Tribune’s guest is the Vice Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, senator from the Pskov Region Alexander Borisov
- In the Federation Council, you and Elena Vasilyevna Bibikova represent the Pskov Region. It turned out that you are members of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy. Was this a concurrence of circumstances, or does the Pskov Region traditionally have strong social programs?
- it is certainly not a coincidence. But the role of the Pskov Region is minimal, because it was formed traditionally. The thing is that Valentina Ivanovna’s appointment( Speaker of the Federation Council, Matvienko, ed. note) has been carried out with some reorganization of committees. I was on the Youth Commission which was engaged in tourism and I joined the Grand Committee on Social Policy. Accordingly, our committee deals with a very wide range of issues: youth, tourism, problems of health, social welfare, etc. Elena (Bibikova, - ed. note), who joined the Federation Council after the elections last year, was professionally engaged in matters related to pensions. She was the head of the pension fund in the Pskov Region. It seems to me that she had a chance of joining our committee as a specialist in this field.. Now we are working in the same committee on social policy. But there are various specializations in the committee. I deal with the same topics related to youth policy, labor relations, and a bit less with tourism. Elena is directly related to matters of pensions.
Strange as it may sound, but the topic of pension reform may be related to the theme of youth policy. Because this theme, it does not relate to those pensioners, who are receiving pensions now, but those who will.. Those people, who are now beginning their careers should think about what they will do when they retire on a pension. Conversations about an increase in pensions are popular today.
- Recently the Omsk Forum for Social Innovation has been held, where all the regions of our country participated. With what proposals has your region, the Pskov region participated the Forum?
- Our region participated in the exhibition, and in the discussions of a topic related to the so-called social town. This is our Pskov project, which is associated with the peculiarities of the territorial structure of the Pskov Region. The point is that we have a very large number of settlements there, about 10 thousand. A settlement exists with small population, and some people often need social help. But it is too difficult to access it, as well as providing some quality social service. We had the idea of building such a small town, where people who need help can get. We will help to create high-level, high-quality accommodation for them and provide quality social services in order to care for them.
- What is the difference of this town from a nursing home, which has a negative connotation?
- We want to see a town. It is supposed to build infrastructure where people can communicate there, move, do some work, which they are able to do. In other words, lead a normal lifestyle. I'm speaking about this.
- What about those people who do not want to leave their place?
- Well. Certainly, it will be organized voluntarily without a doubt. But at the same time, it is a way to show people that they have one or another choice. They should have a choice.
But nobody is going to leave people alone, without any doubt. It is the state’s duty to provide services. And it is clear that at the time of any crisis, we have social obligations in the first place.
If we understand that this program works well, If some people say that they are ready to move and live there, accordingly, we have to see how it will work.
- Today 15 centers on innovation of social spheres have been created in Russian regions. You suggested that similar innovation centers should appear in every region of the Russian Federation. What are these centers and how can they contribute to the development of social spheres?
- When we talk about social entrepreneurship, it is more clear, when we are talking about some business activity in the social sphere. Moreover, there is a law that started to work this year, it is called the social service of citizens, which implies a certain de-governmentalization of social services and participation of non-government enterprises, the private sector and others in it. All of this probably fits the definition of "social entrepreneurship."
I think that nonprofit organizations may be involved in this social entrepreneurship. I think that the status of a social entrepreneur may be given to anyone, nonprofit organizations or any commercial organization from the point of view that there is some social problem and it can be solved. It can be solved not only by giving money, not only by providing fish, but by providing a rod. The regions themselves must look at what problem is relevant for them and look for ways to solve it, including the private sector.
Regarding the structure of social sphere innovations, it is a project, which is being supported by the Ministry of Economic Development. there are 15 of them now. They came up as an option to support those people who are willing to engage in this business: they teach them there, they are telling them that there is such-and-such a way, such support options. These centers can serve as a support for the infrastructure of the emerging social business, which, in my opinion, can be interpreted much more widely than just business in the social sphere.
-All the services provided to the population such as social service centers, basically they should be free or a fee for them should be a formality. Then what can a private trader, who goes to the market, win?
- We are talking about PPP. When we talk about PPP, at the Omsk forum we actively discussed this law. I hope, it will be adopted in the final reading. It was specifically about the construction of infrastructure, and in this regard, PPP was seen as an opportunity to attract additional investment, which is not from the state. f an investor comes there, you need to understand that he is going to want his money back. There is no such thing as free. he service may be free for a person, for example, but it is still paid by someone. The state paid, or let's say, if it's a business, his relatives paid, a particular fund paid, a health insurance fund, or a social insurance fund. That means this service is still paid by certain standards. And if at this standard, this service will also be paid to a person who provides the service, then there is a business. And if we then add the additional services to this, for which people are willing to pay by themselves, a development of the social sector begins.
Here, a question is always in the details.. By itself, the word partnership implies absolutely precise arrangements, which should be complied, in terms of the return of investment. So there is still a lot of work, but I think we are taking the right steps. The state has to seek some additional resources and become a partner of the people who are willing somehow to provide this resource. If the state has a ruble, but it may spend 50 cents, and attract some investors for 50 cents, then there are free 50 cents, on which it can either create some additional service, or rationally spend it on something. So I think that now is a time when the government needs to seek partners.
- The Pskov Region is not the most secure region of Russia, but still, surely, there are strong sides? In your opinion, in what directions should this region focus in socio-economic development?
- The Pskov Region, because of its territory, because of its historical content, without a doubt, is a region that is very attractive from the point of view of tourists. It is, no matter what closed circles we are painting in our heads, tourists are not coming, because there is no infrastructure, no infrastructure because there are no tourists. However, no matter what, we gradually see that the tourist flow increases. This is due to the cross-border status of Pskov Region and the presence of certain historical places – Pushkin places, pilgrimage to the Pskov-Pechora monastery, and in general, according to the number of churches per person, Pskov is in first place in Russia. And all the churches are active, and if they are not restored already, they still being restored. The city of Izborsk, which is 1150 years old, it's older than Pskov, it is believed that it is the birthplace of the Russian model of democracy. Brother Rurik, Truvor ruled there. The lakes, the nature is quite beautiful there...
But all these recreational opportunities are still underestimated, on the one hand. On the other hand, people are coming, and they also, in some way, integrated into this industry.
While I would certainly not call it an industry, because, after all, I think this is our global problem that none of us is related to tourism as an industry. We are all talking about it, remembering all the country which are living due to tourism, but somehow what we have here in tourism as an industry, I think, has not yet formed. There was some builder who built up the embankment, but built a hotel. But he is not a professional in the management of hotels. Others built a wonderful base on the lake, but I also understand that they are just not professionals in the management of tourist infrastructure.
All our tourist companies, which we call tourist companies, in fact, are selling information, we have not got any serious organization with its hotels, with its own planes. Generally, tourism is capacious with the workforce system.
A simple example: a Toyota plant was built in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, it employs 300 people, but at the whole plant. And in tourism everything is done manually by people, so in terms of jobs, it seems to me, it is more capacious. Consequently, we still have, probably, an opportunity to develop a topic related to the logistics of a particular, and this is again, cross-border cooperation – and, of course, agriculture. And although we have a risky farming sector, but we somehow get out of there with the growth of agriculture.
- Well, you mentioned cross-border cooperation. Now somehow, if you look at the news, such as it is assumed that we are not in a good condition, we have bad relations with the Baltic republics, which border the Pskov Region. Say, up to your experience, are interpersonal relationships too tense, or is it still such a tribute, perhaps, of the Western propaganda, which actively imposes anti-Russian sentiment?
- I think it is. Our people can quite happily go on holiday, for example, to Estonia, visit some aqua park there, since, unfortunately, we have not got one in Pskov, just to come back in the evening and feel comfortable and relaxed. It is possible to go to Riga, to Jurmala
And just when we had, so to speak, course changes, Pskov has become cheaper for the residents of Estonia, so they are coming. I have not heard about any conflicts in Pskov, I do not know, for example, anyone with the Estonians. On the human level everything is peaceful. my colleagues recently have been in Daugavpils, so they understood that everyone, in fact, is speaking in Russian. I have never felt uncomfortable in Latvia, Estonia
And inter-regional cooperation has never stopped. There is a group of Russian-Latvian friendship, which we have in the Federation Council, I was trusted as a senator to be a coordinator. In this way, including conditional formal movements, I think, we will be able to build such human relations.
