Vladimir Putin: My vision for a better Russia
Among the rights that Russians consider essential, those that they treasure most are the right to work, free medical care and education for children. Today, however, our society is completely different from what it was at the turn of the 20th century. People are becoming more affluent, educated and demanding. The results of our efforts are new demands on the government and the advance of the middle class above the narrow objective of guaranteeing their own prosperity. We worked for that.
Our civil society has become much more mature, active and responsible. We need to modernize the mechanisms of our democracy so that they correspond to this increase in social activity. The political climate, like the investment climate, demands constant improvement.
But I strongly believe that we do not need a circus of candidates competing with each other to make increasingly unrealistic promises. And spin doctors and image makers should not control politicians.
We must create a political system in which it is possible — and necessary — to be honest. Whoever puts forward a proposal or a program should be responsible enough to carry it out. Those who elect decision makers should understand who and what they are voting for. This would produce trust, constructive dialogue and mutual respect between society and the government.
Modern democracy as government by the people cannot be limited to simply casting votes. Democracy, in my view, is the fundamental right of the people to elect their government as well as to continuously influence it and the decision-making process. In this regard, I propose introducing a rule for a mandatory parliamentary review of any legislative initiative that has more than 100,000 supporting signatures on the Internet. A similar practice exists in the United Kingdom.
Internet-based democracy should be integrated into the overall development of institutions, especially at the municipal and regional levels, creating a referendum-based democracy.
Local self-government is a school of civil responsibility. Today, at a new stage of our development, we are reintroducing direct elections of governors. I also propose that municipalities be entitled to manage all the taxes collected from small businesses, which currently are subject to special tax regimes. Stronger economic independence is particularly relevant to big and medium-size cities. Cities drive economic growth and are sources of civic initiatives.