On Thursday, September 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the leaders of the political party factions in the State Duma. The meeting was attended by Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and head of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma. Here is the text of Zyuganov’s speech and conversation with the President.
G.Zyuganov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!
I would also like to thank you for your immediate response to our request.
The time is very responsible. The whole year is under the banner of the 80th anniversary of Victory, in the conditions of the war that the Anglo-Saxons and NATO declared on the Russian world.
First of all, I would like to thank you for your confident pursuit of the strategic line that you have formulated, changing your strategy depending on the situation. Your main goal is to strengthen our sovereignty based on self-sufficiency, ensuring security and achieving a real victory. For us, this is a matter of historical survival, and we are doing everything we can to support you and our country’s policies in this regard.
There are three threats that are clearly visible. I have seen them discussed at all major global forums and in the United Nations. These threats include the threat of a major war, the threat of an environmental disaster, which we are already experiencing in our own country, and the threat of artificial intelligence. If this unregulated intelligence is not controlled, it could lead to a major tragedy, and we could end up with a concentration camp on an unprecedented scale instead of support.
In this regard, we have prepared our own program, which we will submit as both a development budget and draft laws that will be considered in the State Duma.
First of all, I would like to congratulate all of us. Yesterday, the Chairman said that a new quality has emerged. I fully agree with this statement. However, this quality was largely shaped by our country and by you personally. This new quality has manifested itself in geopolitical unity.
I watched the SCO in Tianjin with great interest, where you spoke, where the leaders of the three civilizations – Russian, Chinese, and Indian – were sitting side by side, with the support of major Islamic states. This was something that could only be dreamed of a short time ago. It is a real counterbalance to those who have unleashed the war and are trying to establish their hegemony today. I believe that this has a sobering effect on the entire world. I have reviewed the comments from all the foreign agencies, and they have praised it highly and will try to spread it out. We will do our best to strengthen these ties.
The second is unity and strategic partnership, in this case, in the military and political sphere. When you, together with Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un, accompanied by Lukashenko and Bermudez, went to the parade, I was very happy in my heart, because this is exactly the potential that can sober up any aggressor. Moreover, I visited all their leading enterprises, and I saw what they have achieved and done in recent years. And you have observed with great interest that these are not only today’s armies, but also the armies of the future, ranging from laser installations and information services to all types of nuclear triad and air forces.
In my opinion, it is crucial for us to continue this policy. We have a delegation led by the Chairman of the Duma, and our large team is traveling to China. We have signed an agreement with them, including with Xi Jinping, as you remember when he invited us, and our large team has worked there, and now they are returning. They have agreed to almost all our requests.
And the third is scientific and technical unity. It began at one time with a meeting between Stalin and Mao, when Stalin, at his request, signed a decree – we built the first 156 factories for them. I’ve been to many of them. Starting from this base, they are now moving forward at a huge pace. There’s a lot to learn there. I set a task to conduct internships for my staff. They accepted it, and we took them to all the main centers. This is of great importance for the training of our personnel and for strengthening the ties that you have established.
I have to congratulate you, Xi Jinping and the leadership treat you not just with respect, but with great reverence. This was evident in all the meetings. And I really liked it when Modi publicly demonstrated his attitude, which is crucial.
We are a fighting party, as I have reported to you. Thank you for congratulating and awarding many of our people. We have already sent 143 convoys, and in recent months, we have sent more than 200 motorcycles, a dozen and a half vehicles, and armored vehicles to the front. We are providing everything that the soldiers on the battlefield request.
We’ve already hosted 22,000 children at your recreation center, and we’ve set up a military sports camp there. In two weeks, they’ll undergo complete social rehabilitation. We’re starting with the Kremlin, VDNKh, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the School of Masters, and the battlefields. These are good children, but their minds have been corrupted by Soros’s textbooks, and we’ve made significant efforts to address this issue. I’ll leave you with some interesting suggestions during our personal meeting.
We are doing everything we can to ensure food security. Kashin and our team have asked me to thank you, and you brought this issue to the State Council, and we are currently implementing it in a number of public enterprises and in my homeland. You can congratulate me, as we have grown wheat there, which we have named “Zyuganovka” to my delight. This year, we achieved a world record of 185 centners per hectare, which is hard to imagine. Science, experts have recorded 5 centners more than the best variety in Europe, Champion, which yielded 180. Overall, Oryol Region will be among the top three most productive regions in the country this year, despite the fact that half of our land is non-chernozem, consisting of sands and podzols. We will harvest 50 centners, 7 tons of grain per person, 7 tons. We will continue this policy.
What would I like to ask you about? Don’t take this as harsh criticism, but I am very pleased that you recently gathered all our economists. It was a good idea to invite Sobyanin. There were 12 people present. I had already watched all their speeches, both in the Far East and in your homeland, as well as at the meeting and Nabiullina’s press conference. When four individuals responsible for financial and economic policy come together, they must follow a unified approach. Or you should take over the bank, and the Prime Minister should take over everything else, because there’s a huge audience, a million people, and businesspeople who have brought their money.
I watched your speech, which was brilliantly received in the Far East. I don’t know how you had the strength after three days of intense negotiations. But everyone is in disagreement! One says, “We’re overheating.” Another says, “We’re hitting a ceiling.” Still others say, “There’s no downturn.” In reality, the situation is complex, and I’m sure you have all the necessary data. We’ve slipped from over 4% to less than 4%.
The main message of your message is to have a global pace. If we don’t have a global pace, we will fall behind. And today, falling behind is unacceptable for us from any perspective. They have already lowered some industries below the percentage.
But what surprised me the most? You supported us, allocated resources, and we met with you. We have rebuilt the agricultural machinery industry, and we have added 24 percent, and we have a magnificent Kirov plant. We are very proud of this. The Germans would envy such workshops. The average age is 35 years, and all of them have a higher technical education and are ready to work. However, we have to reduce our production by half because we cannot sell our equipment at such prices. We need to find a solution to this problem.
The same goes for Rostselmash. I can name the entire chain. But without this equipment, we won’t be able to harvest the crops in the fields. Our energy efficiency in the fields is already behind that of Belarus and Kazakhstan.
I would like to ask United Russia to give us an assignment, and we have everything ready. We are ready to hold seminars at Kirovsky and Rostselmash. By the way, our Chairman regularly gives us advice, and this is an extremely correct decision.
The same applies to aviation, to some extent. You dealt with engines and other things last time. But I would – I don’t know how you’ll feel about it – restore aviation, it’s a lifeline for us. A country with 11 time zones must have a large fleet of aircraft, and no foreign help will do. We had 15 aircraft factories, producing 1,500 aircraft. We can do everything. We just need to take responsibility and ask questions. If they can’t cope, they need to be strengthened. We need a powerful unified agency, because this is not just a direction; it’s a gigantic industry that requires strict discipline and personal responsibility.
As for the prices. When potatoes go up four times during the season, let us handle it with Kashin and Kharitonov, and we’ll solve the problem in one year. It’s not difficult to solve, and it’s solvable.
I’ve been doing this all my life, and in my homeland. We have people’s enterprises, and thank you for supporting them; they don’t take anything from the state. We have huge salaries, a full social package, and all schools and kindergartens are accessible. We are capable of solving this problem. However, let’s work together with Vasilyev, who has great respect for this. We are ready to conduct classes at Grudinin’s Lenin State Farm and at Kazankov’s enterprise, which has become the best in Europe. We have 220,000 pigs and more than 20,000 cattle there, and we’re the champions in this field. We don’t inflate prices, and we follow Soviet standards. We’ve built three factories there, and they’re excellent facilities.
By the way, Shaimiev and then Minnikhanov didn’t just support us; we held the Uyav holiday for the Chuvash people in his homeland (Kazankov was born in Tatarstan) this year. Folk ensembles from all over the Soviet Union, with over 20,000 people, came to participate. We rebuilt a unique village there, providing a comprehensive view of its development throughout our history.
It is very important for us that the main documents are adopted. You are currently preparing a meeting with journalists and a message. The Soviet Union had two main documents, which I have studied. I have the GOELRO plan on my desk, which consists of 800 pages and was brilliantly prepared. It was prepared by 200 people, including only five Bolsheviks. It was prepared by outstanding scientists. Stalin’s two documents focused on the distribution of productive forces and population across the country. This approach provides a more cohesive framework.
V. Putin: They started preparing it under the tsar.
G.Zyuganov: Yes, yes.
V. Putin: In fact, the GOELRO plan was started during the Tsar’s reign.
G.Zyuganov: We are ready to make a decision.
I wanted to discuss the elections with you. Today, the Soviet Russia newspaper published an appeal from our Voronezh regional committee to restore the people’s right to vote. Remember, we sat with you and discussed how to stabilize the situation. We made a brilliant decision: 50 percent on party lists and 50 percent on individual lists. Excellent.
You have made a decision to balance the composition of the leadership of the State Duma. If there is an intelligent head of the committee, then I assure you that there will be work, not litigation. If you look at the composition, Melnikov is working brilliantly, as are Kashin, Kharitonov, and Ostanina, who are currently preparing a package of proposals, as well as Kalashnikov, who is preparing proposals for regulating migration. We have prepared these proposals. These are people of great stature and expertise. However, in some areas, you may find only United Russia members. We have removed the party lists. They don’t need it, and we don’t need it, and no one needs it, if people can’t balance things on the ground. I don’t know why they don’t follow the President’s example. They should.
In my opinion, there is a big reserve here, and I will show and tell you about it at the meeting. However, we are extremely interested in ensuring that the new Duma is balanced, that the President’s Message is fully implemented, that we achieve victory with minimal losses, and that people have the opportunity to vote peacefully and address the accumulated issues.
You see, we have the richest country, and the people should be able to express their attitude and ask their leaders. Local officials must respond. They brought us a law that requires the removal of grassroots management – local councils. This was formed over a thousand years, starting with the peasant community and the Cossack circle, the noble assembly,and the party asset. These are the collective forms of life of the Russian people and all the peoples that we have gathered under our banners. This is a fundamental question.
Well, somewhere in Yakutia, 100 kilometers away, will another official be thinking about how a grandmother is living or what someone is sick with? There should be people nearby who see these illnesses, feel them, and have a different attitude. We cannot abolish this. On the contrary, we must develop this network. You meet every year and answer questions. The official must make decisions, respond, and act on the spot.
Well, we’ve made progress: let’s give Stalingrad its original name back, which is crucial, and restore the monument to Dzerzhinsky. The people are asking for it, and it would be fair. Let’s ask for a study to be conducted. I assure you, eight out of ten will support it decisively and objectively. This will inspire everyone with a sense of victory and new achievements. We deserve it.
Thank you for clearly and consistently pursuing the line that you have announced, which is supported. However, all lower-level structures must work in this direction.
Thank you very much.
V. Putin: Thank you very much.
Let me respond to some things very briefly.
About our younger generation. “Their heads are ruined by Soros textbooks,” you said. Indeed, such a problem existed. I think that a lot of things are being corrected now. Despite everything, despite these textbooks, I agree with you here, their negative impact is obvious, but still the degree of such family, public and state protection has turned out to be high, and our young people demonstrate both patriotism and readiness to defend their homeland, if necessary, to stand up for our traditional values. I think we can be happy with that.
But, of course, this requires constant attention from society, from the media, and, of course, from political parties. You are doing a lot of work, and I know that the Communist Party is also doing a lot of work with young people.
And you can have any opinion you want about ideology, but I want to thank you for this, because it’s a patriotic attitude, and it’s an obvious thing. And the ideological nuances…
G.Zyuganov: We will adjust it.
V. Putin: Yes.
As for the slide from more than 4% GDP growth, this is not a slide, but a deliberate action. It is a reduction in growth rates in exchange for suppressing inflation and maintaining macroeconomic stability. However, you are right to point out that we need to understand the threshold beyond which we will experience a cooling down, and possibly a recession.
G.Zyuganov: The main thing is that they don’t freeze us.
V.Putin: Yes, you are right. I think that we are still far from a recession, and the labour market is confirming this. We still have a historic low unemployment rate of less than 2%, which is one of the key indicators of the state of the economy and whether we are in a recession or not. However, the labour market is indicating the opposite.
Nevertheless, the questions are very serious.
And of course, I am convinced that during the discussion in the State Duma on issues related to the country’s main financial document, the Budget Law, all representatives of the factions will actively discuss this.
You’re right, and as for aviation, no one here will give us anything, that’s an obvious thing. We have traditionally had a good, high level of development in combat aviation, and this continues.
G.Zyuganov: They were preserved, thank God.
V. Putin: Yes, we have preserved, restored, and taken many steps forward. And now, despite the fact that we need combat aviation ourselves in the context of the special military operation, I do not believe that our aviation complex enterprises are over-sized. We not only fully meet the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation today, but we also supply the necessary equipment for export. It is in great demand. Moreover, this is the most modern and effective equipment that has been tested in combat during the special military operation.
I would like to point out that we have not had such success in the field of aircraft engine construction for a long time.
G.Zyuganov: Yes.
V.Putin: We have made the PD-14. There was nothing since Soviet times. I don’t even remember what year the last engine was, it was, I think, the end of the 80s. We have made a new engine, just excellent, not just meeting world standards – better.
G.Zyuganov: Better.
V. Putin: And now we have to move in this direction. Four countries make such engines, four countries, including Russia. This is definitely one of our competitive advantages in the real sector of the economy. But we need an engine for a wide-body and long-range aircraft, and that is the PD-35. The intermediate version will be the PD-26. The work is progressing very actively.
Of course, we should have resolved all the issues related to local and regional aviation a long time ago. Of course, for a country like ours, with its vast territories, flying from one region to another, neighboring region, through Moscow, as it unfortunately continues to be done, is not acceptable. However, I hope that, as the relevant experts have promised, in about a year and a half, we will have everything in place, and we will be able to fly our own planes.
Now, about the local councils. Is there a question of the local councils ceasing to function?
S.Kiriyenko: No, Vladimir Vladimirovich. There was really an issue raised, and there were several versions. There was a version that Gennady Andreevich is talking about, which was to make a single decision for the entire country in a centralized manner. They adopted a compromise solution by giving the right to the regions. This means that each region can decide how many levels it has. In other words, a region has the right to decide that it will have two levels at the local government level, which includes both the village and the district, and the right to decide on a single level. This one level is not necessarily district-level; it can also be village-level. This is a right of each region.
V. Putin: All right, all right…
G.Zyuganov: Vladimir Vladimirovich, the issue should be national. This is a question of historical survival. It cannot be in Tatarstan alone. Tatarstan refused to carry out and many others. Some were simply broken over the knee. This is completely unacceptable. The grassroots level must have its own people who will take care of them. Otherwise, what, from the district for 50 kilometers will come? No one will come.
V.Putin: Yes, yes. And we have 500 kilometers somewhere.
We need to think and look. Gennady Andreevich is right: you can’t go around and see everything. And then, the level of responsibility is very important, even in a small village.
G.Zyuganov: And people are growing there, developing.
V. Putin: Let’s take a look.
S. Kiriyenko: Many regions have decided to strengthen this minimum, village-level level.
V. Putin: All right.
And now about the return of Volgograd’s military name.
G.Zyuganov: Can we still have a 50-50 split in the elections? We have the Duma elections ahead of us. If we preserve your structure and protect our talented people, we will have a fully functional Duma and local legislative bodies, as well as effective cooperation with the governors. In the current war situation, stability and maximum unity are of utmost importance.
V.Putin: And now we don’t have 50-50?
S. Kiriyenko: Regions have the right to set it individually.
G.Zyuganov: They threw it all away, and it’s gone.
S.Kiriyenko: On average, 50 to 50, and some regions have 70 to 30.
G.Zyuganov: This is wrong, it destroys normal elections. Because if we take single-mandate districts, the party of power and local moneybags, the bandits, will take power again tomorrow. We have already experienced this, we avoided it last time, we sat with you, discussed it, and then balanced it. They started to hollow it out again. This is nonsense, we cannot do this.
V. Putin: Okay, we’ll think about it.
G.Zyuganov: We must strengthen the political structure. Without a stable structure, management is impossible.
V.Putin: Okay, we’ll think about it. We’ll come back to it.
Well, and the return of the name Stalingrad to Volgograd. We need to think about it. The locals are making the decision, but in general, everything related to the Great Patriotic War and the role that Stalin played in the victory should be taken into account and tried to be depoliticized. There were many problems related to repressions, and it is understandable, but it should not be trivialized, and the country should not forget about it. However, it is also unfair to forget the role that this particular person played in the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.
How to do this is another question. But the return of the name Stalingrad to the city of Volgograd today is, of course, a matter that should be resolved at the regional level. But I understand the logic of what you said.
G.Zyuganov: Good.
V. Putin: Thank you.
G.Zyuganov: Thank you.