Russia – Land of Opportunity forum

 

Russia – Land of Opportunity forum

Vladimir Putin met with the winners and finalists of different projects of the Russia – Land of Opportunity forum and delivered a speech at the closing event.

March 15, 2018

18:00

Moscow

Meeting with the winners and finalists of different projects of the ”Russia – Land of Opportunity“ forum.

VDNKh is hosting the forum on March 13–16, where 6,500 participants from 85 Russian regions at 35 different venues have been discussing support for the projects that are part of the open platform Russia ‒ Land of Opportunity.

The main task of the platform is to create a system of transparent social lifts, help talented young people and professionals achieve self-realisation in various fields, support charity and consolidate the best public initiatives.

* * *

Conversation with the winners and finalists of different projects of the Russia – Land of Opportunity forum

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I can already start congratulating you – all of you are winners – and it is my pleasure to do so. I know you have passed through a selection process and achieved the best results in your categories, in the areas you liked, you chose and now work quite professionally in. I would like to wish you further success.

You have the microphone. I believe you would like to set the tone.

Pavel Sorokin: Mr President, let me welcome you on behalf of everyone here. First, I would like to thank you for supporting the project and the platform. I do not think we would have had this opportunity without your support.

A month ago, I met with you as a winner of Leaders of Russia with my colleagues, and, frankly speaking, I did not think that my life would change so much after that.

Vladimir Putin:  I said it was time to promote you. And you were promoted.

Pavel Sorokin: A bit.

Vladimir Putin:  A bit? I like that. You have become a deputy minister, and you say a bit? (Laughs.) You are all ambitious people, this is good.

 Pavel Sorokin: I meant a bit of the importance…

Vladimir Putin:  Have you become a deputy minister?

Pavel Sorokin: Yes, deputy minister. Thank you very much for your trust and for the chance to show what I can do. And, of course, for my boss, Alexander Novak, who supported it all.

I would like to say a little about the platform, about the last two days. It has been a very interesting experience, because I talked a lot with people from other countries and learned new things. The world is clustering a lot today, dividing into trades and specialities. There is a lot of specialisation.

I know this from my own experience, 12 years in the oil industry, you only mix with your own circle and tend to lose a broader outlook. The Leaders of Russia contest, the platform itself breaks down boundaries. I would never have come to meet so many people from different regions, from totally different areas. Here is my colleague Oleg Salagai, a medic, there was also Yevgeny Pokushalov, and many medical professionals. One might think that the oil industry and medicine have nothing in common.

Vladimir Putin: You have to get treatment after working in the oil industry.

(Laughter)

P. Sorokin: This is exactly what you think – God forbid you get to know a doctor, unless you know one already. Whereas here I understand that I can learn a lot from them. And they also gain from this. And this lifting of boundaries allows for a different outlook, with bankers, doctors, students, schoolchildren, because the world is not just specialised, it is also competitive.

We all know there is a struggle for talent, for brains. And as you talk with school students here, the winners of contests, you feel both good and sad. It is good to see so many talented people, I will turn to one of these talents now. On the one hand, I understand that most of them have offers to go abroad – grants and studies that have already been paid for by foreign companies. And for a person to be able to progress here, in our country, they must be given not only money, they must have a platform and a chance to commercialise a study, that is, an opportunity to bring a product to a company and to the market. And actually, this is one of the tasks that is currently set before the ministry – to create a complete chain from A to Z so people can show their talent, reveal themselves.

And one more thing. When we were talking, since there are many gifted people in the Leaders of Russia, there was a strong need to set up some Leaders of Russia club for us to be able to exchange opinions, to discuss professional, internal topics. I think this is a very good initiative to support, so it does not come down to a one-time initiative, it could gather, accumulate the critical mass, then a flow of experience between generations and people will start.

Speaking of talent, sitting next to me is Yelizaveta, a very gifted young woman, winner in the I Am a Professional platform; I would like to give her the floor.

To be continued.