Mikhail Mishustin‘s trip to the Far East has ended. The Prime Minister visited four regions at once: Chukotka Autonomous region, Kamchatka territory, and the Magadan and Amur regions. In my memory, this is the first such long trip to the regions of a leader of such a high level.
But the most important thing is not the duration of the trip, but its results. In this sense, Mishustin turned out to be all right. Perhaps for the first time, I saw a real Prime Minister. Prior to this, in connection with known events, Mishustin’s work consisted of constant online meetings, signing documents, etc. Now the Prime Minister has shown how he can work “on the ground”.
When visiting four regions of the Far Eastern Federal district, absolutely all the problems that were put before Mishustin were resolved immediately. As an example, I will give the construction of greenhouses in Anadyr. The capital of Chukotka is too far from the “big land”, which affects the cost of food that is imported. To reduce the retail price, it is necessary to develop greenhouses. Seeing this problem (which is rather regional, not federal), Mishustin immediately ordered to work out the issue of allocating subsidies for the construction of greenhouses.
The Prime Minister personally took control of the construction of a new hospital in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the fish terminal of the Magadan port. The first facility was to begin being constructed in 2011, and the second in 2016. But so far nothing has been done. I am sure that the Prime Minister’s personal control, which he announced to the general public, will allow the facilities to be put into operation in the near future.
I will write a separate paragraph about the Magadan port. The fishing industry is the most important for the entire Far Eastern Federal district. The lack of infrastructure forces Magadan fishermen to sail to Vladivostok. This is unprofitable, which makes the entire enterprise unprofitable. The new fish terminal will provide an additional driver for the development of a small Magadan (population of about 90,000 people). Despite the fact that the budget of the Magadan region is relatively balanced due to gold mining, the fishing industry will create additional jobs, which is very important for the region. Probably even more important than tax revenues to local budgets. For example, the fishing industry is developing actively in Kamchatka. This makes it possible not only to provide the population with food, but also to load the shipyards for the construction of fishing vessels. Previously, they were ordered not from foreign shipyards, but now they have almost completely managed to reorient them to domestic capacities.
But the main events unfolded during the visit to the Amur region. Mishustin launched the construction of the Amur gas-chemical complex. This mega-plant will be the world’s largest complex for the production of polymers. It will enter into service in 2024. Until now, the decision on construction was in question. The case moved forward after Borisov pushed through a bill on the return of excise duty on processed ethane and LPG. Now the project is in operation. Together with the Amur Gas Processing Plant, the gas chemical complex will ensure a 2.5-fold increase in budget revenues for the Amur region by 2024!
Even before the famous crisis events, Mishustin actively traveled to the regions. In February-March, he visited Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Kurgan, and some other regions. I was afraid that this approach would not become a tradition, but was due solely to a PR move, when the new Prime Minister needed to gain popularity.
Fortunately, this was not the case. Mishustin showed that he intends to continue to delve into regional problems. I would like to note that in the far Eastern Federal District, the Prime Minister did not visit Vladivostok or Sakhalin, but those regions that are the most problematic in the region. This means that Mishustin is really set up to work effectively for the result. Many people call Mishustin a technical PM. However, I think this is what Russia needs. A technical PM means an effective manager, not a politician. And we have someone to deal with politics.
Konstantin Dvinsky
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