"Today our task is to provide people with maximum comfort"

The Far East and the Arctic continue to attract investors to implement their projects. Alexey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, told Izvestia on June 18 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) about the economic, social, and tourist development of the regions and the projects being implemented there.

"The development of the Far East and the Arctic creates a new economy for a generation to come"

— The development of the Far East and the Arctic are indeed becoming absolutely interconnected. How much resources are available to implement this unprecedented large-scale project?

— Development is carried out according to reference points, which go in two directions — economic, which should generate resources, and social, which should make the environment for people's lives better. In terms of the economy, we have already launched more than 3.7 thousand investment projects totaling 11 trillion rubles, which includes only those that benefit from state support measures. In addition, leading energy companies have invested 30 trillion rubles in the Arctic.

We are talking about a scale of development comparable to what the rise of Western Siberia and Kuzbass once was. Just as the Soviet Union developed regions that still feed the whole country, today the development of the Far East and the Arctic creates a new economy for a generation to come. At the same time, we are trying to change the living conditions. Today, our task is to provide people with maximum comfort and conditions comparable to life anywhere in the Russian Federation.

A program launched by the President of the Russian Federation is currently being implemented to implement master plans for each key city: there are 25 in the Far East and 16 in the Arctic. To do this, together with local residents, an in-depth analysis was carried out and it was determined what people needed in order for them to have highly paid and interesting jobs, services and services needed in the city. A comfortable environment was also discussed: landscaping, embankments, playgrounds, sports and cultural facilities. This program has been adopted in the Far East until 2030, and in the Arctic until 2035.

— To what extent is it possible to link the technological development of the Far East and the Arctic with each other? In one way or another, the Far East is in a slightly more advantageous position, while in the Arctic it is necessary to develop new territories and ensure uniform technological, human and social development. Or is it necessary to bring the Arctic up to the level of the Far East?

— On the one hand, they are somewhat similar. These are sparsely populated areas where nature is more powerful than man. Both in the Far East and in the Arctic, one can feel how small a person is compared to the grandiose and boundless nature. But the Arctic is more extreme in terms of natural and climatic conditions than the Far East. There are 300 sunny days a year from Buryatia to Primorye, which is why solar energy is developing here.

The Far East feels integrated into Asia, it is located close to China. People have a high level of introspection and willingness to experiment. Within the framework of the TOP "Patriotic" (territory of advanced development — Ed.), goods for victory are being created. All regions of the Far East quickly began making drones of the widest range, and the competitiveness of these products is at its maximum. Even small teams produce products at the level of advanced concerns such as Kalashnikov.

— Have there been more investors, apart from the countries of the Asia-Pacific region?

— We seriously rely on our own strength, but this does not mean that there is no interest in investing. Russia is the fourth largest economy in the world, and we have a lot of capital and unused bank funds. The interest rate doesn't really help investments, but they haven't stopped, I was talking about 3.7 thousand projects worth 11 trillion rubles. We monitor them on a schedule through the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, and solve the problems of investors who invest money, buy and localize technologies on a quarterly basis. We quickly learned how to localize what we had been buying in the West for decades. Therefore, I would like to see more self-sufficiency in terms of capital markets, initial public offerings and exchange-traded instruments.

— Are there any companies in the region that can successfully launch an IPO?

— Of course, these are all the medium and large ones that we have in our portfolio. There are about 120 companies in total, large projects with investments of more than 10 billion rubles.

— Is there enough human resources? Has the outflow been reduced?

— In 2024, a record was set, with a net influx of 24.5 thousand people. Nevertheless, like the whole country, we are in a demographic hole — the net decrease in the population is small, but the number of deaths exceeds the number of children born. Of course, there are not enough personnel. Currently, the average unemployment rate is slightly more than 2%, which means that it is not people who are looking for work, but work that is looking for people. But I wouldn't sound the alarm. For example, a gas chemical complex being built in the Amur Region would have required 200,000 employees 30 years ago, and 1.5 thousand today.

"People should not suffer from living in the largest country in the world"

— Locals periodically say about the inhabitants of the European part of Russia, "you have there in the West." What is the reason for this feeling of being torn and disconnected?

— Moscow is far away. Of course, the time zone difference also has an effect. But in recent years, the situation has improved due to the work done to subsidize aviation tariffs. Almost any Far Easterner from a major center can fly to the European part of the country at discounted prices. This became possible because of President Putin's tough and clear position to ensure the country's connectivity, because people should not suffer from living in the largest country in the world.

But there is also pride in people for their small Homeland, pride in being Far Easterners or Northerners. They came to the Far East for hard work, to serve and defend their homeland. And this spirit is very important.

"The Far East and the Arctic will offer an option for any wallet"

— You mentioned the cost of flights. The Far East is indeed a very beautiful region, people are drawn there, they want to see the unique nature. However, many still say that it is very expensive to go there.

— If we are talking about such destinations as Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Chukotka, they are very far away. It costs two or three times more to build anything there than in the European part of Russia. Therefore, these places will never become cheap.

There are other options that are closer, for example, in the north: Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Vorkuta. We can say for sure that the Far East and the Arctic will offer an option for any wallet.

— What awaits the Polar Urals?

— Yamal produces three quarters of our gas, and tourism is also developing. A ski resort is being built there. And here there is a big difference from European resorts, which simply melt away. Nowadays, traditional ski destinations sometimes skip the season due to the lack of snow. There won't be this problem in the Polar Urals for a long time.

— What will happen to Svalbard, because it is also one of the amazing destinations?

— We are in Svalbard by virtue of the Paris Treaty. Our trust landed there in 1931, so in six years we will celebrate the 100th anniversary. It is important for us to approach this in a new way. If we spent 90 years in Svalbard, mainly mining coal, now we are also developing tourism. Tourist groups are already being brought there. Funds are being invested in infrastructure for ship repair. We also expect to establish an open research base there, which the BRICS countries are already interested in. It is important for them to study life in the north.

Despite the sanctions and the conflict situation with Western countries, it was within the framework of this island that it was possible to build quite constructive relations with Norway.

"The phenomenon of Yakut cinema was already known all over the world even before the crisis events"

— Let me ask you a question about the development of creative clusters. Due to what, their revenue should grow 10 times in five years, to 25 billion rubles?

— We have a plan for the development of creative industries, and this topic has received a serious boost in the Far East. A month ago, a creative industries forum was held in Yakutsk, attended by guests from South Africa, India and other countries. Cinema is a good example. The phenomenon of Yakut cinema was known all over the world even before the crisis events. There is also a phenomenon of the IT industry. Our programmers created mobile applications and games that were in demand all over the world. These creative clusters are being created within the framework of the master plans that I mentioned.

Despite the fact that creativity can be said to be a virtual business, it is very important to create a point where all these people will gather physically. We are reconstructing the old barracks, and in Yakutia, such a creative cluster, the Labor Quarter, was built on the site of a former meat processing plant.

"We will continue to be pioneers"

— In many ways, the Far East has been an experimental region for our country — the first TOP, various projects with neighboring countries. How can the experience of the Far East in economic, technological and other projects be extrapolated to the rest of the country?

— Life shows that many positive changes have been moving along the trajectory of the Sun — from East to West. Far Eastern mortgages of 2% have spread to the whole country, TORS have already been established in many regions of Russia.

I am very proud of the demographic project "Million for a third child". We have proved by the example of other countries that stimulating the birth rate of third and subsequent children is eight times more effective than the first and second. In our society, two children are more or less the norm, and the third is a barrier for many. We launched a pilot project in Primorye three years ago. Experience has shown that the growth rate of large families is now twice as high as in the rest of the Far East. At the same time, it is 1.5 times higher in the Far East than in the rest of Russia. And all the regions started talking about it. I hope that we will continue to be pioneers not only in this, but also in many other aspects.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder"

— Where, in your opinion, are the most beautiful sunsets and the most beautiful sunrises?

— Speaking of sunrise, I remember Kamchatka. A snow-capped volcano and the Pacific Ocean, and the sun rises above it all. It's impossible to compare it with anything else. Sunsets. It's beautiful everywhere, I can't answer. I've been everywhere. There is not a single place in the Far East and the Arctic that does not take your breath away. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.