Sergey Naryshkin's speech at the meeting of the Board and the Board of Trustees of the History of the Fatherland Foundation

Dear colleagues!

Before proceeding to the agenda, I would like to congratulate everyone on a significant date. Today we celebrate the Day of the Reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia. Exactly 11 years ago, thanks to the firm determination of the Crimeans and residents of Sevastopol, supported by the entire Russian people, the Crimean Peninsula once again became an integral part of Russia.
The "Russian Spring" helped our country gain confidence in its abilities, inspired the people of Donbass to fight for liberation, a population that did not want to live under the rule of the neo—Nazi Kiev regime. The Russian Spring has opened a new page in Russian history.
I once again congratulate you on this significant event.
Today we are holding a joint meeting of the Board and the Board of Trustees of the History of the Fatherland Foundation. Very soon, on April 6, the foundation will celebrate its ninth anniversary. We have come a long way during this period. The Foundation has gained well-deserved fame, authority, and significantly expanded its range of activities.
This year, the fund's work will be based on the same key areas that were previously approved by us. Separately, I would like to thank you, dear Valery Nikolaevich [Falkov], for the fact that this year the agreement between the Ministry and the fund on the allocation of an annual budget subsidy was concluded as soon as possible. That's why we managed to start the new financial year without a hitch. On February 3, applications for the All-Russian competition called "Archival Interregional Mobility" started. This competition is designed to help young scientists from the regions to work in the federal archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Today we have to summarize the results of six more contests of the foundation — applications for them were accepted from December to January. A total of 413 applications were received, which is about 10% more than last year. Each of the applications passed a two-stage selection process. It was first evaluated by an expert jury, and only after that by the foundation's Board. We have about 110 applications today.