Oleg Khorokhordin, who was appointed Acting Head of the Republic of Altai in March 2019, said that over the months in office, he has visited all the districts and remote villages in the republic. Some of the pressing issues that he listed are the high unemployment rate, low incomes, the quality of medical services, schools, kindergartens and hospitals that require renovation, and the shortage of workers in the social sphere.
Mr Khorokhordin believes that the region’s growth points are agriculture, in particular animal farming, as well as tourism and timber processing. Solutions to problems in these areas have already been outlined.
The President and the Acting Head of the Republic also talked about transport development, specifically, aviation, which would increase the number of tourists. There are daily flights between the republic and major Russian cities, including Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Kazan and Yekaterinburg. St Petersburg and Novokuznetsk will be next.
Oleg Khorokhordin said that implementing national programmes would be of great benefit to the republic, especially the Safe and High-Quality Automobile Roads project.
He also reported that a centre for the development of the Republic of Altai has been established and involves all political parties, public organisations, trade unions, public opinion leaders and members of the public, including young activists.
A short-term five-year programme titled Republic of Altai Development Programme is being prepared for resolving urgent problems, as well as a short-term tourism development programme.
A talent pool programme titled Development Team has been launched, similar to the respective federal programme. Despite the small size of the local population, 400 applications came in on the very first day, which indicates that people want to actively contribute to the republic’s development, according to Oleg Khorokhordin.
Acting Head of the Republic of Altai also noted that the main task is to find a development balance without damaging unique nature sites, the local environment, sanctuaries and ethnic culture.
<…>