Russia (bbabo.net), - In communication he is laconic, but definitely a man of his word: "he said - he did." He promised to rebuild the bridge - and it was done in a matter of weeks, talked to business - and the salaries were raised to the people. Now he promises to renovate Venets so that the symbolic hotel will once again become the pride of Ulyanovsk.

Alexey Yuryevich, the end of the year is the time to take stock. What was 2021 like for you? More than 80 percent of voters supported you in the elections in September. Have you already managed to fulfill some of their orders?

Alexey Russkikh: This is a year of great changes for me. In April, our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin entrusted me with the leadership of the Ulyanovsk region. Even in the status of acting, I visited every district, met with people, found out what they want to change and how the authorities can help them. Something was decided on the spot, some issues required a more detailed study.

I knew in advance that the path would not be easy. And then the element at the start gave a "surprise": the bridge over the Tinarka river in the Melekessky district was washed away, for local residents it was almost the only connection with the regional center, and the rest of the world. Then I promised that in July people will drive across the new bridge. And he fulfilled his promise: we promptly found budgetary funds and set up a ferry. Recently I made inquiries - he is holding on tightly.

In this hot summer, there were many calls for water supply. Your newspaper also wrote about the situation in Shilovka and Kriushi, Sengileevsky district. Villages on the banks of the Volga - and suffer from thirst! They promptly organized the supply of water, put patches on the dilapidated water supply system. But these are temporary solutions. Now we will solve the issue radically - in 2022 we will build a new water pipeline from local springs for Shilovka and Kriush. The problem is global, there is a lot of work to be done to modernize this entire system in the region. The quality of life of people directly depends on this.

And I, if you remember, in my election program outlined the main task - to improve the living standards of Ulyanovsk citizens, to create comfortable conditions for their work, self-realization and rest. The task is large-scale, but it consists of a number of aspects that we are consistently solving.

Fortunately, the region has received great federal support for many projects, for which I am personally grateful to President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the federal government, the Federation Council and the State Duma.

Has this year changed anything in your private life? Remember, with what feelings you first set foot on the Ulyanovsk land and how they were transformed in the process?

Aleksey Russkikh: After September 19, when I was elected governor, in principle, nothing has changed: my family, as before, is next to me, my relatives support me.

As for the changes in the work schedule, they took place as soon as I was appointed acting governor. Time was compressed a lot, but I even like it, because the result is also visible faster.

In general, the Ulyanovsk region made the best impressions on me: there are a lot of smart, hard-working and talented people. In these impressions, over time, I only get stronger.

How is inter-party interaction in power built?

Alexey Russkikh: I am equidistant from all political currents, my main task is to consolidate all healthy and constructive party forces so that we pull the region in one direction of development, and not tear it apart. I do not like political intrigues and would not like to get involved in them. By the way, when I came to the region, I immediately told United Russia, and my fellow party members in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and members of the Liberal Democratic Party, that I would be equidistant from everyone. It was possible to comply with this principle when preparing the budget for 2022, it was supported by all factions in the Legislative Assembly.

You spoke about support for your activities in the Federation Council and the State Duma, where you worked for a long time. Do you intend to use this resource for lobbying?

Alexey Russkikh: Of course! You already have to be a lobbyist! I actually held posts in the State Duma. In the State Duma of the VI convocation, he was the chairman of the committee on land relations and construction. In the State Duma of the VII convocation - Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Transport and Construction. We discussed and passed laws, I made amendments if I saw flaws. He personally introduced many draft laws. Some of them were adopted, now our state lives on them. For example, amendments to the Land and Urban Development Codes.

Helped the FTS to create the law of the federal address system. So, by the way, he met Mikhail Mishustin, who at that time was the head of the Federal Tax Service. We in the Ulyanovsk region really now feel the attention and support from the federal center.For example, an application has been approved for the construction of an elementary school for 550 students - the second building of the Governor's Lyceum N100. Construction will begin in 2022. 652.1 million rubles will be allocated from the federal budget for the development of sports in the region next year. And already in this - we received an additional 940 million for road repairs and put in order 64 kilometers of the carriageway.

About 800 million were allocated for the accelerated resettlement of citizens from hazardous housing. Thanks to the federal tranche, residents of emergency houses who were planning a housewarming by the end of 2025 will receive new apartments two years earlier, already in 2023.

Also, by the end of 2023, thanks to federal support, we plan to completely resolve the issue with "defrauded equity holders". Incidentally, I reported this to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting. PPK "Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Citizens Participating in Shared Construction" is sending 2.4 billion rubles to complete the construction of ten apartment buildings, the former developers of which went bankrupt.

In 2021, the Ulyanovsk region received financial support for the agro-industrial complex from the federal budget for 228 million rubles, for the integrated development of rural areas - 172 million, for land reclamation - 74 million rubles. Next year, we expect more than 1 billion rubles for the entire range of reclamation work.

Thanks to cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, we plan to solve several long-standing problems - oil pollution in Vinnovskaya Roshcha park and landfill reclamation in the Krasny Yar village. The total cost of reclamation work at the Krasny Yar landfill is 400 million rubles. According to preliminary estimates, 250 million rubles are needed to carry out work to eliminate pollution of waters and springs in Vinnovskaya Roscha. Work is planned to begin in 2022 as part of the Volga Rehabilitation federal project.

What mechanisms do you intend to use to improve the welfare of citizens, because a regional leader cannot directly influence inflation or labor productivity growth?

Alexey Russkikh: I repeat that it is the well-being of people that is my main goal. With all the successes in industry, agro-industrial complex and the volume of investments, the main problem of the region is the low standard of living of citizens and the high differentiation of their incomes.

According to a recent sample survey commissioned by the government, 5.6 percent of workers in large and medium-sized enterprises in the region are poor because they earn less than the minimum wage. 33.2 percent - to the low-paid, 31.9 - to the paid below average, and only 6.8 percent - to the highly paid.

Thus, salary increases must be achieved not only in the public sector, but also in private firms with which we carry out targeted work. At the moment, more than 1,500 agreements have been concluded with employers to raise wages, and this has already affected 50 thousand workers.

Digit

50 thousand residents of Ulyanovsk in 2021 receive a salary increase due to the dialogue of regional authorities with business.

Sharp question

Does business understand your desire to raise salaries to people at its expense?

Alexey Russkikh: We not only demand from business, but also help it. To stimulate employment, legalize labor and wages, renew fixed assets and increase productivity, 200 million rubles have been allocated from the regional budget alone, which we call "state investment in business."

We need to work in areas of the economy with high potential. Take the tourism industry, it has huge potential. To increase the tourist flow, we need to create the necessary infrastructure for the guests, including a modern embankment, establish river passenger navigation on the Volga, and continue the improvement of historical sites. When this complex works, it will affect the well-being of our citizens.

We will reconstruct the main Ulyanovsk hotels - Venets, Volga, Oktyabrskaya. Now there is a search for investors, there is already progress in this matter.

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