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Of course, it has made you the warrior you are. A warrior in the broadest sense of the word: both in the intellectual, and in the civil, and in the military. The fact that you still found the strength to be creative is doubly, trebly interesting and valuable.

Let me know later through my colleagues… If you bring it, give it to me, and I'll be happy to read it all.

A. Akko: All right.

Vladimir Putin: And the fact that you made the decision to go to the "Time of Heroes" contest is absolutely correct, and it should be done.

What kind of education do you have?

A. Akko: Higher education.

Vladimir Putin: What kind of higher education?

A. Akko: Technical, engineer.

Vladimir Putin: Engineer. Great. We are waiting for you.

A. Akko: Absolutely. I'll try to get through.

Vladimir Putin: I have already said that it is a simple idea to create [a program] for children who are in such difficult conditions, difficult and dangerous, in the zone of a special military operation, where they serve the Motherland. Of course, you know this yourself, you are such a person – who can you rely on if not on such people who are consciously there, risking their lives and health in order to create a platform, move forward. But what about it? This is not even to make someone feel good, but to ensure that Russia has such a margin of safety in terms of personnel potential.

What's the matter with you, a serious injury?"

A. Akko: I was hit by artillery fire. A little wrong flew into the trench, and the leg went sideways. An intra-articular fracture is quite unpleasant.

Vladimir Putin: The knee?

A. Akko: Knee.

Vladimir Putin: This is a difficult turning point.

A. Akko: It is difficult, but the forecast is favorable. I hope to recover soon – and move forward.

Vladimir Putin: God willing. This is where, on what part of the front?

A. Akko: This is the Vremyevsky site: Priyutnoye, Staromayorskoye, Urozhaynoye-in those parts.

Vladimir Putin: It's clear. When the enemy was tight there, right?

Alexander Akko: We repelled the counteroffensive well.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I know.

A. Akko: This was already in October, when they tried to storm small infantry groups.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, 5-7 people each.

A. Akko: Yes. But we worked out one goal, and the guys very much asked us to work out the second goal. We understood that there would be a response, but it was necessary. And a little unlucky.

Vladimir Putin: Well done.

A. Akko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: That is why we have named this new platform "Time of Heroes". Exactly, in my opinion, the name is in the goal.

Good luck to you.

A. Akko: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Please.

Alexey Komissarov: It's not just men who bring our victory closer, but also girls. Alexandra Rodionova also could not stay away, went to the front as a nurse. Alexandra, I think, will tell you herself.

A. Rodionova: Mr President, hello!

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon!

A. Rodionova: My name is Alexandra Rodionova. I am the winner of the third season of the Leaders of Russia contest on the track "Healthcare". Since 2015, I have held various senior positions in the industry, dealing with rehabilitation, education, and personnel policy. But it was participation in the contest that fulfilled my dream, and immediately after winning, I was invited to join the staff of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

From the very first days of the start of the special military operation, I have been in charge of a number of tasks and assignments for new regions, including the implementation of your instructions for in-depth medical examinations of children living in the territories of the new subjects of the Russian Federation. As you may remember, we not only achieved significant results back then, but to this day we still receive a very positive social response not only from moms, dads, and the children themselves, but also from the professional community. In my opinion, this is really very important.

It seems to me that nothing is more important now than our common victory. This is probably why I decided last summer to go to the front line and stand next to my colleagues to help the wounded. But in fact, very few people understood and supported me then, everyone said: "You are a federal official, a manager. Where will you go?" A nurse's assistant? Why do you need it?"

Vladimir Putin: Who did you work for?

A. Rodionova: In the Ministry of Health of Russia, I headed one of the departments that oversees, among other things, children's healthcare. I left at the stage of appointment to the position of deputy director of the department, refused the position and went to the front line.

Vladimir Putin: And where were you, in what areas?

A. Rodionova: I am still there. I'm going back the day after tomorrow. This is a separate medical battalion of Lisichansk, near Belogorovka.

Vladimir Putin: This is a difficult area.

A. Rodionova: It is quite productive now, as are many of our other areas. Of course, this increases, on the one hand, the admission of wounded people, but, on the other hand, the guys are inspired, the guys are positive. We can see them talking: "We took this area, we went further. And when can I come back?" He doesn't think about what's wrong with him, what kind of injury he has, but he thinks about when he can come back, and this is really very encouraging for us.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, there is movement there. Nevertheless, the enemy fortified this place just, the Seversky direction is now called in general.

A. Rodionova: That's right.

Vladimir Putin: But they are fighting well, well done guys, they are fighting well. Help them.

In general, how do you rate it there? The mood of military personnel-you said. But you also communicate with the locals there. How do you assess their mood?

A. Rodionova: In fact, this is also a very important point. Moreover, we communicate, we work, and we are helped by medical staff, civilians who did not leave, who stayed, despite everything, continue to work.

I've been there for nine months now, and we're working side by side. They talk about how the healthcare system was organized before. In fact, I saw it myself when we came to work with children. They tell you what changes they are waiting for. Of course, they talk a lot, and this is probably the most painful thing, about the aggression that they met with when the CDF began, before our Russian army came. How they waited for us, and what hopes they now have for us.

Of course, the most important thing is to see how each of the regions and each city has changed over the past two years. I've been everywhere, probably at every point, and we can see what devastation there was at the beginning of 2022, often broken cities (the same Mariupol), and how life is now returning. Somewhere it happens faster, somewhere-a little slower. It depends on how far away the front line is. How children return. As a curator of children's health from the Russian Ministry of Health, I first of all look at how many children there are, how they study, how they go or don't go to school.

There are deputy heads of regions and heads of regions in the past of new subjects. We really worked very hard together and discussed together how children are coming back and life is coming back with them, and how sports clubs are being opened. This is probably the biggest response from what we're doing right now.

Vladimir Putin: Did someone tell you that your uniform suits you very well?

A. Rodionova: If you don't believe it, that's it. That's why I'm not in a hurry to shoot.

Vladimir Putin: That's what I thought.

A. Rodionova: Mr President, may I address you?

Vladimir Putin: Please.

A. Rodionova: As a medical worker, I see dozens of our soldiers, even if they are wounded, but every day, and on behalf of all of us, I want to thank you for the tremendous support and assistance that you provide to each participant of the Free Air defense, absolutely everyone. There, on the front line, your support is our mainstay and a powerful motivation to go only forward. Every fighter believes in our common victory, everyone is ready to go to the end. I hear these words every day, and I consider it my duty to pass them on.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you to all the guys. When you hug them, kiss them, and from me, too.

A. Rodionova: The Supreme Commander-in-Chief has personally conveyed my thanks to you.

Vladimir Putin: That's exactly what you should say.

A. Rodionova: Yes, it will be done.

Vladimir Putin: And what was the most interesting part of the program that you took part in, in the competition, during the competition?

A. Rodionova: In fact, the program did not end with the completion of the competition. The program focuses primarily on meeting amazing and interesting people. Perhaps the most interesting thing is how we work in the future.

Returning to your assignment on medical examinations, the best results were achieved where our colleagues – "Leaders of Russia" - are present. This is really the union that works very productively, quickly, regardless of the field of activity. Where there is a contact of the "Leaders of Russia", everything is really solved with one click, and there are no unsolvable, impossible tasks.

The competition, the third season, was held in 2019-2020. After that, we worked very hard with our colleagues, and we continue to work. This, by the way, is also connected with humanitarian aid, humanitarian missions in the Northern Territory. All issues are resolved thanks to the support of the "Leaders of Russia", whether it is working issues, whether it is humanitarian or even some personal moments.

I have two sons at home. Unfortunately, not so long ago my mother died, the children are alone. And the "Leaders of Russia" help me with my children while I am on my own.

Vladimir Putin: And where do they live?

A. Rodionova: We live in Moscow, I am a Muscovite.

Vladimir Putin: And who are they with?

A. Rodionova: They themselves.

Vladimir Putin: How are you?" Is there someone near them?

A. Rodionova: Children are not so small. The eldest is already 20 years old, and the youngest is still in school. My mother was there when I left. We talked with the children, we decided that I would be on my OWN exactly as long as they could cope. Vladimir Vladimirovich, this is the ninth month that they have been cleaning, washing, cooking, and watering my flowers themselves. Not a single flower was damaged during this time. It's just very important to me.

Vladimir Putin: This is your result – you brought them up like this, so.

A. Rodionova: I believe that the lives saved, which I somehow participated in during this time, are their merit. I am very proud of them, and I am grateful to them for this.

The only question I heard from them during this time, neither whims, nor any tantrums: "Mom, how are you there?" That's the only question they ask.

Vladimir Putin: You're being taken care of.

A. Rodionova: Of course. I'm a girl, not a boy.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, that's right.

Do they study well?

A. Rodionova: The senior is already at the Institute, he entered himself, and he did not enter the first time, but where he wanted to go. And the youngest goes to school. Studying well, well. I think I'll come back, it'll be better. He has a lot of worries right now, but at least he has an interest, he has a passion. He has an interest in the Chinese language, he studies it himself, probably almost from the 1st grade, there is an interest in geography and history. I am very pleased with this. I like that this is not an interest in computer games, but an interest in some kind of science.

I never looked at the fact that the child studied for one "five". The main thing for me is that I understand what the child is striving for, and see how he develops in this direction. I see it in my children. I like it, so I'm absolutely calm about them.

Vladimir Putin: What good fellows you all are, honestly. May God grant you success in your career and in your personal life. Thank you very much.

A. Rodionova: Thank you.

Alexander Komissarov: Of course, another important task is to restore peaceful life in the liberated territories and towns. Many participants of the Leaders of Russia contest went to our new regions.

Here is Vladislav Vasiliev-Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic, Andrey Chertkov – First Deputy. Prime Minister of the DPR, Ivan Kusov-Minister of Education and Science of the Luhansk People's Republic, Ivan Safronov-Minister of Industry of the Kherson region. In fact, you can list a lot further.

Alexey Lysov, Deputy Prime Minister of Zaporizhia region, is with us today.

Alexander Lysov: Mr President, good afternoon!

Vladimir Putin: Hello!

Alexey Lysov: I am 39 years old, originally from Vologda, and I am a participant in the first season of the Leaders of Russia contest, which was held six years ago.

I remember very well how I decided to participate in the contest: it was six years ago, it was an evening, I was sitting at home, having dinner, and there was an advertisement on TV that there was such an opportunity – to come and win 1 million rubles for study.

I was working in the commercial sector at the time, and I was just looking to get an additional education, so I consulted my supervisor. He didn't give me any money for my studies, so I say, "I'll go and win." He says, " Go ahead and win." So it turned out that I went, participated in the contest and won.

After the contest, I worked for two years in the Presidential Administration, then returned back to Vologda, where I worked as a deputy governor. And after the beginning of the SVO, my soul really hurt, I wanted to, my soul called me to work for the SVO, I then approached my supervisor and asked in some form to send me to work there.

And just in May 2022, the Vologda Region identified a sponsored region – this is the city of Alchevsk. I went there first to work, worked as an attached, first deputy mayor of the city of Alchevsk of the LPR, and in July 2022 I was called to work in the Zaporozhye region. I remember that I arrived on July 19, 2022 in the city of Melitopol and was appointed deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, first of the military-civil administration-we had such a form, and now of the regional government. I am in charge of the entire social block of Zaporizhia region.

I remember very well where we started – starting from scratch. The city of Melitopol, as you know, was not the regional capital, and Zaporozhye, I hope, will soon be taken. In fact, the entire social infrastructure was created from scratch, there was not a single government body. Kindergartens, schools, and hospitals were all set up manually. You know, I had two pictures: Melitopol in the summer of 2022 is actually an empty city: there are no cars, people, and military checkpoints. Now this city is actively developing, there are a lot of people on the streets, children are walking in parks, cafes are working, traffic jams have appeared in Melitopol. In Ukrainian times, there were no traffic jams, but now there are traffic jams.

You know, I now joke that in my resume I have the right to write "turnkey state construction "or" state construction from scratch "as skills (after such experience). Indeed, this is a huge internal motivation. I sincerely believe that the historical and political events that are taking place there now are central not only in Russia, but probably in the whole world. This is a huge motivation to work. I am proud to tell my children, I have three children, and I will tell my grandchildren. It's something that stays forever.

In the Zaporozhye region, I was most struck by the fact that there are the same Russian people as we are, they always considered themselves Russian, this is true.

Vladimir Putin: I'm sorry to interrupt. This is a very important thing, what you just said: "I was struck by the fact that there are also the same Russian people as we are." That's the whole point. We even forgot a little bit about them (such a feeling of guilt), that they are the same as us – Russian people.

A. Lysov: One of the examples. You know that in Ukraine and before the SVO, and now banned: May 9, "Immortal Regiment", St. George's ribbons. The guys who are now leaders of youth organizations, even then, in the times of Ukraine, went to these actions, despite threats in their direction, despite threats to their relatives. Now, of course, when they are released, it all passes, they do it voluntarily, and we support them, of course.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the Zaporizhia region.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

A. Lysov: People really expect you and people really love you. You are actually the person who gave them back their value and their true story.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I regularly meet with the leaders of all these territories, including the Zaporizhia region. Just recently, about four days ago, I met him. Working meetings are like this, without the press. I can imagine what's going on and what your problems are.

But still, as a person directly responsible for the social block, the most important things that you would like to draw my attention to are: what are they?

Alexey Lysov: Mr President, the most important problem in the social sector is also on the mainland, and we have a large shortage of people in the public sector.

Vladimir Putin: Of course.

A. Lysov: There is a real shortage of teachers and doctors. Doctors are coming, thank God, teachers are coming from the "mainland".

Vladimir Putin: Did you manage to conduct a medical examination?

A. Lysov: Of course. We conducted both adult and children's medical examinations, and you gave instructions. Sasha [A.Rodionova] about what she said, there was no children's medical examination there at all.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I know.

A. Lysov: Parents said thank you to us because they received [information about] their child's health. It just never happened. At first they resisted.

Vladimir Putin: After the medical examination was carried out and some problems were identified, now we need to create conditions to solve these problems.

A. Lysov: Of course. According to the results of the medical examination, each child has a health card drawn up, then he is treated accordingly, and is restored.

Vladimir Putin: And what is the state of the health and education system and institutions?

Alexey Lysov: The healthcare sector is definitely better than it was in Ukraine two years ago, because we have repaired more than 130 facilities in these two years, and several thousand units of medical equipment have been delivered. First of all, of course, Melitopol, Berdyansk, now the villages have already gone, FAPs, we also set up mobile ones. Medicine is developing. Frames.

Schools are also developing, and schools are being repaired. What did Sasha [A.] talk about? Rodionova], I also absolutely agree: we have returned more than 12 thousand children to school in a year. It says something. In 2022, there were 30 thousand children in schools, now-41 thousand children in schools. That's a lot.

Vladimir Putin: It's decent.

A. Lysov: They are coming right back, they have increased by a quarter.

Vladimir Putin: That's great. What about health care facilities?

A. Lysov: We have 36 healthcare institutions.

Slowly restoring it. Melitopol, Berdyansk first, then Sela. We are building FAPs in the villages. FAPs were also absent from the villages.

Vladimir Putin: Melitopol can be a very good city.

A. Lysov: Melitopol is a beautiful city.

Vladimir Putin: The climate is really good and warm.

A. Lysov: In Melitopol, we now have more residents than when it was in Ukraine. In Ukraine, there were 150 thousand, now we estimate – 180-190 thousand. There were more people.

Vladimir Putin: It's really growing, isn't it?

A. Lysov: Yes, there are traffic jams there.

Vladimir Putin: All right. All the best to you.

Alexander Lysov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Good luck.

Alexey Komissarov: I recently visited Melitopol, and there were not only traffic jams, but also, most importantly, happy faces and smiles. This is very important, very valuable, and it takes my heart away.

Today we recalled the Leaders of Renaissance contest, which was held as part of the Leaders of Russia contest specifically for our new regions.

We have two participants with us today: Maxim Velma from the Donetsk People's Republic, who heads Debaltseve, and Natalia Bondarenko. Most recently, Natalia worked in the Department of Civil Service and Personnel of the DPR, and now she has received a new assignment.

I think that Natalia will tell you better herself.

Natalia Bondarenko: Hello, Mr President!

Natalia Bondarenko, was born and raised in the Donbass, a small town of Khartsyzsk, about 100 thousand people. But this is my favorite, hometown.

For the past ten years, I have worked in regional executive authorities and local self-government bodies. I watched the contest "Leaders of Russia" with interest and a little envy. And I was very happy when the contest "Leaders of Revival" was launched in the Donetsk People's Republic. Thank you very much from all of us for this.

The organizers announced that those who become winners will receive an educational grant to study at leading universities of the Russian Federation. This was the main motivation for me, because it was my dream to deepen my knowledge of the state and municipal administration system and improve my competencies. I didn't hesitate to apply for this contest.

All the stages were very interesting, vivid, and memorable. I was supported by my friends, friends, acquaintances, relatives. Everything was great, but there were also exciting moments, one of them is very difficult. Before the semifinals, we had to go to the city of Rostov for testing. And just an hour before the departure, a massive shelling of the center of Donetsk began, it was no longer possible to leave, we, all employees, were lowered into the shelter. And I was very worried, of course: "What should I do?" In the end, everything worked out, my friends came to the rescue, and I managed to pass the test successfully. And the second exciting moment was already during the final: out of 104 participants who were awarded statuettes and announced the names of the winners, the last statuette was mine.

As a result, after the semifinals, there were pleasant surprises – I was invited to work in the office of the Government of the Donetsk People's Republic, where I began to engage in one of the very important, new areas of work – organizing work on training managers and employees of public authorities for early integration into the Russian public administration system.

The work was carried out earlier, but not at such a proper level and not in such volumes and scales. Last year, more than 70 educational programs were conducted by the Moscow Financial University and RANEPA directly in the territory of our Donetsk People's Republic, in particular. A lot of civil servants have been trained. There is still a lot of work going on.

I was noticed and invited to work in your Administration in the internal policy section in order to strengthen the work with personnel in our new regions, so that integration into the legal field of the Russian Federation takes place more efficiently and faster.

And, as a matter of fact, my most important dream, for which all this was started, has come true. Today I am a student at the Institute of Public Administration and Management of the RANEPA, Moscow, and I am successfully completing my training.

I would like to say that the Leaders of Russia contest and the Leaders of Renaissance contest really change people's destinies and change them for the better.

Thank you very much for this.

Vladimir Putin: Do you like your new job?

N. Bondarenko: Very much.

Vladimir Putin: What do you like there?

N. Bondarenko: To be honest, I work quite a bit, a small amount of time. I got acquainted with the team, delve into the work.

The main project that is currently being focused on is the "Time of Heroes" project. I think that we, and I in particular hope that I will be entrusted with such a mission in the Donetsk People's Republic, will also make every effort to ensure that our children have the opportunity to get an education and participate in this event.

Vladimir Putin: Of course.

I was referring to all those who take part in combat operations in the framework of a special military operation, regardless of whether they are people from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye, Kherson region or Moscow, St. Petersburg, it doesn't matter, from Siberia, it doesn't matter. They should all be in equally equal conditions.

N. Bondarenko: The contest really changes the fate of people.

Vladimir Putin: God willing.

Natalia Bondarenko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I wish you every success.

Alexander Komissarov: It was said that there are five other governors among the graduates of the Leaders of Russia contest. Today, two people are with us – Vitaly Khotsenko and Dmitry Artyukhov modestly sat in the back row. They are also graduates of the" School of Governors " of the Presidential Academy. And Vitaly moved to the post of head of the Omsk region from the post of chairman of the government of the DPR.

I think that both Vitaly and Dmitry will tell about themselves.

Vladimir Khotsenko: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Alexey Gennadievich has said everything, so I won't tell you about my biography. You know her well. I went to Donetsk because I came from those places, I was born in Dnepropetrovsk. I have a big family, but it was a difficult decision, six children are still being brought up in the family. But everyone eventually supported it. I went and worked. And first you entrusted me to lead the Omsk region, and then people supported me.

I was a participant in the second season, reached the final of the "Leaders of Russia". I was very excited, of course, because I met some very strong finalists, guys. A number of them are present here today – here is Mikhailik Konstantin, Deputy Minister of Construction. We taught the children a lesson at school in Sochi at the final. There was a lesson in the framework of the final, superfinal – it was necessary to come up with an interesting lesson for the children and present it. And the two of us, as two novice teachers, spent this lesson together. I don't know, the kids seemed to like it.

Vladimir Putin: What were you talking about?

V. Khotsenko: They talked about motivation, told us about history, told us about people. We chose several of our historical characters and talked about the historical role that certain people played – for example, Peter the Great (the guys were fifth graders) in the history of the formation of our state, the strengthening of the navy and the army in general.

Vladimir Putin: Regarding the construction of the fleet. There was nothing to amplify. The fleet was not before him in fact.

V. Khotsenko: In fact, he created it.

I recently participated in the final not as a contestant, but as a mentor, and I probably experienced the same feelings, the same excitement, but in a different capacity. It was very interesting, of course, to understand new emotions for yourself. Three people chose me as a mentor, and I agreed with pleasure. One guy is from Donetsk, another is from Omsk, and the third is from St. Petersburg. We will work together as part of the Mentoring program.

In general, what the competition gave me – I really understood it and understand it today-we started to delve into it in order to strengthen our regional team already in Omsk.

You remember that I asked you to support me then, and you supported me, and we held the first presidential regional personnel contest. It had the status of "presidential", although it was the 10th regional personnel competition supported by the platform "Russia-a country of opportunities", and [First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration] Sergey Kiriyenko strongly supported us.

We held it, and it has several differences from the previous contests. It was the most numerous: more than 8,5 thousand people took part in it. It was the most beautiful, the most feminine, because 55% of our winners are women, and 60% of the winners are women, Mr Putin. And before that, only men prevailed. And if a Russian woman believes in something, then we are definitely on the right track.

Today, the children were also given a grant of 1 million rubles each, and they are currently determining the educational places where they will study. We invite some of them to join the regional management team and will work together with the guys.

And the third point. If I may, as the governor, I still can't help but take the opportunity to ask the head of state for something. You know that Omsk is the oldest Siberian city, a city with a population of one million people. Our universities have students from all over Siberia, nine federal universities, and we are the third largest number of foreign students in Russia – after Moscow and St. Petersburg. We have about 10 thousand students-of course, they are mostly representatives of Kazakhstan, but they are considered foreigners for us. Our university education is strong, and we want to do the same in school education, so that Siberians, children from Kazakhstan, and their parents would be happy to send their children to Omsk to study.

You recently mentioned in your Message about 12 leadership and flagship schools. We were very caught up in this story, which actually caused a storm of emotions in the educational environment in our region. With the Minister of [Education] Kravtsov Sergey Sergeevich agreed on the position, he supports categorically, we have already picked up the land plots. Therefore, if you give such an order that Omsk is included in one of the 12 pilot regions, we will be happy to fulfill this order.

Vladimir Putin: Of course, I agree, it is important for Siberia.

How do you like working in Omsk?

Vladimir Khotsenko: Mr Putin, I am a Siberian myself. After I was born in Ukraine, my parents moved to Novy Urengoy during the Soviet era, so I grew up in Yamal. We studied, by the way ,with [Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Artyukhov] Dmitry Andreevich at the same school in the city of Novy Urengoy. That's why I know Siberia well, and I think I've adapted. The most important thing is that the mentality of Siberians is familiar and understandable to me. I was absent there for a while – for ten years, but I returned to Siberia.

Vladimir Putin: Compared to Donetsk, how is life there?

Vladimir Khotsenko: Different challenges, Vladimir Vladimirovich: the whole country helped there, but honestly, no one helps much here, so we should count on ourselves more.

Vladimir Putin: This is all based on the Siberian character and your experience. It's already a solid one.

Vladimir Khotsenko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: As for schools, we will definitely support them.

Vladimir Khotsenko: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I wish you every success.

Dmitry Artyukhov: Mr President, good afternoon!

Participant of the first season of Leaders of Russia. And as a person who has passed all the selection stages, I firmly believe in the contest. When I was preparing for the meeting, I looked: over the past five seasons, there have already been 30 appointments in the region-these are contest participants, first managers, heads of government bodies, municipalities and their deputies. In other words, we already have such a strong community and we can see real results.

Tellingly, I recently met with the finalists of the fifth season, and Slava [Vakhnin] from Gazprom Neft-we also met there. I often ask the guys a question: "Are you ready to go to the Far North?" And you know, sometimes when you ask people in other places this question, you often hear the answer: no. Maybe somewhere prejudices, an uncomfortable life, are not ready.

Everyone I meet, the" Leaders of Russia", says: "Ready."

Vladimir Putin: Come visit us in Kolyma. No, you'd better come to us.

Dmitry Artyukhov: Apparently, it's still alive. In fact, everything is already much better. All the guys I met said ," We're ready." It seems to me that for the country, given our tasks for the development of the Arctic zone, for the development of the Far East, the fact that the competition allows you to find guys who are ready for this is a great resource for development for all of us.

In general, Yamal has always developed like this. It has always been developed by leaders. Until quite recently, there was nothing-the bare tundra. And today, decades later, the world's most powerful oil and gas production complex has been created, and cities have been built from scratch.

Here, Mr President, I would like to thank you separately. By your Decree, we are preparing for big anniversaries. Next year, 2025 – is the 50th anniversary of Novy Urengoy, the gas capital of Russia. I always say: the gas capital of the world. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Today, production exceeds 500 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and we can, of course, do even more. That is, there is no such thing anywhere. This is created by leaders, real heroes.

By the way, we can also say that there was a "Time of Heroes" at that time – our front-line soldiers, participants of the Great Patriotic War were ahead in geological parties, those who landed in the 1960s and already achieved huge victories in civilian life. So, indeed, the place of such passionate people who came from all corners of a huge, great country and created such a powerful complex is today a guarantee of our energy security for the whole country.

I also take this opportunity to sincerely invite you to visit [Novy Urengoy] next year, in our anniversary year. We are currently running a large development program with your support. Indeed, the city is changing, the county is changing.

You know, we summed up the results of last year – we are in the top five in terms of birth rate in the country, ahead.

Vladimir Putin: Said, I kept waiting for him to finish to say it. (Laughter) You said so yourself.

Dmitry Artyukhov: Mr President, we are very proud of this. Imagine, there are regions with deep traditions ahead: the Chechen Republic, Tuva, Ingushetia, Dagestan, and the Arctic…

Vladimir Putin: We should take an example from the Chechens in this regard.

Dmitry Artyukhov: They're doing great. But in this top five – the Arctic northern Yamal. It would seem that it is not quite comfortable, but in the top five. This means that people feel confident even in such conditions, and they look confidently to the future.

We also saw that every fourth family has many children. The number of large families has tripled in ten years. This is confidence, confidence in the future and in solving the tasks that the region faces.

Vladimir Putin: The city is developing, which is good.

Dmitry Artyukhov: Young, energetic, with [Omsk Region Governor Khotsenko] Vitaly we grew up there together. This is indeed, as you know, the "cauldron" of the most passionate people in a large country. They came to meet different challenges, but now generations, dynasties are being formed – the second generation, the third-which, indeed, is such a very strong industrial fist of our country.

Vladimir Putin: What is your current average level of income or salary?

Dmitry Artyukhov: We are traditionally in the lead.

Vladimir Putin: It's clear. That's why I'm asking.

Dmitry Artyukhov: The average salary in the region last year was 143,000. We are in second place in the country, slightly behind. [~$1,600/mo]

Vladimir Putin: I wish you every success.

Dmitry Artyukhov: Thank you.

Alexander Komissarov: Dmitry Andreevich said that the "Leaders of Russia" are showing up everywhere and are ready to go. Indeed, from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, you can meet our graduates everywhere. Traditional password-greeting: "Hello there! I am one of the "Leaders of Russia". The answer is usually " Hi! How can I help you?“

Yevgeny Grigoriev, also, by the way, did not win right away, it was not an easy path to victory, and now the mayor of Yakutsk.

Evgeny Grigoriev: Mr President, good evening!

Indeed, for me, the decision to take part in the Leaders of Russia contest was one of the most correct decisions in my life. Thanks to Leaders of Russia, I found my favorite business, hobby, and fulfilled my childhood dream.

About your favorite business. Before Leaders of Russia, I worked only in commercial structures. For me, the competition lasted for two years, and during this time I constantly received reports, recommendations to read some literature. As a result, by the end of two years, I decided to try myself in the public sphere.

After winning the contest, life changed dramatically. I came to the attention of the leadership of the republic and the city and in 2019 was invited to the post of deputy mayor of Yakutsk. I was already elected in 2021, won the election, and still work today, doing what I love.

About hobbies. How the winner got into the Elbrus club and was invited to the annual ascent of Mount Elbrus. I must admit that I had never even thought about it in my life before. We managed to climb Elbrus, Elbrus "let us in", and moreover, we found a guy on the top. They lowered it, saved a man's life. This is an unforgettable experience for a lifetime.

As a child, every summer my parents sent me to live with my grandmother in the country. This is a small, remote village. As in any small, remote village, there were barns. There were old Soviet magazines in the barn. I used to watch magazines in this barn in the evenings. There was an article about very beautiful buildings in Moscow. Being in this barn, I dreamed how cool it would be to be in this building.

So thanks to the "Leaders of Russia" , I not only ended up in this building, but also in the Moscow State University.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, let me thank you for your great attention to the development of the Far East and Yakutsk in particular. You have approved a master plan for the development of our city, and today this is the main unifying idea for us – for the residents of Yakutsk (there are already almost 400 thousand of us). Moreover, the population is from small to large.

When our Yakut children learn that a water park will be built in their city, it [causes] a storm of emotions, joy-it's hard to convey in words, but it's worth working for.

Our master plan should be implemented by 2030. These are the most important projects for us – the bridge crossing over the Lena River, the elimination of all dilapidated emergency housing, and dozens of other projects that you have approved. Then, by 2032, we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the oldest city in the Far East transformed, completely different. We will be the global benchmark for the quality of urban life in northern cities.

Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this work today. Thank you for the contest, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and thank you for our strong Motherland.

Vladimir Putin: As agreed, I will definitely visit you in the near future.

Evgeny Grigoriev: We are looking forward to it.

Vladimir Putin: Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we have agreed with the head of the republic to discuss exactly what issues we will have to discuss with him on the spot according to the plan that you just mentioned, the development plan of the republic. We will discuss and outline these main points, and in the next few days, at least in the near future, I will be with you.

Evgeny Grigoriev: Thank you. We are very much waiting for you.

Vladimir Putin: Compared to your previous life in business, what do you like more about public policy and the specific business you do? Because there are really a lot of heavy little things.

Evgeny Grigoriev: This is the essence of the fact that life itself has become more interesting, the range of issues that are being resolved, and the time is so interesting now. I'm happy to participate. Really, if you do what you love, and the thing can be loved, if only you consider it great, worthwhile. I really consider the development of the city of Yakutsk, the development of the Far East and our entire Russia to be the greatest, so I am happy to be engaged in this work.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, 400 thousand is a big city.

Evgeny Grigoriev: Yes, we have grown by almost 200,000 people since 2000.

Vladimir Putin: Three times almost. In the early 2000s, the bridge construction plan did not seem very rational, since there is a dead-end traffic, and in the opposite direction, you can go further north or east from Yakutsk. Therefore, this bridge gets a completely different sound. Thanks to those who live in Yakutia and those who work there, because the situation is changing: the number of people in the city is growing significantly, and there is an opportunity to develop further transport infrastructure, it has emerged. Therefore, we will definitely do it.

Evgeny Grigoriev: Thank you. We are the fastest growing city in the Far East.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I know.

Evgeny Grigoriev: Thank you, Mr President.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. This is your result.

See you.

A. Komissarov: 12 graduates of the contest work as deputy governors. We have several people with us today.

Maria Litovko has been a deputy governor of Sevastopol for five years. I'm in love with Sevastopol. Every time we meet, she talks about what we have achieved, what other plans we have, with such enthusiasm and enthusiasm that it makes us feel really happy.

Ignat Petukhov. Ignat – probably not anymore, but he was the youngest deputy governor in our country after winning the Leaders of Russia contest. Ignat also assembled a large team of contest graduates.

Sergey Tinsyannikov. Sergey is a deputy governor of the Vologda region. He started his career in law enforcement agencies, and after the competition, he participated in our "School of Governors" of the Presidential Academy. Now he is taking a serious position.

We have six deputy federal ministers. I would like to give the floor to Pavel Sorokin. I know that you often meet Pavel at meetings. Pavel is responsible for serious projects in the energy sector.

Pavel, please.

Pavel Sorokin: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Pavel Sorokin, 38, First Deputy Minister of Energy.

As many people have said, six and a half years ago I decided to participate in the contest. I saw ads on the Internet and an opportunity to chat with mentors. This is really a very important element of professional growth and personal development in general.

Exactly six years and one month ago, the first meeting with you after winning the first season took place here, in the next office, and then the appointment took place. To be honest, it has completely changed our outlook on life, because six years have passed, and we can already understand how this has affected us. Here the sphere remains the same-oil and gas, fuel and energy complex. But first, under the guidance of Alexander Valentinovich Novak, then Nikolai Grigoryevich Shulginov, I supervised such landmark projects that give an understanding of how large-scale life is around you and how much responsibility you have for what you do.

This is OPEC+ first of all: it has brought 30 trillion rubles to the country's budget since this interaction began. And this is about two-thirds of all social spending during this period of the budget. In other words, it really gave the country a lot of money.

This is social gasification. Following your instructions, we completely changed the system in this direction. First, we made it free to bring gas to the site, completely changed the standard setting to make this possible, and changed the process for the citizen. And together with Gazprom, we found a budget to implement this, which is important.

Then Mikhail Vladimirovich [Mishustin] personally supervised this process and gave instructions to create a separate management system. And on the basis of the coordination center, we have created a unique system where we now see on a daily basis in all regions from the application to feedback from each citizen who wants to submit it, which helps us identify weaknesses and quickly respond to them. We even make a rating of regions. But not just a rating that remains static, but every two, three, or four months we change the indicators depending on the goal that we have in mind. First, the number of requests, the number of execution. And now more than 900 thousand households have received the pipe to the site. 1 million 100 [thousand] have the technical ability to connect. And now, after the Message, as you instructed, we include SNTS in the perimeter of social gasification, which are located within gasified localities.

Another very important area in which we were also lucky to work, which we supervised together with the Ministry of Finance, was to completely change the incentive system for upgrading oil refining and creating petrochemical capacities. Thanks to this, more than one trillion rubles of refinery modernization projects have already been launched until 2028-2029. We expect that this will give us a big increase in gasoline and the share of light oil products output to 67-68 percent, and we will reach 62 percent. And that's more than $ 3 trillion in petrochemicals. That is, we can take 6-7 percent of the global market from the current two-plus.

In other words, there are a lot of interesting challenges that we have been working on and are working on over the years: leveling the entry of organochlorine into our oil flows in 2019; decoupling the prices of domestic oil products from world prices; developing LNG, which is now one of the priority areas and the key to maintaining our strong presence in the global energy market. providing new regions with fuel is also a very big and important task; and, of course, technological sovereignty in the fuel and energy sector, because the fuel and energy sector provides more than one-fifth of investment in the country, and therefore it acts as a locomotive for a large number of other industries with an anchor customer.

The main thing that is now in focus, of course, is adapting to the new world realities, and this concerns not only integration into the new world, but also the fight against illegal sanctions, that is, living with them. Here we have a chance to change the world, because the energy industry plays a very important role everywhere, not only in our country. But the world now needs an alternative system of relationships, so that all economic operators can choose with whom, how and when to communicate, and this requires an independent financial system and its supporting functions. I am talking about both legal support and international courts. Everyone will be better off, even the West. They just don't want to admit it yet, but it will also be better for them than the uncontrolled collapse of the current order.

Therefore, thanks to the competition, I actually realized what I had long wanted – to be in the civil service in a position where you can bring some benefit from your activities. The contest helped a lot in that I didn't end up with these challenges one-on-one. Because the mentoring system is when you can turn to your older colleagues who already have a lot of experience, and really get this advice. For six years, this was very pronounced.

And most importantly, there is also a human resource potential, because through competitions and through the platform "Russia-the land of opportunities" a lot of talented and ambitious children pass, which allows them to form a team more efficiently. We have, for example, three graduates of Leaders of Russia in major positions in the Ministry. Oleg Zhdaneev, the head of the Fuel and Energy Complex's Technological Development Competence Center, is also a finalist of the first season, and the winner of the first season is Oleg Zhdaneev.

Therefore, I can say here that thanks to the competition, I went through a fascinating, rather interesting path from working in the largest investment bank to the civil service, falling under US sanctions. They even wrote about our work in The Wall Street Journal in this spirit – how dare you use the Western experience against us.

Unique opportunities if you want to use them and do something useful. The belief has only strengthened that we are going the right way, although it is, of course, not easy at all, but the right one. So thank you very much for launching this project and creating such opportunities.

Vladimir Putin: You mentioned a very large number of important areas in the work of the Russian Energy Ministry.

OPEC+ really helps us keep oil prices down and ensure budget revenues. But still, our production is declining.

Pavel Sorokin: Yes, production is declining. But what is very important here? It is important how much money is earned from one unit of manufactured goods and how much flexibility we then have. Therefore, our real goal for the medium and long-term period is to have this flexibility so that we have the potential for production. And here we need to understand that Dima [Artyukhov] works in the region, understands well that the deposits are being depleted. The rent that we can get from this will decrease. But it's not as bad as it sounds.

As I have already said, oil and gas provides the largest investment in the country. If the rent goes away, then it changes to investment, and this is an order for the domestic industry. When we are now on our own and have to create, this is exactly the industry that can give an anchor order to a giant sphere for 10-15 years to come – and IT, we are one of the largest customers as an industry, and accordingly to hardware manufacturers.

Therefore, our task here is to provide the market with a sufficient level for the reproduction of reserves, so that there is a normal yield and that this money works in the country, in Russia. Now the [OPEC+] deal manages to do this. The same logic is followed by all other countries, which together with us are the leaders of the process.

Vladimir Putin: That's right: we earn more per barrel than if prices fell. But as production declines and increases in other countries, such as the United States, we may lose markets. Then we will not be able to make the investments you are talking about.

Pavel Sorokin: Here we should start from what was already mentioned in one of the speeches about renewable energy and so on…

Vladimir Putin: No, this is not renewable energy.

Pavel Sorokin: Yes, I agree. There is a peak demand. According to all forecasts and common sense, the peak of demand will not occur within the next 10-15 years, that is, demand will grow.

If you look at the production profile of the same United States and other countries, you should understand that they have a slightly different field specifics. There's shale oil there, and for the last three years, the boom in production that we've been seeing is due to the fact that they are putting into operation wells that they drilled before Covid, but didn't launch.

Their usual level was 4 thousand such unused wells, then – about 8-9, now it has again fallen to 4, that is, the most productive wells were commissioned for three years, and now a boom in mergers and acquisitions has begun, because it is already difficult to grow and investors demand profitability.

Vladimir Putin: Well. And if we did not support prices on the world market, they would fall, and then shale production in the United States would collapse. Because banks would not give them loans, bearing in mind the futility of this production. And then we would develop markets and make investments, and they would not.

I'm just stating an alternative point of view. He knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Pavel Sorokin: I understand, of course.

Vladimir Putin: I support what my colleague says, otherwise we would not have had cooperation in the framework of OPEC+, he knows this. But the alternative point of view is this.

Pavel Sorokin: Absolutely. I am ready to report separately if necessary.

Vladimir Putin: All right, all right, we'll talk about that.

As for gasification, I mentioned in my Message that we need to extend it to horticultural associations. Can we handle this job?

Pavel Sorokin: In the parameters that you have outlined, within the limits of gasified localities – yes, we are already preparing the standard, and we have held a number of meetings: both with Novak, separately, and with Gazprom. We will now extend the current rules to them. There are nuances in the legal sphere in terms of ownership of land and communications, but this can be resolved.

Vladimir Putin: Don't delay, we need to do it quickly.

Pavel Sorokin: Yes, of course.

Vladimir Putin: And you said that it is necessary at some point to "unfasten" the prices of petroleum products within the country and on world markets. Can we do that?

Pavel Sorokin: Over the past three or six years, we have basically launched a new system of tax incentives with a damper, when we have a part of the excess revenues from production, when the price goes up, it is redistributed to stimulate oil refining, but only that which goes to the domestic market. We did it.

There are, of course, some moments when there are distortions, because either a lot of people start to go gray ways to the foreign market, when there is a very big difference between the domestic price, which we have torn off, and the foreign market, and people just go in earnest for export. But we catch such moments.

Now the system is well-built enough to redirect flows and close the holes that arise. Therefore, the price in our domestic market is about 20-25 percent lower than in the foreign market. And this allows citizens to keep [prices] at gas stations within the limits of inflation.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. In general, everything works out. I hope that you will continue to work with the same dedication.

Pavel Sorokin: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Alexander Komissarov: We also have young politicians. A separate track of the contest was dedicated to this particular direction – " Leaders of Russia. Politics". One of the winners was Artem Metelev, who heads the volunteer movement in our country, and now has become not just a deputy of the State Duma, but also the chairman of the Committee on Youth Policy.

Artyom, please.

Alexander Metelev: Hello, Mr President!

All my adult life, I have been engaged in helping people discover themselves through helping others. I am developing, as Alexey [Komissarov] said, the volunteer movement and civic activism in the country. I started at school, and now I'm confused whether it was the 7th grade or the 8th grade, but, in general, since that year, and then I realized that this is my mission – to make Russia a strong country, inspiring people to achieve.

Vladimir Putin: We have common goals.

Alexander Metelev: It's nice to hear that.

In the course of our work, we often had to interact with the authorities and defend our ideas and rights. And, following the principle that if you are not engaged in politics, then politics will take care of you, I went to the profile competition "Leaders of Russia" and won it. Knowledge, as everyone has already said, is really very useful, but much more valuable is the very friendship that you mentioned at the beginning. I estimate that more than half of the people I studied with on the stream have joint projects. Together, we either promoted laws or public initiatives. It's priceless. Many thanks to you, the platform, and the contest itself for this.

Three years ago, you met with us, the participants of the all-Russian mutual aid campaign "We are Together" – those who fought against the pandemic - and then supported the idea of implementing our policy, the participation of representatives of the movement in the elections. We responded to your call and did not regret it. 18 people became State Duma deputies, just like me. The same number also passed to the legislative assembly. We were supported by the United Russia party. It entrusted me to head the Committee on Youth Policy.

Thank them, our party colleagues, and you again.

It's been two and a half years, equator. What did you do this year?

We have a new committee, we started from scratch. In fact, there were three laws in the portfolio, now there are already 40 of them, and the legislative framework of the industry has almost been completed.

The main thing is that the voice of youth has come to the Duma. We are removing barriers, as it seems to us, where they are not needed, including for young people; we are creating opportunities for the implementation of children, actively developing the "Movement of the First".

I can't help but say, Mr President, that the organization I represent, the Association of Volunteer Centers, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. You created it as a legacy of the volunteer program of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Do you remember?

If you look back on the path that we went through, a lot has happened. Today, we have absolute trust in our volunteers. Almost one in three Russians participate, and we started with three percent. The Russian word "good" has already become known in many countries of the world. We promote the platform dobro.com. We have even calculated the official contribution to Russia's GDP – more than 500 billion rubles a year-this is the contribution of the volunteer movement.

Together with the Government, Rosmolodezh, and many other institutions, thanks to your support, we have managed to build, in our opinion, one of the most powerful support systems for the volunteer movement in the world as a whole, a strong community. All this is now working for the front. Our children with the families of military personnel, our grandmothers - "silver" volunteers - and doctors in hospitals with the wounded. We send humanitarian missions "We are together" to Donbas every two days. Alexandra Rodionova also participated in one of them as a psychologist.

In conclusion, Mr President. It seems that we managed to save the task by inheritance. I want to go further and bring great benefits to the country, so that not only volunteering becomes the norm of life, but also mentoring, and unlock the potential of the non-profit sector. In general, we have wonderful young people, wonderful people. We see it as our mission to involve as many of them as possible in the process of developing the construction of our country.

We are celebrating our anniversary this year, and we plan to update our organization, adopt a new strategy, and work out new directions. We would be grateful if our proposals could be included in the new national project "Youth of Russia", which you announced in your Message. In general, your support is very important to us.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: You know, you just need to combine the basic parameters of "Youth of Russia" and " Family". It is necessary that these two projects feel each other and develop in parallel, in cooperation with each other.

Please excuse me, and also, you said that we have already managed to preserve our values, meaning traditions and so on. But this must always be maintained. It's like in sports – as soon as you stop training, despite your achievements, you will immediately fly down. We must always do this. And for you, as a person who heads the State Duma committee, this is a serious position, it is extremely important. I would ask you to keep this in mind and encourage all your colleagues to do just that.

Alexander Metelev: Thank you very much. In the Year of the Family, we try to add our own track to all the competitions "Russia – the land of opportunities", just family and social projects, family charity, and in general everywhere so that our children do not participate alone, but invite their children, parents, brothers, sisters, wives, and so on. Therefore, I absolutely agree with you, and we will continue to work.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Alexey Komissarov: We have already mentioned Konstantin Mikhaylik today. He now works as a Deputy Minister of Construction.

I would like to say a special thank you to Konstantin for the fact that, I think, he finds time to help, participate and support all our projects. He performs not only in front of children, but also in front of well-established adults, including in the "School of Governors".

I would like to give the floor to Mikhail Popov – another participant of our contest. Mikhail after the "Leaders of Russia" took the post of deputy head of Rosimushchestvo [Federal Agency for State Property Management]. Michael, please.

Mikhail Popov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

For me, this contest was an important milestone in my life, it was actually divided into "before" and "after". Before the competition, I was a highly sought-after corporate lawyer. Big projects, big deals – in general, everything is fine.

Vladimir Putin: Where did you work, in which company?

Mikhail Popov: In various construction companies. For example, the deal for the tower, where three ministries are currently sitting in the City, is my deal, I did it at the time. Big projects – "Plato" for example. But it didn't make sense.

After winning the competition, there was a "School of Governors" and a civil service. At your graduation from the School of Governors in August 2020, you told me that Rosimushchestvo is a very difficult and important job, and that both problems and opportunities are visible under a magnifying glass, and you said that a lot will depend on my attitude in the country. I heard you very well at that time, and I became deeply aware later in the course of practical work that Rosimushchestvo today means both opportunities, increasing budget revenues, steadily improving the quality of management, including corporate governance, and protecting the interests of the state. This is part of the block I'm responsible for. More than 50 thousand lawsuits a year, each of which we work very carefully and scrupulously with.

The civil service has given me a new meaning, and today it is clear to me that the scale of challenges, the level of responsibility and the feeling of what I have done, as in the civil service, in private business, I can no longer find. Each of us – I'm sure the guys will support me – wants to do something big and important for the country. I thought about it a lot and realized that you need, as you once said, to "hoe your plot" every day, and then you will be successful.

Vladimir Putin: So did St. Francis.

Mikhail Popov: That's right, Mr Putin.

Thank you very much for this whole system – the system of personnel competitions-which allows not only to change my life, but for me it was an entry point and a point of awareness, because the civil service gave me meaning – the meaning of service. I look my children in the eyes with pride today and hope that I am giving them the opportunity to be proud of themselves.

Also, thank you for the fact that I found new friends and like-minded people who look at life in the same way as I did during the competitions and during my studies at the "School of Governors". thank you very much. A low bow.

Vladimir Putin: You know, it's very nice to hear what you just said. Working in decent corporations and doing an important job, you found yourself in the civil service. There are a lot of trained people here, many people understand what it is, but, on the other hand, not everyone "moves in", because people just go about their business, and that's all. And Rosimushchestvo is a structure that really requires professionals of the highest class and level, there are a lot of special issues and, let's put it simply, we need to understand this. It is impossible to give instructions just like that, you need to be a professional of the highest quality.

In general, your department meets these high requirements, including thanks to your efforts. So thank you very much and all the best. Success.

Mikhail Popov: Thank you very much, Mr Putin.

A. Komissarov: Dmitry Arsyutov, a hereditary doctor from Chuvashia, moved to Moscow, and relatively recently became the head of the S. N. Fedorov Eye Microsurgery Center, an operating ophthalmic surgeon.

Lilia Kiryanova moved here at the invitation of the competition mentor from Tomsk to Sirius, and headed the University of Science and Technology, where you recently visited as part of the World Youth Festival. Lilia, you have the floor.

L. Kiryanova: The Sirius University of Science and Technology was created on your behalf, so it is a great honor and responsibility to work together with our leading scientists and teachers to develop it.

But I was born and raised in Siberia, like many people here, in the student city of Tomsk. Prior to the competition, I was Vice-rector for Strategy and External Relations of the Tomsk Political University, led a consortium of Tomsk universities and research organizations, and was always involved in both teaching and science.

Elena Vladimirovna Shmeleva became my mentor at the competition and is now out of the competition. She, of course, with her energy, immersion in the tasks that you set for Sirius, infected me with Sirius.

Two and a half years ago, my family and I moved to the federal territory. At first I was a vice-rector, and now for a year and a half I have been heading Sirius University by the decision of the Scientific and Technological Council of the Talent and Success Foundation.

For me, as a person who has been involved in the development of education and science in Siberia and in the regions (and I think the governors will support me here), it is very important that Sirius does not compete for talent with the regions or other universities. On the contrary, we help develop these talents and retain them in the regions through the implementation of joint educational programs and joint research projects.

In your Message, you said that it is necessary to provide a bundle of different levels of education so that they work in a single logic. We are trying to develop such a unified logic of professional education at Sirius, combining secondary vocational and higher vocational education on a single technological platform.

You visited our Proryv Center in November. This is just an example of such a technological platform, where both specialists of higher education, secondary vocational education, and specialists of companies are trained at the same time.

Moreover, this year we are launching together with the Presidential Lyceum the first integrated program of general secondary and higher education for talented children after the 9th grade.

We are a young technological university, but our leading scientists are already making discoveries in basic science, in the field of genetics, for example. In applied science, we have started testing new medicines, new biomaterials, and digital models. We are actively working together with our companies in the Sirius INTC to create and update the Russian instrument base.

The most important thing is that Sirius, both as a federal territory, an educational center, and a university, is both an equidistant and equally accessible platform for implementing completely different initiatives in the field of education, science, and technology in Russia. Now not only in Russia: A few days ago, the federal territory hosted the World Youth Festival, with 20 thousand participants from 190 countries. It is a great pleasure to see the enthusiasm and admiration in the eyes of foreign participants for our country.

The most popular venues at the festival were the university library, educational and technological platforms of Russian universities and technology companies.

At one session, a survey was conducted: "What do you think are the most effective mechanisms for developing international youth cooperation?" The vast majority said: "Joint educational programs and science".

You often say that it is necessary to consolidate the efforts of the international community around global, big challenges. It seems that science and education should become a consolidating force, and Sirius should become a platform that is ready to receive and develop talented young scientists, engineers, and athletes, so that they can work together on projects that will meet the global challenges that we face.

It was very pleasant to see and hear, for example, Latin American participants who went on our eco-routes to the mountains. When they came down from the mountains, they said: "You know, your country has the most important thing, your country has a soul. You are opening this soul to the whole world at this festival."

Therefore, thank you very much for such opportunities for Sirius, for the youth of the whole country, and for the whole world to show every day that Russia is a country of opportunities, opportunities for every citizen of the country. And "Sirius", we hope, will be the territory that will concentrate these opportunities for everyone.

Vladimir Putin: I won't go into the details of what Sirius is, what it does, what it has achieved, and what it still needs to do. I just have one question for you – what else can I do for you?

L. Kiryanova: Mr President, you do the most important thing for us – it is our daily support. Our young scientists and leading scientists often meet with you. This support and understanding that the head of state is personally interested in the development of science and education makes a huge contribution.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

But nevertheless, your relations with the Government, with the Ministry of Science and Education, with colleagues from other leading universities in the country, issues related to creating favorable conditions for teaching staff, with the creation of a new training system, do you really need to help with anything else?

L. Kiryanova: We are currently developing a project at Sirius. I mentioned that we are integrating higher professional education into secondary vocational education. We are developing a new model of secondary vocational education that will allow us to really create unified teams. You know, for one engineer, you need ten technicians and even more qualified locksmiths. If highly qualified engineers and technicians work on different technology platforms, then no matter how talented an engineer is, nothing will work out. We are developing such a new model of secondary vocational education. We are ready to test it on the federal territory and then broadcast it all over the country.

Vladimir Putin: This is the third time I have asked you: How can I help you?

No, I'm serious, really. You have a very complicated process. Why am I bothering you? Because I know that the process is complicated, it is the formation of a new university, and it works, in fact, on new principles of interaction with colleagues and training of highly qualified specialists. Need some additional help?

L. Kiryanova: I will be responsible for myself and my colleagues. When we attract both young scientists and leading staff, it is important not only to provide a large laboratory base, which we are currently doing thanks to your support, but also to provide them with appropriate social conditions.

Vladimir Putin: Yes.

L. Kiryanova: This includes not only medical care, but also housing. So that our employees of innovative companies, which are now opening more and more in the federal territory, and young and leading scientists who come to Sirius, can live in good conditions.

Vladimir Putin: Close by, not far from your place of work.

L. Kiryanova: Yes, the federal territory is not so big. We will be very grateful if we can resolve the issue of housing stock and the development of social infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, and medicine.

L. Kiryanova: We have a project for a university medical clinic. We are currently working with the Ministry of Health on the project of such a multifunctional center. We hope that it will work, because such a multifunctional center will solve two tasks: first, of course, it will provide high-quality medical care to residents of the federal territory and provide a link between science and applied medicine.

Vladimir Putin: But we can't have any parallel work going on. I know you have plans to build a general hospital there. If you are talking about a medical university clinic, then it should have its own specialization, namely related to science. MSU has such a direction, you can look at it. The main thing is not to do the same thing.

L. Kiryanova: Of course not.

Vladimir Putin: Discuss this with Elena Vladimirovna [Shmeleva].

L. Kiryanova: Yes. But it is also important for us that the solutions that are available in medicine, which are then translated into applied medicine, are available.

Vladimir Putin: Yes. Just as FMBA is going to create, you are going to create, private companies. Sometimes empty, sometimes thick. It is important that everything is done and distributed according to the mind, so that everyone is engaged in some kind of their own niche, and not the same thing. This is a separate topic. Please discuss this with Elena Vladimirovna again, okay?

L. Kiryanova: Yes. But we will also be very grateful for the infrastructure. Although we got one of the best infrastructure – this is the Olympic infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, but you are right, I understand that.

Thanks Good luck.

Alexander Komissarov: Mr President, if you'll excuse me, I'll give you three more short speeches.

We have another head of the university. The rector, who together with his family moved from Ivanovo to Khabarovsk. Yuri Marfin.

Yuri, you can just cut it short.

Yu.Marfin: Yes, indeed, I supported the city of brides trend as part of my move.

And I would probably like to talk about the team, because in the Far East, where I work today, there are not so many people, and it is there that their value is keenly felt. This is what we pay a lot of attention to today. The university I lead now has two winners of Leaders of Russia and several participants in district finals. I remember very well when I was just planning my move to Khabarovsk, the first call I made was to my colleague, whom I met in the fourth season, Aldar Chirninov. I suggested that he move with me to the same unknown that was before me. He then took a day to think, to consult. Two hours later, he called and said that he agreed. It seems to me that readiness to respond to challenges is a distinctive feature of the "Leaders of Russia"

At last year's EEF, you said that advancing the development of the Far Eastern regions is our absolute priority for the entire twenty – first century. And today the Khabarovsk Territory is a forge of technological sovereignty, it is exactly the place where you want to work, where you want to live, where you need to go to study without fail. Together with the university team, we will do everything possible to make the education of the Khabarovsk Territory even better.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: How many students do you have now?

Yu.Marfin: We currently have 14,000 students enrolled.

Vladimir Putin: It's decent. This applies to both full-time and part-time departments?

Yu.Marfin: Yes, it's a cumulative amount. Of these, 8 thousand are full-time students and the rest are part-time students.

Vladimir Putin: How many faculty members are there?

Yu.Marfin: The total number of university employees is about 1.5 thousand people. A thousand of them are people who are directly involved in science and teaching.

Vladimir Putin: So what is the ratio of teachers to students?

Yu.MARFIN: About one in thirteen.

Vladimir Putin: Normal.

Does the level of wages correspond to the average for the economy? By how many percent?

Yu.Marfin: Mr President, we are very clearly following through on your instructions to provide 200 per cent. And last year, our salary level for research and teaching staff was 207 percent in the region.

Vladimir Putin: That's great.

What are your main areas of student training, in your opinion?

Yu.Marfin: We are one of the truly flagship universities of the Khabarovsk Territory, a multidisciplinary university. But due to the industry specifics of the Khabarovsk Territory, I would first of all highlight the training of engineers, including engineers for the mining industry. We, in fact, build our engineering school around this…

Vladimir Putin: This is one of the fifty schools here, isn't it?

Yu.Marfin: Not yet, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Do you do it yourself?

Yu.Marfin: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Do you fit into the second stream, the next fifty?

Yu.Marfin: We are counting on it very much.

Vladimir Putin: Prepare the necessary materials, just submit them on time.

Yu.Marfin: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: I wish you every success.

Yu.Marfin: Construction is our second priority. It becomes all the more relevant in view of the large infrastructure projects that are currently being implemented in the Far East, and the availability of master plans for the development of Far Eastern cities. All this requires specialists.

And the third is the humanitarian direction, the training of teachers.

Vladimir Putin: That's great.

Yu.Marfin: Our future.

Vladimir Putin: I wish you all the best and success.

Yu.Marfin: Thank you very much.

Alexey Komissarov: To save time, I will introduce the following two participants – Anton Urusov and Vlad Kreinin.

Alexander Urusov: Mr President, it has already been said here that the Leaders of Russia contest is changing lives. So it happened to me.

If you'll excuse me, I'll start with a personal story. We are meeting you in the Year of the Family, and recently you launched a new national project "Family". The birth of my family took place at the contest. It was at Leaders of Russia five years ago that I met my wife. She is a talented doctor, works at the Ivan Ivanovich Dedov Endocrinology Center, and is defending her doctoral dissertation this month.

We met when we were doing a social project to help cancer patients at a competition, and we've been together ever since. You know, I won the grand prize of the contest before it was over.

The competition was followed by career changes. At the time of the competition, I had been working in the investment business for 12 years, investing in the development of technologies, including socially significant projects in medicine and pharmacy. After winning the contest, Kirill Alexandrovich Dmitriev became my mentor. At his invitation, I started working for the Russian Direct Investment Fund in 2020.

Last year, he was promoted to Senior Vice president. A new stage is currently being discussed. It was at the RDIF that I was lucky enough to realize my most, as I say, significant projects in my career.

In 2020, when the COVID pandemic began, the RDIF, on your behalf, began promoting the Russian coronavirus vaccine in the world – Sputnik V. I was responsible for technology transfer and organization of vaccine production in a number of foreign countries, primarily in India and a number of others.

This work was a huge challenge for both me and the team, but the results followed. Sputnik has become the most exported drug in the entire history of Russia. Despite such opposition, Western big pharma, as you know, it was delivered to more than 70 countries with a total population of more than four billion people.

In my opinion, what is very important is that this activity to promote the vaccine has united many foreign countries around Russia. It showed that our country is capable of creating the most advanced technologies at the highest level in a very short time and that we can be a center of attraction for a number of countries in critical technologies.

If I may, I'll tell you more about the investment project. When I talk to my friends, I often explain that investment is not about something far away and incomprehensible, but about the quality of life of people, about new jobs, about the introduction of new technologies.

The RDIF has accumulated vast experience in investing. Together with our partners, we have invested more than 2.2 trillion rubles in more than 100 projects. Now, on your instructions, we are engaged in attracting funds from our domestic investors to projects that are significant for the country.

One of these projects - recently in Moscow was opened a stand-in for Kutuzovsky Prospekt-Bagration Avenue. This road has improved transport accessibility for 1.5 million people, reduced, in simple terms, the time spent on the road. And it was implemented together with an internal investor, our largest pension fund – Gazfond. We have attracted five international sovereign funds to this project, primarily from the Middle East and Asia. These are exactly the areas that we focused on 10 years ago when you created the foundation.

This work of ours, we can say, has received an international assessment. In August 2022, I personally, as the CEO of one of the state-owned companies created for the project, was included in the US sanctions list.

In conclusion, I would like to personally thank you for supporting the contest and other initiatives, because they allow our talented people to open up, find their own fulfillment and happiness. So I found it just in the RDIF. For me, it's about developing our technologies as a manager.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: I congratulate you on both results. I wish you personal happiness and professional success.

RDIF does a lot of things. Despite the difficulties that our structure is trying to create from abroad, even in the new conditions, in modern conditions, it surprisingly demonstrates not just survival, but demonstrates the results of its work, attracting such serious investments, organizing work within the country to find attractive investment projects in the Russian economy. And the main thing is that everything works out, despite all the difficulties, I repeat again, that they are trying to create for you. This is largely due, of course, to the highest-ranking professionals that Kirill Alexandrovich Dmitriev managed to gather there, including those like you, of course.

Thank you very much for the results and for your work. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of your partners from all over the world who trust you very much. I have already mentioned this, many people know about it, and some countries have decided to automatically invest in Russian projects that RDIF invests in. The RDIF enters there, and those automatically invest their money immediately. This is a sign of the high quality of your work.

All the best to you.

Alexey Urusov: Thank you.

Vladimir Kreinin: Mr President, good afternoon!

My name is Vlad Kreinin, I work at Sberbank, I am responsible for marketing, communications, senior Vice President. I am 35 years old, was born in St. Petersburg, studied at St. Petersburg University, worked in St. Petersburg for a short time, then moved to Moscow. I participated in the contest in 2020.

Vladimir Putin: It's very similar.

Vladimir Kreinin: All coincidences are random.

Vladimir Putin: Where did you work in St. Petersburg?

V. Kreinin: I worked in book publishing houses, and briefly worked in the newspaper Delovoy Peterburg. I am a journalist by my first education, but since then, including thanks to the Leaders of Russia contest, I have received several more degrees, including at the personnel reserve, where I studied together with Vitaly [Khotsenko] and other colleagues, including from Leaders of Russia.

We met in 2020, and you told me then that you can see the potential in your eyes. And indeed, just a few weeks later, amazing things began to happen. The scope of my responsibility at Sberbank has significantly expanded.

Vladimir Putin: The eye is a diamond.

Vladimir Kreinin: Yes. thank you very much. I know that these stories are not unique, they happen to many "Leaders of Russia". Your focus, immersion in details, contests, and biographies of participants are certainly worth a lot.

Over the past four years, not only has my area of responsibility at Sberbank grown, but Sberbank itself has also grown, primarily as a technological and innovative company, a leader in the artificial intelligence agenda in the country. In many ways, you also help us develop this area.

One of the challenges that I am currently facing is that we recently conducted a study. Approximately 40 percent of Russians are still afraid of artificial intelligence technologies, they do not understand them, and there is a barrier to using them. My goal is to help people understand the benefits of technology and the opportunities it creates for them. How? Here are some examples.

Vladimir Putin: First, answer the question: why?

V. Kreinin: It seems to me that artificial intelligence helps to improve business processes, and as a second opinion, for example, for doctors. Our GigaChat neural network recently passed an exam in medical specialties and, of course, it should not replace a doctor, but also be a doctor's assistant in the sense of a second opinion.

Vladimir Putin: No, but why should I save it?

V. Kreinin: This greatly helps us develop our business, including making a profit. We have optimized a lot of processes using artificial intelligence.

I, for example, am responsible for the marketing function, this is all design, communication, advertising. A lot of what we produce is based on artificial intelligence technologies.

We also make services for the country, for our younger generations, based on these technologies. For example, the Kandinsky neural network is a network for generating images and videos. Last year, we became the fastest growing service in the world, surpassing even Chat GPT.

For example, you were at the exhibition "Russia", in pavilion No. 1, it is called "Russia-the land of opportunities". There is a show called "Children's Dreams". It is created entirely on the basis of our technologies by artificial intelligence.

In my opinion, this is such a simple form of a child's first introduction to technology. They can make their own dream and immediately see its visualization, start using it, and then try, for example, to use this technology through a chat bot and will already use it, including for preparing high-quality work at school, then at university. Then it will help him in life, too, I'm sure.

And the second example that I want to share. The Voronezh Art Museum had a very large collection of Russian artists before the Great Patriotic War, and in 1942 it was completely lost, only descriptions of paintings remained. We came up with such a project: based on the descriptions, after studying in great detail the style of each of the artists that was presented in this museum, we recreated the works. We have such a recreated collection, a revived collection of paintings by various Russian artists of the XIX-XX centuries. I gave you through your assistants the album that we prepared, made by the Kandinsky neural network. I think it will be very interesting to meet him.

This is just a good example of how future technologies help us, among other things, to revive our art, our culture, which was lost in certain events. Thanks

Vladimir Putin: That's great. BEAC is doing a lot in this area, and indeed it is one of the leaders. He sees our prospects well, and helps many branches of real production and the social sphere. Great.

And what you've just told us about the museum, about the recreated canvases, is great. Honestly, I'd love to watch it. I very much hope that the management of Sberbank will select such young, energetic specialists who are interested in the results of their work, and you will move on. And in all directions, even completely unexpected, it would seem, for banking institutions.

Thank you very much, and have a nice day. Success.

Alexander Komissarov: Thank you very much, Mr President.

When we announced that there would be a meeting today, I received a huge number of messages from participants from different seasons, all with the same words – words of gratitude, words of support and the best wishes addressed to you.

Thank you very much again. I hope that this fifth anniversary season will not be the last, [the competition] will continue and we will find more and more talented, capable guys, and they will grow, advance and make our country even stronger. Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: For my part, I would like to say this.

I am very pleased that our joint efforts are not being wasted. When I meet people like you – young, energetic, focused on results, interested in the results of their work, and not just so abstractly at all, which is also good sometimes in some areas of activity. Abstract result from the sky – it is also good, it will be useful in the piggy bank. But through this training school pass people who are interested in the final result of the country. This is very important for people who are engaged in specific work.

I just want to say it, such a hackneyed phrase, but nevertheless I can't resist. When you meet people like you, you get the feeling that Russia will be in good hands. Thank you very much for everything that has been done so far, and a lot has already been done, despite the young age of each of you, and even more so in the aggregate. I very much hope and wish you further serious and significant success for you personally, but also as your personal contribution to the development of the country. I am sure that it will be noticeable.

Thank you very much. Good luck to you. [All Emphasis Mine]

When I first encountered this contest several years ago and wrote about it at VK, I was both amazed and jazzed at the possibilities while wondering where’s the Western analog? When you survey the western nations, it appears none are interested in this sort of meritocratic method of cultivating the talent required for good governance and innovative business management along with the development of ideas beginning with their formation via the type of networking we just read about. What’s also being developed is competence and the confidence that brings such that the one reinforces the other synergistically. Almost every presenter showed being touched by that dynamic. Also, the number of confessions that becoming a civil servant fulfilled the search for professional Bliss—that’s what I was born to do—after spending ten-years or so trying to discover it.

Some of the information shared above is also important. Putin spoke of Russia’s “secret weapon” the West will never be able to match, but it’s more than just Russian culture and its related glue. The common denominator from the presenters is their desire to improve the state and themselves and beyond that all Russians. That sort of elan doesn’t exist in the West. Hell, just look at the quality of those likely to be the two major POTUS candidates—every presenter is of a higher quality. This lady’s attitude, the nurse volunteer, really stood out for me, and is why Russia will win.

Her passion lies elsewhere, but she has presidential qualities, as do many others.

Those whose words you read and their colleagues are one of the major reasons why I know Russia will continue along its current developmental path. Yes, Team Putin will slowly yield the stage while the seeds to replace them are already sown and developing their capabilities. And how it’s being done isn’t being kept secret, which is why Russia has so many friends—Russia’s willing to share and develop a global community guided by competent people with proven abilities. Develop strong families and strong people and your nation will also become strong. Simple formula, yes?

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