The Socio-Economic Development of Russia's "historical subjects"

As I reported, Lavrov yesterday described those regions thusly:

And the four subjects (they are not "new subjects", but "historical subjects") of our Motherland need daily support at all levels and in all directions.

This meeting is about providing that support. The Kremlin provided this further readout about the event:

During the meeting Vladimir Putin took part in the opening ceremony via video link social and industrial facilities in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation - the Krasnodon Maternity Hospital in the Lugansk People's Republic, an intensive care hospital in Mariupol and a branch of the Nakhimov Naval School The Ministry of Defense of Russia in the Donetsk People's Republic, a section of the Novotroitskoye - Chaplinka highway in the Kherson region and a year-round youth educational center "Mayak" in Berdyansk, Zaporozhye region.

A wide variety of new complexes are now operating with many more to follow. Putin delivers his opening statement followed by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin’s remarks before the ceremonies and discussions ensue about the new installations that are noted above:

Vladimir Putin: Dear colleagues, good afternoon!

Today we will discuss topical issues of socio-economic development of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions – our historical territories, their effective integration into the common legal, cultural and educational space of our country.

I would like to emphasize that it is extremely important that residents of the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya have decent living and working conditions right now, so that people can see prospects for themselves and their children for the future. This means that simultaneously with solving the priority task in the field of security – and this, of course, is the number one priority – it is necessary to repair housing at an accelerated pace, build modern houses, social and transport facilities. When we meet with the leaders of the republics, we pay attention to this first of all. We need to create conditions for the dynamic development of industry, agriculture, small and medium-sized businesses, and the economy as a whole.

Let me remind you that we have set an integral goal: by 2030, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions should reach the national level in key areas that determine the quality of people's lives. For this purpose, a special comprehensive program of socio-economic development of four regions is being implemented. In 2023, more than one trillion 260 billion rubles were allocated from all sources for this purpose. We have solid figures planned for 2025 and 2030. [@$14.325 Billion]

This work involves not only federal agencies, but also 26 state-owned companies, as well as 82 subjects of the Federation that have taken patronage over specific districts and localities.

In fact, the entire country, millions of people, volunteers and other public organizations support our Donbass and Novorossiya, help them discover their enormous potential for creation and growth, and establish a peaceful and prosperous life in a land that has been an integral part of Russia for centuries and is now reunited with their homeland.

Currently, residential buildings, hospitals, schools, and utilities are being actively restored and built here. In other words, the measures that were promptly adopted by the Government give a real return, first of all, I mean timely, regular funding, including from the federal budget, of course. And of course, I would like to highlight the hard work of the builders and other specialists, and sincerely thank you all for your dedicated work.

Since 2022, planned and over-planned tasks have already been completed at more than 19 thousand different facilities. Federal customers have completed work on 11,262 objects, including 62 multi-apartment buildings built, 2,140 multi-apartment buildings restored, as well as 321 objects of education, healthcare, culture, sports, and so on.

It has been completely renovated – I have already spoken about housing, now about roads-more than three thousand kilometers of roads. More than 500 bank branches and offices have been opened, which is extremely important for both citizens and the economy as a whole.

In order to support businesses, a wide range of tools has been created: from concessional lending programs to the free economic zone regime.

In general, there are certain results in the main areas and directions of socio-economic development in each of the four regions. The most acute problems are being solved, and I hope there are changes for the better, which I also hope people see, feel, and notice.

It is important not to slow down, to move forward consistently, stage by stage, to ensure the closest coordination between federal, regional and local levels of government, civil society structures, and to try to strictly meet the set deadlines in order to achieve all the goals set.

At the same time, I draw your attention to the need to maximize the use of each region's own resources, actively involve land and property in economic turnover on transparent and understandable rules, and revenues from rent for its use should be replenished by regional and local budgets.

And of course, it is necessary to fully integrate the tasks of restoring and developing the regions of Donbass and Novorossiya into the system of updated national projects-to do this already this year. If necessary, provide them with simplified access to certain support tools.

Let's discuss how this work is progressing, what you should pay special attention to, and where to provide additional assistance. We will also listen to our colleagues during live broadcasts from several new facilities that will be put into operation today.

(To M. Khusnullin.) Marat Shakirzyanovich, I understand that you called me about all these issues. You are welcome.

M. Khusnullin : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

On your instructions, we have approved a program for the socio-economic development of new regions and are currently working on it until 2030. It involves 41 federal ministries and departments, all state-owned companies, and 82 regional bosses. We are planning to approve it by name by the end of August. This is an additional 30 thousand objects that will be built and restored, and a whole series of program measures that should bring new regions to the national average level.

We work systematically. We are working out master plans on your behalf. We have already prepared four master plans, and nine are in progress. In total, within the framework of the Infrastructure for Life program, we plan to include about 91 settlements in priority strongholds that will be developed first and will be growth points.

Under this task, we have drawn up plans for housing construction, restoration of both damaged and those [housing] that is in disrepair. And, most importantly, we have also developed a housing construction program involving extra-budgetary sources.

I would like to say that we have good news: we have already fully commissioned three houses for extra-budgetary sources. Your decision on a mortgage at two percent showed its justification, a huge number of applicants. The governors and I are "working out" the sites. Now there are already three million square meters, and the total potential until 2030 is 12 million square meters [of housing] to launch with the involvement of extra-budgetary funding. Very popular program. Thank you very much for this.

We have a lot of work going on with the roads. In addition to the three thousand kilometers of roads, we have set an additional eight thousand kilometers in the plan. This includes the expansion of federal highways, regional roads, municipal roads, and – especially the governors raise these issues – the repair of the street and road network within localities. We give special money for this and see a good effect. If today we talk about who has done how much, then our colleagues have already put 600 kilometers of roads – namely municipal ones – in proper condition. This is very important for people.

We continue to work on developing the financial sector. Thanks to your decision, in addition to Promsvyazbank, Sberbank and VTB also actively began to enter new regions and increase their loan portfolios.

We also have a program of support for small and medium-sized businesses, launched the work of the "My Business" centers and microfinance organizations, regional guarantee organizations.

A huge amount of work is being done to restart the real sector of the economy. The free economic zone has become one of the most effective mechanisms. A little more than a year ago, on July 1, the law was signed. To date, 171 organizations have entered the free economic zone. It plans to provide jobs for 66 thousand people, investing more than 74 billion rubles. Every month we increase the rate of involvement in the free economic zone.

In addition, the Industry Fund, which is implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has effectively demonstrated its work. These are loans on preferential terms of up to 100 million rubles at a rate of one percent for seven years – for modernization and two percent for three years-for replenishment of working capital. There are very large volumes of applications, and my colleagues and I are currently working with Anton Andreyevich Alikhanov and Denis Valentinovich Manturov on the possibility of increasing this program, which is very much in demand.

Payments of pensions, allowances, and social benefits continue. 2.5 million citizens receive various social benefits, of which 1.6 million receive [pension payments].

If we talk about today's facilities, such as medicine, both new and reconstructed 200 facilities were built. In addition, the Ministry of Health and I have developed a program for the next three years to repair and restore healthcare facilities.

And along with the iconic objects that you have opened, such as the perinatal center, the FMBA hospital in Mariupol, a maternity hospital is opening today, and a restored hospital is opening in Mariupol. When you were there yourself, Mr Putin, you drove past her, asked her to pay attention to her, and gave her instructions. We are opening the first stage today. I want to tell you: an international-level hospital, we do not have such hospitals everywhere. Probably, the chief medical officer will tell you. It is very significant for all of us, because it is one of the first sites we visited when the fighting was still going on in Mariupol. She never stopped working for a single day. And there is a very good, well-coordinated team.

If we talk about the Nakhimov school, Andrey Ramovich [Belousov] and I discussed it, you will see. This facility, I will also say, Mr Putin, is world-class. Very nice property, very decent, in the most beautiful place of Mariupol.

Model of Nakimov School in Mariupol

When I agreed on the park with you, remember, you looked carefully, this place was chosen, and today it is a decoration of Mariupol. I think our colleagues will tell us about it themselves. Many thanks to Andrey Ramovich [Belousov] and his colleagues.

If we talk about educational facilities, 1,300 educational facilities have been built and reconstructed over the past two years. In general, we are repairing about 1,700 objects in the country, and here 1,300 have been done together in two years. And of course, such facilities as the Nakhimov School will be a worthy contribution to education.

The Ministry of Education and I have signed a program to restore educational institutions for three years, determined funding, identified facilities, and what we will do, and this work continues.

The Mayak year-round youth education center, which was created under the patronage of the Presidential Administration, is also being opened today. This is a very popular topic. We don't stop there, we have a few more projects in the works, and by the end of the year we will finish a number of projects.

And an important area is the development of tourism. This is a separate sector, which, by the way, is also very popular today, there are a lot of interested people.

Vladimir Vladimirovich, we manage to carry out all the tasks you set, and there is a lot of work to be done. But I want to say that this is a complex work, we are all working together: the Government together with the Chairman, the Presidential Administration very closely, and all the heads of the regions. I would also like to mention the work of the governors and their teams. In very difficult situations, we work in manual mode.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone: the representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Rosgvardiya, the Prosecutor's Office – all involved and all the regional bosses. I hope that all the tasks you have set will be fulfilled, Mr President.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

You have listed a number of works, but you started with the road network, so maybe we will start with the Kherson region. A section is being introduced there, it is not so large in the scale of the country – 71 kilometers, Novotroitskoe-Chaplinka-but still the road will provide better transport accessibility to 17 localities, school buses have already been launched, and four routes of regular buses.

Let's include the Kherson region. Please, colleagues.

Vladimir Petushenko: Mr President, good afternoon!

Chairman of the Management Board of Avtodor State Company Vyacheslav Petushenko reports.

It is true that a small section of the road is 71 kilometers long, but nevertheless it solves a strategic problem: with the completion of this section, a land route from the southern regions of our country, from the central regions along the north of the Sea of Azov to the Crimea and back is fully formed. A year ago, it was impossible to pass through here at all, they drove along the roadsides, but today there are 17 settlements, 11 schools, 10 medical institutions, including three district hospitals – the road allows you to get from one place to another without hindrance. It was important for us to complete this road in September, just in time for the school period.

I can say in general, Mr Putin, that in 25 months road builders have restored about two thousand kilometers of roads that connected all the regional capitals. We have completed all federal highways. Now we are actively working on regional roads. If at the very beginning there was only one asphalt concrete plant, today there are 24 asphalt concrete plants. One and a half thousand people who work today, half of them are local residents, perform this task. We will complete the entire program in August 2024. For artificial structures, and there are 62 of them in all regions of the Russian Federation-until the end of this year. The 2025-2026 program has been agreed with the heads of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and today we are ready to implement the 2025-2026 program with a large and powerful team of construction workers.

The report is finished.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you, Vyacheslav Petrovich.

Will your colleagues add something next to you?

Remark: Hello, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

I would like to thank you on behalf of the drivers.

On the roads that we traveled before, it was impossible to pass or pass almost any transport. We drove through the fields, all the transport that was here. This road has not been built since the Soviet era, let alone during the collapse of the USSR, nothing was done at all.

On behalf of the residents and us, please accept our gratitude and many thanks.

Vladimir Putin: Good. All the best!

After all, five bridges and overpasses have been restored and built. For a particular region, I think this is a good contribution to the restoration of territories.

I want to give the floor to the head of the Kherson region. Say two words too.

V. Baldo : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

Indeed, a great deal has been done. And it is correctly noted that for such a large and powerful country, 71 kilometers is not much, but for the Kherson region and for the residents of the Kherson region and, most importantly, for all those who are now traveling to the Crimea and back, this road has already connected the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea and will continue on. This land route is becoming very stable for passenger exchange, transport and cargo flow with Crimea.

Many thanks to the road builders. I myself took an example from you last Friday and drove a car [along this road], looked again, walked around – after all, all the sidewalks were made. In all localities, more than 17 thousand square meters of sidewalks have been made.

So thank you very much, this is a reserve for the future. I think that this will continue. Marat Shakirzyanovich [Khusnullin] and I have discussed this topic before and again today. Roads are the future, these are "blood vessels".

Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you again to the road builders and builders. All the best! In a good way, as they say! We will assume that this is only the beginning of our great joint work on regional development.

We are moving to the Luhansk People's Republic. Please, Natalia Pashchenko.

N. Pashchenko: Hello, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

Today we are opening the Krasnodon maternity hospital after major repairs. It is very symbolic that this happens in the Year of the Family.

The fighting in the Donbas continues, but despite everything, we have more and more babies born every year. For residents of Krasnodon, the opening of the maternity hospital is very important, because it has a 60-year history, and the staff has been preserved since 2014, when Krasnodon was cut off from Luhansk under shelling, and medical care was provided to our women in the basement of a medical institution without electricity and without water. Nevertheless, the team survived, and lives were saved. Not a single life – not a woman's, not a child's – was lost.

Today, this maternity hospital, re-equipped according to modern requirements and designed for one and a half thousand births per year, will serve not only residents of the Krasnodon district, but also the nearest territories. It is very important.

I would like to say a few words of gratitude from the doctors of the republic for supporting us since the difficult 2014. Humanitarian convoys that came to our republic with medicines, food, and equipment allowed us to provide medical assistance and save the lives of our residents. We kept the team together, we got paid. And today we already have the opportunity to develop.

Thanks to the staff of the Ministry of Health, together with our supervisor, we are currently studying on the territory of the Russian Federation. We participate in federal programs and projects. Thanks to this, new equipment is being installed in our healthcare facilities and we are being trained to use it. Our residents receive compulsory health insurance policies and receive free medical care both on the territory of the republic and abroad.

We have the possibility of telemedicine consultations and referrals, if necessary, for treatment in federal centers of our residents.

We look forward to the digitalization of healthcare. It is difficult, but we will definitely cope with it, we will start it.

Specialists from the V. I. Kulakov Center helped us set up an obstetric and gynecological service. I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who participate in the development of our peaceful life and in the development of the republic's medicine.

And of course, our regional bosses are not just our assistants, they are our friends, because hospitals destroyed as a result of shelling are being restored, major repairs are being carried out.

Today is the opening of the maternity hospital. We are grateful to the region – the chief-of the Tyumen Region, because the Tyumen Region has renovated and re-equipped not only the Krasnodon maternity hospital, but also the city hospital and the children's city hospital. Today we have new equipment that we can use to provide medical care.

And not only construction workers, but doctors from all over the country have come together to help us establish a peaceful life and provide medical care.

Today, doctors from Tyumen, who work in Krasnodon, and from other regions help us and provide medical care throughout the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic. In addition, our most severe patients are taken to federal centers and regional chefs. Our specialists also go for training.

Once again, I would like to say from the bottom of my heart, Mr President, thank you for being alive and for making the decision that we are part of a great country today. Together we will definitely win.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. Natalia Alexandrovna, when will the first patients arrive?

Natalia Pashchenko: We plan to start hospitalization of the first women in labor on Monday. Naturally, this process is uncontrolled. As soon as the first woman appears who will be ready to give birth, we are ready to receive her here.

Vladimir Putin: It's clear. Under your leadership, everything will be under control.

Nikolai Pashchenko: Thank you, Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin (addressing Tatyana Golikova): Tatyana Alekseevna, what about digitalization? How will we work there?

Tatyana Golikova: Mr President, we are working as planned with our colleagues. We must ensure communication, because digitalization will work if there is a stable connection. But we have provided funds, the methodology is the same as in the Russian Federation, so I think that we will move here as planned.

Vladimir Putin: Everything will be resolved as planned. Good.

(Turning to L.)To the beekeeper.) Leonid Ivanovich, can you say a few words?

L. : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

First of all, of course, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you personally and to the entire leadership of our great country, to all our great people, for paying close attention to the problems of our region, for the help that is being provided to us today in establishing a comfortable and peaceful life on our territory.

According to the tasks you have set, of course, a lot is being done on the territory of the republic, including in the field of healthcare.

Today, thanks to the constant support of fraternal regional chefs, various medical institutions are being built and opened after major repairs on the territory of the republic: these are hospitals, clinics, warehouses, laboratories, FAPs, and so on. They are equipped with the most modern equipment, which, of course, was not available to our doctors, our residents and patients of the republic before.

Today we have a very significant event-the opening of a maternity hospital in Krasnodon, which was renovated by our chefs, as we call them, regional chefs, our brothers, specialists from the Tyumen region. The building was built in 1950, no one repaired the building for a very long time, as a result of which it became almost completely unusable.

Today, there are already comfortable wards, four modern operating rooms, three individual delivery rooms, a centralized oxygen supply system, and a special ward for newborns is equipped in the neonatology department, which has everything necessary to help the youngest residents of the republic.

I want to say that before our eyes, a qualitatively new medicine with a much higher level of care is being formed in the Luhansk region.

Therefore, once again, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the management, residents of the Tyumen region, as well as to all those present, residents of our entire country.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Natalia Ivanovna, I would like to wish you, the entire medical staff: doctors, nurses, junior staff-all the best, and most importantly, all the best to expectant mothers and their babies.

Good luck, all the best! We will continue to work.

We are "moving" to Mariupol. Please, Valentina Gennadyevna.

Vladimir Gavrilyak: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello!

The Intensive Care Hospital is one of the key healthcare facilities of the Donetsk People's Republic. During the fighting, work never stopped here for a second. Doctors under fire, refusing to sleep and rest, saved people's lives.

The main value of the hospital is, of course, its staff. We have 876 employees, and all of them are real heroes who worked and continue to work in inhumane post-war conditions: they received patients in adapted rooms, moved around eight floors without working elevators. Each of them is selflessly devoted to their profession.

From the first days of the liberation of the city from the Nazis, the hospital was a center of attraction for citizens: it was here that humanitarian aid was provided, food was prepared in the corridors of the administrative building, and people whose homes were destroyed were temporarily housed in the basements of the hospital.

In the most critical times, the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation helped us to provide full medical care. People's Front volunteers came here, and humanitarian aid was delivered – from food to medicine-from all over our big country. Due to non-functioning elevators, United Russia volunteers constantly helped move patients within eight floors throughout this time. There were countless people who wanted to provide this or that assistance to the hospital. For example, the Memory of Generations Foundation gave us an MRI machine. The hospital felt the strong shoulder of our Motherland every second.

Today, after the renovation, one of the three buildings of the hospital is being prepared for opening. Block B was significantly damaged during the fighting. It will start operating an emergency room for emergency care, a centralized laboratory and the first, most modern regional vascular center, which is designed for all patients in the south of the republic. The whole team of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and a group of outstanding scientists, academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences worked on its concept. Their help is invaluable. It allowed us to realize our most ambitious plans. This will be the best hospital in all the new territories. Our patients will be treated in the most comfortable conditions.

Thanks to the efforts of the Russian Government and the leadership of the Ministry of Health, all the most necessary and best equipment has been purchased and installed to provide high-tech medical care that was not previously available to our patients.

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to you first of all. I know that during your visit to Mariupol, you paid attention to our hospital. Thank you for your personal involvement on behalf of the entire staff of the hospital, from all our former and future patients.

Let me also thank the builders who make the impossible possible, and this is the entire team of the United Customer Construction Company. And I want to say a big human thank you to all those who have been and remain with us, who build and help, and those who make a huge contribution to the development of our health care, and therefore to our entire region.

Thank you all very much.

Vladimir Putin: Valentina Gennadyevna, you have a large team of 858 people. Many thanks to all of them for their hard work, for your hard work, for what you have done so far for people and are doing now. I would very much like everything that has been done not only to benefit those who work there, but above all to benefit the people you help. The total number of beds is 571. The amount of work is very large, even for a team like yours. This is, of course, a serious medical institution for the entire region.

I understand that the emergency department is able to receive from 80 to 120 people a day. All conditions are created for this? What do you think?

Vladimir Gavrilyak: Mr President, today the hospital is fully operational and sees between 80 and 120 people a day. The conditions under which we will start working any day now are long-awaited and even better than we could have imagined. The entire medical staff is looking forward to working in these luxurious conditions, which are created with your help.

Vladimir Putin: Tatyana Alekseyevna, how is the training of specialists organized? I mean the equipment that was delivered to the institution.

Tatyana Golikova: Our colleagues are very actively cooperating with our specialists from the Russian Ministry of Health institutions. Retraining is fully carried out both for working on new equipment and according to Russian legislation in terms of compliance with all requirements with the procedures and standards for providing medical care. Our colleagues from other regions conduct training on the basis of their medical institutions and actively travel there, to the republics.

Mikhail Murashko : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, Dear colleagues!

In fact, the entire academic staff of research centers takes part in providing assistance and practical training from the first day. And I must say that the demand for training is very high. Specialists are being trained to work not only on new equipment, but also according to new standards, and these are technologies that are currently developed in Russia, and they give life-saving results. Telemedicine centers, today there are one and a half thousand telemedicine consultations through disaster medicine centers throughout the country per day. This is a huge amount of work.

Of course, it's a plus – new equipment for a blood transfusion station has been repaired and delivered next to the hospital, since the hospital cannot operate without blood products. The polyclinic unit that we delivered computers to has been repaired and restored. Now there is a question on information systems. Here you need to work out issues including the security of medical data. This is what we need to decide how we will do it. We have already delivered the equipment this year and last year.

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent. I understand that the main work has been done, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that the hospital operates at the highest level, not only at the Russian level, but also at the international level, so that everything goes exactly here, exactly at this point of our joint work.

I want to wish you and the patients of the intensive care hospital all the best.

Thank you again for your work.

Vladimir Gavrilyak: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: I would like to give the floor to Denis Pushilin. You are welcome.

Dmitry : Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

What can I say, this is a really significant event for the Donetsk People's Republic, because the intensive care hospital covers the entire south of Russia, which is 500 thousand people. This is a huge, large number.

It is worth paying tribute, it is very important that in addition to providing vascular care, there is also a laboratory, and not just a laboratory, but provided with all high-tech equipment. Accordingly, these are accurate, fast tests and the ability to make a diagnosis, and how much this means for the provision of proper medical care later, in my opinion, is understandable.

It's great that we can now see what high Russian standards are in a short time frame. And here are just words of gratitude to you personally for making this decision, and to our doctors for being so sensitive to this, meaning the Ministry of Health and all those who took part in it. It was necessary to organize this work correctly: the builders worked, but medical assistance was still provided. It is very important.

Of course, words of gratitude to our builders, because we see a very responsible approach. And we see that this is a significant result that the whole republic sees. Now we are talking about Mariupol, but we understand that as the territories are liberated, we will treat all other cities and districts of the republic with the same respect. This is very significant for all of us.

So, Mr President, thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Mariupol is a sea city, so it is natural that the Nakhimov school appeared there. I would like to note that my order to this effect was issued on March 30, 2023, and now it is July. So, a year and four months with a little – the school is already ready to deploy full-fledged work in it.

Please, Nakhimov school.

Sergey Ekimov: Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief!

Head of the Mariupol branch of the Nakhimov Naval School Rear Admiral Ekimov reports.

A branch of the Nakhimov School in the city of Mariupol has been built in accordance with your instructions and plans. The final act was signed on June 24. Currently, the school's facilities are being accepted and transferred from the military construction complex to the school's management. The transfer deadline is August 20.

During the period from July 8 to July 12, work was carried out to recruit Nakhimov students of grades 5-7. 240 prospective students were selected, which is 100 percent of the plan. During the work of the commission, the great interest and desire of applicants to study at the new school was noted. In addition to the residents of Mariupol, we have successfully tested students from many regions of Russia, including new ones. Future Nakhimov residents shared with their teachers their dreams of the sea, their readiness to defend their homeland.

Citizens already consider our institution a symbol of the revival of the city of Mariupol as a city of sailors, a symbol of hope for the maritime future of the entire Donetsk region.

The residents of Mariupol have asked us to thank you, Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief, for such a gift to their city and the entire Donetsk People's Republic on the eve of the Navy Day celebration.

On behalf of the school's management and teaching staff, I also consider it necessary to express my gratitude to the employees of the military construction complex and the Ministry of Defense for the rapid and high-quality implementation of the planned plans. The training is scheduled to start on September 1.

I finished my report.

Vladimir Putin: Good. Work continues in two more buildings. How do you assess the prospects for completion?

Sergey Ekimov: To date, all construction works have been completed. All buildings have been built: both educational, and sleeping, and sports-100 percent readiness. Currently [in progress] receiving and transmitting. I think 20 [August] we will sign the final documents on the transfer of [the object] to the school management.

Vladimir Putin: Good.

Sergey Petrovich, I wish success to you, all the teaching staff and, of course, to your students who are on your left and right. All the best!

You have a very noble mission-to help our young sailors, to grow them into a real replacement for the officers of the Navy.

I wish you all the best. Good luck!

Sergey Ekimov: Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: And now the Mayak youth Educational Center.

Andrey Maslov, please, Zaporozhye region.

Alexey Maslov: Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello!

Last year, I moved from Omsk to the city of Melitopol, Zaporozhye region, where I was engaged in the opening and development of the park "Russia – my History", and now I have received a very important mission – the construction and development of the youth creation center "Mayak" in Berdyansk. "Mayak "will complement the family of youth centers that you opened on April 4 this year, and will be the first center on the territory of historical districts.

We would like to express our gratitude to the country's leadership, the head of the region and, of course, to all the builders involved in the creation of this facility. It is a great honor for me to take part in such an important and large-scale project.

The Mayak Center is a place where the world is created. We set two main goals for ourselves: to involve residents of the whole country in the revival of historical territories and to form local public opinion leaders – people who are able to involve young people in the state youth policy of our country.

We plan to train thousands of young people a year. Participants of the programs will be young people from all over the country and, above all, from historical regions. Among them are participants of the First Movement, teachers of schools and universities, young civil servants, volunteers, employees of non-profit organizations.

Participants of our programs are sure to make a feasible contribution to the restoration and construction of the city and region: planting trees, painting objects, and general landscaping. That is why we are the center of creation.

The first stage of construction work has come to an end, and we have already held the first introductory race for active youth of the Zaporozhye region. We have renovated buildings, very cozy eco-houses for living, a dining room, an assembly hall, educational tents, sports grounds and, of course, a beautiful beach on the shore of our Russian Sea of Azov.

And with your permission, Mr President, I would like to give the floor to the guys who participated in the first shift, which is called that: "People are lighthouses".

Yu.Logosha: Good afternoon, Vladimir Vladimirovich!

My name is Yulia, I am the head of the movement "Young South", which unites young people of all historical regions.

Together with the children of the movement, I took part in the development of the concept of the Mayak creative center, and it is very nice to see that all our ideas and wishes for creating our own media center, an amphitheater for creative evenings, a space for sports – all this came to life.

The center is located on the shore of the Sea of Azov, in a place that has always been considered a resort. It is very important that there is not only an educational part, but also the opportunity to relax, restore your strength and resources. Here, at the Mayak ,this can be done as well as possible. Working in the fresh air, look for inspiration to create new projects, and here they are in great demand. So I, along with other guys from our movement, became a participant in the program "People-Beacons", which will soon be held for representatives of four subjects. There we will receive training on the preparation of social projects. Vladimir Vladimirovich, this topic is probably not new for young people from other regions of Russia, but local youth need to go a certain way to catch up with the high level of project preparation.

It is great that now there is a home for the youth of Novorossiya, where we can come to get all the necessary support and help in implementing our initiatives. Vladimir Vladimirovich, thank you for creating a new home for the youth of historical regions. Come to our creative center "Mayak", in the city of Berdyansk.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

I will ask you to say a few words to the head of the Zaporozhye region. Evgeny Vitalievich, please.

Evgeny Balitsky : Vladimir Vladimirovich, thank you very much-I join our charming young people-for your assignment, thanks to which today there is not just a pioneer camp, but a year-round educational center.

I would like to remind you that also on your instructions, on June 1, Children's Day, we launched the Krasnaya Gvozdika branch, which is a branch of our famous Artek camp. And now, just a few days ago, we are opening the largest water park on the coast of the Sea of Azov.

Knowing how much you pay attention to the motherhood, childhood, and recreation of our young people, I would like to express special thanks to you and our entire team. I am proud that we are one team today. And words of gratitude to those who built it, to Sergey Vladilenovich [Kiriyenko], to Marat Shakirzyanovich [Khusnullin], to the Government, and to you first of all. Thank you so much. We haven't seen this in 35 years. And I, as a native of Melitopol and a person who has lived there all my life, can say that the former Ukraine has never been engaged and has not paid so much attention. Today we are aware that we are today the" facade " of Russia, we are today the outpost of Russia, the Russian world.

Thank you very much.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your work.

I go to wish all the best to Andrey Andreevich [Maslov], all your colleagues and, of course, the guys who will be attending the events. There will be quite a lot of events this year, covering more than 3,500 people. All this will be carried out. The work is really big and highly demanded.

I mean that this educational center will help young people from all over the region to build work related to entering the cultural space, the educational space of the Russian Federation, to feel like full-fledged citizens of our huge and great country.

All the best to you!

Thank you very much. [My Emphasis]

These openings of new facilities are constantly happening thanks to the intensity of the workload and enthusiasm of all those involved, which includes many people from all over Russia. The neglect shown to historical Russian regions is noted by many during similar events. And it should be said that’s the case for much of Ukraine as suffered a very similar fate as Russia when the USSR imploded and oligarch and crime syndicates—often one and the same—took control and skimmed all the easy money for themselves. The observation that roads are “blood vessels”—they’re called arteries or arterials here—is 100% accurate. If you’ve seen the countryside where the SMO’s ongoing, you’ll have seen roads that are little more than dirt tracks connecting villages, one of the signposts of third/fourth-world nation status, that at times become impassable. And in places, animal-drawn carts are still used to transport people and goods. The Cantillon Effect best describes what’s happened inside Ukraine since 1991 where what liquidity was distributed to cities didn’t go far beyond them into the nation as a whole.

There’s a new civic ethos rising within Eurasia being driven by China, Russia, and the ASEAN nations with the goal of bettering people’s lives through modernizing development and education. Service to self, family, neighbor, and nation are promoted as virtues and values, while the delivery of good governance that complements development helps grease the tracks. China’s Plenum shows that there’s always work to be done to solve fundamental problems and contradictions that arise as a result of modernizing development. Russia’s use of monetary incentives to get people to move from its West to its East can be seen as a tool just as the 2% mortgages are a tool in the newly reunited historic regions. And the prerequisites for it all are peace and harmony as well as enlightened leaders who seek their glory in such advancements instead of victory in war.

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