Maria Zakharova at the Znanie.State Forum: "True service to the state opens up opportunities"

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Today, civil servants must not only work on the future but also defend the past, protecting our history and culture, said Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department and official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the first large-scale Znanie.State Forum organized by the Russian society Znanie at the National Centre RUSSIA.

The forum, whose main goal was to increase the prestige and significance of civil servants in society, brought together about 4,000 representatives of government bodies.

During her speech, the diplomat spoke about how geopolitical conditions affect public service. According to her, when the West wages an information war, trying to control the richest resources of our country, trying to cancel the Russian language and culture, destroy monuments, name heroes as enemies and elevate false heroes on a pedestal, every civil servant who is a guardian of traditions must fight for their cultural code.

"Previously, the words 'official' and 'civil servant' were avoided, but this is fundamentally wrong. There should not be a frivolous understanding of them, which civil servants themselves should work on, presenting themselves accordingly. Each of us does everything to make the word 'public service' sound proud and have a deep meaning. After all, the state is not only a structure; it is history, traditions, achievements, and challenges that previous generations have coped with. And service knows no time limits. In true service to the state, opportunities open up, and results appear, and consequently, people's response, which gives the strength to move forward," Maria Zakharova noted.

The diplomat recalled that in the 1980s, textbooks were already being rewritten, and now in the XXI century, attempts to falsify the history of Russia have become obvious. Defending the interests of one's country is the task of civil servants, but the question is whether it is possible to remain friendly and strong in relations with unfriendly countries.

Let us remind you that the Znanie.State Forum is a large-scale educational project by the Russian society Znanie for state and municipal employees, enabling them to gain deeper insights into the history, culture, economy, and geopolitics of Russia. The project has been implemented since 2022, featuring lectures and federal broadcasts from multimedia studios of the Russian society Znanie. Over the past two years, more than 30,000 lectures have been conducted under the Znanie.State initiative across all regions of Russia, with an audience of over 3.5 million people.