The President delivered his Address during my stay in Copenhagen, where I took part in the Arctic Council session. Despite the fact our schedule was tight I managed to listen to the Presidential Address live. It was very interesting for me to listen to Dmitry Medvedev’s speech not just because I am a citizen of my country, but also because I was deeply impressed by his article “Go Russia!” and participated in the discussion of the Presidential Address (and I liked it very much, not the participation itself, but the fact the President offered the citizens to take part in the discussion).

I consider the words said by the President in the very end of his speech – “We shall overcome underdevelopment and corruption because we are a strong and free people, and deserve a normal life in a modern, prosperous democratic society. We chose our own path. Our fathers and grandfathers won at that time. Now it’s our turn. Go, Russia!” – the main message of the President to the Russian citizens!

I am firmly convinced that only together – by uniting the state authority and the society – we can solve the problems this country face nowadays. A society cannot do without a state, but a state, if it wants to be strong, prosperous, should understand that without support from a society, without work of the initiative, free, thinking people it wouldn’t cope with the entrusted task. And the way the President prepared his Address and the words and ideas mentioned by him and offered to the citizens confirm once again that our government clearly understands this issue. I guess it is particularly important at present. We know how it works from the history: the state deceives us, we deceive the state, and in the end each party loses. We should overcome these stereotypes and prejudices when we see in the officials enemies to gain victory over, and when the officials see in the people telling the truth not their allies that can help them fix the mistakes together but only potentially dangerous troublemakers. Well, there are such individuals on the both sides, but what really matters – one should change others and change himself.

As my duties require, I deal a lot with the indigenous peoples’ of the North, Siberia and the Far East rights protection, issues of their survival and development, I see how much injustice and lawlessness exist regarding these peoples. And but for the great support from the public authorities and organisms lots of problems would have been left in abeyance.

Pavel Sulyandziga,

RAIPON I Vice-President, Deputy Chairman of the UN Permanent Forum of Indigenous Peoples, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian