A deputy of the Smolensk region represented the Smolensk region at a meeting of the Council of Legislators | 04/27/2024

On Friday, April 26, 2024, the speaker of the regional legislative assembly, Igor Lyakhov, represented the Smolensk region at a meeting of the Council of Legislators of Russia at the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and a meeting of parliamentarians with President Vladimir Putin. The events took place in St. Petersburg.

The forum was attended by the chairmen of the upper and lower houses of the Federal Assembly Valentina Matvienko and Vyacheslav Volodin, senators, State Duma deputies, heads of legislative bodies of constituent entities, ministries and departments.

In his speech, Vladimir Putin congratulated those gathered on the upcoming Day of Russian Parliamentarism.

— By celebrating this holiday, we pay tribute to the traditions of our statehood and lawmaking, the history of the formation and development of institutions of democracy. Time and the events we are going through prove how important it is to strengthen parliamentarism and the socio-political system of Russia on the basis of our original experience.the President emphasized.

The head of state noted that a lot here depends on regional and local authorities, on their involvement in the overall work:

— We have a large country, and it is important to take into account both the problems and opportunities, the potential of each subject of the Federation and, if necessary, help to reveal these potentials.

As fundamentally important points, Vladimir Putin outlined legislative support for the families of veterans and participants in a special military operation, and also pointed out the role of parliamentarians in working on issues of interethnic harmony and civil peace.

— When adopting budgets and key laws, everyone needs to act in the same logic, with an understanding of the general objectives of the country. It is necessary to use the tools of parliamentary control to achieve the maximum, targeted effect from every decision and investment..

At the end of his speech, the Head of State congratulated everyone on the upcoming holidays, on the sacred Victory Day for everyone. The President wished the legislators success in the upcoming large-scale work in the interests of the country and the Russian people.

In his comments at the end of the speech, the Chairman of the Smolensk Regional Duma Igor Lyakhov noted that the President set the vector for further work.

— The Head of State named national conservation, the well-being of Russian families, and strengthening the country’s sovereignty as unconditional priorities. The legislative activity of deputies is aimed at this, among other things. The modern challenges that Russia faces require increasing the level of responsibility and ensuring maximum interaction between all government bodies. All of us, led by our leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, are aimed at consolidated work to solve problems that are important for our country and citizens.

At the meeting of the Council of Legislators, topical issues of increasing the birth rate and supporting families with children were discussed as part of the implementation of the President’s Address to the Federal Assembly. There was also talk about expanding opportunities for using maternity capital.

— For Russia, the issue of increasing the birth rate is a strategic priority and a condition for preserving us as a strong, independent, protected power– the Chairman of the Federation Council is convinced Valentina Matvienko.

According to parliamentarians, all conditions for demographic growth in the country exist. A number of measures taken, in particular maternal capital, family mortgages, a unified allowance for children, support for families with children, have yielded results, but legislative gaps remain that need to be filled.

The Speaker of the Federation Council called on the constituent entities of the country to quickly bring regional legislation in the field of support for large families into line with the unified federal status of large families. In her opinion, Russia is capable of turning the tide on fertility issues; according to Rosstat, more than seventy percent of Russians want to have two or more children.

Head of the Lower House of Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin proposed to assign demographic issues to a specific minister, since they are key and fateful for the state.

Commenting on the results of consideration of the issue, Igor Lyakhov noted:

— The topic of demography and support for large families is extremely relevant for the country and the Smolensk region as well. Almost every fifth child comes from a large family, so our most important task is to find new measures to support them. A large block of regional laws has already been adopted, and legislative work in this direction will continue.

Also for discussion among legislators, an issue related to the comprehensive development of infrastructure in rural settlements was brought up.

As stated by the Minister of Agriculture of Russia Dmitry Patrushevby the end of the first five-year plan for the implementation of the state program “Comprehensive Development of Rural Territories”, its activities should collectively affect 11.5 thousand settlements and 14 million people.

— This is about 40% of those living in rural areas. Taking into account this year, almost 4.5 thousand infrastructure facilities will be built or modernized: healthcare, education, culture, sports, as well as public utility facilities,” the minister emphasized.