National unity is Russia’s secret weapon, which has helped it prevail against the Collective West, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
The president’s remarks came during a meeting at the Kremlin with the winners of the ‘Leaders of Russia’ contest, a government initiative to develop a new generation of leadership.
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Responding to a soldier from the Northern Military District who took part in the meeting, Putin exclaimed “Our most important weapon is the consolidation of Russian society and the attitude towards the Motherland as demonstrated by you and those with whom you serve.”
“It’s our most important, most powerful weapon. Those people who expected to suppress us with the help of economic sanctions, they did not take this into account; to understand this, you must be a citizen of the Russian Federation, to be part of our culture,” the president added.
The ‘Leaders of Russia’ contest began in 2017 as part of the ‘Russia – Land of Possibilities’ project. Its goal is to nurture a new generation of business and government leaders. It has recently been expanded with the ‘Time of Heroes’ program specifically tailored to veterans of the conflict with Ukraine.
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The winners of the fifth season of the contest received their awards in Moscow last month. They included 102 leaders from 31 regions of Russia, as well as from Belgium and Serbia.