Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation:
I, like all post-war children, was brought up on patriotism: in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War and on hatred of Nazism. I am sincerely proud of the courage of our soldiers, who have defended their Motherland and freedom at all times.
We equally mourn for all those killed and injured in hostilities that have been going on for 8 years. I believed and still believe that wars are an absolute evil. The words of the song “Do the Russians want war” are full of great meaning for me. But the main thing is that strong peace and a fairer order will eventually be established on our planet, in which there is no place for either Nazism or the domination of some countries over others.
Today Russia continues to live under tough but meaningless sanctions. But we will cope with this challenge. We are ready to respond with technological breakthroughs and our own development. It has always been this way.
While working in the government, I did everything to make sanctions not an obstacle, but an opportunity to create my own economy. And the results of this work in many sectors made it possible to create the springboard for ensuring national security that we have today – in agriculture and construction, in energy and petrochemicals, in infrastructure development.
I cannot respect foreign companies that have left the Russian market. Some of them lost it for a very long time, perhaps forever. Our main task is to get rid of technological dependence. This can only be achieved through teamwork, in which everyone who is capable of being a leader will be involved – each in his own place.
Skolkovo has always been at the forefront of innovation in Russia, and today it is ready to make every effort to build its own competitive economy in our country.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”