Today, on December 20, Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin gave his annual address to People’s Council deputies. According to a correspondent of the Official Website of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin focused in his speech mainly on improving the living standards of the residents of the Republic.

“For almost six years we have been convincingly proving that we are able to respond to any challenges, defend our interests, as well as persistently follow the country’s chosen course towards sovereignty and independence.

Our main task is to do everything possible to create a system, conditions, in which every citizen of the Republic can exercise their rights, feel protected and have equal opportunities for development. We must put the interests of an ordinary person at top of mind.

We must do everything so that in the coming year people will be able to feel real changes for the better. The challenges we are facing are long-term, but we need to lay the groundwork for them today. You have had enough time to get going.

People need the result. They want to see real positive changes, not hear more promises.

Hundreds of appeals are addressed to you every day, to all bodies of government. And what do we see? Most of them are of a private nature and quite solvable locally. Often it takes just an explanation or advice on how a person should act in order to start solving the issue. But how often a person gets denied in response to his appeal, or how often long correspondence leads to nothing. What does that mean? That means incompetence, unwillingness to take responsibility or, what is worse, heartlessness. Our government agencies have turned only five, but many officials have fenced off people with an impenetrable wall excluding the possibility of disturbing them in the silence of the governing offices.

It is not enough to sit in the chair of a parliament member or official, you need to be able to help people, defend their interests, take responsibility for their fate and the fate of the whole state.

I am addressing now representatives of all the branches of power, not only legislative power, your activity will be assessed first of all through the lenses of your performance in solving the problems of our citizens, through your initiating of decisions, specific steps, which will improve the lives of people and will facilitate the development and strengthening of our Republic. Those who prove themselves to be counterproductive will incur enforcement actions,” Denis Pushilin said.