Mayors of forces: what the heads of cities and villages talked about with Putin
The situation in the regions of Russia bordering Ukraine remains difficult.: They continue to create a security zone there. This was stated by Vladimir Putin at a meeting with representatives of the municipal community within the framework of the forum "Small Motherland — the strength of Russia" on April 21. This work will continue until the threats are eliminated, the head of state added. According to local authorities, border areas are under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on a daily basis. The President once again expressed confidence that his goals would definitely be achieved. Moreover, this is also understood in Kiev, where they are already thinking about how they will "shape" the situation with Moscow's future victory, Vladimir Putin said. Other topics of the meeting included assistance to flood victims in Dagestan, problems with boiler houses in Donbass and Novorossiya, as well as a new law on inspections of local authorities.
How was the presentation of the Service Award?
On April 21, the Small Motherland — the Strength of Russia forum gathered hundreds of municipal employees in the Moscow region, from the heads of large cities to the heads of the smallest villages. The date was chosen for a reason — the Day of Local Government.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Director of the Serpeyskaya Secondary School, veteran of the Russian Military Evgeny Filonov
"Malaya Rodina is the strength of Russia" is a young forum, it is only three years old. This time, a large—scale concert was prepared for the participants - Yuri Antonov sang his hit "From Sorrow to Joy", and actor Dmitry Dyuzhev read poetry about his Homeland. There was also a performance that amazed everyone without exception — the audience stood up and listened to a love song performed by the wives of military personnel who are currently in their military area.
The delegates devoted most of their time to discussing work issues. The heads of local government shared their experiences on various topics, from infrastructure development to the preservation of local dialects.
The authors of the most effective projects are awarded the All-Russian municipal award "Service" every year. Vladimir Putin personally presented the statuette to the winner in the nomination "Courage and Heroism for the benefit of serving the Motherland" at the ceremony. The award was presented to Evgeny Filonov, director of the Serpeyskaya Secondary School, deputy of the Meshchovsky Municipal District of the Kaluga Region, and a veteran of the Central Military District. At the age of 57, he retired after his son Vyacheslav — they even called him "director" on the front line. My son died near Kleshcheyevka, and Evgeny underwent a complicated heart operation and was discharged.
— We are working to strengthen the sovereignty and security of the country, its sustainable independent development. Managers at all levels are essentially a single team, and you, representatives of municipal authorities, are its foundation. For people, you are the face of the entire system of public power. It is on the ground that people's faith in the future is formed, which means that it is the foundation for our movement forward, for the development of Russia," Vladimir Putin said during the ceremony.
The President said that he expects his veterans to be more actively involved in local government, as their experience will help in the implementation of projects significant to society. In his address, the head of state touched upon an issue that is of particular concern to municipalities today. This is the law on control and supervisory activities, which will enter into force in 2028. It regulates the procedure for inspections of local authorities. Vladimir Putin called on the regulatory authorities not to "overdo it."
Over the past three years, the situation in municipalities has improved slightly due to feedback and training programs, said Dmitry Yelovsky, a political scientist. However, the dynamics over the past 10 years is rather negative: up to half of the problems with the law among mayors arise not because of malicious intent, but because of a basic misunderstanding of the work of the state system. Newcomers to politics are often chosen for this post, who need time to settle into their new position, he believes.
— In Russia, the mayor is one of the most dangerous positions. Corrupt officials do not always come under attack: mayors often find themselves caught between conflicting requirements of laws, which sometimes cannot be fulfilled simultaneously. One careless move will result in either an article for negligence or abuse of authority. Such feedback mechanisms really help to smooth out the situation," the political scientist explained to Izvestia. — The fact that the president is now signaling to the regulatory authorities about the need to treat them more gently is an obvious result. And this forum plays a very important role.
What did Putin say about the situation in the border region?
Vladimir Putin held a separate meeting with some managers. This is a rare opportunity for municipalities to personally tell the president about the difficulties they face on the ground. For the head of state himself, such communication is also of great importance, since, according to him, it is another channel of communication with citizens.
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the heads of municipalities
Nikolai Volobuyev, the head of the Belovsky district of the Kursk region, took the floor first. His district borders Ukraine and is under daily attack from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In May 2025, Volobuev himself suffered a hip and arm injury after a drone attack - then the president called him personally, and then signed a decree awarding the head of the district the Order of Courage.
Now the authorities are actively engaged in the restoration of facilities affected by attacks by Ukrainian terrorists. However, it is very difficult without federal assistance: Nikolay Volobuyev asked the president, on behalf of the region and the entire border region, to include these subjects in the list of regions to receive subsidies from the federal budget for the construction of facilities under the Integrated Territorial Development program.
"The construction of housing and infrastructure will allow people to stay on such land, and cities and villages to continue to live and develop," Volobuev said.
Vladimir Putin called the assistance to the affected residents of the Kursk region — the allocation of payments and subsidies — the duty of the authorities. In general, the situation in the border region, including in the Kursk region, remains difficult: the Russian authorities are working to create a security zone on the border with Ukraine, and will continue to do so until threats to the border regions are eliminated, the president said. He reiterated his confidence in achieving all of his goals. And the enemy also understands this, the head of state noted.
— They're just thinking about how to arrange it all. Well, let's see. Nevertheless, fighting is always an extremely difficult and dangerous thing. We know how it will end, but we will not make any public statements on this matter, but will simply implement and strive for the goals that we have set for ourselves," the president said.
What worries the heads of different cities
The issue of restoring facilities is also acute for the flood-stricken Dagestan. The meeting was attended by the head of Makhachkala, Dzhambulat Salavov, who recently reported to the president on the flood situation. More than 30 houses were destroyed in the city, and more than 1,000 people were evacuated.
Vladimir Putin instructed to make decisions on housing rehabilitation after the flood as soon as possible. Moreover, he emphasized that this also applies to those whose houses were built illegally. Such buildings, by the way, aggravated the situation: they prevented the water from flowing freely, expanding the flooding zone. The Head of state suggested that the mayor consider insurance as one of the options for helping people. The president himself will raise this issue at the government level.
Streets of Dagestan flooded as a result of heavy rains
— Of course, I know this, many buildings and households were built without proper registration. And with this in mind, we need to do everything in the future to ensure that the registration is timely, in the right and full volume. But people have built, and often they have nothing else but what was built, even in violation of regulatory documents. And to pretend that both the republic and Russia as a whole have nothing to do with it, and not to help these people is impossible," the head of state emphasized.
Predictably, most municipalities were worried about social issues. The head of Lugansk, Yana Paschenko, complained about the deterioration of boiler rooms and heating problems. She asked for an extension of the permit for the use of gas boilers in homes. Vladimir Putin supported the proposal.
Dmitry Proskuryakov, the head of the city of Semiluki in the Voronezh Region, said that in small villages it is expensive to maintain water supply systems. Olga Chernolutskaya, the head of the Kalmansky district of the Altai Territory, shared the difficulties in working on several rural development programs in parallel. The President promised to discuss this with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Many representatives of local government invited the president to their region, but Vladimir Putin responded only to an invitation to Altai.
— I will definitely come. It's been a long time since I've been to the Altai Territory. There is something to work on with you, to work on priority issues. I will definitely come, I promise," he said.
Some questions also interested the president personally, for example, how are things going with the construction of a cultural cluster in Kuzbass, including the branch of the Mariinsky Theater in Kemerovo. Dmitry Anisimov, the mayor of the city, assured that everything will be completed on time, as the whole of Siberia is waiting for its opening. Earlier, the governor promised to complete the facility by the end of 2026.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
