‘The state of readiness of civil defence in Tatarstan raises concern’

Protection of the population from modern weapons of destruction is planned at 100%

According to Irek Kadamov, the acting head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for Tatarstan, “the events taking place in the zone of emergency situations, as well as the experience gained during the implementation of the decrees of the president of Russia, require a new look at the entire system.” Most of the most important issues on this topic were considered at the meeting of the Security Council of the republic, and systemic decisions were made on them, Kadamov said.

For example, the protection of the population of Tatarstan from modern weapons of destruction is planned at 100%, of which:

• in the existing protective structures of civil defense — 5%;

• at the stations of the Kazan metro — 1%;

• 94% of the population lives in buried rooms and other structures of the underground space.

According to Kadamov, in 2023, the issues of practical shelter for the population of the republic were worked out at command and staff exercises in nine municipal districts: Mamadyshsky, Arsky, Vysokogorsky, Verkhneuslonsky, Apastovsky, Kaibitsky, Laishevsky, Agryzsky and Alekseevsky. More than 143 million rubles have been allocated and disbursed by the entities and organisations of the region to maintain the readiness of protective structures for their intended use, and the readiness of four civil defence shelters has been increased (Radiopribor JSC — three civil defence shelters, Almetyevsk Plant Radiopribor JSC — one civil defence shelter). 47 civil defenсe constructions have been removed from the register.

“Currently, in accordance with the list of instructions from the president of Russia, the work on registration of ownership of civil defence constructions has not been completed. Of the 838 protective structures, 308 have ownership rights. The work continues," he said.

As for the provision of citizens themselves, as Kadamov said, as of January 1, 2024, the provision of non-working population with personal respiratory protection equipment is 52.7%, medical personal protective equipment — 21%. “In this regard, it is necessary to adopt a programme to accumulate these protective equipment in the civil defence reserves. Along with this, there is also a positive trend. So, during 2023, organisations purchased personal protective equipment for a total amount of over 32.9 million rubles," he concluded.

According to the results of the inspection of notification system, the coverage of the population amounted to 14%

However, as the acting head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for Tatarstan himself admitted, there are also problematic issues in the republic that “require urgent solutions in the light of modern events”. We are talking about warning systems:

“According to the results of a comprehensive readiness check of the regional automated centralised public notification system (RASCO), conducted in October last year, the coverage of the population of Tatarstan amounted to 14%," said Irek Kadamov.

According to him, in August last year, a meeting was held on the creation of a new regional automated system for centralised notification of the population under the leadership of the rais of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov. The customer is the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Situations of the Republic of Tatarstan, the contractor is Tattelecom PJSC, and the project implementation dates are set for the period 2024-2028.

To implement this decision, as Kadamov noted, Tattelecom PJSC was proposed to use the supports of cellular base stations to place sirens:

“In December 2023, siren installations were tested at the facilities of Tattelecom PJSC with the involvement of representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Testing has shown that the use of this solution is applicable in the reconstruction of the notification system on the territory of the republic, provides guaranteed fixed communication channels and uninterrupted power supply of technical means of notification," concluded the acting head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Tatarstan.

“The vector of anti-terrorist orientation will soon be directed at Tatarstan”

The next speaker was the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod region, Lieutenant General of the Internal Service Valery Sinkov. At the very beginning of his report, he focused on that Tatarstan is the best region of Russia in terms of civil defence. However, he also noted that there are pain points in the system that everyone knows about:

“Over the past five years, all areas of activity related to the protection of the territory and residents of the republic have been at a fairly high level. This suggests that a well-coordinated system, laid down in the distant years, gives its result. In this regard, you are a leader in the Volga Federal District and in the whole country. This suggests that all conditions have been created today to ensure security. <...> However, there are pain points, and you come into contact with them every day," he said.

Sinkov noted the Belgorod Region's experience in addressing security issues, saying that it will soon be used by all Russian regions. “I would like to draw attention to that today, as part of the implementation of civil defence measures, we must focus on what the border territories are experiencing today. Using the example of the Belgorod Region, today many subjects will build civil defence systems. I would like the heads of municipalities and all of you to take this very, very carefully. Because this issue cannot be resolved without careful attention to the categorised cities and economic facilities. They are under separate control today, and you understand how important they are for our economy and what attention our adversaries attract," he said.

According to the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Tatarstan employees of the ministry, like any others, today must be aware of the responsibility with which they have to solve a number of important tasks. First of all, they relate to anti-terrorist security at upcoming events, such as the summit of the BRICS member countries.

“Literally at the end of December, I was carrying out tasks with humanitarian cargo on the territory of the city of Khartsyzsk, which is under the jurisdiction of the Novgorod Obalst. I have been in Donetsk and Lugansk. Therefore, I understand how difficult it is for our colleagues to solve stressful tasks today. Just yesterday, another employee of the Donetsk garrison died while performing tasks. At the same time, when you talk with your colleagues, and we have been communicating with them since 2014, you understand how the service in the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations of warring regions and non-warring regions differs today. It differs in that in three months three people died there and 40 more were injured. And they get paid like you and me. But at the same time, they perform their tasks, so everyone should understand that their front is right here. Therefore, in no case should you allow those moments that can be used in a political or some other aspect not to be allowed in the central part of Russia, where peace, well-being and defence capability of the country are forged. <...> Important events will be held here, such as the BRICS summit, and this suggests that the vector of anti-terrorist orientation will soon be directed at Tatarstan," he said.

At the end of his speech, Valery Sinkov returned to the “pain points” of Tatarstan, noting that one of them is the notification system. “I want to ask you to focus your attention in this direction and work out this issue," the Lieutenant General concluded.

Tatarstan Prime Minister Alexei Pesoshin supported Sinkov's words, noting that there is no hiding from solving problems with the notification system:

“I will not dwell separately on the issue of the state of the republican notification system. We all know this problem well enough. A number of meetings has been held, and the directions in which all this will be resolved were determined. It is necessary to constantly keep this topic under control. We will not get away from this, and this is one of the main criteria by which our work will be evaluated," he said. “The Belgorod region has shown those moments that need to be looked at more closely. The state of readiness of civil defence in Tatarstan raises concern, and we have something to do in this direction. We face serious challenges. The main thing is to preserve the existing positive trends in improving the level of security of the population of the republic," the prime minister stressed.