The Federal Program for Development of Crimea will not be implemented right in time due to red tape this year, Criminform reports, citing the head of the Crimean government, Sergey Aksenov. Aksenov thinks that the problem is that the Ministry for Economic Development is acquiring the functions of the Ministry for Crimean Affairs: “We employed people from federal ministries, 22 people were hired, according to recommendations. After that, three months will be taken to transfer documents to the Ministry of Economic Development; even though these cases have already been approved by the Ministry for Crimean Affairs.”
However, Vladimir Konstantinov, chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, thinks that Crimea today is rising: “The most important result, if we do not take into account the economic aspects, the legal aspects, is the ethical, moral reunion, which spreads very quickly. It is faster than expected. Today, if you ask a person to recall his Ukrainian life, of course, you will be met with bewilderment. Everyone has forgotten that, trying not to remember. This is surprising, since only two years have passed.”
According to Konstantinov, the entire vacuum was artificially propagated for 25 years, and now Crimea’s residents travel to Russia more often than residents of any other region: “St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Altai Krai, Sochi are the favorite places of Crimeans. They were surprised to learn for themselves about their homeland. Everyone understands how much Russia as a country has moved forward and is forward. We as a region will have to do a lot of joint work with the federal government to reduce this gap, to introduce the region at some average level, so Crimeans can feel comfortable.”
With regard to the transitional period, Konstantinov says they are complex, they are unique in many respects: “Two years is a short time for many issues, such as ownership and property relations, land, the organization of the economy in the new realities. The economy managed to be maintained, although in general there was a risk of a collapse and the loss of all enterprises, frankly, because the companies were formed in the same market conditions, the supply system components, the sales system. All of this collapsed in an instant. The enterprises got a completely different landmark. But the vast majority have survived, and this is good news. Growth points have formed. We have already received the statistics for 2015, according to which there is growth in our regional product, there is income growth of Crimeans, the unemployment rate is low. This all suggests that the economy is starting to revive.”
