Channel One television showed Putin, relaxed and jovial and dressed casually in a black-and-white checked shirt. He fielded questions about education reform and alcoholism from his visibly awestruck guests.
Putin told the young people that he wanted creativity rather than conformism from them.
"I am absolutely sure that if you do not become bureaucratized, if you think outside the box, then you will help ... society and the government," Putin said, Interfax reported.
"Without a doubt, you will be able to influence the situation in the country. I very much count on that and am sure that it will happen," he said.
Rumors about a meeting with the president had been circulating for at least a week among the camp's "commissars," as Nashi calls its youth leaders. Many had expected Putin to arrive at the campsite at Lake Seliger, 160 kilometers northwest of Moscow, as had many Kremlin-connected figures over the course of the two weeks. Vladislav Surkov, a deputy head of the presidential administration, addressed the campers in a surprise visit during the first week. Popular rock musicians Umaturman and Zemfira held concerts.
The heavy presence of Kremlin-related speakers at the camp and their frequent discussions about how to undermine the liberal opposition has fueled widespread speculation that Nashi is a Kremlin-orchestrated project.
Nashi head Vasily Yakemenko, who formerly led the pro-Putin youth movement Moving Together, has said the group receives only "moral support" from the Kremlin. He has conceded, however, that business leaders are aware of the connection and are more than eager to offer financial support.
Nashi spokesman Ivan Mostovich said the 56 commissars who met with Putin on Tuesday were chosen for their outstanding contributions to the group. He said the visit to Zavidovo had been arranged "rather spontaneously."
Putin began the meeting by thanking the guests for helping stage a Nashi rally of 50,000 young people in Moscow in May. The rally paid tribute to World War II veterans on the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
When one young woman began a question by saying, "Education in Russia has reached a crisis, a breakdown," Putin wagged a finger and gave a fatherly look of reproach. The young woman then said, "despite the fact that modernization is taking place," but Putin stopped her by laying a hand on her knee.
"I frequently watch the foreign television channels, and almost everywhere they are saying the same thing," Putin said. "Everywhere you look it's the same crisis and breakdown."
The young woman pressed on, asking why the general level of education was declining each year.
"The problem is that you think you're smarter than they are," Putin said, drawing laughter and applause.
"And your grandmothers and grandfathers thought they were smarter than you," Putin added.
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