The Yabloko faction in the State Duma of the Russian Federation calls for the Russian government to reject plans to end the federal comprehensive programme “Development of Small and Medium Towns of the Russian Federation under Conditions of Economic Reform”. This declaration was made by Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy of the Yabloko faction and Deputy Head of the Duma Committee on Local Government.

“We support the position of the Union of Small Towns of the Russian Federation, which considers this programme to be a concentrated demonstration of Russia’ state policy of helping the Russian regions to overcome the crisis,” said Sergei Mitrokhin.

The federal comprehensive programme “Development of Small and Medium Towns of the Russian Federation under Conditions of Economic Reform” was approved by Decree of President Yeltsin on May 24, 1996 and was adopted by the Resolution of the Government on June 28, 1996. The programme was supposed to continue until 2005.

However, a Directive of the Government of the RF dated March 1, 2001 orders that another programme be developed on the basis of this programme: the special federal programme “Preservation and Development of the Architecture of Historic Towns”.

“Such a step”, according to Mitrokhin, “ means in reality replacing the comprehensive solution of economic, social and cultural problems with separate architectural issues, which are not all that urgent at this stage, and rejecting a special programme for the small towns of Russia.” “Obviously, the problems of 40 million residents of small towns in Russia, which are today much more acute than the problems of large cities, will not disappear with the liquidation of the programme,” said Sergei Mitrokhin.

According to the data of the Union of Small Towns of Russia, at present 77% of small single-employer towns are in an unfavourable economic situation; in over 60% of small towns, the death rate considerably exceeds the average rate in Russia; and in 65% of small towns, the average income of the population is lower than the subsistence minimum.

“Owing to mistakes in conducting reforms (without regard to the specifics of small towns), these towns have lost the enterprises around which they were built, and the associated jobs. In order to survive, the residents of many small towns have largely gone over to a subsistence farming economy – and this at the beginning of the 21st century!” added Mitrokhin.

The Yabloko faction considers it necessary to preserve the federal comprehensive programme “The Development of Small and Medium Towns of the Russian Federation under Conditions of Economic Reform” and will try to ensure that this programme is financed as stipulated in the federal budget, stressed Sergei Mitrokhin.