Russian President Vladimir Putin has excluded certain territories of Karelia from the regions of the Far North and equivalent areas. The decision shocked the residents of the republic, many of whom were already looking for more attractive places to live. An avalanche of indignation fell on the authorities of Karelia. However, after the clarification of the new decree, the relief was also incomplete.
In 1983, the government of the Soviet Union included the Loukhsky, Kemsky, Belomorsky, Kalevala municipal districts and the Kostomuksha urban district of Karelia in the Far North, and all other municipalities of the republic began to belong to areas equated to the Far North. In 1993, the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, signed a decree that actually duplicated the earlier Soviet decision, but now within the framework of the Russian Federation.
According to the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia from Yabloko Emilia Slabunova, in the worst case, residents of these regions of the republic can lose from 65 to 80% of their income, which are formed as northern allowances. People share Slabunova’s concerns. For example, the head of the kindergarten, Yulia, admitted to the MK correspondent that without the northern allowances, her salary would be reduced by 65%. “I don’t consider myself the middle class now, and without this money I’ll become a beggar at all. I will have only one way out and that is moving, ”she says. A lawyer Maria Trubnikova from Petrozavodsk reminded the correspondent of “MK” that this is not only about money, but also about numerous benefits. Among them is early retirement. “In the North, women can retire at 55 and men at 60. If this status is taken away from us, we will have to work for another 5 years, and pensions will decrease, ”Trubnikova said.
The Karelian authorities clarified the decision of the federal center only after lunch. Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic Dmitry Rodionov said that no one would lose any money and benefits. They argue that soon the Russian government will adopt a new resolution, which will be called “On the approval of the List of regions of the Far North and localities equated to the regions of the Far North, in order to provide state guarantees and compensations for people working and living in these regions and localities, recognition of some acts of the Government of the Russian Federation as invalid and recognition of some acts of the Council of Ministers of the USSR as invalid on the territory of the Russian Federation ”.
There Karelia will again find itself “a northern region with the same benefits and opportunities. This is done ostensibly in order to streamline bureaucratic procedures: over the past 30 years, they say, many amendments have accumulated, which they decided to summarize in a new document.
It seems that there is nothing to worry about, but not everything is so simple. Nobody has seen the draft resolution of the Russian government yet, but the presidential decree has already been signed, and it says that Karelia is no longer the Far North. As a result, rumors spread throughout the republic that their regions could either be redistributed between the categories of the Far North itself and areas equated to it, or even write off all to the Arctic zone (38% of the republic is already considered the Arctic).
In the first case, we can talk about partial financial losses. If you live in the Far North, then your northern allowance in Karelia will be 80%, and if you find yourself in an area equated to the Far North – only 65%. As for the Arctic zone, today, getting into this category does not provide any benefits for ordinary citizens at all. But the republic will receive more investment and a lighter tax regime. Since the government of Karelia argues that the benefits will also remain, perhaps the point is that the federal center has decided to unify the legislation on the Far North and the Arctic zone, especially since in the mass consciousness these concepts often coincide.
Political scientist Konstantin Kalachev told MK that he is leaning towards the version of the transformation of the Far North into the Arctic zone. True, he is not sure that all the benefits will remain the same. “In this case, we are dealing with the legacy of the Soviet Union and Yeltsin. In the early 1990s, federalism flourished in Russia, and Moscow was ready to make concessions even when it was possible to pause to reevaluate all the arguments.
Everyone understands perfectly well that even the northern part of Karelia cannot be compared with Chukotka or Murmansk. We are now moving towards a centralized state based on the principles of rational technocratism. Accordingly, the authorities are trying to put things in order with regard to the conformity of the concepts of the Far North and the Arctic. At the same time, the authorities will try to avoid benefits in cases where they seem excessive and unreasonable, ”Kalachev said.
Political scientist Ilya Grashchenkov also believes that if someone is deleted from somewhere, then it is logical that the benefits will be taken away. “The question is what will be cut and how. Perhaps the residents of the Far North will be left with their allowances, but those who come there to work may lose them. For example, a business will be given the right to independently decide whether it is necessary to pay an increased salary. Thus, social benefits can be left in order not to create unnecessary tension, and the tax burden will be removed from business, ”says Grashchenkov.
