Rustam Minnikhanov: ‘I am very dissatisfied with the demographic situation’

“It was a difficult year”

Assessing the outgoing year 2024 as a whole, he gave it a traditional assessment: “It was a difficult year, in new conditions, with great restrictions on access to technology and banking payments. Nevertheless, the republic's economy is developing.” This year Tatarstan will exceed the target of 5 trillion rubles in GRP, about 5.5 trillion in industrial output is expected, at least 1.3 trillion in investments in fixed assets, and more than 850-900 billion rubles in the construction complex. In other words, the results are positive," said Rustam Minnikhanov.

Later, the rais clarified how the structure of investments in the republic has changed: “You all need to understand that it is not so easy to bring investments into Russia, even from friendly countries, so our business, large companies, make up the main investments: Tatneft, SIBUR, KAMAZ. Our investments have not decreased, we live at the expense of Alabuga SEZ and Khimgrad technopolis, and everywhere we focus mainly on Russian business.” He expressed confidence that the republic will be able to maintain its investment attractiveness, launch new projects and create new jobs.

“Today, Russian businesses have realised that they need to invest in their country, in their production, and new directions have appeared," he noted.

About BRICS Summit

The year will also be remembered for the major landmark events that the republic held. Among them, the Tatarstan leader highlighted the Games of the Future, as well as the Games of the BRICS countries. But the key and the most ambitious in Russia and the world, of course, was the XVI BRICS Heads of State Summit, which was attended by representatives of almost half of the world — 36 countries, 24 of them were represented by top officials. Six international organisations, including the United Nations and its secretary general, also participated in the work.

“We were in the right place at the right time, we tried to meet the guests with dignity and were highly appreciated. Therefore, despite all the difficulties, I consider the year to have been quite successful," Rustam Minnikhanov is convinced.

The big event required serious preparation of the city, and everything turned out well. “The head of state praised the work of our republic, but this is the work of the whole country, and the authority of our president has affected it. This is a huge job of all law enforcement agencies, huge support from federal agencies that have strengthened security measures, there was not a single incident, everything went as normal. There has never been such an event in the history of the republic, and God forbid that so many more guests have come to us.”

“Trade turnover in the first half of the year has already exceeded $2.4 billion”

During the meeting, the rais of Tatarstan exclusively answered some questions from Realnoe Vremya, including on BRICS. Our publication asked what new opportunities Kazan and Tatarstan have received as a result of the summit and which of the agreements reached are already being implemented.

“We are grateful to the country's leadership for that the capital of our republic, the city of Kazan, was entrusted with hosting such a large and significant international event for our country and the whole world. During the summit, Kazan became a real centre of world politics," said Rustam Minnikhanov. “Such a scale clearly demonstrates the authority and role of BRICS in the modern world. More than 30 countries have already expressed a desire to join the work of the association, and following the results of the summit in Kazan, 13 countries received the status of BRICS partner states.

According to him, the preparation and holding of the summit was a great honour, a huge responsibility and a great challenge for Tatarstan. Perhaps, this is the most striking example of the republic's participation in the implementation of Russian foreign policy, the Tatarstan leader is convinced: “Our republic has demonstrated its traditional cordiality and hospitality, its potential and beauty. You can see how the capital of our republic has transformed for the summit. Everything that has been prepared and done in terms of infrastructure will remain with us for many years to come.”

What is even more important is the significantly increased domestic and international image of Tatarstan and Kazan, he stressed. And this is a very good investment in the future of the republic, the further development of its rich economic, scientific, educational and cultural potential. Holding the summit in Tatarstan is an important step in deepening trade relations with the BRICS countries, the rais noted. “Our trade turnover in the first half of the year has already exceeded $2.4 billion. Meetings and negotiations on the sidelines of the summit will contribute to the development of Tatarstan's cooperation with foreign partners for many years to come.”

“China is our country's strategic partner”

During the press conference, Realnoe Vremya asked Rustam Minnikhanov about the prospects for the growth of Tatarstan-China relations: “Russia's relations with China are strengthening. How will Tatarstan integrate into this cooperation, with which projects? What Chinese experience would be useful to Tatarstan, what can we learn from?”

“All our contacts take place within the framework of Russian-Chinese relations, within the framework of strategic partnership relations between our leaders," the rais of Tatarstan replied. “Today China is a very important country for our republic. The trade turnover last year was $3 billion, there are no figures for this year yet, but I think there will be even more. You can probably see how seriously we take this. ROSTKI Forum: Russia and China are proof of this. It was in demand in the first year, and this year it was attended by Chinese provinces and more than 20 companies. We really hope for this forum next year, and we choose a more comfortable time, and we start working in advance.”

According to him, in many areas, China is now closing those technological issues where previously products and technologies came from those countries that today turned out to be unfriendly to Russia. “That's why we work with Chinese provinces and at the municipal level, we have a lot of contacts. I think I've visited China three times this year. Most importantly, our Chinese partners are also positive and very open in our contacts. Even the example of a company like Haier, which is a world leader in household appliances, has already opened its sixth factory in the republic and is continuing its development. There are such examples. Therefore, China is a strategic partner for our country," said Rustam Minnikhanov.

There will be a downturn in the housing market

We moved on to the topic of housing construction. Raisa was asked whether Tatarstan would continue to break records for housing starts in conditions of high key interest rates and unaffordable mortgages, and what support measures builders and citizens could rely on.

“We can build housing, there is no doubt. Last year, it was 110 million square metres. The question is, without the tools to implement a mortgage, this project will either slow down or accelerate. The fact that this year we have 3.15 million square metres — we will exceed it, there are no problems. But we can see that the number of mortgage loans has already decreased by 30%, and the bank rate is high. This is temporary, everything will pass, the economy will stabilise, but for now there will be some kind of recession, we must be prepared for this," the head of the republic replied.

The rais recalled that the president of the country also recently spoke on this topic, instructing to preserve and develop a family mortgage without limiting the programme. The Russian finance minister has promised subsidies for family mortgages. “Therefore, the issue is not easy. For a while, until everything stabilises, there will be some kind of recession. We'll survive. Inflation, of course, is present, it cannot be ignored.”

“Migration policy is being improved taking into account influencing factors”

According to tradition, the Tatarstan rais was asked a question within the framework of the work of the strategic vision group Russia — Islamic World, which he heads. What are the tasks on Russia's next diplomatic track? “The Islamic world is open to our country, and we are taking advantage of this, and our contacts are working. I don't want to list or impose sanctions on those countries that are open and working with us, but this work will continue," the head of the republic replied.

When asked by Realnoe Vremya about the change in migration policy in the country, Rustam Minnikhanov answered what measures he considers effective, for example, whether language exams or short-term work visas are needed:

“First of all, it should be noted that our whole country is changing. The economy is developing intensively. Its structure is changing significantly, new production facilities are opening, and jobs are being created. The need for specialists to replace them is becoming one of the acute problems. These circumstances are responsible for attracting migrant workers into the economy. Government regulation in the field of migration is also changing. It cannot remain the same. Many factors influence this, including the state of international relations. It would probably be more correct to say that migration policy is being improved taking into account influencing factors, as well as accumulated experience, including international experience.”

According to him, “migration processes also carry the risks of interethnic conflicts, the formation of closed enclaves, and the infiltration of supporters of radical ideologies.” This requires the government to take reasonable harsh measures.
Russia has already adopted a number of measures aimed at countering illegal migration, reducing the period of temporary stay of foreign citizens (up to 90 days per year), and preventing the deterioration of the situation in the interethnic sphere. Probably, there will be others, if circumstances and analysis of the situation require it, believes the rais of Tatarstan.

“Knowledge of Russian, the official language of the Russian Federation, is mandatory. This should not be questioned. This is a requirement for everyone, both citizens and foreigners. We can't imagine how to interact without speaking Russian. Migrants need this even more: they can receive all the necessary information only in Russian. Knowing him, you can ask what interests you, convey your problem, ask for help, and much more. Therefore, language exams or tests are not a whim. The conditions of their implementation should ensure that the quality of Russian language proficiency is checked at the proper level," he added.

Rustam Minnikhanov also noted that Tatarstan was included in the list of five pilot regions where centres for socio-cultural adaptation of foreign citizens will be created. The centre's specialists will provide information on various issues, in particular on the preparation of necessary documents and norms of behaviour in Russian society. In this regard, he hopes for productive cooperation with the Federal Agency for Nationalities.

“It continues to be relevant to tighten the responsibility of employers who employ migrants for their adaptation and control of stay in the republic. Joint, coordinated work is also needed here. The experience of KAMAZ and a number of other enterprises should be more actively implemented in this direction," the head of the republic believes.

“I am very dissatisfied with the demographic situation”

The journalists asked a question on the topic of the Year of the Family: what is the main principle of family education instilled by parents? “Respect your parents, respect your elders, and love your homeland," the rais replied. According to him, today the issues of family support are one of the priorities in the work, but despite that the republic has carried out a lot of activities in this direction, the results are not encouraging yet.

“Do you know that this year we gave birth to 20,000 fewer children than 8-10 years ago? Then there were 56,000, and now there are 36,000. You are also to blame for the demographic decline, you are not giving birth. Tell us what you need, we are ready to fulfill any whim. In fact, we work very poorly, we convince our women badly. This is a big question and it's not a joke, I'm very unhappy with the demographic situation!” Rustam Minnikhanov emphasised.

According to him, the republic is doing a lot to support families, allocating large amounts of money, but there is no effect. He called on the female half of the audience from among the media to show by personal example that the institution of motherhood needs to be strengthened. “The issue of demography is very important for our country, but we have nothing to brag about yet.” As an example, the rais cited other regions with lower incomes, but without a decline in the birth rate, including, for example, Chechnya.

“Children should be a kind of cult for us. But what people usually think: first we live for ourselves, and then it turns out that we have lived for ourselves, but there are no children. This issue is troubling, so let's take it to work. We really hope that in the near future we will be pleased with the changes in the system," he said. “We have a lot of couples who haven't found each other, we need to organise some kind of parties.”

There is less communication between people, “so we need to help them find each other," the rais is convinced.