The agenda includes the results of the 10th St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, the State Cultural Policy Strategy until 2030, and expanding the possible ways to use maternity capital.
Mikhail Mishustin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
Last week St Petersburg hosted the anniversary International Forum of United Cultures. For the tenth time, the city brought together participants from all over the world so that they could exchange ideas and discuss new projects. Despite the West’s unfriendly actions and attempts to cancel everything connected with Russia – the Russian language, our great poets, writers and musicians, actors, and scientists – the event attracted great interest in various countries, which was confirmed by the record number of participants. Many foreign guests came to get to know the heritage and traditions of our peoples and the thousand-year history of Russia.
Ms Golikova, please tell us about the results. You headed the forum’s organising committee.
Tatyana Golikova: Mr Mishustin, colleagues.
Last week, from September 11 to 14, St Petersburg hosted the 10th anniversary Forum of United Cultures. As you mentioned, the event saw participation of official delegations from 50 countries and senior officials from six international organisations. In total, 80 countries attended the forum, including representatives from countries with which we have strained relations.
The forum featured 200 Russian and 70 international speakers across its 10 sections. The programme was designed with an eye toward Russia’s chairmanship of BRICS and the CIS in 2024. The central theme of the cultural forum was: Culture of the 21st Century: Sovereignty or Globalism?
Key issues addressed during the discussions included fostering a culture of trust between nations, the role of historical heritage in uniting societies, the interplay between culture and business, the impact of artificial intelligence on social aspects and its influence on contemporary culture and heritage preservation, as well as the engagement of creative youth in the development of creative industries, among other topics.
As is customary, the forum was held under the patronage of the head of state. This year, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia played a special role. On the very first day of the forum, he delivered a lecture on its central theme at the Mariinsky Palace.
On the final day, another significant event took place: the presentation of the Hermitage Prize, which was established last year and awarded for the second time. This prize recognises contributions to the preservation and promotion of exemplary world cultural heritage and the advancement of international cultural cooperation based on mutual understanding and respect.
This year, the award was presented to Boris Eifman, artistic director of the St Petersburg State Budgetary Cultural Institution Boris Eifman Academic Ballet Theatre, and to Polad Bulbuloghlu, the renowned Soviet and Azerbaijani singer and, very recently, also an ambassador to the Russian Federation.
I anticipate further discussions on the forum’s outcomes. I would like to extend my gratitude to all my colleagues from the Government, the Presidential Executive Office, and the Government of St Petersburg for their efforts in organising and successfully hosting the forum.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you very much, Ms Golikova.
Of course, it is important to further support creative people’s ambition to expand cultural diversity and ties between countries and look above all for what unites us instead of differences, develop the best things, and progress.
In this sense, the Government continues forming conditions to preserve traditional spiritual and moral values and protect our peoples’ historical memories and unique heritage of our peoples in order to ensure there is a single cultural space to strengthen our country’s sovereignty and improve the quality of life of the people.
In order to do this, the Strategy of the State Cultural Policy Strategy has been approved for the next seven years on the president’s instruction. An entire range of events covering almost all activities in this sphere are already being implemented within the state programme. It includes issues related to international cooperation, upbringing and education of youth, expansion of learning Russian, and support of creative potential.
Ms Golikova, what are the priority tasks to tackle?
The Strategy of the State Cultural Policy until 2030 has been developed in place of the strategy that was in effect since 2016. As you have rightfully noted, the new version has been aligned with the documents issued by the head of state: the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation, the Fundamentals of State Policy for the Preservation and Strengthening of Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values, and the Fundamentals of State Cultural Policy.
The strategy’s main goals and tasks are to preserve a single cultural space as well as the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of our country and use it for upbringing and education; strengthen the civil identity and unity of Russian society; pass on traditional values, norms, traditions and customs of our society from generation to generation; create conditions to bring up a harmoniously developed personality and implement each person's creative potential; and, of course, ensure the cultural sovereignty of the country and enhance Russia’s role in the global humanitarian and cultural space among others.
The priority areas we plan to implement as part of the updated strategy including forming a state order for the creation of high-quality content, such as, first of all, works of literature, art, information materials, printed products, services of cultural institutions, and national films. Another area is ensuring conditions for equal access to cultural services for all citizens of Russia, including people with disabilities, regardless of their place of residence.
Other important areas we can see as part of implementing the strategy are the development of extracurricular education, and creation of conditions for the development of higher and secondary vocational education in the field of culture, and a system of continuous training of creative personnel. Of course, the strategy also envisages that professional and creative unions, public organisations, associations, and representatives of expert communities that have been successfully interacting with government bodies for many years are involved in implementing it. These are unions of theatre workers, filmmakers, artists, writers, journalists, and a number of other organisations.
The strategy sets the results that should be achieved by 2030 and corresponding target indicators. We believe that once it is approved by the interested federal bodies, corresponding interdepartmental plans will be developed and adopted which will form the foundation for the strategy’s implementation. And, of course, its implementation must be properly supervised.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Ms Golikova. This issue is very important. I am asking you to personally oversee it, and you should do everything possible to facilitate the cultural and spiritual education and upbringing of young people. The preservation of our heritage and historical memory is a key state priority.
And now, I would like to discuss a decision that expands opportunities for using maternal capital.
In his Address to the Federal Assembly, the President noted that permanent work to boost the quality of families’ life was needed.
The Government continues to address this issue, including the provision of new and more convenient support tools for parents. Doubtless, they are also highly popular in those cases when we discuss such well-known measures as maternity capital.
I would like to note that mothers and fathers get 630,000 roubles for their first baby, and they get an additional 202,000 roubles for the second child. They can spend these sums on high-priority family issues, including housing, child education programmes, the payment of benefits or any other purposes stipulated by the law. People themselves decide how to spend this funding. Quite often, a balance accumulates on maternal capital accounts. Of course, parents would like to spend this balance, but they are unable to do this in some cases.
From now on, if this amount does not exceed 10,000 roubles, it is possible to obtain them as lump-sum payments. Recipients should only submit a request via the state services website or they can contact an integrated government services centre; it is also possible to mail these requests. The relevant Government resolution has been signed.
Most importantly, families should be able to use state assistance in full volume.