Meeting with Head of the United Russia party faction in the State Duma Vladimir Vasilyev

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Vasilyev, I always pay close attention to what is happening in the State Duma, especially when it comes to its biggest, leading party faction. What do you think about the current situation? I know that you have been working hard across the board.

Head of the United Russia party faction in the State Duma Vladimir Vasilyev Vasilyev VladimirHead of the United Russia faction in the State Duma : Mr President, you are well-informed about our work, so I will try not to repeat things you already know. I think that we embarked on a very important process. As I see this, it results from the congress we had during which you supported our people's programme - it summarises about two million wishes, contributions and mandates we received from the people of Russia. This was followed by your election as President and all the support you received, and then your Address to the Federal Assembly, the executive orders and the instructions you gave.

This was also the first time in our history that the State Duma held a debate on forming the federal Government under the amended Constitution. I believe that this was also very important. You may recall advising us at one of our congresses to steer clear of any populist agendas, and we effectively did so, even if there may have been those who were reluctant to do it. Still, we left the populist aspirations behind us, since we are in the same boat with the Government and bear joint responsibility when it comes to celebrating our success and admitting our shortcomings and failures. There is no doubt about that. We succeeded in this, and it was something that really mattered to us.

Vladimir Putin: You formed the Government.

Vladimir Vasilyev: Yes, this is what this all was about, but it takes some time before this fact dawns on you. You know, in some cases you move forward one step at a time without noticing it. I think that the processes we are currently witnessing in present-day Russia are very interesting and complementary. Therefore, instead of boring you with the figures you know better than I do, I would like to [discuss] this process as I see it.

Currently, we are actively involved in drafting the budget. This is quite a challenging process. Let us say that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation may have a position of its own on several matters, and other parties also stick to their positions. Against this backdrop, we can expect people to support us as long as we deliver, and people see that we act in their interests. For example, Mr Zyuganov may say that they are doing what people want. We respond by saying that we are doing as much as we can in terms of what people want, so as to subsequently do even more.

Vladimir Putin: This way you do not break anything.

Vladimir Vasilyev: Exactly. Otherwise, any hasty, ill-prepared move may destroy the very foundation.

You know, I believe that we have been succeeding in this regard. Let me share an interesting insight with you. I have already briefed you on this topic, but there have been some new developments in this domain. You may remember that we discussed the way State Duma deputies oversee major school renovation projects. In fact, we have monitored projects across 4,300 schools since 2022. This helped drive down tender and procurement costs, accelerate repairs and prevent any major delays. Because every month, a person, a State Duma deputy visited the school every month, accompanied by students and their parents and teachers to see what was going on. A simple solution, but it works.

To be continued.