Moscow, 20 June: The concept of "sovereign democracy" should serve as a reminder of the sovereignty of people's power in the Russian Federation, according to deputy head of the Russian presidential administration Vladislav Surkov.

"It is a reminder that supreme power in the Russian Federation belongs to the people. Firstly, [it belongs] to the people in Russia and not [the people] of some other country. Second, in this Russia of ours, power does not belong to some group of people, be it bureaucrats, oligarchs or the armed proletariat, it belongs to all the people," Surkov said on Wednesday [20 June] when answering questions from participants in an all-Russian conference on teaching contemporary history at general educational establishments.

In Surkov's words, the need for this reminder has arisen, among other things, because it is often said in the world today that sovereignty is an outdated concept, that there will soon be no borders in the world and one global government.

In the opinion of the deputy head of the Russian president's administration, borders should be transparent, it is necessary to ensure exchange of information and a freedom to travel, and yet "one must not lose sight of reality".

"If, with time, we see that we stand firmly on our own feet, that there is no danger of our dissolving in the world and losing our bearings, because we have created an efficient new-generation economy not based on raw materials; that our political class has finally realized that it is in its own interests to strive to satisfy people's needs to the maximum and to distribute the national product fairly, then the need for the reminder about the sovereignty of people's power will drop away," Surkov said.