Press Release, 27.05.2020

Boris Vishnevsky, head of the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, made three amendments to the law on adjusting the city’s budget for 2020.

Vishnevsky proposes to preserve the previously planned expenses for the programme Affordable Housing to Young People, which the Governor wants to reduce by a total of 2.9 billion roubles. The MP proposes to maintain the expenditure on the programme by reducing, among other things, expenses for holding mass events and subsides to the strongest sports teams, including Football Club Zenit, whose owners and sponsors can completely solve all the financial problems of the team.

Boris Vishnevsky also proposes to keep the expenditure on the targeted programme Resettlement of Communal Apartments in St. Petersburg, which Governor Beglov decided to reduce by 2.1 billion roubles. Vishnevsky proposes to maintain financing of this budgetary item by cutting the costs of secondary or meaningless events (900 million roubles) and reduction of the growth of the St. Petersburg Government’s Reserve Fund.

In addition, the leader of the Yabloko faction proposes to restore (approximately by 75 per cent to the previous level) the expenses for the construction of the metro, especially the Kalinin-Krasnoselskaya line. The deputy proposes to reallocate the amount of 3 billion roubles from payments to secret concessionaires of the Western High-Speed ​​Diameter to the construction of the metro.

It should be noted that on May 13, Governor Alexander Beglov introduced to the St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly a draft law on amendments to the budget of St. Petersburg for 2020. According to the bill, city revenues are reduced by 101.8 billion roubles (up to 573.1 billion), expenses are cut by 50.6 billion roubles (up to 677.1 billion), the deficit should grow by 51.2 billion roubles (up to 104.0 billion). The city government explains the need for adjustment of the city budget by anti-COVID measures.