Addressing students of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Vladislav Surkov, a deputy head of the Kremlin administration, said political parties reflect public opinion and could not function separately from society.
"Russia has a healthy society now, but stability is something that needs to be sustained," Surkov said at a round table organized on the 90th anniversary of the 1917 February Revolution, which overthrew the czarist regime and sought to establish a democratic republic until the Bolsheviks came to power several months later.
Answering students' questions, Surkov said the Russian economy, based on mineral resources, had fallen behind innovative economies.
"We are not going to have a modern economy, if we fail to create a powerful innovative sector," he said. Consequently, he added, Russia is faced with a task no less difficult than the one that faced the Bolsheviks in 1917, namely to create a new kind of economy.
As a suggestion to would-be politicians, Surkov said it was important not to confuse one's personal views with public opinion. "You should not talk about freedom, justice and democracy repeating newspaper cliches," he said.
He also said that future political activists in Russia should not rely on foreign governments to make their country happy.
"You should remember that democracy is the power of people, which must be sovereign," he added.
Apparently responding to criticism by some Western countries that Russia had slipped on democracy since Vladimir Putin came to power, he said that Russia was no less democratic than any other country. "What is most important is that democratic development should be natural."
Surkov called on young people not to get involved with radical politics. He said it was natural that radical ideas attracted young people, but he said ambitions that lack principles and common sense are very dangerous.
"If you are unhappy with something, do not desire a weak country," he said.
When asked if a revolution was possible in Russia again, he said revolutions had always brought devastation and that revolutionary sentiments must be rooted out for good.
"It is worth remembering that maniacs and terrorists usually come to power on the back of revolutionary romanticism," he said.
