Translated material
Praise yourself, ask for money
The Novosibirsk governor showed a sample of the region's report to the federal government
Yesterday, the government, as part of traditional reports at a meeting of the cabinet of Russian regions, discussed issues of socio-economic development of the Novosibirsk region. Governor Viktor Tolokonsky should be pleased. His report received full approval from the ministers. They liked the situation in the region, which was already in good standing with the federal center. Members of the government did not make a single critical comment, promising the region both moral and material support. In particular, it appears that federal funds will be allocated for the construction of a new university building. “The regional leadership is carrying out thoughtful, systematic work. The integrated approach that you follow is an advantage of your region,” said Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, addressing the governor. In turn, the governor took advantage of the situation to ask for government investment in a new building for Novosibirsk State University.However, no one expected serious criticism of the regional leadership. Economic indicators speak for themselves. Gross regional product (GRP), according to Mr. Tolokonsky, grew by 90% from 2000 to 2006, and is expected to double this year. In other words, in a single region it will be possible to fulfill the task set by Vladimir Putin in his address to the Federal Assembly in 2003 in relation to the entire country - to achieve a doubling of GDP in a decade. Although, as the governor noted, it was very difficult for the region to move to new economic conditions, since after the collapse of the USSR, 70% of the region’s economy was the defense complex.
The regional budget has increased sharply. If in 2000 it was 9.5 billion rubles, then in 2007 it was already 70 billion. At the same time, financial assistance from the center is constantly being reduced (from 20% several years ago to 5% this year), which causes the Ministry of Finance genuine satisfaction. “The Novosibirsk region has a high quality of public administration and financial management. Subsidies from the federal budget are being reduced, and own income is growing faster,” Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin praised the leadership of the region. According to Viktor Tolokonsky, national projects are being actively implemented in the territory entrusted to him, and the pace of gasification has doubled in the last two years. “National projects are developing well in the region, their fate is beyond doubt,” said First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
However, the main value of the Novosibirsk region is its scientific potential, which, as Mikhail Fradkov is sure, should play an important role in the establishment of the Russian economy as a “knowledge” economy and the development of high technologies. In the middle of the last century, Akademgorodok was created in Novosibirsk, which became the leading scientific center of the country. Today it unites 35 research institutes and a university (in total in the region, recalled First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who prepared for the meeting, 60 industry research institutes, 43 universities, approximately 1,600 enterprises engaged in technology innovation activities).
But time, as we know, does not spare anyone or anything, including research infrastructure. Thus, the university building, built half a century ago, has long failed to meet modern requirements. There is no place to place modern educational equipment. Viktor Tolokonsky asked the government to help the region with the construction of a new university building and received support from all interested ministries (however, the amount of the proposed investment was not announced).
It is recognized that the university should become an important component of the scientific and technological park currently being formed on the basis of the Academic Town (main areas of activity: bio- and medical technologies, information technologies, power electronics; instrument engineering). The project, which is being implemented on the basis of public-private partnership (more than 400 small and medium-sized enterprises in the scientific and technical sphere participate in it), is estimated at approximately 19 billion rubles, of which 4.4 billion rubles. -- contribution of budgets of all levels, 15 billion rubles. -- funds from private investors. The federal budget will spend, as expected, 2.2 billion rubles on the technology park in Novosibirsk.
Yesterday, the prime minister persistently asked the governor when the technology park would be created. According to Mr. Tolokonsky, construction will begin in September. The launch of the pilot line is scheduled for 2008.
Meanwhile, after the government meeting, the question remained: why and why the government considered the situation in a successful region, and not in one of the depressed ones, where the problems are more acute and ways out are more difficult to find. Judging by the explanations of Mikhail Fradkov, this was done so that other subjects of the federation become familiar with successful examples and learn from experience. However, each Russian region is unique in its own way - not everywhere there is an Akademgorodok and not every governor can boast of a concentration of transport routes. (By the way, members of the government yesterday supported the proposal to build a second runway at Tolmachevo airport - the third airport in Russia by cargo turnover after Moscow and St. Petersburg.) At the same time, during such discussions we are talking about advantages, prospects, and disadvantages specific region. Of course, it is much more pleasant to talk about successes than about shortcomings. But there are still far more problematic regions in the country than successful ones. At the same time, in problem subjects, attention to their problems from the federal center is more highly valued, especially when expressed at such a high level as a government meeting.
Yesterday, at its meeting, the government approved changes to the law “On the budget of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for 2007”, providing for an increase in the maximum amount of maternity benefits from 16,125 rubles. up to 23,400 rub. According to the Cabinet of Ministers, the proposed changes will make it possible to compensate, to the maximum extent possible, the earnings lost by women during maternity leave, on the basis of which payments to the Social Insurance Fund were calculated in full, without the influence of the regressive scale of the unified social tax.