Putin began meetings with the leadership of the Duma factions before the message to the Federal Assembly

President Vladimir Putin has begun a series of meetings with leaders of parliamentary factions ahead of his address to the Federal Assembly on February 21. On February 13, he spoke in Novo-Ogaryovo with Communist Party chairman Gennady Zyuganov and LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky. The introductory words of the president and faction leaders were shown to journalists, then the meetings were held behind closed doors.

Putin began his meeting with Zyuganov with a clarifying question, when is the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation – February 13 or 14. Zyuganov replied that just on February 13, 1993, the Second Extraordinary Restorative Congress took place, and on February 14 it would be 30 years since he was elected chairman of the Communist Party. “In general, before you is a man with great political experience,” Zyuganov told Putin. After that, the president congratulated Zyuganov on the anniversary of the Communist Party and expressed the hope that she would fulfill her role as “part of the patriotic movement.”

According to Putin, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation “makes a significant contribution to the political discussion, to the search for the most acceptable and rational solutions for the development of the country in the social sphere, in the economy, in the field of defense and security.” “Here we have never had any contradictions at all, in my opinion, on the contrary, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation very often went ahead and put questions to the authorities at all levels regarding the support and security of our country, both today and in the future,” he said. the president.

Zyuganov said he values ​​dialogue with the president, “especially at the present time, when, in fact, a crusade has been declared against our civilization, the entire Russian world.” According to him, the main thing for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation now is “the party of Russia, its sovereignty, independence, our common freedom.” He informed Putin that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation sent 17,000 tons of humanitarian cargo to the Donbass, and was working with schoolchildren from Donbass as part of the “Children of Russia for the Children of Donbass” movement. Zyuganov also stressed that, having worked for 20 years in the Council of Europe, he “never imagined that Europe could fall under the Americans so much, and they simply became insolent.”

Slutsky at a meeting with Putin said that the party “celebrated the first New Year without Vladimir Volfovich [Жириновского] – [это] hard”. But the LDPR is getting stronger, with 350,000 members. He stated that the Liberal Democratic Party “from the first days supported the special military operation in everything.” According to the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, now people “need not breakthroughs, common sense and a constructive position.”

In particular, he suggested solving problems in the field of demography: “We must support the creation of nursery groups for children from two months to one and a half years in order to encourage women to feel confident and fulfill their tasks in the field of demography.” Slutsky, who also heads the Duma Committee on International Affairs, promised to report to Putin on the fulfillment of his instructions “both in the African direction and in the paramount direction of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.”

One of the main functions of parliamentary representation is feedback, so it is important for the president, in addition to reports from representatives of the executive branch, to hear the leaders of the Duma factions, says Konstantin Kostin, head of the Civil Society Development Fund. “Now there is a consolidation of all parliamentary parties around the agenda related to the special operation and countering external pressure. But on domestic or socio-economic policy, their positions differ, ”says Kostin.

After meetings with Zyuganov and Slutsky, as Vedomosti wrote, Putin will meet on February 14 with the leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov (he will turn 70 that day), then on February 15, with the leader of the New People, Alexei Nechaev, and the final meeting will be held on February 16 with the head of the United Russia faction Vladimir Vasiliev.