The President congratulated the governors on their victories in the elections –in the first round – during the unified voting day on September 9 and asked the elected regional governors to begin their work as soon as possible.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues. Here today are both experienced governors and those who are new to this post, who were regional leaders until now.
I would like to congratulate all of you on your victory in the elections. You have received the mandate of your voters’ trust during the first round on the unified voting day, September 9.
I believe you understand that this success is just the beginning of the serious and large-scale work you have ahead of you – both your personal work and the work of your teams.
I would like to ask you to start as soon as possible, although many of you are already working as acting governors and some of you were regional leaders, so you will not need much time to get moving.
The goals you face are truly national in nature. They are the same for all political entities that are ready and want to work for the benefit of our country, for the benefit of Russia. These include increasing the average life span and increasing the overall population numbers, a reduction in the poverty level, and the growth of the average real incomes of our citizens. To reach these goals it is necessary to make sure that every person has a challenging job and social welfare.
Comfortable living conditions should exist in towns and cities and in rural areas: good kindergartens, schools, outpatient clinics, hospitals, normal roads, walkable streets, parks and squares.
All of these issues can be resolved through specific action, at the ‘grassroots level’ as they say. In other words, a lot depends on you.
Let me emphasise that the governors are making a decisive contribution to achieving national goals. Those who are working in earnest and producing results can always rely on support.
I would like to draw your attention to the following point: your constituents made a choice in favour of a candidate, and a party. They indicated what they agreed with and what they disagreed with and what they expect from the authorities. This is important.
Your job as elected regional governors is to hear the signals that the people sent to the authorities to resolve problems, to understand them fully and to answer questions from both your supporters, and importantly, those who backed the other candidates. You should not ignore those who have a different view but should involve them in the resolution of common tasks. In other words, you should work for the interests of all the people in your regions.
It is also necessary to develop constructive cooperation with local government bodies and help volunteers. It is essential to use mechanisms of social mobility like the competition “Leaders of Russia.” This mechanism is already effective in Russia, and I would like to ask you to support it.
This is all the more important since the elections again showed that our people support trends towards renovation. You should base your team selection primarily on common values and goals rather than some political goal or party preference or membership.
Your close associates and assistants should be professional, energetic and honest and be capable of effectively resolving the tasks of regional development.
I would like to hope that this is exactly how you will work and would like to wish success to all of you.
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