Dmitry Peskov at the Knowledge.First marathon: "We will not tolerate interference in our lives"

Dmitry Peskov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Executive Office - Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, talked to participants of the Knowledge.First educational marathon of the Russian Knowledge Society on the fields of the WYF-2024. Together with the folks from Russia, 70 young leaders from 13 countries, including the United States, Cyprus, Germany, Mongolia, China, Romania and others, participated in the conversation. Dmitry Peskov told what position Russia stands on when building relations with other states, and then encouraged the guys to actively ask questions.

At the beginning of the meeting Dmitry Peskov cordially greeted the participants of the World Youth Festival, who gathered at the Knowledge.First marathon. 

"We are always happy to have you with us. If you are all here, then you are ready to listen to others: other peers, people from other countries, religions, traditions, nationalities. It means you are looking for mutual benefit from this communication, mutual enrichment spiritually, materially. It means you are ready to respect and love each other. This is how we see relationships between people. And if we simplify things at all, this is also how we see relations between states. We want them to be mutually beneficial, based on the principles of mutual respect, consideration of mutual interests and concerns," said Dmitry Peskov.

At the same time, Dmitry Peskov noted that the world, unfortunately, is not perfect and not all countries are in a cooperative mood. There are those who consider themselves entitled to dictate to others how to live, who consider themselves entitled to steal from other states, calling it cooperation, but, in fact, it is a "new colonialism". There are countries that try to impose their way of life on others. 

"But we will not tolerate interference in our lives, in our internal affairs, in our politics. We will not tolerate criticism of our democracy and the claim that it is not what it should be. Our democracy is the best, and we will continue to build it," Dmitry Peskov emphasized. "However, we will always remain open to all countries that are ready for equal, human, mutually beneficial relations. This does not mean that Russia is a closed country: the fact that you are here now confirms that it is possible to achieve what we want. And when you grow up, take a place in the government of your countries, when you make decisions in parliaments or become big businessmen who can somehow influence public opinion, in no case get involved in politics, then everything will be much better in the world. You will make this world a better place, and we will continue to live in an open country. We will be friends with our partners." 

The speech inspired the marathon participants. Young people from Russia, Serbia, China, the USA, Azerbaijan, Germany, Mongolia asked Dmitry Peskov their questions. First of all, the children were concerned about the relations between their native country and Russia. In his answers, Dmitry Peskov highly appreciated the international cooperation of many states. For example, he noted that relations between Russia and China are at a historical peak, while there are prospects for further development. There are many successful Russian-Mongolian projects in the field of transport, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. The close cooperation between Russia and Armenia definitely contributes to the GDP growth of this country. Dmitry Peskov emphasized the respectful attitude of Russians towards the Armenian, Serbian, American and other peoples, the desire to cooperate and develop together.

Young people also asked about the problems associated with sanctions, numerous fakes, and the possibility of humanitarian assistance to the Russian armed forces located in SMO zone. 

Answering a question from a marathon participant from Serbia about the threat of nuclear war, Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Russian nuclear weapons can be used only in one case: if there is a threat to the existence of our country.

The participants of the meeting also paid great attention to the possibilities of international cooperation between young people in the name of peace and friendship of different countries. A marathon participant from Russia asked whether it was necessary to expand Russian youth projects beyond the borders of our country.

"The formats that will be in demand in Asia, Africa, and Latin America will suit the culture of these regions, their religion, beliefs, and lifestyle, and need to be brought to the world. Of course, the state, our Rosmolodezh, Rossotrudnichestvo, our Russian Knowledge Society and many other organizations can and should bring such projects to the world," concluded Dmitry Peskov.

The conversation between the youth and Dmitry Peskov took place at the Knowledge.First marathon in the Nizhny Novgorod pavilion of the World Youth City and was included in the program of the thematic track of the marathon "We stand together with Russia", which is dedicated to international cooperation, including higher education opportunities for Russian and foreign students, joint projects, technological developments, space as a space for international cooperation. 

The Knowledge Society is a general partner of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, and the educational Znanie.Pervye marathon is one of the main events of this program. The most striking presentations of lecturers can be seen on the 24-hour media channel https://russia.znanierussia.ru/tv/Znanie.TV.

Educational marathon takes place in Sirius from March 2 to 6, covering six sites of the World Youth City: WYF International Airport, Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow pavilions. The tracks of the educational marathon are consonant with the meanings of the Festival: “Responsibility for the fate of the world”, “Multinational unity”, “A world of opportunity for everyone”, “Saving the family for future generations” and “We stand together with Russia”. 

The World Youth Festival shall become a platform for communication between young people from Russia and other countries. After the completion of the events on the Sirius Federal Territory, Russian Knowledge Society will continue the educational line of the World Youth Festival from March 10 to 17 within the framework of the regional program WYF 2024, which will cover all federal districts of our country.

Overview:

The World Youth Festival is held in accordance with the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin to develop international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, it was decided to hold the Festival in the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old had the opportunity to join the event, including 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. 5,000 volunteers from all regions of Russia, including 228 residents of the LPR, DPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions be involved in the organization and delivery of the Festival. The organizer of the World Youth Festival is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the operator of the WYF-2024 is the Directorate of the World Youth Festival.

The first federal education marathon was held in May 2021 and became a symbol of the reboot of the Russian Knowledge Society. More than 850 lecturers shared their experience during the marathon.

The Russian Knowledge Society traces its history back to the Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet intelligentsia as the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge (since 1963 — the All-Union Knowledge Society, since 1991— the Knowledge of Russia Society). Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science and lecturing on the achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Knowledge of Russia was transformed into the Russian Knowledge Society. On April 21, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to restart the Russian Knowledge Society on a modern digital platform in his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.