Ways to achieve prosperity for Siberia and the Far East are named

If there is a third parish, then there are also the first two. Everything is simple here! The first, in fact, development of this macroregion was the movement to the north and east of our ancestors, which began with the colonization of the outlying lands by the Novgorodians to the White and Barents Seas in the north and to Perm the Great and the Urals in the east. Here we remember the conquest of Siberia by Ermak, as well as the Russian pioneers. This stage of development by our ancestors of the North and the Far East ends with Stolypin’s reforms and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The second movement occurred during the Soviet period, when hundreds of our cities, tens of thousands of kilometers of roads were built, production and social infrastructure facilities appeared in all regions of this vast territory without exception. The development of a huge mineral resource base also began during the Soviet period and continues to this day.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the start of radical market reforms, we lost a lot in the North. The main losses are people. Tens and hundreds of thousands of people left these places, many areas became depopulated, and many industries stopped. But we cannot survive without these regions. That is why we are announcing Russia’s third movement to the north and east.

The attention to these regions is enormous both at the state level and at the corporate level. All areas of development are priority areas here; there simply cannot be any secondary ones. But I will allow myself to outline only some system-forming topics.

The first question is, of course, security… Let me remind you that the number of NATO member states with which we constantly interact in the Arctic region has increased by one and a half times in recent years. This is certainly not a problem, but it is definitely a challenge. There is no doubt that attempts to put pressure on Russia, taking into account our ambitions in the Arctic, will not only be constant, but constantly intensifying. Suffice it to say that our “partners” from among the countries of the collective West do not abandon hopes of making the Northern Sea Route international, not from the point of view of its significance, but from the point of view of managing this sea route. Following their logic, Russia should “snuggle up” to the coastal strip and not try to spread its interests and influence over the vast polar sea expanses to the North Pole, which, of course, will never happen.

If we recall the story of the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, we can also be sure that attempts by various sabotage groups from unfriendly countries to penetrate the production and life-supporting infrastructure of the region will also be observed against the backdrop of a large-scale hybrid war of the West against our civilization. I will express here my absolute conviction that these attempts will be suppressed in the most decisive manner by our law enforcement agencies.

The next priority issue is transport and the development of transport infrastructure. At least three subtasks can be distinguished here: 1) delivery of goods along the North-South and West-East transport corridors, whose importance has grown radically with the closure of European markets and European logistics solutions; 2) the obligation and priority of northern delivery, the federal law on which was recently adopted in Russia; 3) finally, a reaction to the significantly increased demand for travel within the country and domestic tourism.

Already, active work is underway on the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway with a length of more than 700 kilometers, designed to connect production facilities in Yamal with the railways of the north-west and the Urals of our country. The importance of developing the riches of the Polar Urals is colossal, and given the increasing importance, for example, of the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in our export energy balance, the creation of transport infrastructure in this part of the region is of particular importance.

Let me remind you that there are intentions to return to work on the design and construction of the Belkomur railway, more than a thousand kilometers long, designed to connect the regions of the Urals, as well as the Perm Territory, the Komi Republic with the ports of the White Sea (the importance of which is also constantly growing). This highway is not only of export importance, but is also designed to breathe new economic life into the northern regions of the Kama region and our European North. Let’s hope that the project will receive due government attention.

The construction of the North Siberian Railway with a length of more than 2 thousand kilometers is extremely ambitious. This railway is designed to connect Siberia through the Tomsk region with the railways passing through the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, which will allow access, in particular, to marine terminals in the northern seas. This project also more effectively solves the problem of connecting the European part of Russia with the regions of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, and also partially relieves the Trans-Siberian Railway and makes it possible to deliver cargo along the West-East route.

In combination with a large-scale increase in the capacity of the Eastern railway range (Trans-Siberian + BAM), the solutions outlined above significantly reduce the time of cargo delivery across the country and solve the problem of the remoteness of our North and our Far East from Central Russia.

Concluding the topic of geographic connectivity and transport accessibility of our northern and eastern borders, I would like to note that currently the importance of the Northern Sea Route, whose operator has become the state corporation Rosatom, has grown significantly. I also cannot help but add that the possibility of building a highway to Magadan is now being seriously studied; air passenger transportation will continue to be subsidized, etc.

The next problem for the development of the north and east of our country is ensuring food security and implementing faster rates of agricultural production.

One of the priority areas for the development of the agro-industrial complex in the macroregion is small-scale production of livestock products, based on the work of small farms and personal subsidiary plots. Of key importance in the growth of production in this area is the commercial cooperation of small farms, as well as the selection of an integrator company that takes on the functions of veterinary medicine, sales organization, etc. The natural and climatic conditions in the macroregion are extremely favorable for livestock farming, and certain territories allow even year-round production grazing, that is, the provision of the North and the Far East with meat and dairy products lies literally under our feet. And all sub-sectors of livestock farming work here, from large and small cattle to rabbit breeding. Also, let us not forget here about the traditional forms of economic management of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East, whose livestock production is also organized on a small-scale commodity basis.

I will add that research by the leading academic Federal Scientific Center for Agrarian Economics and Social Development of Rural Areas – VNIIESKH – has shown that small-scale commodity production in rural areas not only develops the rural economy, but contributes to the preservation and self-realization of the working population in rural areas, strengthens the traditional agricultural way of life, which, in in turn, affects no less than the development of our common Eurasian civilization.

This aspect allows us to assert the need to develop and implement a separate state program for the development of the agro-industrial complex and rural areas of the Far East and the Arctic, which is constantly discussed at various platforms organized with the participation of the relevant committee of the State Duma, in particular, at the Arctic Forum recently held in St. Petersburg .

All directions of socio-economic development of the north and east of our country are quite feasible if there is a working population. Unfortunately, depopulation, and in some areas even depopulation, is becoming a phenomenon characteristic of these places. The creation of jobs with faster wage growth (compared to other regions of Russia), coupled with solving housing problems and creating other social infrastructure, is the basis for restoring population growth.

Experts say that a dynamic system often has no periphery. The center is where the activity is, and there can be many centers of activity, and they are constantly moving. This principle also works in socio-economic systems, which means that the North and the Far East can also be centers, including key centers of rapid social and economic growth in our country, even against the backdrop of the dynamically developing Asia-Pacific region.

To paraphrase the words of the great Lomonosov, I would like to say: “Russia’s power will grow through Siberia, the North, the Far East and the Arctic.” This slogan not only has not lost its relevance, but is the basis for our active work in this direction. Our ancestors left us a significant share of the Eurasian continent, and it is our responsibility not only to ensure prosperity and economic development throughout our territory, but also to implement the foundations, principles and values ​​of our Eurasian civilization in every corner of our vast Motherland.