VARMSU opens the regional days of the III All–Russian Municipal Forum "SMALL MOTHERLAND - THE STRENGTH OF RUSSIA"

On October 16-17, the Stavropol Territory will host a series of regional days of the III All–Russian Municipal Forum "SMALL MOTHERLAND — THE STRENGTH OF RUSSIA", one of the most important events for all municipalities of the country in terms of scale and number of participants.

Representatives of the municipal community, as well as federal and regional authorities, the Federation Council, the State Duma, public organizations and businesses will gather in the city of Mineralnye Vody to jointly develop a vector for the development of the country's municipalities in accordance with national goals. The discussion platforms will be opened by the topic "Partnership between government and business as a tool for accelerated growth."

The program includes workshops, a workshop on municipal practices and lectures on public and municipal-private partnerships, investment climate, successful cases of concluding concession agreements, small and medium-sized enterprises, new standards of social responsibility of companies, as well as strategic directions for the development of municipalities.

As part of the first regional day, an open meeting with the Governor of the Stavropol Territory, Vladimir Vladimirovich Vladimirovich, "Direct Conversation" will be held, moderated by the co-chairman of the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government Irina Guseva.

According to the organizers, the focus of the regional days of the third forum will be on identifying growth points and directions for the development of territories. The focus on the future is the main feature of the new season of regional days. In addition, the organizers specify, visionary themes will be heard for the first time. Investment lounges will also be open for the first time. As part of the social missions, the heads will take part in the events of the host country. An expanded cultural program will be presented, which will introduce participants to the region's identity.

"Regional days will be held in 8 regions of the Russian Federation. The two-day business program in each of them will be aimed at finding new solutions in the development of municipalities. The municipality of the future is a municipality in which it is comfortable to live, and where everyone has the opportunity to self—actualize. It's a whole ecosystem focused on humans. This is the kind of environment that local authorities should create for residents, taking into account new challenges and using cutting-edge ideas. At the same time, we have not abandoned the format of on-site municipal practices, and along with new approaches, local participants will get acquainted with the best practices of their colleagues and exchange experiences. Our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that municipal authorities are closest to people. The annual regional days of the forum are aimed at improving the efficiency of the management system and, consequently, the quality of life of citizens," said Evgeny Grachev, Deputy Head of the Presidential Department for Internal Policy.

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From October 2025 to March 2026, participants in the regional days, in addition to Stavropol, will be hosted by the Leningrad, Tyumen, Irkutsk, Lipetsk and Astrakhan regions, the Republics of Sakha (Yakutia) and Bashkortostan. For example: in Lipetsk, the topic of modern technologies and artificial intelligence will be considered; in Irkutsk, where there are difficulties with the capacity of existing MSW landfills, the topic of environmental development; in Gatchina— social policy and conservation. It is expected that regdni will cover more than 5 thousand representatives of municipalities.

The successful practices and initiatives presented at the regional days will form the basis of the program of the III All–Russian Municipal Forum "SMALL MOTHERLAND - THE STRENGTH OF RUSSIA", which will be held in April 2026. It is being held on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss topical issues of development and support of the country's municipalities. The forum is organized by VARMSU with the support of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.

The first forum, held in 2024, became a landmark for the entire system of local government in Russia. It resulted in key legislative initiatives designed to ensure the financial stability of municipalities and increase their efficiency.

Attention to local government issues, in addition to personal participation in the forum of President Vladimir Putin, is confirmed by the creation and implementation of a number of projects for municipal employees. Among them are the "Municipal Dialogue" aimed at analyzing the problem field at the local level and developing solutions, including at the federal level; the educational programs "School of Mayors" and "School of Municipal Teams" for the development of the personnel management reserve. The International School of Municipal Leadership has been operating since September. A "Digital University of Municipalities" has been created for distance learning. All of them are aimed at improving the quality of municipal government. Moreover, municipalities have their own awards: the All-Russian Municipal Award "Service" and the honorary title "Honored Worker of Local Self-Government" were established.

"The goal is to increase the efficiency of local authorities, which are closest to people, so that all issues are resolved promptly and the quality of life in towns and villages increases. Tasks can be effectively solved only with close cooperation between all levels of government, and the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government is building such a system. It doesn't matter if we work in a small village or in a city of millions - we are all united by service to our land, love for our small homeland and the desire for its development," said Irina Guseva, co—chair of the VARMSU, member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for the Development of Local Self—Government.

The ceremony of awarding the III All-Russian Municipal Award "Service", established by Russian President Vladimir Putin, will also take place within the framework of the forum. The award is given to people whose specific deeds and destinies are an example of service to society and residents, to those who lead positive changes in their territories — cities, towns and villages.

The Government is consistently developing the country's local government system, making it more open, cohesive and effective. The VARMSU, which in 2024 received the status of a single organization representing the interests of the municipal community, is becoming a vehicle for these changes. All the changes in the sphere of municipal administration initiated by the President in recent years are primarily semantic and meaningful, where the mission of serving people, their locality and the country comes to the fore. And the regional days of the SMALL MOTHERLAND – THE STRENGTH OF RUSSIA forum allow reaching out to each municipality and increasing the level of inclusion in the general agenda at the local level.