Vladimir Putin’s Valdai Speech at the XXII Meeting (Final Plenary Session) of the Valdai International Discussion Club (Sochi, 2 October 2025)
The Valdai International Discussion Club annual forums wouldn’t be what they are – a gathering of intellectuals, academics, media representatives, think tank heads and various interested others – without Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech and Q&A session on the last day of each forum. You wonder how Putin finds the time and the stamina to speak and answer questions in sessions that can be very lengthy. The theme of the 22nd meeting of the Valdai Club was “The Polycentric World: Instructions for Use”, following on from previous meetings where the theme revolved around the emergence of the multi-polar world, in which no one particular nation or set of nations dominates global politics or the global economy to the detriment of others. In the 22nd meeting, the focus was on understanding how to live in a multi-polar or polycentric world.
Putin opened his speech by observing that the polycentric world is characterised by five features: it offers creative space for foreign policy where established forms of protocol or decision-making are no longer as important as they used to be or might have been, and foreign policy can be innovative; this space can be dynamic and apt to change quickly; the space admits a greater range of political and economic participants; these participants come from very different cultural, historical and civilisational backgrounds; and accordingly decisions and policies must be made on the basis of agreements that take into account the diversity of participants and their interests. Putin observed also that where increased opportunities exist in the multi-polar world, dangers and pitfalls may also exist.
The Russian President then described the current geopolitical situation in which the multi-polar world has emerged, in which attempts by the West to maintain its political, political and civilisational hegemony over the rest of the world has failed and is continuing to fail. Where these attempts have failed, the West has resorted to punishing nations like Russia, Iran and Venezuela by imposing economic sanctions on them. In the case of Russia, these sanctions – Putin mentioned some 30,000 such restrictions! – have largely failed, for several reasons, among them the fact that many industries in Russia had potential for expansion or unused capacity that under certain economic conditions – if tariffs were to be applied against imports, or these industries were to be subsidised – they could expand and become highly productive. State ownership of essential industries is another factor, as is also skilled leadership at the top political level in (let’s say) finding new markets for products or substituting local production for restricted foreign imports. The ironic result is that Russia has become more important to the world than it was before the sanctions began, by way of becoming a role model or example of how nations can resist sanctions and other forms of bullying.
In addressing the challenges posed by the emerging polycentric world, Putin spoke of new emerging institutions such as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the expanding BRICS community of nations with its attendant financial institutions and networks, and regional organisations that aim to develop free markets and other free exchange schemes between nations with common interests and goals. The common theme in these new institutions and networks is co-operation and collective activity and effort based on consensus and mutual respect exercised by participants.
As is his custom, Putin delivered a clear and rational speech, based on his understanding of current world events and pressing geopolitical issues (such as Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine and Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza) from the perspective of Russia. Russia is presented as an example of a nation that has had to learn the hard way, from the experience of the Soviet Union, that imposing a universal model of politics and economic management on diverse nations with very different histories and cultural traditions is bound to fail. Having gone through many upheavals and periods of instability and suffering, Russia has become a nation ready to undertake the hard work of joining with others in making the polycentric world not just a reality but a reality where harmony, balance and understanding between nations can work.