Marat Akhmetov: "If you can't listen to and hear people, you shouldn't go into power."

      Today, the acting Chairman of the State Council Marat Akhmetov met with students of the Kazan State Agrarian University studying in the field of public and municipal administration. The meeting took place as part of the "Persona" project at the Headquarters of Public Support for "United Russia" in Tatarstan. Marat Akhmetov began the conversation with the students by discussing the importance of preserving traditions and spiritual values that originate in the family. According to him, the main thing is for children not to lose these values when they go to study in cities for higher education and professions. "The preservation of traditions largely depends on what parents, grandparents, and grandmothers instill in their children. If it is embedded at the genetic level, there is content, and if parents continue to pass on the accumulated spiritual wealth, then we can be assured of the preservation of spiritual traditions, culture, language, and the moral foundation of our youth," noted Akhmetov.

      Marat Akhmetov, as the chairman of the Commission under the President of Tatarstan on issues of preserving and developing the Tatar language and the native languages of the peoples living in the Republic of Tatarstan, paid special attention to the issues of preserving the native language. "In our villages, children often speak Russian now, forgetting their native language. Of course, this is good, but we must not forget our native language in urban conditions, where there are so many opportunities for self-realization," emphasized Marat Akhmetov. "We have hundreds of projects aimed at promoting and preserving not only the Tatar language but also the Mari, Mordovian, and Chuvash languages. In Kazan, there is a cultural and educational project 'Gäwhär', aimed at popularizing Tatar culture and language, involving the younger generation in art. Currently, more than 10,000 Kazan schoolchildren are participating in it."

      Separately, Marat Akhmetov spoke about the economic development of Tatarstan, its agro-industrial complex, and the changes in agriculture that have occurred over the past decades. He shared personal stories from his life, noting that he himself graduated from the Kazan Veterinary Institute named after N.E. Bauman and the Saratov Higher Party School. "I worked for 20 years as Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic's Government, Minister of Agriculture and Food, during the revolutionary years of agricultural transformation," he noted. "At that time, there were significant problems in the agro-industrial complex, abandoned fields, and we had to attract large investors for investments to develop agriculture. Now, work in the countryside has changed significantly; everything is automated, even the livestock feed is formulated by a computer. Today we have tractors that replace 5-6 old tractors from my time, plus equipment that performs 4-5 agrotechnological operations simultaneously. Today, the agro-industrial complex of Tatarstan is at a different level, and Tatarstan is now the number one subject in the Russian Federation in milk production, producing 2.3 million tons of milk annually."

      Marat Akhmetov emphasized that the republic provides significant support to agriculture. "We allocate about 16-18 billion rubles annually for agricultural support, including investment projects. Despite the difficulties, we strive to preserve rural lifestyles, support small forms of farming, family farms, cooperatives, and personal subsidiary farms," he noted.

      The students, in turn, inquired about working in the legislative branch of government. "The day before, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Council of Legislators of Russia, which took place in St. Petersburg, that power is not a gift; it is a responsibility to the population, to the country, to the people who entrusted you with this power. This trust must be justified," shared Marat Akhmetov.

      He also emphasized the importance of constant contact with people, including during deputies' work in their districts and at personal receptions of citizens. "The deputy corps is a vanguard that has direct contact with voters. If you cannot hear and understand the needs of people, then you should not go into power. You must be an example of respectful, kind relationships, be useful, and find ways to support people. A person must love their profession, as working with people requires skill," believes Marat Akhmetov.