Agenda: extending measures to support businesses, holding the nationwide competition of the best projects to create a people-friendly urban environment, and restoring passenger and cargo traffic across the Crimean Bridge.
Meeting with deputy prime ministers on current issues
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks
Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Colleagues, good afternoon.
The Government continues to actively support Russian businesses amid the sanctions from unfriendly countries. Previously, a number of decisions were made, which were included in the priority action plan. These measures are yielding results: the economy is smoothly adapting to the existing challenges.
In order to maintain a positive effect, we will extend some of them for the whole next year. For example, joint-stock and limited liability companies will be able to avoid liquidation, even if the value of their assets falls below the amount of authorised capital. And if public joint-stock companies are reorganised, it will be possible to determine the weighted average cost of their shares within one month.
It will also remain possible to collect fair fees from tenants from unfriendly countries, those who closed their shops but continue to occupy their premises without incurring serious expenses, since under contract they are obliged to pay the owners of the premises a share of the turnover. Such companies will be able to set a payment in the amount of the average monthly payment for the previous year or terminate the lease agreement unilaterally.
These measures will help to reduce the negative effect of the sanctions, as well as lower the administrative burden on our entrepreneurs and achieve a more just redistribution of risks.
One more topic. Tomorrow is the deadline for applying to participate in the nationwide competition of the best projects to create a people-friendly urban environment. Russia will hold the competition for the seventh time. It became possible thanks to the President’s decision to double the funding for the competition: from 10 billion to 20 billion roubles per year.
The winners will receive a grant from the federal budget. It will range from 60 to 100 million roubles, depending on the category and group.
We see high interest from the municipalities that want to improve living conditions in small towns, build modern playgrounds and sports grounds, people-friendly park areas and other facilities that are important for people’s lives.
This year, cities with a population of up to 200,000 people were admitted to the competition for the first time. Applications are being actively submitted in all categories.
In addition to the competition, other events are underway as part of the relevant federal project to create a comfortable urban environment. All of them are also aimed at solving problems identified by the President.
The cost of work in Russian regions funded by federal subsidies can, of course, vary significantly depending on the territory. For example, prices in the Arctic and the Far Eastern Federal District may be higher, while the population may be lower than in other regions.
We have to level the conditions for providing such support and raise the minimum threshold for this subsidy, so that Russian regions would receive at least 100 million roubles for the implementation of programmes.
Mr Khusnullin, please prepare a draft resolution on increasing the funding, and make sure that the regions can rely on greater support from the federal budget starting next year.
Now on to restoring passenger and freight traffic on the Crimean Bridge.
Considering the current situation, the President drew attention to the fact that it is necessary to adopt increased security measures in relation to critical transport infrastructure. Of course, the situation on this route is what we are focusing on.
Passenger transport and the delivery of goods and products both to and from Crimea have been organised. Railway service has also been restored. All vehicles travelling across the bridge or on the ferry are inspected.
Mr Vitaly Savelyev, please report on the situation with logistics in this area. What are you doing to ensure passenger and cargo traffic on these routes?
Vitaly Savelyev: Mr Mishustin, colleagues.
Following the 8 October terrorist attack, I decided to establish a logistics command centre for traffic between mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, I have chaired 11 meetings with this centre, and my deputy has chaired four more meetings to normalise traffic and repairs on the Crimean Bridge. We have set up a large team of professionals, and we are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We promptly brought the situation under control, due to well-coordinated interaction involving the Ministry of Transport, the Defence Ministry, the Interior Ministry, security agencies, federal agencies, Russian Railways, Rostransnadzor and our colleagues from the regions. The Integrated Transport Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Transport is supervising local dispatch control issues, as well as cooperation with drivers, passengers and shippers.
The logistic situation has been normalised through this cooperation, and freight and passenger traffic to and from the Crimean Peninsula has resumed. Since 8 October, 130,000 passenger cars have crossed the Crimean Bridge. Last time, on 10 October when I updated you on the logistics situation, about 6,800 vehicles had crossed the bridge. Every hour, the bridge handles over 250 vehicles. We inspect all incoming vehicles, as you mentioned in your remarks.
There are no bottlenecks on the approaches to the bridge. Regarding freight traffic, there are also several alternative routes for delivering freight to the Crimean Peninsula and vice versa.
The first route includes motorways via the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and the Donetsk People’s Republic. On 10 October, about 7,500 lorries successfully used this route. This number included 45 convoys with over 2,800 lorries. Escorted by State Traffic Safety Inspection vehicles, the convoys pass through the checkpoints more quickly.
In an effort to boost traffic volume, we have started lorry and passenger car transits via two additional checkpoints. Lorries use the Veselo-Voznesenka checkpoint, while the Ulyanovskoye-Shramko checkpoint handles passenger cars. We have set up parking with the required infrastructure for lorries waiting in line.
Early this morning, 386 lorries were waiting at five parking facilities in the Krasnodar Territory. On 10 October, 1,200 lorries were waiting their turn in the Krasnodar Territory. In the last 24 hours, about 140 vehicles were at one parking facility in the Republic of Crimea. This is a third less than in the morning of 30 October. All shipments are taking no more than one and a half day, on average.
Two parking facilities in the Rostov Region received 72 vehicles, and they leave on the same day.
Another alternative is to use rail in place of road vehicles to resolve the problem of shipping to the Crimean Peninsula. As of 8 am 31 October, 16 pairs of trains, that is, eight in each direction, crossed the Crimean Bridge. We have 50 percent-plus mainline capacity beyond this.
In mid-October, we asked the regions to deliver freight via rail rather than motor vehicle. We have already rerouted some goods, including cement, other construction materials, sugar and other things, to rail.
I would also like to note that, from 1 November, some Lastochka passenger trains will be replaced with rail buses because passenger traffic has normalised and demand for the train has subsided.
Ferryboat is the third shipping alternative. Today, we operate seven ferries, including five vehicle ferries. They are the Yeisk, the Kerchensky-2, the Lavrenty, the Maria and the Elza Ibragimova, which can carry about 800 vehicles daily.
Two railway ferries, the Conro Trader and the Avangard, can transport 90 to 100 rail carriages daily. From 8 October, the ferries have crossed the Kerch Strait 376 times, and carried about 23,000 passengers, over 12,000 lorries and 515 carriages.
I would like to note that, regarding ferry traffic, the command centre prioritised freight by category on 27 October, by agreement with the regions. Perishables and social staples and high-priority consumer goods will be delivered first.
The reconstruction of the damaged sections of the Crimean Bridge is the second equally important part of our work. We have conducted the assessments and obtained expert findings. We have submitted our proposals to Marat Khusnullin, who chairs the government commission under the established procedure.
Mr Mishustin, prompt actions have made it possible to prevent a logistical collapse. The people of Crimea continue to receive consumer goods. Enterprises get essential raw materials and feedstock, and passenger traffic continues without restriction. We will continue this work.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you. First, I would like to thank you and Marat Khusnullin and the regional leaders who are quickly implementing these essential measures. Mr Savelyev, it is, of course, important that all essential goods, including foodstuffs and medications, be delivered to the peninsula without interruption. Moreover, our citizens must be able to reach Crimea and return using convenient routes.
I am asking you to monitor the situation. We should find other alternatives for handling freight shipments more quickly and for expediting freight deliveries to the peninsula.
We support the measures that you listed.
