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Priorities must be defined correctly: Putin called for moving away from excessive financing of sports by citizens
Sport is needed not only for people's health. The life expectancy of citizens, their demographic future, and therefore the power and sovereignty of the country depend on it, the President immediately emphasized, presenting several new sports facilities in different parts of Russia via video link.
"It is important that as many Russian citizens of all ages as possible - adults, children and teenagers - choose these values for themselves, so that people throughout our country have the opportunity to regularly engage in sports and physical education," Putin said. . said.
In recent years, Russians have been increasingly involved in sports. Instead of 40%, 56.8% participate regularly. "But this is still not enough," the president admitted. It is not always just laziness that holds people back. The state continues to work on expanding the sports infrastructure to make it more accessible to residents. "We plan to build more than 350 sports facilities a year with the support of the federal government alone," the president said. "First and foremost, we are talking about small towns, multi-purpose complexes, and quickly erected facilities." Over the next six years, at least 65 billion rubles will be allocated from the budget for these purposes.
The president said that if his family had to pay all the expenses as they do now, he would not have lived up to the standards he once had as a master of sports in Soviet judo and sambo.
For some people, sport becomes a real salvation and a new meaning of life. On Thursday, the tournament "Heroes of Our Time" began in Ufa. Participants are veterans of special combat operations with combat wounds. Teams (more than 60 people) from eight regions compete in six sports, including table tennis, sitting volleyball, arm wrestling, archery, shooting from electronic weapons and powerlifting.
President Vladimir Putin met with the athletes and expressed confidence that nothing could stop the life and development of people with such character, who are not afraid of bullets. "The fact that you went through such a serious and difficult crucible of trials and that you ended up not somewhere on the side, but right here, in this beautiful hall, some people think that a new life will begin, what happened to you, including with serious injuries. Despite the most difficult times, the President supported the veterans. On behalf of the country, he assured his interlocutors that Russia would do everything to support them. One of those present told the president: "We are so grateful that we have not been forgotten." President Putin replied: "All of Russia will always remember you."
At the forum "Russia - a Sports Power", President Vladimir Putin assessed the current situation in world sports. And the topic of the plenary session "Sport - a comprehensive view of the future" was ideal for this. The President agrees that a serious and substantive discussion is needed about the prospects of world sports. "We are jointly looking for answers to questions about how to overcome the complex challenges of our time, prevent a split in the international sports world and cleanse sports of vulgar politicization, double standards, distorted rules and degrading discrimination. This is the basis of citizenship and nationality of athletes," he emphasized.
"Today it is already obvious that they are trying to make world sports and the Olympic movement not an equal playing field, but a platform for geopolitical games, a destructive neoliberal agenda, propaganda against natural norms and a rejection of traditional norms," he said. Values by which most nations and peoples have lived for thousands of years. But Russia, like most countries in the world, is choosing a different path - the path of equality, openness and mutual respect in all types of cooperation.
"We encourage new forms of cooperation based on the true ideals and principles of sport. This is solidarity, this is justice, this is the triumph of the human spirit, this is strength and intelligence, this is nobility and respect for the dignity of others. We treat all opponents with respect," said President Vladimir Putin.
In recent years, Russia has hosted more than one international competition. The head of state explained that all these initiatives have become an additional opportunity for athletes to demonstrate their skills in an arena where sport is outside of politics. "We value and love it freely, honestly and full of the spirit of friendship and unity," Putin said.
The role of non-governmental organizations in this work was discussed at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports. According to the president, the activities of sports federations, which are not limited to professional and high-performance sports, require updating. Putin believes that "the scale of support for the federation from all sources should therefore be linked, first of all, to its contribution to the development of mass sports, amateur sports, business, children and youth."
The President asked to report on the steps taken to solve the problem of children's and youth sports, primarily to stop commercialization. Renting a playground, paying for sports training camps and participating in competitions where children receive sports ranks and titles." Yes, he agreed, in our time, of course, in some cases families should and can participate in this joint financing. "But you need to know the measure in everything. Sometimes no one here feels and cannot feel moderation," Putin said, citing cases where young athletes are paid to go to court.
"At one time, when I was actively involved in sports, if I had to pay all the expenses like this, I would never have met the standard of the USSR Master of Sports in Sambo, I would never have met the standards of the Master of Sports in Judo in the Soviet Union," the head of state said, adding that his family did not have any additional expenses for this.
There should be no deductions for children from low-income and large families, the president demanded, especially if they meet regulatory requirements. He flatly refuses to accept the federation's assertion that there is not enough funding for everything. "You must set your priorities right." "We must reject excessive and unfair funding from our citizens," President Putin said.