From March 1st-7th, 2024, the Center for Political Innovation had the historic opportunity to lead the US delegation to the World Youth Festival in Russia. Perhaps the highlight for CPI at the event was the opportunity for Caleb Maupin and Noah Schenk to each ask Vladimir Putin one question at a conference event. For both members, it was a great opportunity to share CPI’s perspective on the world stage and interact directly with the leader of a major world power.

 

CPI founder Caleb Maupin began his question by thanking President Putin for his recent interview with Tucker Carlson. “Our politicians and our leaders in the United States, they speak in sound bites. But you presented a long-term vision, a scientific view of statecraft… you showed many young Americans a different kind of leadership.” Next, Caleb emphasized his concern about the current actions of the US government. “I know that I speak for the majority of the American people when I say that we do not want our tax money dumped into this conflict in Ukraine any longer. We do not want our country to continue to deteriorate internally while our leaders waste money on prolonging this war.” Finally, Caleb asked what role youth in America can play at the present time, and how events like the World Youth Festival can serve as a pathway to peace and “changing the dangerous direction our leaders in the United States are taking things.”

President Putin gave a considered response, choosing to begin with a historical overview. “We used to be allies during two world wars as we fought Nazism and fascism… After the war, after the alliance, the United States and the Soviet Union started dividing the world… then the Soviet Union ceased to exist for a number of reasons.” From here, Putin said that the elites of the United States have used their status as the one remaining superpower to pursue monopoly. “The previous system of international relations that was built on the outcomes of World War II is no longer satisfying for them, because the balance of power evolved. And hence they decided to change the international legal order.” He discussed the US invasion of Iraq, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and other areas where the US took it upon itself to determine what the affairs of other countries should be, contrasting this against US outrage at Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. “Why cannot Russia do the same while protecting their own people, not some thousands of kilometers away from their national borders… on the border of their own country [while] people were waiting for us to help?” he asked.

Returning to Caleb Maupin’s question, the president continued: “[Youth] can do many things without interfering in domestic processes… Youth can contribute in building state-to-state relations. What would be the procedure? They can just speak up domestically, within law, within their constitution… In no way do we call upon any activity of disobedience. But it is a possibility to speak up in their own country, and I think this is a way… to pave the way for non-state forms of contact in order to create conditions for improving relations on the state-to-state level too.”

Noah Schenk, meanwhile, asked how America could join the emerging world economy. He began his question by complimenting the positive atmosphere of the festival, contrasting it with the negativity, drug problems, and hopelessness increasingly prevalent in the West. “I started to tear up,” he told the Russian president. “I realized this is the difference between a collapsing society in the west and the rising society that is in the BRICS nations, in the new emerging economy today. So that brings me to my question here today, which is: do you see a world where the west could begin to join the new economy, could begin to join BRICS? And if so, what do you think that would look like?”

“Even rich nations have lots of problems,” Putin responded, and discussed some of the inequalities plaguing both the Western and developed world. He urged cooperation to resolve these issues. “I’m convinced,” Putin concluded, “that if we are capable to establish a multi-polar world, where we all are interdependent and are mutually reinforcing, social matters and welfare matters including health care and education will be resolved easier and more efficiently. Because joining hands, we can attain more and do better.”

Receiving the opportunity to speak directly to the Russian president was an excellent opportunity for CPI, and a powerful experience for the two members. Noah shared his perspective: “Being able to not only meet, but also speak with Putin was a pretty surreal experience. I feel like no matter how confident you are… you can get nervous knowing that you are about to talk to a head of state.” However, he said it was made much less stressful for two reasons: “A, Caleb was able to give me some good advice on staying composed, and B, Putin has this strange charismatic energy around him that really makes you feel both at ease and listened to.” For Caleb, who has worked as an international reporter for some years, it was not his first time speaking to a head of state or even meeting Putin. However, it was his first time doing either as a representative of CPI. Caleb was honored and grateful for the opportunity to raise CPI’s profile, and his comments even garnered some attention from international media such as Sputnik. The Center for Political Innovation hopes to use the momentum generated by this event to raise its profile, spread pro-human, pro-growth, anti-imperialist messages, and work towards a bright future for the American people and the world.

Read CPI’s coverage of the World Youth Festival here.

View the full questions and responses here for Caleb Maupin and Noah Schenk.