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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with volunteers and attends awards ceremony for the Russian Volunteer Centres’ contest

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Transcript of Vladimir Putin's conversation with volunteers:

Vladimir Putin: First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the holiday. The holiday was two days ago: December 5 is International Volunteer Day. There is nothing new about saying that Russia has long-standing traditions of assisting people in a variety of ways. Yet, it is very important that such activity is satisfying to you personally, so that you do it wholeheartedly. Only then will it have a real and positive effect on you, the people being helped and society in general.

As for society, such signs of disinterested aid and support to people in need are very important. They create the right atmosphere in society and help people sort out their values, and this may be the most important thing about it. Of course, your participation is also significant, in serious, large-scale actions that are necessary for the country. I can see that practically all of you have taken part in them in some way or other. How did they bring you together? You are from different cities, of different ages, although the age difference is not too wide: some have graduated from college, some are studying still, and some are working already. How did they manage to find you all?

Remark: Mr Putin, in April 2009 the organising committee held a national contest to form a volunteer team. First we passed regional stages and then took part in the federal stage of the contest that resulted in the formation of the team which participated in the organisation of the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

After that students from different regions, most of them from Sochi and Krasnodar Territory, participated in a variety of projects. And then the members of our volunteer team (here they are, most of them) worked with them as team leaders.

Remark: May I add, Mr Putin? I would like to say that the organising committee makes it a point to get people from a range of cities, so that volunteers remain involved all over the country and continue to develop after they take part in the Sochi Games and other projects, which are major and important. So the emphasis was on gathering people from every part of the country, from the Far East to Kaliningrad.

Vladimir Putin: Of course. I think, as I have just said, that the most important thing is to create the right atmosphere in society, when those around you can see how you and your colleagues are directly helping people. It does make an impression on others, I can assure you.

Question: Mr Putin, may I ask you a question connected to this?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, please.

Remark: You are quite right to say that volunteer work should come from the heart. I think that everyone sitting here today would agree with me and, of course, you. I have been engaged in volunteer work since early childhood when my grandma took me to the park to feed pigeons; she inspired me to be kind to other people and since then I follow this example...

Vladimir Putin: Thanks to your grandmother.

Question: Yes, I also want to thank her a lot. Since then the main principle of my life has been to help other people, and this is why I do volunteer work. However, we face certain difficulties in our work because not enough people in Russia understand volunteer work and information about it is very scarce. What do you think can be done to spread this information so that everyone understands the importance and necessity of this work?

Vladimir Putin: First of all, it should be expanded. Since we believe that it should come from heart, it should not be too linked with the government. And the media, including media representatives present here, should not do it at the instruction of their editors-in-chief, rather they should be volunteers like you and do such things out of the good of their own hearts. And when such attitudes expand more and more, no instruction will be required. In general, volunteer work is completely positive and should be supported by society and the state. We will try to do this on the government level. It is very important that famous and respected people join in on this kind of effort, such as those people who have authority in their professional community or in the country as a whole. For example, our favourite actors. You know, Chulpan Khamatova helps out at Moscow's oncohematological centre. Yevgeny Mironov and Maria Mironova are involved in some other volunteer work. The more celebrities that join the effort, the better. It is very important for such movements to be widespread in order to change the situation without too much state involvement.

Remark: Can I add to what you said? You say we must follow examples. I've got a question, or maybe it's not a question: You are a model of courage and strength for young people in the country. We often see you flying a plane...

Vladimir Putin: I think you're exaggerating.

Remark: No, this is true. It seems to me that if you volunteered...

Vladimir Putin: You caught me. Maybe I will, along with some other members of the government.

Remark: Yes, you can do it together.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Question: I think the number of prospective volunteers would rise several times. Are you ready to join us?

Vladimir Putin: Yes. I believe I am already engaged in some volunteer activities, but if this is not already visible, I will try to redouble my work in this area: take part in charity events and other similar events, for sure.

Question: Charity events are another thing. What about volunteer work?

Vladimir Putin: This is all closely related: you take part in charity and volunteer in a selfless way.

Question: You know, I have been volunteering for quite a long time, mostly in my free time. And I would like the work I do to be both useful and enjoyable. On the one hand, you get practical experience you may use in your future profession when you volunteer. On the other hand, you get the chance to help the people who really need it. When we talk about volunteering, we shouldn't think of it as only material assistance. I think it would make sense for volunteering to be regarded as, for example, work experience or a particular advantage to young specialists when they are looking for a job. I would like to hear your opinion on this point. First, how to handle this issue, second, how to handle the status of volunteers on both the federal and legislative level? And how to expand the practice of volunteering?

Vladimir Putin: You know, we just mentioned that this should be done without seeking personal benefits, by following one's heart. The idea of your speech is that the state should support these endeavours. But we should not cross the line. If we organise this work using material support, this will not be volunteering at all. We can go as far as to say, "Let's free volunteers from military service." But this law already exists: there is an alternative service. But that is another thing. Then we'll say, "Let's include time spent as volunteers in the years of pensions." We can go too far in this way. But, in general, some incentives are, of course, possible. We must think about this together.

Question: Can I ask a question? I am known as a volunteer in my republic. In our country volunteers are mostly young people. However, when we worked at the Paralympic Games in Canada, we saw many elderly volunteers there. It was very interesting to work with them, as they could share not only their volunteer experience with us but also their life experience and enthusiasm. I, for one, worked in a team with a wonderful woman, a hotel manager who spends her spare time going to Africa and helping people there. When we talked to such people in Canada, we realised that there are hardly any volunteers with this kind of experience in our country. Volunteer documents are only given to young volunteers. What can we do to involve older people in this important matter?

Vladimir Putin: Nastya, I have also seen older people volunteering. It was in Sochi, incidentally. There was a group of people who said they were volunteers, but they were obviously not students.

Remark: There are not many, so far, Mr Putin. What can be done to attract more of them?

Vladimir Putin: Yes, it is true. Participation in volunteer activities should have no age limitations.

Speaking about volunteer documents, this can and should be set right. Although a volunteer, as I have said, is a person who acts from the heart and not for a document, it should be changed if we want to have a formal approach to this movement. I know that today volunteer documents are issued to people under 30 or so. We will correct this.

Question: Mr Putin, may I ask a question more relevant to today's event? Very soon we will find out who the winners are among the volunteer training centres for the Olympic Games. By the way, one of Tomsk's universities has also filed an application. In fact, it turns out that the Sochi organising committee and the training centre will assume a huge responsibility for training volunteers for the Sochi Games because they will be the face of the country to the world. But it's very important to think about the future. If we want to develop the volunteer movement in the country as a whole and not let it end with the Kazan or Sochi Games, then what status will such volunteer centres be given in the future?

Vladimir Putin: Are you talking about the universities that we have selected?

Answer: Yes.

Vladimir Putin: Well, the contest was representative enough: as far as I know 60 universities applied to be volunteer training centres and 26 of those have been selected. I fully agree that volunteer activities should not be confined to major political, public or sports events. This movement should be supported and promoted in our country for years ahead. And the number of events will be large enough. I do not think that everything will end with the FIFA World Cup 2018. We will compete to host other major events in Russia, and we will sure hold some. For this reason the centres that we have chosen for training volunteers could be granted permanent status as sites for training people who would like to volunteer.

Question: Today we have repeatedly mentioned such event as the Debriefing, which took place in Sochi. It was very interesting for us to work there: it was really a meaningful event. But, unfortunately, travelling to Sochi from Yaroslavl or other Russian cities is rather expensive, to my mind. We will be needed as volunteers in Kazan, at the APEC summit, in Sochi and, moreover, at the World Cup, which is to be hosted by several Russian cities. We work because of principles, not for money, but could we count on any support for travel for volunteers?

Vladimir Putin: Naturally. In holding major public, political, international or sports events, even with the best intentions, people who are not properly trained can hardly offer serious assistance. Event organisers will be interested in attracting trained people. This is obvious; there is no doubt about it. Actually, this is why we are selecting universities to serve as the bases for training people for these volunteer activities. And so, people will have to travel from one region to another. For example, volunteers living in Kaliningrad may take part in some event in Sochi and then some events in other cities during the World Cup. And people from the Far East and Siberia may come to attend some events in Kaliningrad, Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan or elsewhere. To solve this problem, and this is a problem, we will make the relevant amendments to legislation with a view to solving the issue of reimbursing the volunteers for their travel expenses.

Remark: Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: As far as I know, this bill is at the second stage of review in the Duma.

Question: Mr Putin, I have a practical question that is also connected to the law. The point is that this year we have been one of the St. Petersburg organisations collecting humanitarian aid for the victims of the fires that swept through Russia this summer. We found out that many people who were at the sites of the fires helped the victims and fought fires out of the good of their own hearts. However, there was a minor limitation: volunteers have no legal status and the organisation that they help cannot even do something as simple as offer insurance. It is impossible to insure a volunteer providing emergency relief during a natural disaster. I would like to know if it is possible to adjust the legislation a little bit...

Vladimir Putin: Yes. We will adjust it. Like in the case of travelling from one place to another, we will be reimbursing expenses for medical insurance. This is absolutely correct and reasonable. Indeed, during the abnormal heat this summer, volunteers collected things necessary for the fire victims. They provided not only moral and organisational support, but some volunteers even took part in extinguishing fires and put their lives at risk. We must say this frankly. In such cases compensation for insurance is absolutely justified, of course.

Remark: Thanks a lot.

Vladimir Putin: Any other questions? I want to wish you good luck. I want to say that I am pleased to meet you.

I am happy to do everything to support volunteer work in all areas: work in support of major political and sports events and work to support people who need help. I am not speaking of free aid from the government, but simple human support, which sometimes is more important than material assistance. It is truly noble work. And I will assure you that such work will make you spiritually richer.

Thank you very much.

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Vladimir Putin's address at the award ceremony:

Ladies and gentlemen, let me first congratulate you all on International Volunteer Day, which we marked on December 5. I would like to say that there is nothing unusual about volunteering for Russia. It's a Russian tradition to help and support others, especially those who are really in need. Examples are not hard to find. It's enough to recall what was happening on the home front of World War I when many people volunteered in hospitals to help the wounded and those who needed help. Later, motivated by the famous book "Timur and His Squad" by Arkady Gaidar, many young people volunteered for different, somewhat ideological reasons, but these reasons did not undermine the work itself. An entire movement following Timur was created. I'd like to emphasise that this action was to a certain extent based in a particular ideology, but, more importantly, it came out of a simple desire to help those who needed help. This has always existed; this is in the heart of every human being. And I'm glad to see this movement being brought back to life.

We just discussed topics with volunteers related to the work of those who dedicate their lives to helping others. I'd like to say that there will be enough work for everyone. This relates to organising and holding major international political events such as the APEC summit in Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East. Volunteers will also be needed at major sports events including the World Student Games in Kazan, the Sochi Olympics, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and other events. I'm convinced that volunteers will remain in demand after these events. And, again, there will be other events in addition to those that I've mentioned. We will continue to need volunteers. This is why, as you know, we held a large-scale contest that included 60 Russian universities. We have selected 28 universities, and we will regularly use them to train volunteers for future events. Naturally, well-trained people are needed to participate in these events, preferably those who speak foreign languages and those trained in organisational matters. However, the main thing is that the volunteer movement gives a certain signal to society and it helps cultivate people who want to take action and help others. This is the very basis of the volunteer movement; this is its main and most valuable feature. Certainly, people who volunteer will become richer spiritually.

I would like to congratulate you on the work you do and wish you success. Thank you very much. Naturally, I want to congratulate the universities that were chosen to participate. I wish you all the best. Thank you.