Will the dismemberment of Russia begin in the Far East? Russia is losing control of the Far East What will happen to the Far East in the future.

There are topics that are heard all the time, are constantly discussed. One of them is the Far East. How does he live? What will happen to him? Is the state power taking the necessary measures to preserve this outpost of Russia? And not just preserve it, but make it a showcase of the country, the pride of local residents, causing the envy of guests.

Geopolitical threats

All these issues are extremely important for the entire Russian Federation, since the Far East is of geostrategic importance. And not only because it is a huge storehouse of natural resources. Many economists say that after a while, not even the resources themselves, including water, will become a large deficit, but the territories for the accommodation of people, their economic activities will be in a huge deficit due to the rapid growth of the world's population. Therefore, the views of some foreign figures are increasingly turning towards Russia, and above all its Far East, which, from their point of view, can become a land resource for developing humanity. And Russia, they say, is enough with what it has. Without the Far East.

These intentions could not be taken seriously. If not for the changing geopolitical situation. Compared to the Soviet period, the problems have become much more serious, deeper and, frankly, more dangerous.

In recent times, there have been attempts to tackle their solution. So, in 1996, a federal program for the development of the Far East and Transbaikalia was adopted, which was extended several times and is still in effect. However, unlike the previous programs, which ultimately led to economic growth, population growth, improvement of the social sphere, the post-Soviet one did not solve any of these tasks. It is believed that due to lack of funding. In my opinion, this is correct, but only partially. The main thing is that there was nothing strategic in this program and there is nothing. A set of important, but particular questions from among the wishes of the Far Eastern constituent entities of the Federation - that's the whole program.

But time went on. The economic situation in the world was changing. Including next to our The Far East - in the states of the Asia-Pacific region, which have become leaders in economic growth. The rapid pace of their development, on the one hand, increased the risks of economic, demographic, and political pressure from our eastern neighbors on the stagnant Russian Far East, and on the other hand, created new opportunities for its development within the framework of international cooperation.

By the beginning of the first decade of the new century, a certain stabilization began in Russia, and most importantly, there appeared, frankly, political will, which was expressed by Vladimir Putin, who replaced Yeltsin. It was these circumstances that made it possible to start real work to use new opportunities and reduce risks.

Projects and forecasts

A number of projects of national importance have begun in the Far East: the construction of the Chita-Khabarovsk highway, the Amuro-Yakutsk railway, the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas pipeline system, preparation of the city of Vladivostok for the APEC summit, completion of construction Bureyskaya HPP.

The federal target program "Far East and Transbaikalia" was extended and within its framework a number of social issues were resolved in each constituent entity of the Federation of the region.

Large investment projects in the Far East began to be implemented by private Russian companies: OJSC Surgutneftegaz, OJSC SUEK, OJSC Mechel and a number of others. On the example of South Yakutia, the first experience of large-scale public-private partnership appeared.

Today there is a certain skepticism about all these projects. But, in my opinion, they have already played a huge role in the relative improvement of the situation in the Far East, and most importantly, they are creating the groundwork for the near and future future. Even the most contested of them - preparation for the APEC summit in Vladivostok - not only allowed expanding the bottlenecks that hinder the city's development almost from its very foundation, but also laid the foundation for the future largest urban agglomeration, the world-class business center of the Far East. And if not for the financial scams that law enforcement agencies are now investigating, the city would have received even more.

Another question is that everything that has been started and done is, in fact, oases in the economic desert of a huge territory. That is why, by the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a Strategy for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region was developed, which was approved by the Russian government in December 2009. An action plan for the implementation of this strategy was also approved. The main task was to instruct the ministries and departments of the Russian Federation to develop a State Program for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region.

But almost three years have passed. And the plan has not been fulfilled, and there is no program. This sad result can traditionally be attributed to the lack of performance of officials or to the economic crisis, which confused all the cards, and similar reasons. But it seems to me that this is largely due to the loss of strategic planning skills by government economic headquarters.

In recent years, they have specialized mainly in the development of endless macroeconomic forecasts based on three or four indicators gleaned from international economic institutions and fantasies about pessimistic, optimistic and (necessarily!) Innovative scenarios. But they were unable to translate strategic plans into the language of concrete actions. In any case, this can be judged by the drafts of the state program for the socio-economic development of the Far East, which were submitted to the government. Is it possible to consider the repair of a club in one subject of the Federation or the construction of a cowshed in another, included in some variants of the program, as a strategic decision of the federal level?

Conditions for people

But the situation remains alarming. The outflow of the population continues. The death rate exceeds the birth rate. The standard of living is falling. Compared to the Soviet period, when the living standards in the Far East were higher than the national average, today they are 30 percent lower. For example, let's take such an important factor as housing commissioning. In 2011, housing in the Far East per thousand people was built exactly half as much as the average in Russia.

And the most alarming thing: according to opinion polls, up to 40 percent of students in Far Eastern universities do not see any prospects for themselves and do not intend to stay here. When people start asking what they don't like the most, the main reason is the lack of opportunities for professional growth. They do not want to trade in used Japanese cars, participate in a gangster fishing business, steal timber and sell it to China, but intend to do something substantial. They need new technologies, new projects, construction sites, factories. In a word, development.

And at the same time in Central Russia, according to sociological surveys, about 30 percent of the same young guys do not exclude the possibility of going to the Far East, if the implementation of some large, large-scale projects begins there, in the course of which you can find your destiny and make a career.

And in this regard, the question arises again and again: how to set in motion the entire economic life of the Far East and, on this basis, solve social, personnel, geopolitical problems, and fulfill the targets of the Development Strategy of the Far East and the Baikal Region?

I have expressed my point of view on these issues more than once. It is necessary to create special conditions for managing and improving social life in the east of Lake Baikal using a complex of interrelated legal, administrative and organizational decisions. That is, to develop and approve a certain code of the Far East. The special conditions recorded in it should compensate and neutralize the negative impact of climatic and economic-geographical conditions more difficult than in other parts of the country.

The same judgments were expressed by the majority of the participants in the International Economic Conference of the Baikal Forum in Ulan-Ude, held in September this year under the patronage of the Federation Council. Moreover, many heads of the constituent entities of the Federation and municipalities, scientists, practitioners expressed not only general ideas, but also specific proposals on special budgetary, tax, structural, investment, environmental protection, social policies of the state in the Far East and in the Baikal region.

Previously, such proposals did not find support from the liberal-minded economic bloc of the government, which in all cases of life was guided by purely market approaches. Only the all-powerful market will decide everything! It is his invisible hand that will direct business to the Far East. And if not, then don't.

Now the understanding is gradually coming that the uncontrolled play of market forces only aggravates the imbalances in the national economy. And first of all, gaps in the levels of development of regions. In any case, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have repeatedly expressed their point of view on the need for special decisions on the Far East.

State approach

What are the top-priority concrete actions for the implementation of all ideas and proposals, the very Strategy for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region?

First. It is necessary to complete the development of the State Program for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region for the period up to 2025. At one time, the Russian government approved the procedure for the development of state programs. It provides for the inclusion in them of federal target programs related to the region, sectoral and departmental, as well as programs of natural monopolies. I would add to this a list of major projects that the state considers appropriate to implement on the basis of a public-private partnership.

I have to remind you of this procedure for the reason that it has not been followed in the development of our Far Eastern state program. It only mentions, as a parallel world, that there are projects in the region, for example, natural monopolies or private investors. And there should be not a mention, but a strict correlation in time, space, resources and the results of all programs among themselves - federal target, sectoral, regional, natural monopolies.

An example can show why this is important. For example, OAO Gazprom is implementing the Eastern Gas Program in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, during which Sakhalin, Yakutsk and Irkutsk gas production centers are being created; main gas pipelines, in fact repeating the ESPO oil pipeline; gas processing and gas chemical enterprises.

In terms of the volume of investments, resource costs, the scale of construction, and socio-economic consequences, the Eastern Gas Program surpasses the total indicators of the federal target program "Far East and Transbaikalia", which has been in effect for almost two decades. This in itself requires the attention of federal, regional and municipal authorities. This means that it should not remain behind the scenes, but at the center of the new state program.

Well, and most importantly, in order to successfully and profitably implement the Eastern Gas Program, it is necessary in sectoral programs to provide for the construction of highways and railways, transmission lines to gas centers. And the federal target program provides for the training of personnel for the gas industry, the development of the social sphere precisely at the points of the future location of new gas production and gas chemistry facilities.

It is estimated that at present more than 100 different programs concern the Far East to one degree or another. All of them must be corrected, linked in space, synchronized in time. Then we will receive a truly comprehensive State Program for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region.

But this is not enough. In order for it to work, and strictly, the program, in my opinion, must be adopted by federal law. This is necessary for two reasons.

First, its state funding should be protected by the federal budget. After all, the experience of the past shows that from 1996 to the present, the existing federal program "Far East and Transbaikalia" has been financed by only 40 percent. This cannot be repeated with the future state program.

Second, a legally protected program will become a clear guideline and signal for business. He should know: the state is interested in the east of the country and will not change its position.

And there will be a reliable outpost

After the legislative approval of the State Program for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region, its provisions will become a directive plan for state structures and natural monopolies. But what about business? Indeed, most of the business activity and investment in the east of the country is expected from him, and not from the state. In order to stimulate this activity and direct the flow of investments to the east, it is necessary to take the second step - to adopt the Federal Law "On the Socio-Economic Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region."

It is in it that it is necessary to stipulate the special conditions for managing and organizing the social sphere in the region, which were mentioned above.

The law can be divided into several main sections.

The first should be about tax incentives for businesses. There are a number of proposals that can be implemented in the Far East. From simple ones, for example, exemption of all enterprises from the federal part of the profit tax, to rather complex ones - the same differentiation of mineral extraction tax by types, quality, and geographical location of deposits. In the course of developing a law, it is necessary to choose the best of the entire arsenal of proposals. But I would like to dwell on one very interesting, in my opinion, proposal. We are talking about fixing the total amount of tax revenues to the federal budget from all legal entities and residents of the Far East for a certain date. Then, the entire increase in this volume should be directed over several years to a special investment fund for the Far East and the Baikal region. Of course, this is not an easy question, both from the point of view of the administration of receipts to the fund, and from the point of view of the order of spending from it. But perhaps this experiment should be done.

In the second section of the law, it is proposed to describe a special procedure for organizing free economic zones in the eastern regions of the country. The subjects of the Federation of the Far East and the Baikal region in recent years have participated in dozens of competitions held by the federal authorities for the creation of such zones. And everywhere they were defeated because of the non-competitiveness of their projects in comparison with the proposals of other regions.

But if we move away from formal logic, then, in fact, free economic zones are just a tool for increasing competitiveness and should first of all be created in the lagging regions. Therefore, it is proposed to legalize their organization in the Far East and in the Baikal region in a special manner. Without competition, by the decision of the Russian government, which considered the initiative of one or another constituent entity of the Federation and approved it.

It is also advisable to expand the list of activities that can be carried out in free zones. At the same time, it would be rational to transfer the management of the activities of free economic zones to the newly created Ministry of the East of Russia, while maintaining the existing control procedure on the part of federal structures.

A special section of the law should describe various forms of public-private partnership in the implementation of investment projects in the region: concessions, deferred tax payments, return to private investors of funds invested in infrastructure projects due to increased tax revenues, and others. It is also necessary to legislate the possibility of participation as parties to concession agreements of several subjects of the Federation and municipalities at the same time.

Questions of a more rational organization of investment and production processes also require their own legislative decisions. First of all, we are talking about simplifying licensing and management procedures. Here, it would be possible to extend the relevant regimes and regulations used in the Skolkovo project, at Olympic construction sites in Sochi and in preparation for the APEC summit in Vladivostok, to the entire Far East region.

For the Far East and Transbaikalia, one of the most pressing problems is the high, one might even say, exorbitant level of energy and transport tariffs. This problem should be addressed in a comprehensive manner. A special section dedicated to technical and technological measures, energy saving, should be included in the State Program for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region. But the second - the socio-economic law - requires a section on tariff policy. It seems necessary to legislate some new approaches to tariff setting: the transition to the political and economic formula "production price" when calculating tariffs for primary energy carriers, the establishment of a single all-Russian tariff for the transmission of electricity and other solutions differentiated by branches of natural monopolies.

Finally, a special section of the law should be devoted to social issues. Perhaps, it is on these issues that there is the greatest number of various proposals aimed at attracting and retaining personnel, creating a lifestyle that suits people. This includes the improvement of the maternity capital system, and the development of various housing construction schemes, and public-private partnership in the social sphere, and the full restoration of benefits and compensations that existed previously for northerners and the Far East.

Thus, the Law "On the socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region" should facilitate capital inflows, stimulate business activity, and create conditions for increasing the attractiveness of life in the Far East.

And together with another law - on the State Program and the necessary, if adopted, amendments to the existing acts - we will receive the administrative and legal code of the Far East, which will make this region a truly reliable outpost of the Russian state in the Pacific Ocean.

Vyacheslav Shtyrov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council

New Far East "feeding trough" or rescue operation for Shoigu

Now, after the presidential elections, the composition of the federal government will undergo significant changes. One of the candidates for leaving is the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu. Not because he can’t cope, but because he “sat too long”. In addition, there is an opportunity for new employment: various sources are "wooing" the Minister of Emergency Situations into the head of the state corporation for the development of Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Analogue of the East India Company

Shoigu himself proposed the idea of \u200b\u200bthis structure on January 21 at a meeting with Vladimir Putin. In his opinion, this is the most suitable option for solving the economic and infrastructural problems of the country's eastern provinces. The minister believes that the corporation will be able to significantly increase transport flows, create new mining enterprises and about 5 million jobs.

The main problems of Eastern Siberia and the Far East are well known: the reduction of an already not surplus population, not the best investment climate, and an enduring feeling of isolation from the central part of the country. The population of the Magadan region, for example, over twenty post-Soviet years has decreased 2.4 times, Chukotka - 3.2 times, Sakhalin region - 31 percent. Can demographic trends be reversed? What changes should take place in the lives of people in extreme natural conditions?

The government adopted the federal target program "Economic and social development of the Far East and Transbaikalia for the period up to 2013" in 2007, recalls "Soviet Sakhalin". Three years later, the program was extended until 2018. For its implementation in 2008, the federal budget allocated 30 billion rubles, in 2009 - 88 billion, in 2010 - another 97 and last year - 106 billion rubles. A definite return from the FTP has already been received. According to official data, unemployment fell by 40%, and investments in fixed assets increased. Thanks to subsidized air transportation, passenger traffic has increased. But, as many experts note, this is not enough for the normal development of the region. In addition, the program has an obvious bias towards the Primorsky Territory - in connection with the preparation of the APEC summit, about half of all funds were directed there.

And now they are talking about a corporation that can cover half the country with its influence - from Kamchatka, the Kuril ridge and Sakhalin to the western borders of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It follows from Shoigu's explanatory note that the corporation is seen as a kind of analogue of the East India Company. The proposed basic model for the development of the Eastern region is to “unseal the pantry” of natural resources and carry out an effective “industrial maneuver” through private and public investments aimed at increasing domestic consumption and supplying products to the fast-growing markets of the Asia-Pacific region. The corporation “it is advisable to authorize the management of subsoil from the unallocated fund, land, water, forest, fish resources (with the possibility of creating joint ventures with investors), as well as to form the conditions of encumbrance for investors and concessionaires in relation to the privatized state property ...”. The proposed mechanisms for investors are “tax incentives, lowering barriers to admitting foreign investors to projects, as well as the creation of specialized development institutions”. To launch the "industrial maneuver" model, a special development regime is assumed in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, formalized by a special federal law, which may be adopted as early as 2012.

Doubt wagon and small cart

What impetus can the new bureaucratic structure give to the development of the eastern territories? Will this be useful at all? Will the state corporation become another feeding trough for officials?

According to the director of regional programs of the Independent Institute for Social Policy Natalia Zubarevich, the minister presents the Soviet territorial-production complexes as a new idea. Zubarevich, according to the newspaper "Vedomosti", believes that the state should limit itself to creating infrastructure and favorable conditions for doing business in remote regions, and not engage in the construction of mines and enterprises, as stated by Shoigu.

Another expert, director of the Center for Regional and Innovation Policy, founder of the Far Eastern Center for Economic Development Irina Boyko, believes that once again significant financial resources can be allocated for a large investment project, the results of which will be ineffective spending of budgetary funds and even greater stagnation of an important region from a strategic point of view.

“By pouring budget funds into ... a state corporation, the problem of the Far East, like any other region, cannot be solved,” Boyko noted in an interview with Svobodnaya Pressa. - Foreign experience is convincing in this. There are no state corporations there whose activities would be aimed at the long-term development of regions ... Now, if there was a clear strategic task of gradual restructuring of the region's economy in the direction from raw materials specialization to the production of science-intensive products (and there are such opportunities in the Far East), and its specific stages would be planned ( for example, the creation of processing facilities, the promotion of finished products to Asian and other markets), then the question of creating a certain structure could be raised. For example, in France, regional innovative development was promoted by the professional structure AHBAP (French Innovation Agency). In Canada, innovative development is a means of developing depressed (backward) regions. But the main thing is different. The process does not start with money. And with an understanding of what they are needed for.

Scientists from the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS) also negatively assessed the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating an Eastern Corporation.

“I was alarmed by the phrase“ opening the pantry ”and the stake on the methods of the East India Company, which are nothing more than pure exploitation of the resources of colonial peoples,” notes the director of the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East, FEB RAS Victor Larin, whose opinion is quoted by RIA Vostok-Media. - This demonstrates the place that is assigned to the region. The impression was that the corporation is an attempt by a group of enterprising people to use the resources of the state to “grab” the resources of the region. This is evidenced by the presence in the document (we are talking about a letter to Shoigu. - Author's note) of the Development Bank of the East of Russia, the infrastructure development fund and the center for strategic research "Vostok". The people who made this document are trying to monopolize control over it.

The authors of the idea proposed a number of concessions for future migrants: preferential mortgage and car loans with the ability to write off debt for a loan for the purchase of housing (car) after 10 (5) years of work on priority projects; gratuitous provision for use of land plots for participants of farms (up to 50 hectares) with the possibility of transferring to ownership after 10 years of socially useful activity. Provided for "lifting" migrants when applying for work in the areas of formation of new industrial centers (100 thousand rubles), an annual free flight to any point in Russia and back. But experts called these measures insufficient, noting that the document does not mention preferences for the population living here, most of them (70%) are ready to leave the region.

- Developers do not care what will happen to the Far East in 15 - 20 years, - the chairman of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician, supported his colleagues Valentin Sergienko... - What happened to such projects with the attraction of foreign capital in the development of the resource base can be seen on the example of Chukotka and Magadan, and most importantly, who made the profit - Canadian companies. Do we need it?

- The only good news is that some people in power have an understanding of the need to preserve Siberia and the Far East. But there is no clear understanding and strategy of how to develop the country, there is an accounting approach, - says the general director of the Far Eastern Research, Design, Survey and Design and Technological Institute of the Navy Yaroslav Semenikhin... - For the development of the region, a nationwide, mobilizing project is needed that creates conditions for the realization of the personalities of the people living here. In the meantime, the Far East looks like a platform for shift workers.

The expert admits that behind this document he senses the approach of "something interesting", but does not exclude that it may result in "the enrichment of individuals."

- From December 26, unallocated land can be given for sale, concession. I would like the Far East to remain truly Russian, - says Semenikhin.

The ex-governor of Primorye, director of the School of Regional and International Studies of the Far Eastern Federal University also adheres to a negative assessment. Vladimir Kuznetsov:

- The interest of the region has nothing to do with it. Projects are developed behind the scenes, without taking into account the opinions of experts, the population, thereby demonstrating disregard for public opinion, says Kuznetsov.

The experts disagreed only in assessing the prospects for the implementation of the plan. Some believe that, given the socio-political situation in the country, this idea is just a game that will remain in the form of a thrown trial ball. Others are convinced that the document is of a directive nature, and the speed of its approval depends on the interests of "a certain group of people and the personal contacts of those who sign it." But if the latter win, then it was decided to think in advance what is the benefit of the region from "printing the pantry" and how to extract it.

If the corporation becomes a reality, then the regional authorities will stay away from the budget money and will lose the opportunity to use it through tenders for the development of the state order.

Officials support and approve

Meanwhile, work on the creation of the Eastern Corporation is in full swing. As reported in the February 29 issue of the Izvestia newspaper, the initiative of the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to develop a special regime of economic activity for the Far East and Eastern Siberia was supported by almost all departments, except for the Ministry of Finance.

IN minregion, who is responsible for collecting feedback, fully support Shoigu's idea and believe that it will be necessary to adopt a separate federal law for this, which would spell out, in particular, tax, customs and tariff benefits. The Ministry also supports the formation of a special development institute. This can be, in particular, a state corporation or a joint stock company with state participation. Presumably, funds for these purposes can be directed from the national welfare fund. According to the interlocutor of Izvestia, along with state funds, it will be necessary to attract investments from other sources, to use the mechanisms of public-private partnership.

Shoigu's proposals to empower a possible future corporation with the authority to manage subsoil and create a separate infrastructure fund for the East have not yet elicited an unambiguous reaction. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations proposes to create joint ventures for the development of natural resources, transfer them the rights to use forests, land or water, and corporations will transfer money for using the joint venture. Why then the infrastructure fund for this is unclear, says an official of the regional ministry. IN ministry of Natural Resources explained that the measures proposed by Shoigu will require a serious change in legislation, although in general they share the position of the head of the Ministry of Emergencies.

IN ministry of Economic Development the initiative to accelerate the development of the Far East is also generally supported.

- It is necessary to take these initiatives as a basis when determining state policy in the region, including those aimed at the development of general economic and social infrastructure, the sphere of innovation, increasing the efficiency of the use of natural resources, protecting the environment, supporting the export of Russian goods, works and services, and small and medium-sized businesses, - say the ministry.

In addition to the formation of a separate structure, the Ministry of Economic Development proposes to create special economic zones in the region. “In addition, when developing the state program“ Socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region ”, it should include measures to improve the quality of life in large cities,” the department said. “Without this, the relocation of highly qualified specialists is impossible.”

Similar proposals are expressed in ministry of Industry and Trade.

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed to supplement the program with the following measures: subsidizing the delivery of goods from the Far East to other regions; creation of special economic zones of industrial and production type; the provision of subsidies to employers for the relocation of personnel to production sites located in the Far East, the department said.

They want their own cluster in Rosrybolovstvo... The agency put forward the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a "fish" zone near Irkutsk for the development of enterprises on all rivers of Eastern Siberia. Moreover, the department insists that in addition to industry, it would be nice to develop a leisure industry for local residents.

IN ministry of Transport they also say they support Shoigu's initiative. However, the proposal to provide displaced persons and their families with free travel will require one hundred percent compensation for lost income to air carriers. As explained in the ministry, this could cost the state 1.5 trillion rubles - at the rate of 5 million people working plus 5 million members of their families. Ministry of Health for its part, he supported the payment of 100 thousand rubles of lifting allowance to the migrants.

The Sakhalin Governor also spoke positively about Shoigu's initiative Alexander Khoroshavin... On February 10, at a meeting with heads of local media, he called it "a serious confirmation of attention to the development of the Far East and Transbaikalia." According to the governor, we are talking about large infrastructure projects, including the construction of a bridge between Sakhalin and the mainland.

The only opponent of the formation of new corporations and state-owned companies was minfin. According to a source in the government, the department believes that the effect on the budget from all these proposals cannot be determined - the sources of funding are not clearly indicated. At the same time, it is impractical to create a new organization: firstly, there is already a Fund for the Development of the Far East and the Baikal Region, created by Vnesheconombank, and secondly, additional funds will be required to create and maintain the new structure. At the same time, since 2013, the distribution of public funds should be carried out strictly according to individual target programs, and not through corporations.

First Deputy Chairman of the Government Igor Shuvalov previously reported that the government plans to create a corporation for the development of the Far East at the end of January. Then the required amount was announced - more than 1 trillion rubles until 2025.

“Trillions are needed to go to the Far East on a large scale,” says Aleksandr Osin, chief economist at Finam. - Lifting in 100 thousand rubles can work only pointwise, and even then rather on neighbors from Asian countries.

Where Shoigu will continue to work and whether a new state corporation will appear in the country will most likely become clear in the next two months.

The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) and the Ministry for the Development of the Far East at a press conference in Moscow presented a large-scale study representing the view of Russians on the Far East. Sociologists tried to find out which large-scale projects and ideas concerning the priority development of the Far Eastern Federal District find a response and support from citizens, and which problems still have to be solved.

Presenting the results of the study, the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, Alexander Galushka, noted that "in the modern history of Russia, this is perhaps the most profound sociological study of the attitude of Russians to the Far East, the vision of the Far East by Russian society, and understanding of the problems that exist in the Far East."

The largest sociological service used all its extensive capabilities: the study included mass polls - the usual all-Russian one for a representative sample - 1600 respondents from 43 regions of the country, as well as polls of residents of the Far Eastern regions - 2 polls in each subject of the Far Eastern Federal District. In addition, sociologists conducted 16 focus groups with residents of Russian regions that are not part of the Far Eastern Federal District; with residents of the subjects of the Far East (18 focus groups); with those who moved to the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District for permanent residence (4 focus groups); with students from the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District studying at universities located in other federal districts (4 focus groups); with residents of the Far Eastern Federal District who are ready to move out of the district (18 focus groups); with those who came to the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District for temporary work (2 focus groups).

“VTsIOM surveyed about 20 thousand people, and more than 60 focus groups were held. Today we would like to present some of the results - in fact, the study is very voluminous, ”said Alexander Galushka.

Real expectations

A study by VTsIOM showed that in the eyes of 80% of Russians, the situation in the Far East looks like a favorable one: the Far East are optimistic about the prospects for the development of the Far Eastern Federal District. Alexander Galushka drew attention to the following points.

“The first is the perception of the Far East. And here, perhaps, the key word that characterizes this perception is the word hope. Today, if we talk about the inhabitants of the entire Russian Federation, and not only the Far East, most - this is 86% - believe that the Far East is a promising territory for the development of the entire Russian Federation. At the same time, 9% believe that already now it is. 57% believe that it will be like this in the next 10-15 years, and another 20% believe that it will become promising in the more distant future - more than 15 years. If we talk about the Far East, 10% of them consider the Far East a promising territory, 51% believe that it will become such in 10-15 years and 23% - that it will become in a later period. What, in my opinion, is very important, is that the overwhelming majority of Russian society - more than 80% (both residents of the Russian Federation as a whole and residents of the Far East) inextricably link the country's development prospects with the Far East and their hopes with its development. If we recall the 1990s, which were very difficult, when the country collapsed and centrifugal tendencies were very strong, there were quite significant pessimistic sentiments regarding the integrity of the country, regarding the Far East, then today we can firmly see that there are no such sentiments in Russian society ... This is a very important, fundamental and long-term conclusion, ”said Alexander Galushka.

What exactly do the citizens of Russia link to their confidence that the Russian Far East will move forward and develop the entire country? The attitude towards development projects is the second main point of research, according to Alexandra Galushka.

“Already today, 53% of the country's citizens believe that these development projects launched in the Far East have a positive effect on the development of our macroregion, 10% believe that, undoubtedly, such a trend already exists now, and another 43% believe that it is rather positive, ”he stated.

Among the projects, Alexander Galushka named the APEC summit, the beginning of the modernization of the BAM and Transsib, Power of Siberia, the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, investment projects supported by the Ministry of Eastern Development. “All these projects are quite long-term - we are at the beginning of the road, and, nevertheless, today the majority of Russian society - 53% - associates the prospects for the development of the Far East with them,” he said.

The third point is the attitude of Russians towards new instruments for the development of the Far East. According to the respondents, the most positive prospects are opening up in connection with the creation of advanced development territories (TORs) in the region. The minister said that 70% of Russians believe that priority development territories will be successful and will lead to the development of the Far East and an improvement in the quality of life of the population.

The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the Free Port of Vladivostok is expected to raise the standard of living in the region by 66% of the Far Easterners who are asked to leave. “The law was signed two weeks ago, it comes into force on October 12, and the government has developed an appropriate plan so that by that time all by-laws have been adopted,” said Alexander Galushka.

The initiative for the free allocation of a plot of land in the Far East (the bill is undergoing a public discussion phase) was supported by 61% of respondents. Moreover, the study revealed that this particular project has serious potential for attracting people to the Far East. 20% of the citizens surveyed admit participation in the program and subsequent move to the Far Eastern Federal District. And this is every fifth inhabitant of the country!

"For us it is very important. There was a question such as how much the citizens of Russia in the 21st century will be interested in such a measure as the free provision of land, - the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East shared. - VTsIOM studied this topic, and we received an answer - 20% of the citizens of the Russian Federation are about 30 million people. Let me remind you that 6 million people live in our Far East. This indicative assessment of the potential, in our opinion, is important at this stage of the project implementation. "

According to the survey, Russians from the 18-24 age group would most willingly go to the Far East, subject to the allotment of land (31% of respondents in this age category). In the group of 25-34 year olds, slightly fewer people (29%) spoke in favor of moving on such conditions. The respondents would prefer to receive land mainly in those regions that are rated by respondents as the most comfortable and convenient for living: Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, Amur Region. This, as the VTsIOM researchers believe, is due to the fact that agriculture is possible in these territories. Most often, the main purpose of obtaining land was called the desire to run a peasant farm (28%) or to be a farmer (19%). Less often the land was supposed to be used for other types of income (26%).

"I would also like to emphasize that we are preparing, together with Rosreestr, on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, an appropriate electronic service, which will allow via the Internet, on the basis of a duty cadastral card, very quickly, within 10-15 minutes, to issue and reserve the land plot that interested a citizen of the Russian Federation" - said Alexander Galushka, adding that on September 3-5 at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, a demo version of this service will be presented.

To the East!

41% of Russians in one way or another think about changing their place of residence. From among these people, it is possible to form a new influx of immigrants to the Far East if there are favorable prerequisites for such a decision. So, the fourth point of the study, to which the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East drew attention, is what the citizens of the Russian Federation expect if they realize themselves on the eastern borders of the country.

“Getting a good job comes first. 55% of the citizens of the Russian Federation put this in the first place, this is the main motive. I want to note that this is nothing new and nothing special: all over the world, what interests people in the first place socially is good work. A good job with a good salary. Russians are interested in the same in relation to the Far East, ”said Alexander Galushka. He noted that projects related to the support of investment initiatives, the creation of priority development areas, the Free Port of Vladivostok, are aimed at creating new high-quality modern jobs.

“In second place are affordable housing and social security (31%) and opportunities for education and development (29%). Russians also pay attention to a good climate and a favorable ecological situation in the Far East (25 and 24%, respectively), "said Alexander Galushka.

At the same time, according to the VTsIOM study, it is not always the case that the motives stated in focus groups are reduced to material interest. The respondents are also attracted by the beauty of the region, the possibilities of scientific research, the very demand in the Far East for energetic and courageous people who can benefit this part of Russia.

The Far East themselves consider an active state policy in relation to the Far Eastern Federal District to be an important factor in retaining the population of the Far East. 53% of respondents believe that large state projects are already positively affecting the socio-economic development of the Far East. In general, the new economic model of the Far East is the main driver of the development of the region and retention of the population within the Far Eastern Federal District.

A poll by VTsIOM showed that from the point of view of consolidation in the Far East, Far Easterners are concerned about working with a salary - 54% (on a national scale, 55%, in the Far East - 54%). However, the Far Easterners have a vision of their particular difficulties. There are three of them - the quality of the level of medical care, the cost of housing, and transport infrastructure.

“The government has an understanding of these problems. Today, unfortunately, while the transport infrastructure, the cost of housing, and the quality of medical care are lagging behind, this must be addressed. A special meeting of the government commission headed by the Prime Minister was devoted to exactly these issues. The government commission was held at the end of June last year. I would say that very detailed and prompt instructions have been given in this regard. I can say that today there is an understanding of the reasons for this state of affairs. Many of them were formed not in one, not in two years, many of them are quite long-term. But one thing I can note is that the government has established such work to prioritize the corresponding state programs in the field of health care, the formation of affordable housing and the development of transport infrastructure in relation to the Far East. There is an intention to consistently pursue these areas, ”summed up Alexander Galushka.

08:57 - REGNUM Much attention is paid to the development of the Far Eastern Federal District - the territory development program has become a strategic one for the country. Following the visit to the Far East, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin gave a number of instructions to the government, ministries and departments. The Ministry for the Development of the Far East reports on the success of the implementation of the implemented projects of the territories of advanced social and economic development, the free port of Vladivostok almost on a daily basis. At the III Eastern Economic Forum held in September in Vladivostok, 217 agreements were signed worth 2.5 trillion rubles. Investors go to the territory "like flies to honey." And everyone dreams of a bright future for a prosperous Far East.

Ordinary residents of the Far East continue to dream of more mundane things. No matter how bravura it may sound, but the officials of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, who today report on the successful development of the territory, apparently cannot understand a simple Far Eastern man who dreams of not running into the bitter frost - 40 ° C to the toilet outside. She dreams of receiving a normal salary, and this is not 200 thousand rubles a month, but in the region at least 50-60, and most importantly, without delays. He dreams of finding a decent job in his region, and not going to distant lands, leaving the family for 2 or 3, or even 6 months. And even if he is a seaman by profession and vocation, then in order to work on a ship under the Russian flag, with all social guarantees, and not on an old trough under a foreign flag, which at one fine moment may be stuck for months in some foreign port without money and provisions, or worse, sink.

And the average Far Eastern woman also dreams of her own: how to come to the store and buy all the necessary products there. Indeed, often in remote areas, when the deadlines for the Northern delivery are missed, there is an acute shortage of elementary food products - people line up in huge queues for sugar, chicken eggs, butter. She dreams that the child would go to a comfortable kindergarten and a school, and not into an old wooden building adapted for this. And so that the school has enough teachers, and in the hospital you can get an appointment with narrow specialists, for example, a neurologist, without waiting for your turn, at best a month.

Screenshot of page sunhome.ru

And all together they dream of paying less for utilities, and not giving away a third of their income for light and heat in the winter months. They dream of driving on normal asphalt roads, even if not on an expensive, but not on credit, car. They dream of living in a comfortable apartment, even if taken out on a mortgage with shared housing construction, but the main thing is that the house should be completed. They dream of saving up a year or two and taking a vacation, if not in Sochi and Crimea, then at least to see Moscow.

And what do the people responsible for the development of the Far East dream about? It turns out that it is about something completely different. They do not even dream, but are confident that this most dreamed Far Eastern man will take a hectare of land and go into business, and there is no need to build roads to the allotments, since people will move around in family quadrocopters. Teachers will not need to be attracted to the territory with a salary of 150 (exactly 150!) Thousand rubles, since it will be possible to educate children online.

On the development of the Far East as seen in Moscow, in an interview IA REGNUM with the Chairman of the Public Council of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East Sergey Gabestro.

: Within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum, a lot of good things have been said about the development of the Far East, about the prospects, and so on. Let's talk about problems today. In your opinion, what is the most important problem that hinders the development of the Far East?

Certain industries have some kind of major cornerstone problem. If we take, for example, the aquaculture and fish farming industry, then the problem of poaching slows down. Because all other problems are derivatives in this industry, for example, lack of insurance, lack of normal logistics - because there is poaching. When the state realizes that the first thing it must solve is the problem of poaching in aquaculture, aquaculture will “grow up” by leaps and bounds.

As for other industries, for example, mining, the main problem there is actually logistics, absence, that is, the region is very large, the largest macro-region in Russia, this is both the advantage and the problem for the industry. The Ministry of Development of the Far East, together with the government and the president, is also solving this problem by creating this or that infrastructure. Therefore, speaking in general about the problems of the Far East, you know, today's problem may become a great advantage in 5-10 years. For example, today there is a problem - 6 million people live in the Far East, because one and a half billion Chinese live nearby, yes, on the one hand, this is a problem, but in the conditions of robotization of the economy and digitalization of the world, this is not a problem, but an advantage, because if we are these We will train 6 million to service these robotic production, we have no problem, because the problem will be there in 5-7 years.

From my point of view, the Far East is a promising territory, of course, it will be the next year or two or three, if we continue to do what we are doing within the framework of the government, the president, and we understand that this is a priority development for us, for the whole country. This essentially becomes the locomotive of the whole country. All the innovations that have been adopted over the past three years, most of the innovations, including in public administration, are here. For example, what is the law on the Far Eastern hectare, about which everyone talks a lot. There are good and bad, in fact, this is a unique product from the point of view of public administration of land allocation, because we essentially took from unscrupulous civil servants who previously allocated land, pulled out assets, now they cannot distribute anything spontaneously, they are forced to work in harsh conditions in the information system. This was not the case in the state administration of the Russian Federation, so that in electronic form you could essentially allocate land, being at any point, if you are a citizen of the Russian Federation. You take and receive 1 hectare of land absolutely free for your own development.

: Well, don't you consider this particular project dead-born, that maybe only hundreds of a thousand hectares will be developed?

The first is that 100 thousand applications have already been received.

100 thousand applications were received by the federal information system, 30 thousand allocated areas. Look in the Central District - up to 20% of Russians are interested in obtaining and developing this land. And I can tell you that the ministry and the government are interested in creating such conditions for the development of the land so that they are favorable. If you want to plant a garden - please, this is land development. In this sense, the regulations that are currently under discussion will be very light regulations for you to master this land. And then you get ownership of it. We already have a large number of settlements that arise spontaneously - 500 people each, people unite and create their own municipality, their own settlement, these are cities of a new type, in fact. They are now also helped by the ministries for the development of human capital, the development of the Far East, because they need competencies, they need to teach how to create a city, because we have lost these competencies, it was only the USSR that could create cities, now we are restoring them.

Ivan Shilov © REGNUM

: Today we are losing cities, closing those that we have.

And in the Far East we are creating.

: In the Far East we are losing, the social infrastructure is not developed at all. And we create something new.

This is what people create. In this sense, a very good example - people who create their own city, the state will help them, and they will create their own social infrastructure. These will be cities of a new type, from my point of view. Maybe there is no need to create where we are losing, because due to economic circumstances, it turned out that this settlement is not needed there. Then what: we are developing for one hectare now, more precisely, people are developing, and we are helping them to popularize it - the economic basis. At the WEF, at a one-hectare session, one of the speakers proposed the introduction of a contract system - it essentially gives people the opportunity to earn up to two or three million rubles a year there. Young people from any city in Central Russia will not go for such an opportunity? Will not receive this hectare and will not develop it? I think he will go and work. There are many different cases, there are already dozens of cases, you can go to the hectare program and see what people have already received, and they are really happy. For many, this law has become an accelerator for their own endeavors. One of the guys could not make his hotel, was removed from the sea, as soon as they gave the opportunity to obtain a hectare, the first thing he did was get 5 acres and began to build by the sea, invest, develop. This is a unique law of its kind, when so many public administration processes were brought together in electronic form. It is anti-corruption in terms of land allocation. It is honest in relation to people, and, of course, progressive, because tomorrow they will allocate land in electronic form throughout the territory of the Russian Federation.

What needs to be done to ensure that not 100 thousand plots are allocated, but a million? Work. If any person has an understandable opportunity to earn money, everyone will move to their own hectare, and the roads, by the way, if we again look in 10 years how important infrastructure is, it becomes less and less important. Look at Elon Musk's projects. There is no need for power supply or treatment facilities. There are new technologies - solar panels, the warmth of the earth, if only there was water. There is water and a plot - and you can be fully provided with everything you need for life. And movement - look into the future for a second, is there a problem of movement without roads in 10 years?

Ivan Shilov © IA REGNUM

: In the Far East there is.

I'm talking about quadrocopters, individual family ones. Small planes, small aircraft.

: We have territories where we cannot reach even with small aircraft ...

There is. We run in circles. Our countries are technologically advanced, world leaders, they are running ahead of us. If we run after them, we will never catch up with them. And if we run across, we will find ourselves where they have not yet been. Therefore, my logic is this, and the Far East is precisely for this - to run across.

: The key factor holding back the development of port, and not only, regions of the Far East is the insufficient capacity of the railways. The President instructed to allocate 150 billion rubles for the modernization of the BAM and Transsib. Do you think this amount is enough? The free port regime will be introduced in Sovetskaya Gavan of the Khabarovsk Territory, where there is practically no railway, but there is a project to build a terminal for transshipment of liquefied hydrocarbon gases. What is the point when Vanino is nearby, where today there is tough competition for volumes on the railroad between stevedoring companies? What are the chances for companies that decide to invest in Sovetskaya Gavan?

The first railroad in the world appeared in America, it was private. Maybe this is a reason to abandon state domination and monopoly? If there is a problem, build a railroad. The entrepreneur started to build some objects or assets. In any case, attract investment, maybe it will be a public-private partnership. We started to build public-private roads and toll roads. The time will come for railways too. I am not an expert in numbers, sufficient or insufficient funding. I proceed from the assumption that the state can be effective, the time has come and will not allow the state to be ineffective, otherwise it will not exist.

: Agree that in addition to the railway, we also have a problem with the fleet.

Why should I agree?

: This applies to both the merchant fleet and the fishing fleet. It is enough to look at the berths for our ships to see what old rusty ships under the flags of different countries are moored everywhere. We do not take into account specialized coal terminals. What to do with the fleet? Can we say that we have lost the fleet? And is something being done to restore the fleet?

There is Softfreight, Pudding Dima, ask him these questions. The fleet is where it is convenient for people to keep, under what flags, let them keep them under. And the fleet is being built in huge numbers, including on the shipbuilding corporation, which also builds civilian ships. South Korea is building a huge number of them. We are launching a new Zvezda shipyard on Bolshoy Kamen, which plans to build, including civilian ships. As far as I understand, the United Shipbuilding Corporation is loaded with orders. New assets, the same Zaliv from Crimea. They have no problem. What do you call a fleet? If these are small fishing vessels, no problem either, you can place an order anywhere - in Korea, Norway and Turkey. The problem is to load our shipyards, because it is important, it is a strategic state task. The solution may be a keel quota: if you want to get quotas for catching water resources, you build ships in our shipyards. We need to see it through to make it work.

: What do you see in practice as the main advantage of the free port of Vladivostok regime, and did you hurry up with the spread of this regime to the rest of the Far East?

Not. Of course, this should be, because it was not very correct to create a monopoly position only for the port of Vladivostok, unlike other ports. There are already existing businesses in different ports, people ready to invest and open new businesses. This kind of decision allowed everyone to be equal in quotas and preferences. Therefore, this is the right decision, and development is already underway. Ask the subjects of the free port. There is already a real struggle. The created association of the Free Port of Vladivostok is trying to talk very constructively with the corporation for the development of the Far East, with the ministry, to protect the interests of its members in order to prevent unnecessary incorrect behavior of one towards another. Normal good development is underway. As for whether a free port of Vladivostok is needed, our historical experience suggests that we have a beautiful city of Odessa, because it got this whole view only when it was a free port. The same is in Vladivostok. It received all its main development when it was a free port. So we just research history and make decisions according to it.

: People from the provinces often have questions: you are developing Vladivostok, we see that something is being done with Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, something in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in Khabarovsk, in Yakutsk. And the province has become a province entirely, and people ask - you don't need us at all? How do you feel about those conversations that they want to give the Far East to the Chinese?

Lord have mercy. Have you seen a lot of Chinese here? I fly here across our country, go out in Vladivostok and see a European city. Maybe it so happened that I have not yet traveled to all the small towns. Three years ago the same chant was uttered by Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yakutsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The same: that no one needs us, we will be abandoned. Now it is spoken by small, remote municipalities. But what is the TOP regime? All activities and strategy of the Ministry of Development of the Far East: growth points are needed. These are the same TOPs, somewhere they are in cities, somewhere near cities. It is impossible to “pour” money into everyone, it was clear three years ago. But it is possible to create conditions for a really good culture at these points of growth, for business to grow and social conditions for people to grow. The government is now engaged in this, and we are creating these points of growth. After all, we are talking about deregulation in them. The overall regulatory system is heavy, in my opinion, ineffective. We see the DPRK's problems on TV, and the president has already noted that the real problem is related to the control and supervision activities of all bodies. How to beat this? This cannot be overcome by simple methods. But you can make dedicated territories of the ASEZ and there your own regulation. Then only with positive practices, when everything works in such a way that there is a positive investment climate, the culture is appropriate for businesses to grow there like mushrooms, then this practice can be extended to other territories.

Now we need the whole world to support the tools introduced here in the Far East in order to get these best practices, otherwise the controllers will win, it is beneficial for them that these experiments fail. And for us, ordinary citizens, it is very beneficial that all experiments with the free port of Vladivostok, with TORs end positively, so that a new practice of control and supervisory activities, deregulation, a new culture for life, growth, for our children to grow up there, and they received modern education at an international level. That's what we're all doing now.

The Republic of Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory, as already reported, were transferred from the Siberian to the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) by Vladimir Putin's decree. Residents of both regions learned about this from the media over the weekend. There was no public discussion of the upcoming innovation.

The heads of the regions rushed to support the president's decision. In their opinion, re-subordination will give their territories new opportunities and prospects. "Residents of Transbaikalia will receive the same preferences and benefits (as in the Far Eastern Federal District - auth.)", - promised the acting governor of the region, Alexander Osipov.

But in the words of the head of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, one can feel a slight opposition. “Geographically, as we were Siberia, we remain Siberia, no one has changed geography,” the politician assured, noting the benefits of the Far Eastern economic programs.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the topic of the transfer of Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory under the "wing" of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East has been heard from the very moment the department was created. In January 2017, the concept for the development of border areas of the Far Eastern Federal District was extended to both regions.

Novosibirsk political scientist Alexey Mazur noted that Siberia is getting smaller and smaller.

It is not completely clear to me in connection with what the decision was made to transfer Buryatia and Transbaikalia from the Siberian district to the Far East. Perhaps this is due to the development programs of the Far Eastern Federal District, where they decided to include both regions.

There is also a conspiracy theory that the main goal may be to spread the "Far Eastern hectare" program to Buryatia. Surely, many will want to get a hectare of land on the shores of Lake Baikal for free.

"SP": - Knowing our officials, this is not surprising. Surely there is an opportunity to manipulate plots of land in favor of “ours”. In this case, the transfer of Transbaikalia is explained by geography - it will not work to give one Buryatia to the east ...

One way or another, no official explanation was given. Of course, in everyday life, both Buryatia and Transbaikalia, and the rest of Siberia, nothing will change significantly. Little depends on the federal district. Representatives provide a certain nomenclature of officials, but they do not deal with real management and do not distribute the budget.

"SP": - How did the Siberians react to such "circumcision"?

Of course, mixed feelings arise here. When I was born, Siberia was everything from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean. All residents considered themselves Siberians. The same "Siberian divisions" were formed from the Amur to the Urals. And now there is a small strip of all this. Moreover, the Tyumen region, which has always been Siberia, like Tobolsk, went to the Urals.

"SP": - At the beginning of the 18th century, when Tobolsk was the capital of the Siberian province, the local head ruled, among other things, the western coast of America from Alaska to California ...

And now Siberia is a small patch. The most eastern part of Siberia is Irkutsk! Although a resident of Buryatia somewhere abroad will never explain that he is a Far Eastern and not a Siberian.