Medvedev named seven challenges for the new People's Program of the "United Russia" party.

      At a meeting of the Expert Council of "United Russia," proposals for a new People's Program were presented, as reported on the party's official website. The work on the document has elicited a real response from people – nearly 2 million proposals have been submitted, stated the party chairman Dmitry Medvedev. "The analysis of the received proposals can already create a good foundation to determine the parameters of the new People's Program. I will name seven challenges that our country faces and which, in my opinion, should be reflected in our program document," he said.

      The first challenge Medvedev named is demographics. The largest number of appeals to the site is dedicated to supporting families with children and developing infrastructure for children. The second challenge concerns the shortage of personnel and the emergence of new professions. The third is increasing housing and transport accessibility. The fourth is external economic pressure. The fifth is technological development. The sixth is the ideological challenge related to attempts to cancel Russian culture. The seventh is security and the victorious completion of the Special Military Operation (SMO).

      "Development must continue because, under the conditions of our country, this is extremely important," emphasized Medvedev, noting that it is important to preserve the current relevant directions in the new program and enhance their effectiveness.

      The final version of the People's Program will be adopted at the second stage of the Congress in August, while the first stage will approve the party's candidates for the upcoming elections. The Manifesto will also be considered – a strategic document aimed at a more distant perspective, which will outline how the party envisions the country in the future.

      The priority of the program will be to support families with children. The General Director of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), Svetlana Chupsheva, presented initiatives to increase birth rates, improve maternity capital, and abolish the need criterion for large families. The rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Nikita Anisimov, proposed to include measures for labor mobility, developing a job vacancy ecosystem, and expanding the network of youth laboratories in the program. The rector of the National University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), Pavel Akimov, outlined a package of proposals for extending social gasification, modernizing and constructing housing and communal services facilities, and improving public spaces.

      In the economic block, Medvedev supported initiatives for the stability of the tax system, the development of biotechnology, and the promotion of Russian products in the domestic market – these proposals came from agrarians, including from the General Director of "Soyuzmoloko," Artem Belov.

      The General Director of the Russian Export Center (REC), Veronika Nikishina, presented proposals to support exports, promote Russian products abroad, and develop international infrastructure. The Deputy General Director of the "Robotics Corporation," Evgeny Dudorov, voiced initiatives for comprehensive robotization of the country, reducing personnel shortages, and developing a national program for popularizing robotics.

      The Chairman of the Union of Theater Workers, Vladimir Mashkov, requested assistance in restoring the panorama "Defense of Sevastopol." Medvedev reported that funds have already been found. Mashkov also proposed to continue the "Rural Cultural Worker" program and work on preserving cultural heritage sites.

      Hero of Russia, military medic Lyudmila Bolilaya, proposed to provide veterans of the SMO with priority medical support without waiting, simplify access to sanatorium-resort treatment, and maintain social payments for fighters during their treatment in the hospital.

      The Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Control, Oleg Morozov, noted that for Tatarstan, it is fundamentally important that the first item of the updated program is demographics and support for families with children: the abolition of the need criterion for large families and the improvement of maternity capital – these are the measures that people are waiting for.

      He also emphasized that in Tatarstan, they see in practice how important it is to reduce the gap between the education system and the demands of the economy. Expanding the network of youth laboratories and labor mobility are investments in intellectual security. "The party takes responsibility for ensuring that by the August Congress, all these blocks – from the economy to ideology – are not just declarations but turn into specific, refined legislative proposals. We must provide the country with a program of real actions," concluded Oleg Morozov.

      The collection of proposals for the new People's Program started on February 19 at the "There is a Result!" forum in Yekaterinburg. The new program will consist of two documents – an election program for five years and a Manifesto describing the strategic vision of Russia for decades.

      photo: official portal of "United Russia"