Translated material
The Sochi village of Sirius will be the first to receive the status of a federal territory
The first bill describing the status of “federal territory” was submitted to the State Duma - this term appeared in the Constitution after amendments were made. The first federal territory will be the village of Sirius, created on the basis of the Olympic infrastructure, where there is an educational center established by the foundation of Vladimir Putin’s friend Sergei Roldugin.
The bill proposes to consolidate at the legislative level the concept of the federal territory “Sirius” as a new type of public legal entity. The village will have independent authorities that will receive separate powers from federal and regional government agencies. Sirius will also have his own budget, property and property rights, it follows from the bill.
The federal territory will be governed by a council - a representative body, a head - a senior official and an administration - an executive and administrative body. The bill prescribes their powers and differentiates them from the powers of the authorities of Sochi, the Krasnodar Territory and federal bodies, and also provides for special regulation of advertising, urban planning, medical, educational and other activities on the territory of Sirius.
A federal territory is a more complex and purposeful structure than a city of federal subordination, writes Kommersant. The head of Sirius, Elena Shmeleva, described the future federal territory as a “science city.” Only, unlike Skolkovo, this will not be a closed sandbox for experiments and not a university campus the size of a city, but a full-fledged city with a strong university.
The Sirius Educational Center was created by the Talent and Success Foundation on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin. The founder of the fund is a close friend of the head of state, cellist Sergei Roldugin. Vedomosti wrote in 2016 that Sirius is a major owner of real estate in Sochi.
Last year, Dmitry Medvedev, while still prime minister, gave Sirius the status of a “scientific valley,” RBC reported . This allows the center to develop robotic systems, big data processing systems, machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as genetics, immunobiology, biomedicine, and research in the field of educational and cognitive sciences. Medvedev also ordered the Federal Property Management Agency to transfer 163 land plots in the Krasnodar Territory and eight non-residential buildings to the Talent and Success Foundation.
In February 2020, the locality where the educational center is located was named Sirius. 12,500 people currently live there, and it is expected that in the future this number will grow to 30,000–40,000.