Beautiful Moscow of the future – Kommersant newspaper No. 238 (7439) of 12/22/2022

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin delivered his annual report to the deputies of the Moscow City Duma on Wednesday. His report on the results of the year, like the two previous ones, was made online. Mr. Sobyanin paid attention to helping mobilized Muscovites, construction and improvement not only in Moscow, but also in sister cities in the Donbass. The mayor promised to solve almost all the questions that the deputies had by way of the transformation of the capital, which, according to him, would only grow, despite the “difficult times.”

Sergei Sobyanin began his report on work in 2022 with a special military operation, immediately noting that the capital provides assistance to both the families of mobilized Muscovites and sister cities in the LPR and DPR, which the capital’s budget will help restore next year. The mayor also recalled the “unprecedented sanctions” that Moscow business and production not only withstood with dignity, but also managed to increase their capacity, moving towards ensuring “technological sovereignty”. The budget, he said, also “withstood the blow”: the amount of funding for key areas has not decreased, and social support has even increased.

A large block in the mayor’s speech was dedicated to his favorite topic of construction.

Mr. Sobyanin expressed grandiose plans: to reorganize 25% of the territory of the capital and by 2025 to build twice as much housing as has been introduced so far.

Now, he added, the shape of Moscow for the next century is being determined, and transport infrastructure plays an important role in it. In particular, Sergei Sobyanin promised that a new mode of transport would be opened in 2023: transportation along the Moscow River on electric-powered ships. In addition, the mayor assured that the capital will certainly make a breakthrough in the development of medicine, education and improvement, and is already actively moving in this direction, completing long-term and large projects. Muscovites are capable of any tests, and he himself believes in Muscovites, summed up Mr. Sobyanin.

After listening to the report, the deputies moved on to questions from the factions. United Russia, as expected, asked about assistance to the mobilized, and the mayor readily said that the city authorities provide Muscovites and their relatives called up for service with everything they need: from benefits and payments to psychological assistance. And when asked about the prospects for the development of industry, Sergei Sobyanin replied that this industry is directly dependent on the development of the city itself.

The Communists asked when Muscovites would be given back face-to-face public hearings on important city issues, as now their opinion is being “ignored.” The mayor did not agree with this, saying that the townspeople effectively discuss city issues using the Active Citizen electronic voting system, and face-to-face meetings “with crush and screams that sometimes reached massacre” only “interfere with normal discussion” and reduce the number participants in popular referendums.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation also complained that the Moscow authorities, while implementing large infrastructure projects, do not draw up plans for long-term construction work that would avoid many incidents and inconveniences, and do not coordinate them with the deputies.

However, the mayor did not recognize this problem either: the grandiose construction projects that are underway in the capital, in his opinion, always bring with them significant, but temporary inconveniences. The construction itself always proceeds in strict accordance with the plan, Mr. Sobyanin assured the communists.

The mayor’s association “My Moscow” was interested in helping small businesses (the mayor replied that the city continues to provide them with benefits and remove barriers) and the possibility of assigning developers the obligation to build social facilities (Sergey Sobyanin recalled the system of agreements with investors, which spelled out their obligations to build a social infrastructure and other “tricks” that allow, if necessary, to put pressure on the builders).

“Fair Russia” was worried about the patriotic education of youth and support for tourism.

The mayor again reduced the answer to the development of the capital as a whole: if Moscow is “the best city in the world”, then the youth will be patriotic, and the creation of amenities for the citizens makes the city attractive for tourists as well.

At the same time, the mayor “with pain” recalled the reduction in mass celebrations during the pandemic and promised to restore them in full, but probably not in the near future. For example, during the upcoming New Year, the city refused mass events in order to support the mobilized.

Yabloko, continuing the theme, traditionally reminded Mr. Sobyanin that public events are still banned in Moscow, but this does not apply to concerts held by the authorities. The mayor dutifully replied that the epidemiological situation is still not the most favorable, but at their events, unlike the opposition, the city authorities can still ensure the safety of Muscovites. Also, Yabloko proposed to appoint and coincide with the Year of the Teacher new payments to teachers, but Sergei Sobyanin in response only spoke about the benefits that teachers already have.

As a result, the mayor’s report was, as usual, adopted by a majority of votes: 28 deputies approved it, seven voted against, eight abstained.

Kira Heifetz