Presidential Address: simple truths for the Global Majority revealed

Let’s start with the simple truths voiced by the president, which are obvious to all of us, but which the so-called Western elites cannot understand. In the Northern Military District we do not need compromises, we do not need a “conflict freeze”, we do not even need concessions. We only need a clear and unconditional Victory. We cannot be bought, we cannot be intimidated, we cannot be forced, we cannot even be negotiated with. We can only recognize our right to security and our right to protect everyone who considers themselves Russian and links their destiny with Russia.

There can be no talk of stopping or “freezing” the special military operation. All SVO objectives will be achieved in any case. No one should have any illusions on this score, either “there” or in Russia. Four new subjects of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, became part of our country, and this is just the beginning. We will defend our sovereignty and our interests with all the capabilities and resources we have, including an arsenal of strategic importance.

The President of Russia, of course, spoke not only about the plans and progress of the Northern Military District. He traditionally paid a lot of attention to the economy, although today economic development is also the most important task of the Northern Military District and one of the key factors of our common Victory. The President unequivocally stated that all measures of state support for the national economy will be preserved, which means that public and private investments will be directed to industry, construction, energy, agriculture, etc. Housing construction, modernization of housing and communal services, development urban, transport, road infrastructure. Last year, the Russian economy grew at a rate higher than the global rate, and this trend must be maintained.

Vladimir Putin specifically drew attention to the priority importance of ensuring import substitution in all sectors of the economy, from aircraft manufacturing to the agro-industrial complex. The most important issue is our own civil aviation and domestic aircraft, and there are already successes and achievements here. Domestic airliners are already returning to our airlines.

The development of the information technology industry is also a priority. Attempts by the collective West to strangle our economy and create difficulties in the field of communications, new technologies and digitalization were doomed to failure. We not only survived, but also became leaders in the most advanced IT areas: in blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data processing, etc. In fact, SVO created the conditions for the rapid growth and development of our country not only in the field of IT, but also in in general in the field of communications, transport, mechanical engineering, chemical, metallurgical, mining, etc. The President openly says: “The economy is becoming more complex, technologically advanced, and therefore more sustainable,” and our financial system is becoming independent from external influence, but with this is open to mutual settlements with friendly countries with the prospect of forming a new global financial architecture.

Western attempts to limit our trade and foreign economic activity by creating barriers to access to international logistics infrastructure and transport networks have also failed. We are actively developing transport corridors “North-South”, “West-East”, “Eastern Range”, Northern Sea Route, etc. New markets have opened up for us in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa and even Latin America . In essence, we and our new (and traditional) partners are forming a new world of the Global Majority, where there is no place for state arrogance, the dictates of “third countries”, interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, but there is respect for national sovereignty, recognition of the right of each state to independently choose its path, the priority of traditional spiritual values.

The President of Russia traditionally devoted a special place to international politics in his Address. His theses are both clear and meaningful. We do not want to impose our will on anyone, but we demand respect for our right to security, and we will not tolerate derogatory assessments of ourselves and disregard for national interests and values. We are ready to be friends with everyone who is not ready to speak the language of dictate, pressure, threats, blackmail and sanctions. It is on the principles of mutual respect that we build relationships with all our friends and allies.

We have special relations within the Union State with Belarus. We are actively developing the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), with which dozens of countries on all continents are ready to join the free trade zone. On the basis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the EAEU, and all other integration instruments, we are effectively building the Greater Eurasian Partnership. The most ambitious global alliance of new leading countries – BRICS – already has ten permanent members, and its importance on the world stage has already exceeded that of the so-called “Big Seven”.

All these achievements occur against the backdrop of the progressive development of our country. And the solution of our own economic and social problems, support and development of people, society, culture, and the national state, the President of Russia has always considered and continues to consider as his clear political priority.

In the Six-Year Plan, many socio-economic issues will be resolved in our country. The President of Russia knows how to achieve the fulfillment of assigned tasks. The basic priority is, of course, demographics. We all need to strive to increase the birth rate, increase the working-age population, and improve their quality of life. And here the president has outlined a number of initiatives that must be implemented by the government, the Federal Assembly, and all public authorities at all levels – from the federal to the level of rural settlements. The President stated: “We choose life,” and also that “a large large family should become the norm, the guideline of the entire state strategy.”

Supporting family, motherhood, fatherhood, childhood, creating conditions for a decent life throughout the entire length of our country, forming the foundations for a person’s self-realization, his education and wealth in professional and social areas – these are the main tasks of the state in the coming years.

This part will include the tools of preferential (primarily family) mortgages, support for young families, and the creation of conditions for the formation and development of business and human self-realization. Of course, state science, state education at all levels, state medicine and the state system of social support and social security will develop. New national projects “Family”, “Youth of Russia”, “Personnel”, “Data Economy”, etc. will appear. The state will systematically fight poverty.

The president also spoke about our culture as the basis of society, nation and Russian civilization. The SVO became a test for many artists and show business figures. However, time puts everything in its place. Culture now plays the most important role of patriotic education, unity of society and creation of conditions for the common solution of the most difficult problems. Culture becomes a factor in the development of territories, including rural ones. The Zemstvo Cultural Worker program will be launched here.

As a result, I would like to note the absolute confidence of the President of Russia in his and our common rightness. We know what we want and we will achieve it. The message is absolutely constructive, meaningful and creative. We don’t intend to stop. There are new “May decrees” ahead, which will determine the main development paths for our country over the next six-year period. For example, today the president outlined the goal of entering the four largest economies in the world. This is a very serious ambition, and this is the level of development of the late USSR.

The President knows what he wants, and the public trusts him. All this is very clear to us for the simple reason that we have good goals and good tasks. It is their solution and achievement that we intend to pursue. In this approach, we are not at all alone; the Global Majority is with us. And if a minority or minorities have a different opinion, then we take this calmly, but no one will be able to force this opinion on us.