VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“An Internet democracy should be integrated into the broader development framework for a referendum democracy. It should be more widely used at the municipal and regional levels. Municipal legislatures and their heads should be directly elected; moreover, the work of other key officials should also be publicly evaluated.”
“We must create a political system under which we will be able to and are obliged to tell people the truth. People who propose solutions and programmes must be responsible for their implementation. Those who elect decision makers must understand who and what they are voting for. This will ensure trust, constructive dialogue and mutual respect between society and the government.”
“I believe that democracy includes both the fundamental right of the people to choose a government and also the possibility to continuously influence it and its process of decision-making. Hence, democracy needs mechanisms of regular and direct action and efficient channels for dialogue, public control, communication and feedback.”
“We have to adjust the mechanisms of the political system so that they capture and reflect the interests of large social groups and ensure public coordination of these interests. The system should not only ensure the legitimacy of power, but also ensure that people have confidence that they have a fair government, including in those cases when they are in a minority.”
“Real democracy cannot be created overnight and cannot be a carbon copy of some external example. Society must be completely ready for using democratic mechanisms. The majority of people must see themselves as citizens of their country, ready to devote their attention, time and efforts on a regular basis to taking part in the process of governance. In other words, democracy is effective only when people are ready to invest something in it.”
“A large package of proposals on the development of our political and party system has been submitted to the State Duma today. The idea is to simplify the registration of parties, to cancel the required collection of signatures for participating in the elections to the State Duma and regional legislatures, and to reduce the number of signatures required for registering as a presidential candidate.”
“When I talk about the need to ensure transparent elections, I want you to remember that it is above all us who need transparency, because we must be confident of people’s support. This is a fundamental issue, for it is impossible to implement such challenging plans without people’s support.”
“We should also steadily and responsibly develop our political system so that people have more influence on power at the municipal, regional and federal levels, so that feedback institutions work. Our democracy is young and we need political institutions that will not only work for us today, but also for our children.”
“We need a stable political system. We need mechanisms that will guarantee Russia’s long-term sustainable development for decades ahead. This is an exceedingly important task for Russia with its history of upheavals and revolutionary disruptions. Needless to say, democratic principles must be observed. That is why we need evolution, stability and consistency in any political transformations. That is why we should bring a maximum of care and responsibility to the development of our political system.”
“On December 4, a new lower house will be elected. The parliament will be renewed to represent the interests of the entire Russian society. There are different parliamentary parties in this house. This room will always bring together people who share various political views. This, in fact, is the cornerstone of a parliamentary democracy. This is the way it should be.”
“Of course we think how expand the contacts between the people and the municipal, regional and federal authorities, how to increase their influence on the authorities and how to ensure feedback. Our system is certainly far from perfect. We know it, and we know criticisms of, say, the leadership system President Medvedev and I offered to this country in what is known as our tandem. However, please note that I don’t know a single government system that is perfect.”
“One of the key goals will be to build a sustainable political system, which would use its own resources rather than act on advice and orders from abroad. Our country cannot live as a satellite. It needs a strong political system with a sustainable internal structure – modern, flexible, and reflecting modern challenges and realities, and at the same time relying on our national traditions.”
“Russia has an emerging political system. We are not going to rely on voluntarism in our decision-making. We will always maintain dialogue with the public and society. We will seek formats that ensure the sustainability of our political system.”
“In speaking about our plans, and my personal plans for the future, this is what we need to do. We must strengthen the foundations of our political system and our democratic institutions. We must create the conditions for the gradual development and diversification of our economy on a new, modern basis, and we must create the conditions to improve the quality of life of our citizens. This is what we intend to do.”
“A multi-party system is only just taking shape in Russia; the parties are growing stronger, formulating consistent political platforms and looking for their voters. But just as everywhere, a political force that has been in power for several years is a dominant force and bears responsibility for whatever is happening in the country.”
“As for the Right Cause, I think that any legal party – any legal political force – may and should compete with its political rivals. Can it compete with United Russia as an equal? No, it cannot, at least for now. But I don’t rule out that this may change, and if the Right Cause proves to its voters that it has adopted the right approach to national development, it will win increasing support.”
“I would like to see United Russia come alive with new ideas, new people, new faces, and for many organisations – both formal and informal – to gain opportunities to express themselves and promote some of their ideas and their own people in the municipal, regional and federal power bodies.”
“I believe that the government’s report to the parliament is more than just fulfilling a constitutional requirement; it’s a tool for managing the democratic beginnings of the Russian political system. The dialogue between the government and the parliament is necessary not only as a way for the government to report its results for the year, but also as a way to make sure that we are on the same page with the deputies regarding the priorities of the national economy and social sphere.”
"I was just thinking how it is easier for opposition parties, because they are free from the burden of actually governing. Rather, their function is to criticise the governing party. The governing party must solve problems, while the opposition is there to criticise the leading political force for what it is doing and how, and to propose alternatives. This is normal. It’s no use getting angry or swearing at anybody".
“As for democracy, this is a long-running argument we have been having with our American colleagues. <…> And when we tell our American colleagues that there are systemic problems in this sphere we hear, “Don’t poke your noses into our affairs. This is how things work here and this is the way it is going to be.” We are not butting in, but I would also like to advise our colleagues not to poke their noses into our affairs. This is the sovereign choice of the Russian people. The Russian people unequivocally backed democracy in the early 90s. They will not be swayed from this path. No one should have any doubts on that score. This is in Russia’s own interests. And we will definitely continue along this path.”
“Democracy cannot be separated from legality. And legality cannot exist outside democratic society. Laws must be passed by a legally elected parliament representing the interests of society as a whole. This is a complex and sophisticated mechanism. And I want to stress once more: it does not mean that we have everything organised ideally, we see where the problem lies, including in the media. I do not want to say that everything is perfect. You know that all over the world, wherever you point a finger, authorities always try to put a better face on things and to curb the media to some extent. But in any country with a well-developed civil society these attempts, as a rule, do not succeed. Where society is immature or weak, authorities find it easier to manipulate it. In this sense, our goal is for our civil society to mature, grow, gain in strength and understand its own strength.”
“If by democracy we mean a form of government that allows citizens to influence the situation in the country, then civil society in any country, depending on its maturity, will choose a balance between stability and development which allows the country to move forward. At the same time this balance should not shake up society and frighten it with possible cataclysms. At the present moment, on the whole, I believe we have such a balance. Destabilisation will lead to stagnation or destruction.”
"Now I would like to say a few words about the responsibilities of officials and representatives in any organisation that have violated the law. Please note that so-called representatives of authority are not immune to the law. We have examples of criminal persecution, whereby some high-ranking officials were convicted by a court of law and had to serve a term in prison. These include the heads of some regions representing the ruling party. There should be no exceptions in this respect. We will allow no exceptions at all".
"If deputies from a party have not been represented in the Moscow City Duma for years, why do you think they should get seats there now? You should look at these processes objectively. On the other hand, I'd like to say again that in such situations much depends on inter-party dialogue, on the moral climate in the State Duma and an ability to talk with ones colleagues."
"We must create a tradition of constitutional transition of power and demonstrate to the country and the world that it is possible in Russia and that this is not a catastrophe, but on the contrary, our state is in some ways becoming stronger."
"In our country, indeed, a very good relationship has formed between the President and the Prime Minister. That is an important factor of political stability in Russia."
"As for the actions of the Government, a critical view of the Government's work is an absolutely normal thing. I myself am not always pleased with what some ministries and agencies are doing. In time of crisis its current activities must come under particularly close scrutiny. That is the only way to find the most effective and valid solutions."
"I agree that the work of the Government and other executive authorities on draft laws should be more transparent and systemic. In particular, we should proceed to medium-term planning of legislative activities. Many of our decisions are not being implemented. This means that these laws are not drafted property or systemically. While we are at the initial stage of preparing key Government draft laws, I propose that we should involve State Duma deputies, members of the Federation Council, representatives of the expert community and public organisations in this work. We have had "zero" hearings before, and should apply this practice more extensively. I hope that this will help us to substantially enhance the effectiveness of lawmaking."
"Our political forces-I mean legal forces-have been extremely responsible up to this point, and I expect them to continue thus in the future. We cannot, must not, and will not limit legal protest - that is, in the forms stipulated by the law of the Russian Federation."
“For the first time a peaceful change of top leadership took place in Russia in line with the Fundamental Law, the Constitution. We held presidential elections on time and in accordance with the Constitution. We also held parliamentary elections. These were major events in the life of the country.”
“I will start with the last part. I think that the trade unions have started carrying out a natural function in this country, which is very important for them. I mean defending the interests of working people. They have stopped being some school of communism, or something else. This is an entirely different sphere of activities. They have stopped being a political appendage of some party, but have begun fulfilling an independent function. Responsible conduct of trade unions is very important, very much in demand.”
“We will continue improving the work of this public organisation, which, in my view, is becoming increasingly significant, as well as strengthening the country's multi-party system. I believe party pluralism is an important element of democratic institutions in present-day Russia.”
“The goal of our party is to generate new ideas and projects and control their implementation. We need to understand public opinion and people's needs. The United Russia party has all the necessary tools to define strategic objectives and to develop political programmes and draft laws that correspond to the needs of our citizens.”
"I want to stress that I think it is perfectly correct to preserve on the country's political scene different political forces with different political views, even if the authorities may not like some of them. But this is normal for a democratic society and evidence of a healthy society."