Mikhail Yevrayev 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.