Law and grounds: Putin is satisfied with the work of the Cabinet and Parliament at the end of the year

Russia and its economy are successfully developing despite all the challenges: the financial system is stable, which makes it possible to fully ensure defense and security spending. Vladimir Putin stated this at a meeting with the government on December 24. All social obligations are also fully fulfilled, including support for families with children. However, the Cabinet of Ministers will have to find a flexible solution so that large families do not lose the right to receive a single benefit in case of an increase in income — Russians complained about this on a direct line. The Federation Council will also help with citizens' appeals: the President also came to the upper house that day. What he called the "forge of cadres" for the country's leadership and why Putin decided in 2000 to change the face of the Russian parliament is in the Izvestia article.

What laws were passed by the Parliament in 2025

At the end of the year, Vladimir Putin decided to personally check the work of various branches of government. The President's working day on December 24 began with a visit to the Federation Council on Bolshaya Dmitrovka. The day was not chosen by chance — firstly, the senators completed the autumn session, and secondly, it was the 25th anniversary of the new order of formation of the upper house. After the reform of 2000, the functions of senators were no longer performed by the heads of regions, and members of the Federation Council began to be delegated by local authorities. Putin shared his memories and explained why such a decision was made: despite the fact that many of the heads of the constituent entities performed their parliamentary duties with dignity, the burden on them was considerable.

— Well, where is the executive branch, and where is the legislative branch? After all, these are different branches, and responsibility for the execution of decisions has been blurred. We understand that when a person makes a law and has to comply with it himself, there are some problems here. It seems to me that we dealt with it, we decided, because we felt then that it still affects the entire system of government," the president said.

A quarter of a century ago, the modern look of the upper house was outlined, the schedule of its committees and commissions became more intense, and the number of substantive drafts increased, he noted. At the same time, after the constitutional amendments in 2022, the Federation Council gained new powers in terms of parliamentary control — holding consultations when appointing members of the government, as well as in areas of foreign policy, justice and the security sector. They also approached this job responsibly.

Late the night before, Vladimir Putin met with Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin to take stock. In 2025, 588 laws were adopted, mainly related to strengthening security, the economy and the social sphere. The Head of State thanked the Parliament for its work, for its attention to the participants of the Free Economic Forum, to issues of demography, and the integration of historical regions.

— In general, for supporting our policy of strengthening and developing Russia. Such agreement and commitment to national interests are extremely important for Parliament, for both its chambers, and for the country. And in a period of historical trials and global changes, they are simply priceless," said Vladimir Putin.

Moreover, the Federation Council has become a real school and forge of personnel for the state: the practice of working as a senator for future members of the government or heads of regions has paid off. According to the President, in just 25 years, almost 800 people have gained experience in the Chamber of Regions.

Separately, during the meeting, they touched upon the recent "Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin" — a large press conference and a direct line, which took place on December 19 and lasted about 4.5 hours. Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko noted the uniqueness of the format. Senators, by the way, will take part in working out citizens' appeals, she promised.

— There is no other country in the world with a similar format of an hour-long, uncut conversation between a national leader and the whole country. And this is an opportunity for any Russian citizen to address the president directly and receive a detailed, honest, respectful answer. I believe this is one of the important factors of our unity and consolidation of Russian society," Matvienko added.

What instructions did Putin give to the Cabinet from a direct line?

The president decided to discuss the issues that the Russians had raised on a direct line with the executive branch personally and went to the Government House. The Russian Cabinet of Ministers is working smoothly and doing everything to improve the lives of citizens: all social obligations of the state are fully fulfilled, including decisions to support families with children, Vladimir Putin confirmed. At the same time, the head of state drew the attention of the Cabinet of Ministers to the problem that was discussed on December 19 — the loss of benefits even with a minimal increase in income.

— The fact is that families lose the right to receive a single benefit if their total income exceeds the established criteria quite a bit. We need to find a flexible, correct solution to support large families. It is necessary to make sure that not only the person, the family does not lose anything, but that they have some kind of increase to the family budget. Otherwise, there is no point in going to work," the president explained.

Speaking about the work of the Cabinet of Ministers in the outgoing year, the president noted that Russia and its economy are developing successfully, despite all the challenges. The Russian financial system is stable due to the well-coordinated work of the government, and this makes it possible to fully ensure defense and security spending, Vladimir Putin stressed. The country has stable key macroeconomic indicators, the structure of the national economy is gradually changing in favor of high-value-added industries, inflation is decreasing, and unemployment is at a historically low level. The Cabinet of Ministers also manages to successfully balance the federal budget, thus ensuring the stability of the country's financial system, Vladimir Putin said.

— We recently adopted one of the most important laws that Parliament considers every year, the federal budget. And I want to say that this is indeed a welfare state budget. We have a lot of problems for people. And they openly formulate these problems, including on a direct line. And this block of social issues requires attention not only at the federal level, but also at the regional level," Andrei Klishas, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, told Izvestia.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted that the country faced many challenges in 2025, including sanctions and attempts to "undermine" the Russian economy from the outside. Currently, the main goal for the Cabinet is to achieve sustainability in all areas, from industrial to social, as well as create new opportunities for the well—being of citizens. In particular, national projects are being consistently implemented for this purpose.