Rector of St Petersburg Mining University, Chairman of the Presidium of the Nedra Consortium Vladimir Litvinenko addressed the academic community and business. He called the events that are unfolding today against Russia a challenge for the country's leadership and the security forces, as well as for every citizen.

In the difficult time for the country, the rector called for rallying around the leader Vladimir Putin so that Russia would receive a powerful new impetus for economic, spiritual, social and intellectual development. “Each person must realize his/her responsibility and make every effort to ensure that the enterprise and the industry where he/she is employed worked for the benefit of society and for our victory,” said Vladimir Litvinenko.

He assured that he would continue to do everything possible so that science and education as a single conglomerate continued to be a strong support for the sustainable development of the country and created conditions for progress.

The rector emphasized that the events of last Saturday came as a surprise to him, since he is personally acquainted with many fighters of the Wagner PMC, who have repeatedly proved their courage and love for the Motherland at the front, not sparing their lives.

“The past events will inevitably lead to the strengthening of the role of the state in the military, economic and ideological spheres. It is these events that once again prove that our economy and our entire society urgently needs to get rid of the remnants of the liberal ideology and not return to such mechanisms as concession agreements and free access to mineral resources, although such proposals have recently begun to sound again. I am sure that we will definitely overcome all difficulties, but in order for this to happen as soon as possible, we need to mentally reorganize, move away from liberal ideas and adopt a mobilization model of development in which the state acts as a regulator, sets clear goals for society and creates favorable conditions for their solution. Only in this case will we preserve the sovereignty of Russia and our historical self-identity - the foundation without which it is impossible to move forward,” Vladimir Litvinenko is convinced.

The rector recalled that Russia had emerged from the unprecedented crisis of the 1990s after Vladimir Putin “slightly increased the level of state regulation of the oil and gas and mining sectors” that he ruled out the practice of concluding concession agreements, which made it possible to redirect export earnings from the pockets of the oligarchs to the federal budget. In many ways, it was this “anti-liberal” decision that caused the “economic miracle” of the early 2000s, when inflation was brought under control and the standard of living of Russians was significantly improved.

Vladimir Litvinenko stressed that Russia is now going through a fateful stage in history, which can be passed less painfully if all the citizens of the country join forces for the sake of a common victory, peace, tranquility and prosperity.