Newly minted State Duma deputy from Tatarstan Maksim Topilin shown the possibilities of his region

Enterprises and social facilities of three districts of the republic have been “inspected” by the newly elected State Duma deputy from Tatarstan, chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy, Maksim Topilin. The details about his visit and the plans that local producers and politicians associate with “their man” in the lower house of the Federal Assembly are in the exclusive report of Realnoe Vremya.

3 districts in 2 days

Maksim Topilin, the chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy, who received the mandate of a State Duma deputy from Tatarstan in September, toured three districts of the republic in 2 days: Kaibitsky, Apastovsky and Verkhneuslonsky. The parliamentarian not only inspected some of the enterprises, but also held the reception of citizens, promised to help solve problems.

In particular, in the Apastovsky district, communicating with a mother of a child with a very rare disease, Topilin promised help in purchasing expensive medicines for the girl, and discussed the purchase of equipment with the head of the resource centre of the agricultural college.

The residents of the Laishevsky district at the reception in Kazan asked the deputy to help open chain stores and deal with the problem of a shortage of medical workers in rural areas, where it is a luck if there is at least one doctor for several settlements.

The parliamentarian has not yet shared specific plans on how he will work for the benefit of the republic, whose interests he now represents in the State Duma. He only inspected objects and enterprises that could become “points of application of force” in the future.

Committee to help Tatarstan

On Thursday, the deputy inspected the main enterprises located on the basis of the Verkhneuslonsky district — the workshop for the production of drilling equipment of the Geonik research and production company, Divny Bereg PLC fish production plant, Rostselmash dealership.

He visited the factory in Naberezhnye Chelny, which produces yachts and boats. In the Velvette Marine workshop, Topilin boarded two almost ready-made vessels — a two-cabin yacht of the 41st model and a cabin boat of the 23rd, touched the trim with interest, inspected the equipment and even tried to sit on the sofa in the cabin.

But the parliamentarian did not share his impressions of what he saw at this and other enterprises of the republic. He promised to answer later.

With the question of what Tatarstan expects from its new representative in the State Duma and what support the deputy is ready to provide to the republic, Realnoe Vremya turned to the head of the regional executive committee of United Russia, Marat Samigullin, who accompanied Maksim Topilin in the trips around the republic.

“Maksim Anatolyevich is a new person for Tatarstan, he represents the republic in the State Duma and heads the committee on economy, and this is one of the key committees," he responded. “Therefore, we are very interested in him getting acquainted with the republic, with its capacities and economic potential in the shortest possible time.”

Samigullin explained that the new deputy from Tatarstan was “conditionally assigned” the Zavolzhsky territory of the republic — seven districts, as well as the Zelenodolsk district.”

“We very much hope that with his standing and authority, with his capabilities as chairman of the Duma committee, strong support for the interests of Tatarstan at the State Duma level will be provided," said Samigullin.

Question: what of what he saw during these 2 days most interested the Moscow guest — turned out to be clearly premature.

“I would not say that he singled out something, he has an 'equal interest in both production and social objects," the attendant summed up.

From failure of May Decrees to 'successful' pension reform

Maksim Topilin, who headed the Pension Fund of Russia from January 2020 to February 2021, and actively advocated the pension reform in 2018, began building a career in 1994 as an employee of the Russian government apparatus.

In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development, and in 2004, the head of the new structure — Rostrud (Federal Service for Labour and Employment).

Four years later, in 2008, Topilin moved to the chair of the Deputy Minister of Healthcare and Social Development of Russia, and in May 2012, he headed the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. At the end of the year, in January 2013, President Vladimir Putin criticised him for inefficient work and non-fulfillment of presidential decrees (the minister was instructed to develop measures that would allow to increase real wages by 1,5 times by 2018, make employment of disabled people more effective by November 2012, and by the end of the year — to make proposals for the development of the institute of self-government of professional communities, but these tasks cannot be considered fulfilled today).

On March 1, 2021, Maksim Topilin took the post of senior adviser to the CEO — chairman of the management board of Russian Railways JSC, he oversaw work with public authorities and normative activities in the field of social policy and labour protection.

On September 19, 2021, Topilin received the mandate of a deputy of the State Duma on the party list from the United Russia Party from the Republic of Tatarstan, and 3 weeks later — on October 12 — he was elected chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy.

Inna Serova
Tatarstan