The President encouraged the librarian from Torzhok

Vladimir Putin made his first trip after winning the elections to Torzhok. The city was expecting him on March 25, Cultural Workers’ Day, but due to the terrorist attack at Crocus, the visit did not take place. But two days later, the residents were fully rewarded: Putin left the motorcade and headed towards the crowd. “My dear, we have been waiting for you for 20 years!” – the old women who broke into the front rows did not hide their joy. Many were holding brochures with the inscription “Born from Tver” and an image of Vladimir Putin against the background of carved frames – as you know, the president’s father and mother were born and raised in Tver villages.

The meeting with local cultural figures also began with a conversation about roots. Putin said that not everyone can afford to go to the Bolshoi or the Mariinsky Theater. But everyone can come to the local library or municipal museum and feel part of history and their people. “This is where everything is born – true, real, and not some kind of leavened patriotism,” the president said, noting that in this sense, cultural workers have a very important mission. They create a “moral basis for the existence of the people.”

Ksenia Glinka, who took on the role of moderator of the meeting (a former actress and now the Minister of Culture of the Tver Region), promised to “charm” the president with “the details of our life” and surprise him with local achievements. “Religion shapes culture, culture, in turn, shapes mentality, and a healthy society shapes a strong, healthy state. And here at this table gathered people who do this every day,” she said.

On behalf of those gathered, Glinka congratulated Putin on the historic election result, which showed that “the people have clearly formulated their vision of the future.” Then she shared the details of her biography and flirted a little, noting that not only young professionals, but also youthful people dream of returning to their “small homeland” – “let’s call me that.” It turned out that Ksenia Glinka was born in Kimry, then worked in the theater and acted in films in Moscow, and now returned to her roots. People make this choice because they are attracted to leisure, stability, tranquility and fresh air, she explained.

However, Vladimir Putin did not have the best news on this matter. “We’ll build a high-speed road (the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway, which will pass through the Tver region), and your life will also change,” the president promised. “It won’t be so measured.” At the same time, the GDP agreed that it was necessary to popularize the life and work of cultural figures in the outback, including through cinema. “In the Soviet years there were many good films – “Tractor Driver”, “Girls”, “Aniskin” (meaning a series about a rural police officer). We used to have a lot of good things, and now we need to return to this,” Putin said.

After the speech of the director of the art school and a student of the school. The Gnessins, who also announced her desire to return to the region after completing her studies, was asked to speak by librarian Elena Kasparova. She had an almost Hamlet-like question for the president: How can we restore Russians’ interest in reading? Russia was once the most reading nation in the world, but now 15% of Russians have no books at home. However, Vladimir Putin was not at all shocked by the announced figures. “I will surprise you: in 2000, 35% did not have books at home, and now 15% is already a definite result. We are making progress, although it is modest,” the president reassured the librarian. According to him, modern opportunities make it easier to obtain information via the Internet, and “forcing yourself to study something is quite difficult” – “we are all lazy.” “We need to understand how to distribute the necessary content in the broadest sense of the word,” Putin explained.

Elena Kasparova did not give up, she complained that now Russia has become like France, where people did not have books even at the time of the fall of the Iron Curtain. But even this did not change the president’s optimistic mood. “There are a lot of good things in European culture,” he remarked peacefully. According to Putin, Russia has never tried to abolish the culture of unfriendly countries. “Although we do not have unfriendly countries,” VVP suddenly announced, “There are only unfriendly elites in these countries.” He noted that the Russian Federation “has a unique opportunity to see what and how is happening in a post-industrial society and to respond accordingly to it, and in a timely manner.” Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova received advice from the president to more persistently “extort money from the Ministry of Finance” for the maintenance and development of a network of libraries. They, according to Putin, make it possible to preserve the unity of the country’s cultural space.

The governor of the Tver region, Igor Rudena, who was also present at the meeting, always felt that the speakers were not saying something. Either they will keep silent about existing problems, or they will not ask for as much money as they need. For example: the Ministry of Culture allocated 2 billion rubles for the restoration of the unique Znamenskoye-Raek estate. But this is in 2022 prices! And in general, funding may stop within 5 years. “If we need to solidify it so that no one will move away from it, let’s do it,” Putin agreed. The reaction of the head of state encouraged the governor, and he prompted the next speaker – an actress of the Kimry Drama Theater – without any hesitation: “Tell them that people are coming to you from other regions.” “He thinks he’s a prompter,” Putin scolded, laughing.

In general, the meeting, as they say, took place in a warm, friendly atmosphere, and all participants left quite satisfied with each other.