Appointed Acting Governor of Sevastopol one month ago, Mikhail Razvozhayev reported to the President on the situation in which he found the city upon taking office. He said that judging by the main indicators, the overall situation was quite positive: the gross regional product is steadily rising, as well as the per capita gross regional product, tax and non-tax revenues and private investment.
Changes in key social indicators, the consumer price index and average monthly earnings are consistent with the national averages. While the prices of some products can be regarded as excessive, overall prices are stable, and there were some improvements with the opening of the Crimean Bridge. The unemployment rate is very low compared to other Russian regions at just 0.3 percent. Unlike elsewhere, many high-skill jobs are on offer in the city.
The Acting Governor highlighted a number of challenges Sevastopol is facing, including staffing problems in hospitals under construction, high-technology centres, schools and kindergartens. The overall need includes about 2,670 skilled or professional positions. There is also a shortage of housing for those arriving in the city. At the same time, local professionals working in the social services sector should also benefit from housing improvements since they could not benefit from housing programmes that were carried out in the rest of the Russian Federation before. There are currently about 2,200 professionals in need of such assistance. Mr Razvozhayev said that it would be impossible to address this problem without adopting a separate government programme for housing construction in Sevastopol.
When the President asked Mr Razvozhayev how much this programme could cost, the Acting Governor replied that some 270,000 sq m of housing had to be built by 2024, which amounts to some 12.2 billion rubles.
The President stressed the need to improve social services, including primary healthcare, schools, and kindergartens. Vladimir Putin also noted that Mr Razvozhayev was an experienced person who has built a solid track record in a number of Russian regions, and had also worked at the federal level. The President advised the Acting Governor to rely on his own experience, as well as on people who know the city well, including members of the local parliament, so that together they can work for the benefit of Sevastopol residents in developing this strategic region, as well as achieving common national development goals.