Happiness is just around the corner: the government will allocate almost 4 billion rubles to Chechnya

Without the help of the federal center, Chechnya will not yet be able to solve its problems, the State Duma told Izvestia following the visit of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to the republic.… The expert community noted that to change the situation, strict control over the spending of allocated funds is required – both from Moscow and local authorities. In the meantime, the level of the gross regional product of Chechnya is about three times lower than the national average, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development told Izvestia. During his working trip, Mikhail Mishustin allocated almost 4 billion rubles to the region, and also checked the work of social facilities, talked with the local population and held negotiations with the head of the subject.…

Lack of seats

After his visit to Dagestan on April 14, the prime minister decided to visit another region of the North Caucasus – Chechnya. Traditionally, the trip to the republic began with a tour of social facilities. First, Mikhail Mishustin visited a special general education boarding school under construction for children with intellectual disabilities in the village of Staraya Sunzha, which is due to pass in 2021. It will be designed for 198 people. The prime minister was also shown a presentation of another correctional school in Grozny with the same number of seats – it should also be built by the end of the year. The construction of such centers is very important for Chechnya: in total, about 1,300 disabled children with mental retardation live in the region, but now there is only one specialized institution for 96 places.…

“Whatever the school, the main thing is teachers and a kind, warm attitude towards children, so that they feel love,” Mikhail Mishustin turned to the parents of children who will study in the village.

There are not enough places in ordinary schools in the republic, so teenagers are forced to study in three shifts.… To solve this problem, an educational institution designed for 1224 people should be put into operation by September 1.

Also During his visit, the prime minister checked the work of the republican perinatal center. It should be noted that from a demographic point of view, Chechnya is doing well: as the press service of the Ministry of Economics told Izvestia, the region ranks first in the country in terms of the rate of natural population growth.…

During the pandemic, the Prime Minister noted, all doctors had to experience additional stress due to the new working conditions, but the specialists successfully coped with the tasks set. Infant and child mortality rates in Russia are declining, but doctors cannot relax: the coronavirus is still spreading in the country. Vaccination should play a key role here, the head of government said, urging Russians to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

– At this difficult time, when the pandemic came to our country and the Chechen Republic, you are all heroes. Everyone worked – and the president often talks about it – with full dedication, – Mikhail Mishustin turned to the doctors, promising to help with the acquisition of the lacking equipment.

The prime minister also laid flowers at the monument to the first head of Chechnya, Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov, next to the memorial complex in his honor and visited the Grozny State Oil Technical University (GGNTU) named after academician M.D. Millionshchikova.

– We have an opinion that it is impossible to occupy any position at work if there is no higher education. I believe that we must fight this. Professional guys who will graduate from a good college, technical school, are absolutely as respected as those who sometimes have higher education, but cannot turn a nut, – stressed the Prime Minister during a visit to the university.

He promised to instruct the relevant ministries to work out, together with the Chechen government, an employment program for graduates of the republic’s colleges.

Before leaving, the prime minister met with the head of the region, Ramzan Kadyrov. During the negotiations, Mikhail Mishustin said that the government will allocate 3.75 billion rubles to Chechnya to ensure budgetary balance…

Subsidized region

The social problems that the prime minister drew attention to during his visit are closely related to economic ones. Chechnya is a subsidized region, said Alexei Matyukhov, managing partner of BMS Group, in an interview with Izvestia.… From a financial point of view, the subject is largely dependent on the federal center. The problematic points of the region, according to the expert, traditionally considered social, communal and infrastructural spheres…

The subject is among the leaders in terms of federal subsidies, said political scientist Yevgeny Suchkov. For the situation to move, Moscow and local authorities must tighten control over the funds spent, the expert said.…

Chechnya’s gross regional product per capita is lower than the national average: in 2019, it reached about 164 thousand rubles, with the national average of 578 thousand, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development told Izvestia.

“The region ranks 78th in Russia in terms of investment in fixed assets per capita (in 2020 – 51,066 rubles, in the Russian Federation – 137,364 rubles), 35th in terms of investment growth in 2020 (100%, in RF – 98.6%) and 56th place in terms of investments in fixed assets (0.4% of the total volume in the RF)“, – noted in the department.

The subject is trying to solve the problems on his own, Magomed Selimkhanov, a deputy from Chechnya, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee for the development of civil society, issues of public and religious associations, told Izvestia. However, so far, without financial support from the federal center, the region will not be able to fulfill all the tasks, the parliamentarian said.