President Vladimir Putin visited the city of Sarov in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where he met with nuclear scientists, announced fundamentally new solutions in the nuclear field and spoke about the Russian-American summit in Alaska. Putin also approved the idea of a complete ban on vaping.

80 years of the atom

This year, the Russian nuclear industry celebrates its 80th anniversary. The Head of State laid flowers at the monument to Yuliy Khariton, one of the authors of the Soviet atomic project.

At the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, Putin visited an exhibition dedicated to scientific and educational infrastructure in cities of special importance – Sarov, Snezhinsk, Lesnoye, Zheleznogorsk and Obninsk. The President was presented with an album dedicated to this topic, with his quote on the cover: “The bear will not give his taiga to anyone.”

The President recalled that Sergey Kiriyenko, now the first deputy head of the Kremlin administration, was involved in the creation of the Rosatom state corporation. He became the head of Rosatom immediately after its creation and led it until 2016. Putin thanked Kiriyenko for his contribution to the development of the nuclear industry and at a meeting with young employees of enterprises in this industry. There was also a ceremony of awarding the Order “For Valiant Labor”, which was awarded to the staff of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center.

Putin congratulated everyone on the anniversary of the industry. “I bow low to the veterans, to whom we owe our security, powerful technological reserve and, in fact, independent, sovereign development. With their talent and titanic will, they created a solid nuclear shield for our country and were the first in the world to ensure that a peaceful atom worked for the benefit of the country and all mankind,” he stressed. “Ensuring global nuclear parity has become a real victory for all our people,” the head of state said.

Rosatom is a global powerhouse

The President called Rosatom a global leader in the construction of new power units and stressed that fundamentally new solutions are being created – fourth-generation fast-neutron, closed-loop power systems. “This will allow us to get rid of radioactive waste and multiply the potential of nuclear energy,” he explained.

The Head of State called for training personnel for the industry almost from kindergarten. “We need early career guidance. That’s exactly what we’re doing,” he stressed, noting the interest in engineering specialties. Putin believes that it is necessary to popularize the profession of an atomic engineer: “It seems to me that there is nothing more interesting than what you are doing.”

The participants of the meeting asked about relations with the West. “We don’t have unfriendly countries, we have unfriendly elites in some countries,” Putin said. “Propaganda, of course, works there, they brainwash and say that we started the war, and forget that they themselves started the war in 2014, when they started using tanks and aircraft against the peaceful population of Donbass. That’s when the war started, and we are doing everything to stop it,” he said.

The President noted that nuclear fuel supplies abroad and work with scientists are still underway. “The community of smart people has never been completely destroyed and will never be destroyed. Science, as well as sport, as art, is designed to unite people,” he is sure.

Sovereignty means wealth

There are countries that live peacefully without sovereignty, like Western Europe. Russia cannot do this – with the loss of sovereignty, it will cease to exist.
Rosatom is an absolute leader in the global nuclear energy industry. No company in the world builds so many facilities in general or so many facilities abroad,” the head of state said. He is confident that “those who somehow leave the scene of our interaction as a result of political pressure” will return.

Putin also touched upon relations with the United States, which are now at an extremely low level after the Second World War. “But with the arrival of President Trump, I think there is such a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, calling the meeting in Alaska very good, informative and frank.

“Contacts continue at the level of our ministries and departments, companies. I really hope that the first steps that have been taken are only the beginning of a full-scale restoration of our relations,” Putin stressed, adding that it depends not on Russia, but on Western partners. However, he is confident that the leadership qualities of US President Donald Trump are a good guarantee that relations will be restored.

The ability to maintain sovereignty is extremely important for Russia. “There are countries that exist peacefully without sovereignty. The whole of today’s Western Europe is practically deprived of such sovereignty. There are many other countries that feel fine. Russia cannot,” the president explained. “With the loss of sovereignty, Russia will cease to exist in its current form, that’s for sure,” he said.

Atomic development of the Arctic

Putin noted that the issues of Russia’s defense capability are largely related to research and the use of northern latitudes. “Our strategic nuclear submarines sail under the ice of the Arctic Ocean and disappear from radar. And this is our military advantage,” he explained.

The possibility of working in the Russian Arctic zone and Alaska together with American partners is being discussed, the president announced. According to him, Russia has technologies that no one else in the world has, and foreign partners are interested in them.

The death of vaping

At a meeting with the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, the president praised the region’s economic growth, measures to increase the birth rate and programs to support families with children.

In addition, the president supported Nikitin’s idea to ban vapes. “Firstly, the problem is getting younger, and secondly, it is taken for granted, normal,” the governor complained, adding that vapes are actively infiltrating schools. “I would be ready to act as a pilot region here to ban this filth in general in retail, wholesale and circulation,” he suggested and recalled that such a legislative initiative is being worked out in the government. “Consider that I already agreed right away. It’s a good offer,” Putin said.