Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko: Colleagues,
This is a special and very important day for us. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin is taking part in our meeting.
Mr President,
On behalf of all senators, I would like to thank you for finding the opportunity to address the Federation Council, the chamber of the regions, in person, despite your extremely packed schedule, as we all know. We always feel that you are keeping a close eye on what we do, as well as your support.
For the Federation Council, 2025 has been a special year. In fact, 25 years ago, right after your inauguration, you adopted a new method for forming the Federation Council. It enabled senators representing regional executive and legislative bodies to work in a permanent and professional manner.
The following years demonstrated that you made the right decision. I believe that it has had a fundamental impact on the federal state structure.
The Federation Council serves as a platform for balancing the interests of the federal centre and the regions. The way legislative efforts are carried out has changed too, of course.
Today, the Federation Council enjoys broad constitutional authority. Adopted at your initiative five years ago, the Constitutional amendments offered this chamber an even broader mandate. For us, this was a step toward enhancing the Parliament’s role and reinforcing democratic principles in our country.
You have moved gradually, on a step-by-step basis, to consolidate our political system and put it on a solid footing. I would even describe it as building a sovereign political culture which is able to counter any challenges and threats and stand firm in the face of any aggression, be it military, economic or ideological, against our Fatherland.
I am convinced that throughout these years, Mr President, you have felt that the upper chamber has always been by your side to offer you its parliamentary support in achieving national development goals and fulfilling all your decisions, including the landmark decisions you took as President.
These decisions included matters which fall within the Federation Council’s immediate purview – enabling Crimea and Sevastopol to return to what we call their homeport, as well as reuniting Russia with its historical lands in Donbass and Novorossiya. There was also a legislative effort to achieve the objectives of the special military operation and overcome the unprecedented sanctions pressure and so many other things. In this process, we always spoke with one voice and took these decisions as a united team.
Today, we are completing this parliamentary year. It has been quite intense, and I can say that we have worked hard over the past 12 months to fulfil all our plans. I will not bore you with numbers. Data on the Federation Council’s performance in 2025 is available on the chamber’s website.
Of course, we focused our legislative actions on the objectives you have set for us, Mr President, including supporting special military operation participants, their families and relatives, supporting families with children, as well as demographics, social laws, economic development and enhancing defence and security, as well as protecting people from the technological challenges they face.
I would like to emphasise the increased legislative activity of our senators. Every year, they initiate increasingly more laws inspired by life and proposed by Federation entities. Over the past year, they have submitted 321 draft laws, some of them jointly with State Duma deputies. Incidentally, our cooperation with the lower house is based on mutual understanding and close contact.
We are proud that our team now includes participants in the special military operation, combat officers, Heroes of Russia. The senators and I often meet with participants in the special military operation, listen to their proposals, take them into account and work on them.
Mr President, you have clearly outlined six systemic tasks for 2026 during a recent meeting of the Presidential Council for Strategic Development and National Projects. We have added them to our plan of work for the next year.
I also want to say that we carefully watched the recent Direct Line where you reviewed the key results of the year. The main impression we drew from that nationwide dialogue is our confidence that Russia will firmly continue to work towards achieving its strategic goals.
I believe that the atmosphere and tone of the Direct Line has shown that our people not just support your policy but are ready to take an active part in the life of our Fatherland. No other country has this format of an hours-long un-orchestrated conversation of the national leader with the country. Moreover, I believe that an opportunity for every citizen of Russia to appeal to the President and receive a detailed, honest and respectful answer is one of the most important factors of the unity and consolidation of Russian society.
But the main thing is that the more than two million appeals will be taken into account at the respective levels of authority, including senators.
We fully share your assessment that modern Russia is a truly strong, self-sufficient, sovereign and self-confident country optimistic about its future, a country with the best army in the world. With our modern weapons that have no analogues, we do not fear anyone, and nobody will be able to split or unbalance our state and society.
It is an objective fact that this would have been impossible without your strong will and the titanic and colossal effort, which you, Mr President, have put into the development of Russia. You often say that Russia’s strength lies in our diversity. As the house of the regions, we highly appreciate your decision to declare 2026 the Year of Russian Peoples' Unity.
The whole of our boundless and united country is represented in this room. Spanning from the Caucasus to Yakutia, from Donetsk to Kamchatka, and from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin, it is our boundless, multifaceted and united Russia.
It is Russia’s historical destiny to be a great power. As our anthem says, “So it was, so it is and it will always be so!” The truth is on our side – historical truth, people’s truth, and human truth. With a national leader like you, victory will certainly be ours.
Colleagues, with great pleasure, I am giving the floor to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ms Matviyenko, senators of the Russian Federation, colleagues, friends,
First of all, I would like to wish you a happy upcoming New Year.
Both houses of the Russian Parliament are finishing the autumn session with good results. You had a great deal to do. You have adopted a series of important legislative decisions in the interests of the country and our citizens, for strengthening our national security and developing the economy and social sphere.
The outgoing year was especially important for senators also because we marked 25 years since the first profound reform of the Federation Council, as Ms Matviyenko has mentioned just now, one of the largest reforms in state building at the turn of the 21st century.
I would like to remind you about the essence of that reform. The 1993 Constitution, as you know, but I would like to recall this for us and for our citizens, provided for electing the Federation Council of the first convocation for a two-year term. It was a transitional and temporary decision.
Later, the heads of the regions and legislative assemblies could sit ex officio in both their regional executive posts and within the Federation Council on a personal basis, and I would like to emphasise that they performed their parliamentary duties diligently, professionally and enthusiastically, doing a great deal for the country and for preserving the unity of our state during that difficult period that was transitional in every sense of the word.
The burden on them was considerable, not to mention the fact that holding multiple jobs – governing the regions and adopting federal laws – created a dual status, because the executive and legislative branches are two different things. This also eroded responsibility for the implementation of decisions.
We understand that adopting a law and at the same time being responsible for its implementation creates problems. However, I believe that we managed to address these problems; we solved them because we recognised that it influenced the entire system of government.
This is why I suggested changing the way the Federation Council was formed in 2000, so that each region would be represented by two members of parliament in the upper chamber working there in a permanent and professional manner and with the ability to focus on legislation. This was a way to ensure that the federal, regional and local development agendas are all better aligned and that the position of the Russian regions is taken into account and that they are heard in the national decision-making process on key matters.
It was at that time, a quarter of a century ago, that we de facto shaped the way the Federation Council operates today. More items appeared on the agenda of its committees and commissions. And the quality of the chamber’s meaningful work on draft laws also improved. As a result, as I have already said, this gave regions a bigger voice at the federal level, at least in terms of the legislative process. They received new opportunities for addressing the challenges they faced on the ground, improving the quality of life for their people, unlocking their economic potential and competitive advantages, and taking on the role of the building blocks of sustainable development for the entire nation.
After that, there were efforts to streamline and adjust the way the Federation Council was formed. In 2012, there was an initiative to link the formation of the Federation Council with the electoral process by having aspiring governors release a list of three potential senators ahead of the election. As for the regional legislative assemblies, they could only be represented by a democratically elected member of regional parliament. This enhanced the upper chamber’s legitimacy and representative function.
In addition to this, we have set forth professional requirements for Federation Council members, including the imperative to maintain personal, direct contacts with their respective regions. The substantive and systemic constitutional amendments in 2020 offered us an opportunity to update and expand the requirements in terms of professional duties. All members of the parliamentary corps contributed to drafting these amendments.
The very term “senator,” previously unofficial, was enshrined in law at that time. New powers were also introduced for your colleagues in the State Duma and for the Federation Council itself in terms of parliamentary oversight, influence on personnel policy in the judicial system and the prosecutor’s office, and consultations on the appointment of Government members responsible for foreign policy, justice, and the security sector.
I know that the Federation Council approaches these matters professionally, thoroughly, and with utmost responsibility. Frankly, nothing less was expected. I am confident in your professionalism and truly statesmanlike approach and I count on continuing our close collaboration as before.
Let me reiterate: the titles of positions and the methods of forming the Federation Council have changed over the years – more than once, as I have just mentioned. But its legal and political nature, its purpose – one might say, its mission – remain unchanged.
This is, above all, its key role in the legislative process. It is the participation in making significant state decisions and strengthening the country’s international standing through parliamentary diplomacy.
Naturally, the Federation Council serves to ensure the interconnection between levels of public authority. This is extremely important for our Federation uniting 89 regions. In their vast diversity, distinctiveness, and – I emphasise – unity lies our wealth, as Ms Matviyenko also noted earlier – and here lies the constructive power of multinational Russia.
Today, our strategic plans and development programmes encompass the entire country – from Kaliningrad to the Kuril Islands, from the Arctic latitudes to Crimea, Donbass, and the Caucasus.
Indeed, we understand that the success of such large-scale work depends directly on the steps taken by the federal executive and legislative authorities. Nonetheless, such plans are implemented and brought to life precisely on the ground, in specific regions, cities, and towns.
I am addressing both you and the Government: we need to be more active, more thorough in involving the regions in efforts to elaborate new solutions for national issues and ensure proper oversight of their implementation. The same applies to representatives of public and non-profit organisations, veteran and youth entities, the business community, local expert panels, and civic associations.
They must have greater opportunities and effective mechanisms to contribute to the achievement of our national development goals. By expanding the scope for such initiative, we will strengthen the institutions of federalism. They are vital for the future of the country.
I know that the Federation Council regularly holds Days of Russian Regions with offsite events. I would like to ask you to continue boosting the regions’ engagement in this joint work.
Every constituent entity of the Federation has its own growth points and strengths, which must be identified and supported. This is a sacred duty for all of us. Each Russian senator is a politician and a lawmaker.
At the same time, you are also integral to the management teams of your respective regions. Not only are you expected to perfectly understand people’s interests, needs and wishes, but you must also protect them and ensure they are never removed from the national agenda or out of sight of the ministries, agencies and executive authorities.
Your authority and people’s trust, the title of a senator of your respective region bring enormous honour and responsibility. You must certainly demonstrate this day after day with every word, action, tangible and substantive results, and your service to the country and the people.
In the same context, I want to highlight something that has already been said: right now, there are nine Heroes of Russia, veterans of the special military operation among you. The Federation Council itself has become a talent factory for career politicians. After serving as senators, your colleagues are appointed to high-ranking posts in the federal government bodies; they become heads of constituent entities or work in legislative assemblies.
I see people in this hall who previously served as heads of regions and now work here. Some members of the upper house subsequently become members of the Government or heads of Russian regions. This is an excellent practice that makes the Federation Council a true talent factory. Over these 25 years, almost 800 people have gained working experience in the house of the regions.
The composition of the Federation Council and other government bodies will undoubtedly continue to update according to law – gradually, regularly and in line with the schedule of single election days. I am confident that the high quality and continuity of the legislative process and professional traditions of the Federation Council will be secured without fail.
Colleagues,
Thank you for your work and for your persistent attention to our heroes, combat veterans, their families, to the issues of our demographic agenda which is our priority, to the problems of legal and socioeconomic integration of our historical regions and, of course, for your involvement in the work on the federal budget that reflects all these and other priorities. Thank you for your steadfast support of our course for strengthening and developing Russia.
This sort of accord and devotion to Russia’s national interests is exceptionally important for both houses of parliament; they are vital for the country. In times of historical challenges and global transformations, they are simply invaluable.
Thank you for that.
Once again, Happy New Year!