Meeting with Yaroslavl Region Governor Mikhail Yevrayev

Mikhail Yevrayev Yevrayev MikhailGovernor of the Yaroslavl Region started by discussing measures
to support special military operation participants and their families, as well
as the assistance being provided to the Akimovsky District in the Zaporozhye
Region after assuming patronage of this community. The Governor also mentioned
his meetings with the fighters from the Yaroslavl Region along the line of contact.
Regarding the region’s socioeconomic
performance, as of January 1, 2024, manufacturing increased by more than six
percent, driven primarily by the engine and shipbuilding sectors, the chemical
industry, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Agricultural output increased by five
percent, while investment was up by more than six percent in real terms. The region also has the lowest inflation rate in the Central Federal District at 6.1 percent. At the same time, real wages increased by 10.5 percent, placing
the region significantly above the national average. There was a 20 percent
increase year-on-year in housing construction, with 954,000 square metres of new housing built. The regional budget expanded by 40 percent over the past two
years, reaching 133 billion rubles, while private debt decreased from over 20
billion to 10 billion rubles. Gross regional product increased by 7.25 percent
over the past year.
The discussion also touched on the growing
number of tourists travelling to the region, efforts to upgrade the transport
fleet and plans to build a new terminal at the Tunoshna international airport
along with a river terminal, considering that this airport stands on Volga’s
banks. Overall, the region intends to build nine river wharfs.
Mikhail Yevrayev went on to talk about roads as one of the biggest challenges for the region. Efforts to overcome it last year
included stepping up road repairs by 40 percent with a special emphasis on quality. There is also a project to set up over 20 new weigh stations to reduce
damage caused by heavy trucks carrying excessive loads – it is nearing
completion. Carried out under the President’s instructions, the initiative to repair
a bridge in Rybinsk will be completed soon.
The Governor also mentioned the housing and utilities sector, territorial improvements, efforts to expand the gas
distribution network and offer new connections, as well as measures to develop
social services. He talked about plans to build schools, cultural and sports
facilities, a surgical unit at the regional cancer treatment hospital and a new
children’s outpatient clinic in Yaroslavl, along with 30 rural paramedic centres.
Mikhail Yevrayev also talked about the region’s
rich spiritual, historical and cultural heritage: it is home to over 300
churches and monasteries and will be marking the 710th anniversary
of the Tolga Monastery this year. In 2025, it will also celebrate the 275th
anniversary of the Fyodor Volkov First Russian Theatre. Repairs at the Young
Spectators’ Theatre are about to be completed. The museum celebrating Valentina
Tereshkova, a Yaroslavl Region native and the world’s first female cosmonaut,
has opened after renovation.
According to the Governor, the key
projects and development priorities include building a bridge across the Volga,
widening the M8 highway, and eliminating accumulated hazardous waste sites,
such as acid tar ponds and green oil ponds.
Mikhail Yevrayev reported that the region had won a financial package to create an advanced engineering school in Rybinsk. Jointly with an industrial partner, Rostec State Corporation, the region is designing Mercurius, a world-level campus. The region plans to create
a whole engineering cluster. The Governor noted that Rostec alone has more than
ten plants in the Yaroslavl Region and that the demand for industrial engineers
is truly immense.
Answering the President’s question which
investment projects he considered to be most attractive, Mikhail Yevrayev named
industry-related projects, specifically recently launched new industrial
enterprises in Rostov Veliky and in the Danilovsky District. Among other
things, these are the projects related to packaging and to new technologies. He
stressed that his region had a priority development territory with a highly
privileged tax regime. This refers not only to zero property tax, land tax and profit
tax but also levies on the payroll are a mere 7.6 percent rather than 30
percent. Talks are also underway with a large number of investors, who are encouraged
to come to the town of Tutayev and boost its rapid development. The Governor also
mentioned the construction of several logistics centres worth a total of around
15–20 billion rubles and a huge data centre with about 18 billion rubles in investment. According to Mr Yevrayev, there are many major projects of this
kind in the region.
Mikhail Yevrayev also noted that the region views not only industry but also agriculture as a growth driver. It has
an advanced livestock breeding sector but there are problems to be solved
because 70 percent of lands are uncultivated and need to be put back to use.
Tourism is also an engine of development. The current tourist flow amounts to three million per year. The Yaroslavl Region is the capital of the Golden Ring
and, according to the Governor, it could serve as a manual for the study of national history. The region seeks to create comfortable and well-equipped spaces and a decent level of services. A large number
of hotels are being built. He cited the village of Vyatskoye as an example,
describing it as the most beautiful village in Russia, located not far from
Yaroslavl, where three hotels are being built at once: two four-star and one
five-star facilities, the latter with 285 rooms.
Two web portals, one tourist and the other investment, have been created to promote tourism, so that both investors
and tourists should know the places to visit. The portal also serves as a marketplace where tourists can book a room in a hotel, buy a guided tour or museum
tickets, etc.
Wrapping up his report, Mikhail Yevrayev stressed
that the Yaroslavl Region was also focusing on advancing the economy and the social sphere.