Russia's Amur Region: A Meeting with Governor Orlov and More

As you see, Amur is on the border with China and bears the name of the river dividing the two friends. Here’s a closer look:

Amur Region’s capital is Blagoveshchensk and has the distinction of being the only regional capital in Russia to share an international border. On the above map, it’s where the red line denoting a road crosses the border that is shared with China’s Heihe. Despite the close proximity of the two cities, no bridge existed between them until the one shown below was opened in June 2022, although commerce did occur using other forms of transport for crossing the river which freezes hard in Winter.

Vostochny Cosmodrome is located about 150km North of Blagoveshchensk:

The region is vast and many of its resources are untapped, although what it produces is already impressive. Several of the reasons for establishing the Cosmodrome were vast amounts of hydroelectric power, water to make fuel and wide open spaces. But before letting Putin and Orlov chat about Amur’s progress (yes, Kim Jong-un saw much of this region on his visit, not just Vostochny), there’s one very major project that was literally carved out of Amur’s wilderness to construct from establishing roadbeds and port facilities on up—Gazprom’s Amur Gas Prossessing Plant. Here’s a video providing a 3-D visualization of the entire project. This page provides a further overview and has a series of videos showing the state of development over the years beginning with “Equipment Shipping”. You don’t need to know Russian to be amazed at this project. One key thing to watch for is how the ground is prepared to be built upon which gives you an idea of how deep the engineering process had to go to deal with subsoil issues. Again, there was absolutely nothing present at the outset of this project, which is similar to most projects in Siberia, which is why you hear Putin emphasizing the building of infrastructure as the basic first step to launch the many planned projects over the coming decades. (It should be noted that the Gazprom website is blocked here in the USA; so much for the 1st Amendment.)

Aside from all the industrial activity there are other excellent reasons to visit this region of Russia as natural beauty abounds. But now it’s time to let Putin and Governor Orlov to fill in the numbers and other info about the progress being made in Amur Region:

Vladimir Putin: What will you please, Vasily Alexandrovich?

Vladimir Orlov: Mr President, if I may, I would like to give you a brief report Attention, I will have 15 slides.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, You are welcome.

Vladimir Orlov: We We discussed the results with you socio-economic development of the region in May of this year, so in order not to repeat myself, I formulated this report a little differently. I will be based on the status of the execution of your instructions. You visit us regularly in the region, every year, and every time we meet. And always according to the results You are giving instructions for these meetings. I would like to talk about them today.

I would like to start with the first two slides. They relate to the economy. Indicators of the economy in our region Stable. In terms of gross regional product, we have over five years very good dynamics.

Vladimir Putin: "Shelf" is good [on the chart].

Vladimir Orlov: This year we plan to receive 618 billion GRP.

Vladimir Putin: This is Like last year, right?

Vladimir Orlov: This is more than last year. We are growing every year. Compared to 2018, our GRP was 334 billion in 2018, 618 billion this year, and we expect 670 billion next year. This, of course, is connected with the implementation of major projects that you oversee – the gas processing cluster. We have a very large volume of investments in fixed assets, and this year we will set a record for investment in fixed assets – 485 billion rubles.

Vladimir Putin: More than enough, right?

Vladimir Orlov: Yes. We are also the leader among the Far Eastern regions in attracting investment in public-private partnerships, we have about 46 billion rubles involved in these programs – the slide [in the presentation] shows the largest projects.

Very low unemployment, a record low for two years – less than one percent, and good dynamics in terms of revenues and the consolidated budget. Our own income level has been growing steadily over the past five years: in 2018, the region's own income was 51 billion rubles, in 2023 – 89 billion rubles, an increase of 1.7 times. And federal budget assistance is also growing thanks to your instructions, Mr President, for which I thank you very much.

I gave you a detailed report on the results of the agricultural sector's work in May, and I would like to say a few more words about this. Last year we had a record harvest of 1,600 thousand tons of soybeans, our main crop, and this year we expect another 10 percent increase-up to 1.7 million tons.

Vladimir Putin: Your market is dimensionless.

Vladimir Orlov: We have a market nearby. But we have a very important task – this is recycling. For ourselves, we set a goal to process the products here as much as possible, with maximum depth.

We have good news, it is expected, but at the same time I would like to emphasize it separately. At the end of August, we started construction of a new processing plant with a capacity of one million tons. Once again, we expect 1.7 million tons this year, and this plant alone will process one million tons of soybeans per year. This is the largest enterprise outside the Urals. And what is very important, it can process not only soy, but also crops that are not yet grown today, due to the fact that there is no demand for these crops, for example, rapeseed.

This is a very good investor – the Sodruzhestvo Group of Companies, our Russian leader. More than 20 billion rubles will be invested in this plant. What is very important, next to this plant, we are working together with " DOM.Russian Federation " we plan to build a residential neighborhood for one and a half thousand people. Gazprom is also building a sports and recreation complex there as part of its charity program, which means it will be such a cluster.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, they are building such structures all over the country.

Vladimir Orlov: Yes. And it is very important for us: thank you for approving the Belogorsk master plan. This is one of the four master plans approved at the Eastern Economic Forum. We have defined Belogorsk as a center for agricultural processing. Therefore, we are moving in accordance with the tasks set.

Another important thesis on agriculture is animal husbandry. Our largest dairy complex for 1,570 cows was also launched in accordance with the schedule in early September, with the second stage growing to 2,300 cows. We plan to build four more complexes in the near future, and construction of one will start in September, in addition to the three complexes that we have commissioned over the past two years. Accordingly, the plan that was set for us – to reach 90 percent self-sufficiency in our own milk in 2027-will be achieved, and these measures are on schedule. And here I would like to thank the Ministry of Agriculture and Dmitry Patrushev separately-they are very comfortable to work, the tasks are set correctly, and the support measures that are allocated through the federal line are really in demand and really give results.

The following slides – the sixth and seventh – relate to your assignments. There were especially many of them for the development of transport infrastructure. This year, on your instructions, the construction of a road bridge over the Zeya River is being completed one year ahead of schedule. Here I would like to thank the contractors-Bamtonnelstroy-Most and Ruslan Sulimovich Baisarov. And of course, the Government, Khusnullin Marat Shakirzyanovich-the object was built a year ahead of schedule, built qualitatively, we plan to open it in mid-October. Also, the same contractor, Bamtonnelstroy-Most, is building two overpasses across the Trans-Siberian Railway on your behalf: an overpass in the urban-type settlement of Novobureysky and in Seryshevo. These projects are also on schedule, federal funding has been allocated, and we will complete them in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

We have special control over the reconstruction of the Blagoveshchensk-Svobodny highway, also on your instructions, we are also working with Rosavtodor, funding is being allocated, and this year we will start work on repairing this road.

Vladimir Putin: When is the end date?

Vladimir Orlov: There is actually quite a large road there – it is 135 kilometers long, of which 45 kilometers are currently in the standard range. Today we see more funding for another site, and the documentation is ready for a simple site without significant costs for straightening and cleaning the hills. There, we have project documentation ready for about 20 kilometers, which could be used to complete the work fairly quickly and for relatively little money. We are working with Rosavtodor.

Vladimir Putin: And it will be in Tsiolkovsky, right?

Vladimir Orlov: On the contrary, this is the first section from Blagoveshchensk to Belogorye. Relatively simple for builders, it just needs to be expanded.

Vladimir Putin: Svobodny means it's closer to Tsiolkovsky?

Vladimir Orlov: That's right. But, in general, this road, of course, connects Svobodny – and then Tsiolkovsky in 40 minutes. The road is strategic for us, so we are working with Rosavtodor on it as a priority.

I would also like to say something about your instructions regarding the Blagoveshchensk airport. We are completing the construction of the second runway this year.

Vladimir Putin: How much will it cost?

Vladimir Orlov: It's a three-kilometer stretch, and we're going to take the first plane in December. Thank you to the Russian Ministry of Transport here.

It was a difficult project, but we managed it. And this gives a certain multiplicative effect. We have already started building a new terminal here at the expense of private investment, and in 2025 we will commission a new passenger terminal for one and a half million people a year.

In general, the airport is very actively developing. Last year, our passenger traffic was 860,000 people, and this year it will be even more. 860 thousand – this is twice as much as it was in 2018. That is, the dynamics are like this.

And accordingly, after the entire infrastructure is launched, including the new passenger terminal, China will fully open, because not all covid restrictions have been lifted so far. We can see that the airport, of course, will be loaded with passenger traffic.

And in this regard, there is one more request. We have a road that connects the city of Blagoveshchensk and the airport, 17 kilometers, it requires modernization, it is in two-lane design. We can see that there is a large download. We have prepared the project documentation. We ask you to instruct the Government to upgrade this road within two years, by 2024-2025, just in time for the opening of the new terminal

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Vladimir Orlov: The following slides are about bank protection.

Vladimir Putin: You have it almost every year, right? These are flood-related events.

Vladimir Orlov: Yes, this is objectively true. We have been sunk four times in the last five years, and of course, coastal protection and everything related to it is very important for us.

What concerns the city of Blagoveshchensk: On your instructions, we are completing shore protection in Blagoveshchensk this year. Seven land plots have already been commissioned, and three are being commissioned this year. Federal funding has been received in full.

As part of the coastal protection project, we have two alluvial areas of 40 hectares each – "Golden" and "Silver Mile". "Silver Mile – - housing development is planned. It will be high-quality, this is the "facade of the country" in front of China, there will be a very beautiful development, the federal contractor – Pik Group of companies-has come in. As for the Golden Mile project, there are a number of objects that you know about: This includes a cable car, two hotel complexes, landscaping of the central square, a museum of Russian-Chinese friendship, and a dinosaur museum.

By the way, German Oskarovich Gref made a commitment to sponsor the interior decoration of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Museum and create an exhibition there so that it would be worthy. He recently paid us a visit here and also looked at these objects.

Another very important object that we plan to build on the Golden Mile is the congress and exhibition center, and we have a private initiative to build it. In general, we have very developed joint activities with the People's Republic of China, with the province of Heilongjiang. A large number of event events: children play ice hockey on the Amur River, car rallies are held, a culture and art fair. This year, for the first time, the Russian-Chinese Forum was held as a "branch" of the Eastern Economic Forum. Its peculiarity is that it was held simultaneously in Blagoveshchensk and Heihe. And of course, this potential needs to be developed. We have an initiative to build a convention and exhibition center. This center will cost about 10 billion rubles. We also ask you to instruct the Government to support it with a bond loan – to reduce the cost of financing this project. The Region Group of Companies is ready to act as an investor – I think this will have a very good effect.

The following slides [of the presentation] present the event-based events that I talked about, and we are developing them every year. This year, for the first time, we held "Shores of Taste" - it was a food festival, we have more than 40 Chinese cuisines in Blagoveshchensk, and the chefs shared their experience, it was very interesting, including in the city of Heihe, similar events are held, that is, we do not stand still, we have something new every year it appears. Moreover, we value our relations with the Republic of China very much, we have very good partnership and friendly relations, the bridge zone is actively developing, so we believe that the construction of the congress and exhibition center and the regular holding of relevant events there will have a very good economic effect.

If I may, the following slides [of the presentation] relate to master plans. We have approved four master plans on your behalf: Blagoveshchensk, Belogorsk, Svobodny, and Tynda. We received your approval for Tynda back in April.

Vladimir Putin: We need to deal with housing.

Vladimir Orlov: Yes, there is a problem with resettling people from dilapidated housing in the BAM area, that's true. We also prepare suggestions, and the master plan takes these suggestions into account. We have already received 1,700 million rubles from the federal budget to carry out preparatory activities as part of the master plan. Events – preparation for the 50th anniversary of the BAM celebration.

Vladimir Putin: At this holiday, people who live in dilapidated housing should not feel like strangers.

Vladimir Orlov: Exactly so.

Vladimir Putin: These people should not feel like strangers at this celebration of life.

Vladimir Orlov: Yes, our master plan includes measures to resettle people who live in this dilapidated housing.

Vladimir Putin: Absolutely.

Vladimir Orlov: There is quite a large amount of money there: about 10 billion rubles are needed to settle the population.

Vladimir Putin: But it is also included in the budget. Therefore, it is necessary that some of these funds go here as well.

Vladimir Orlov: Very well, Mr President, I will report to you separately.

As for the preparation of Tynda for the 50th anniversary, a lot of work is being done there: more than 30 objects are being prepared, the road network, social infrastructure. Valentina Matviyenko and the Moscow Mayor's Office are helping us a lot – Sergei Sobyanin took on the responsibility of repairing the stadium – Russian Railways, of course, Gazprom, Sibur, Transneft and many others.

Here, on your instructions, the reconstruction of the airport is planned from 2026, but the passenger terminal will be prepared by next year, for the 50th anniversary of BAM.

Separately, I would like to briefly mention gasification, because as part of the master plan for Tynda, you gave instructions to gasify it. Gazprom has been very actively involved in this work, and I would like to thank Alexey Borisovich Miller. Blagoveshchensk, Svobodny, Belogorsk, and Tsiolkovsky have already been converted to gas, and measures are underway to switch Tynda to gas as well.

In addition, you know that today we held a solemn ceremony of launching a plant for the production of liquefied natural gas.

Vladimir Putin: We have just received a report.

Vladimir Orlov: Yes, this is very important, because it will also allow us to supply gas to remote localities that are far from the main gas pipeline. The first such locality will be the city of Belogorsk. This year we are completing the construction of the first boiler house that will run on liquefied natural gas.

For Gazprom: I would like to note their very active work on social programs. Over the past five years, Gazprom Neft has built 35 facilities – stadiums, sports complexes, and the fifth one we are building in Tynda.

Vladimir Putin: This is being done all over the country.

Vladimir Orlov: We plan to build two more complexes: in Belogorsk with artificial ice and in Yekaterinoslavka. Why was this decision made specifically for these localities? There we have the headquarters of military units: the 35th army, the 38th infantry brigade, which today performs tasks within the framework of a special military operation.

On the special military operation – I would like to finish my report, but I can't leave this topic aside. We have signed a three-year agreement with the Donetsk People's Republic, with the Amvrosiyevsky district of the republic. There is a lot being done to make people's lives better: this includes the repair of various social institutions – schools, first of all, roads; lighting.

Of course, we pay special attention to children. This year, more than a thousand children had a rest at the sea, and almost all the children of the Amvrosiyevsky district got this rest. And we have taken on an additional burden – we will now take another 150 children from Donetsk. There is also an opportunity to improve their health.

This year we have opened the first two "growth points" in the Donetsk Republic in the Amvrosiyevsky district, although, for example, in the Amur region there are 156 such "growth points". Thank you to the national project "Education". We see that this is very much in demand by both children and teachers, and parents are very happy with it, so I think this is a good practice. I am sure that in the Donetsk Republic, such "growth points" will be, as expected, in every school.

And of course, we pay special attention to the families of participants in a special military operation. In our region, each municipality has established headquarters for working with such families. They receive about 30 support measures, but I won't list them all.

A special Internet navigator has been created to make it easier to understand this. I would also like to thank the All-Russian Popular Front here. Business and citizens are actively involved, and everyone understands how important it is to complete the tasks set.

As for the special military operation itself, I regularly visit there, and we have direct contact with the commanders of military units. We try to feel, keep our finger on the pulse, what kind of help is needed. I keep it under my personal control.

The report is finished.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Vasily Alexandrovich, personal attention should be paid to this issue, just your personal attention. As one of the absolute priorities.

Vladimir Orlov: That's right.

Vladimir Putin: Your overall performance is good. Now I won't list the problems, you know them too.

As for what we managed to do, I looked at the documents – in principle, you are engaged in healthcare quite systematically, and the number of doctors per capita, as they say, is even slightly higher than the national average. There is practically no unemployment.

Vladimir Orlov: There is still a lot to do, but not everything is perfect there.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, this is clear, but in general, the average indicator is the same. But there are also questions and problems, and now we will talk about this separately.

I’ve always found it interesting that Putin keeps his critiques and related discussions private, although on rare occasions Putin will show his displeasure during his talk with usually junior officials. Yes, poorly performing officials will be relived of their positions, while there have been very few cases of corruption. Those poor sots get handled by the judicial system, which Putin lets operate independently as it should. The report given in May was very glowing and is linked at the top of the discussion. Agricultual production is rather stunning and could probably triple as more land gets tilled. As with almost every Russian region, the problem is demographic and the resulting lack of human capital—under 1% unemployment isn’t natural. You’ll also have noted the deep involvement of Russia’s Public and Quasi-public Utilities in the construction of social and cultural facilities across the land, but particularly in the hinterlands. Also, you read about Gazprom’s gasification project, which is to link as many settlements and households to gas as possible, either via pipe or LNG at no cost.

This story ought to be combined with the six previous publications dealing with Russia’s Far East so somewhat of a whole picture can be somewhat envisioned. Yes, there’s much more to cover, but this project is only a little more than two months old. This week the scene will shift to the UNGA in New York with a return to geopolitics.

*

*

*

Like what you’ve been reading at Karlof1’s Substack? Then please consider subscribing and choosing to make a monthly/yearly pledge to enable my efforts in this challenging realm. Thank You!