A year has passed! Year is coming

On the last day of the outgoing year, it is customary to take stock and make forecasts. In 2019, there is something to remember. The impeachment of President Trump, the change of power in Ukraine and the disappointment of citizens from the new Ukrainian authorities, the 70th anniversary anniversary of NATO, reminiscent of the commemoration, and the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Poland without Russia, but with Germany, the resounding success of the British conservatives in led by Boris Johnson and irreversible Brexit on January 31 of the coming year and much more. But we are still more interested in our achievements of 2019.

For my taste, probably the most important result of the political year within the country was the stagnation and disappointment in society that did not come, which was actively predicted by the army of couch experts and various off-system elements, mainly remotely clogging up new media and broadcasts with their pessimistic poison.

Everything is exactly more or less with the economy, the social temperature has leveled off after the unpopular transformations of last year.

Attempts to organize riots in Moscow in summer in bulk and sympathizers around the preparations for the election of the city parliament failed. Muscovites did not support this protest, rightly identifying witnesses to the Navalny sect as provocateurs. By the way, contrary to the forecasts of the opposition, the elections were clean and transparent, the city parliament now has half of the opposition deputies. Another thing is that, having chosen, these nice people almost immediately forgot about their intransigence.

In general, a single voting day (EDG) in September (contrary to the same divine soothsayers) was surprisingly smooth and without any second rounds. After an unconvincing speech at the EDG 2018, the party in power, having learned last year’s lessons, can be said to have regained the status quo this year. All the governors nominated by the president and United Russia this year won the first round. More than 70% of all parliamentary mandates played at various levels went to the ruling party in a fair and fierce struggle.

In November, at the 19th Congress of United Russia, the federal election campaign of 2021 was practically launched. According to the party’s chairman, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the political outcome of the party in the parliamentary elections is not so much at stake as the prospect of maintaining the country's dynamic development course. The party’s new course: “United Russia” should become a party for all citizens of Russia, not only for its supporters and party members. On the basis of the party’s general council, a human rights center and a network of multifunctional hospitals were opened throughout the country, where any citizen can turn for help and receive it promptly, regardless of his sympathies and political orientation. One of the co-chairs of the EP human rights center was RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.

The outgoing year was also marked by a number of resonant laws adopted by the State Duma under the chairmanship of Vyacheslav Volodin, approved by the Federation Council and signed by the president, which will enter into force from the beginning of 2020.

The functioning of artificial intelligence, self-employment, preferential taxation, support for families with children, indexation of maternal capital and others.

Separately, it is worth noting the creation of a parliamentary commission to counteract foreign interference in the internal affairs of Russia, especially during electoral procedures. In the context of the importance of the 2021 election, deputies are testing tools to prevent the monitoring of external interference in Russian elections.

An important event of the year was the return of the Russian parliamentary delegation to PACE. For over five years, Russia has ignored this important continental platform after our delegation was deprived of the word (contrary to the charter of the organization) after the return of Crimea to its native harbor. In the past year, Russia was asked to return, and on our terms. And here the motivation of Europeans is not so important. Either a hole in the budget from the most significant Russian contributions (or rather, from their absence), or common sense and true European values ​​that Russia upholds on all world platforms.

This is an unconditional diplomatic victory for Russian parliamentarians and diplomats. One of those birthday here was our great friend - the head of the State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky. Now the voice of Russia is heard in PACE, no matter how some some Baltic deputies and Ukrainians joined them. At the beginning of the coming year, PACE Vice-Speaker from Russia will be nominated and appointed - there is no doubt that Slutsky will become one.

Much more happened in 2019. And the bridge to the Crimea, the largest in Europe, is launched in full, now you can ride a train to the Crimean homeland. The Power of Siberia began pumping gas to China, and the Turkish Stream was built and will be opened, as planned, on January 8 by the presidents of Russia and Turkey. The pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Nord Stream-2, did not have time to complete the American machinations by the end of the year, but they would definitely launch it in the first half of 2020, and Russian gas would go to Europe in large volumes.

In the coming 2020, progress is also expected in unblocking a number of bilateral issues in Russian-European trade relations. It is obvious that the sanctions policy imposed by the EU on the part of the USA against Russia does not bring the declared results, except for billions of dollars in losses to European countries themselves.

True, during this time we learned how to live at our own expense and even in such “sanctioning conditions” not only feed ourselves, but also put into service hypersonic weapons that have no analogues in the world.

The priority task in the work of the State Duma in 2020 will be to ensure economic growth. According to Volodin, it is necessary to ensure economic growth not lower than the global average. Well, let's hope that this forecast comes true.

In general, the outgoing year was not a year of disappointment. We are confidently moving towards the result. Happy New Year, country!

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.