Sergei Batin: “A unique opportunity has appeared: spending a vacation with great service without leaving the country”

A guest of Tribuna – Vestnik Kavkaza’s special project – is a senator from Tatarstan, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets, Sergei Batin. He shared his views on import substitution, development of internal tourism, inter-regional cooperation, and relations with Crimea with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- Let’s talk about inter-regional cooperation as a way of economic revival. It is topical today.

- Of course, today everybody is discussing import substitution. We looked at our foreign colleagues only and forgot about our close neighbors and Russian regions. Inter-regional cooperation is an important and urgent element today. We have many enterprises and technologies which are not worse, sometimes even better than foreign analogues from the point of view of the balance of price and quality. When we will have full inter-regional cooperation, we will see that it should have been launched long ago.

Internal tourism is developing today. And this is great. Many residents of our country know where Egypt and Turkey are situated, but few have visited the resorts of the North Caucasus, Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk, Sochi or Crimea. Today we have a unique opportunity to see and listen to our countries and realize how big it is, how beautiful and mysterious it is. It is a great potential.

- You are a representative of the executive power of Tatarstan. Do you know examples of inter-regional cooperation with regions of the North Caucasus? You have touched on tourism.

- Today it is necessary to speak about the tourist cluster. I have recently visited the new resort of Arkhyz. There are many interesting things to explore. I think a unique opportunity has appeared: spending a vacation with great service without leaving the country.

- Without spending foreign money.

- That’s right. When the infrastructure is built and conditions are created, then one can choose. Of course there are problems to be solved. But it means we have space to develop. I mean inter-regional cooperation in all directions is a great thing.

- How is cooperation between Tatarstan and the South Caucasus countries developing?

- Tatarstan deals with oil production, oil chemical processing, machinery, helicopter engineering, aircraft engineering. All these spheres are connected with deep recycling of original raw materials and final consumer product. Tatarstan has trade contacts with many countries and regions. One enterprise alone – Nizhnekamskneftekhim – has trade contacts with 120 countries of the world. This means a lot. There are no countries in the Caucasus or in the world which don’t purchase or use products made in Tatarstan. There are traditional well-known brands, such as KAMAZ. It is difficult to imagine a Russian road where one won’t meet KAMAZ vehicles. For example, the most reliable helicopter is a product of the Kazan Helicopter Plant.

- Soon we will mark a year since Crimea’s accession to Russia. Everybody remembers the great moral support from Tatarstan to the Crimean Tatars in the transitional period. Do you have close ties with Crimea today?

- Yes, it was a difficult period, when representatives of Criemean Tatars had doubts about independence in Russia. Tatarstan showed them how interrelations with the federal center were built. It is a positive example. All promises are fulfilled. I should remind you that Crimea has three official national languages today – Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean-Tatar.

- It is the first time in Crimean history.

- Yes. And here we can put a a full stop. There are other benefits which are required by the federal law. Nobody can say that there is ethnic discrimination.

- It means Tatarstan and Crimea still have close ties. It wasn’t one-time communication.

- It wasn’t one-time communication. Moreover, representatives of Crimea regularly visit the republic. At the moment, the process of budget formation is going on, the process of protecting the federal target programs in which Crimea participates. Tatarstan has great experience in the work, and all ministries and agencies communicate with each other and exchange their experience. It will be beneficial not only for cultural development, but also economic development.