The men and women working and fighting for Russia are the true elite of the country, President Vladimir Putin has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly at Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia. © Sputnik / Sergey Guneev
The true Russian “elite” are the people working and fighting for their country, rather than those who got rich through questionable means in the 1990s, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
The president made the remarks on Thursday as he delivered a keynote speech before the Federal Assembly, a gathering hosting leading Russian officials and public figures.
“The very word ‘elite’ has largely been discredited by those who, having no merit to society, consider themselves to be some kind of a caste with special rights and privileges. I specifically mean those who, in previous years, filled their pockets through all sorts of processes in the economy of the 1990s. Those are definitely not the elite,” the president said.
The Russian leadership is also seeking to shift its personnel policy, Putin signaled, stating that the “heroes of the special military operation” against Ukraine are the people who can be entrusted with the whole country in the future. The president announced the start of a special personnel training program, dubbed ‘The Time of Heroes,’ which will provide career opportunities for the most distinguished servicemen and women.
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“Veterans of the special military operation, as well as soldiers and officers who are currently fighting in frontline units, will be able to apply to participate in the first training wave of this special personnel program,” Putin stated. The training program is set to be launched in March.
