‘Not just Innopolis’: what Tatar official Varakin is betting on
The head of Verkhny Uslon, recently back from reconstruction work in the Donetsk People's Republic, is now channelling his efforts into building a water intake facility on the Volga and revitalising rural life
“If I give you the figure now (on infrastructure investment in the district — ed.), people will say Varakin has frightened everyone. But we are preparing to defend the project,” said Yevgeny Varakin, the head of Verkhny Uslon District, when asked about the level of investment required to upgrade the region’s water supply. Nearly a year after returning from Donbas, Varakin laid out his immediate priorities during a Municipal Hour session: tackling water shortages by building a water intake facility capable of supplying 7,500 cubic metres per day, boosting grain yields, and expanding the footprint of local industrial parks. The report by Realnoe Vremya also covers what raised concerns for Taliya Minullina and what the business community is asking from the district leadership.
No Duslyk Order — but wearing the St George Ribbon
Yevgeny Varakin, known by his call sign Tatarin, appeared at the Municipal Hour at the Investment Development Agency on 30 April, drawing a full house of business leaders and journalists. After all, among today’s district heads, few can say they spent years near a conflict zone, working to rebuild war-torn areas in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Yet the new district chief made no overt display of his military past — neither in words nor appearance. Notably, it was the black-and-orange St George ribbon pinned to his lapel, rather than the Duslyk Order he received upon returning to Kazan. “Verkhny Uslon District is strongly associated with Innopolis, but are there other growth points?” asked Taliya Minullina, head of the Investment Development Agency — a question clearly directed at the newcomer. “I need to develop not just Innopolis, but the entire Verkhny Uslon,” Varakin agreed.
But as it turned out later, promising projects one way or another run into engineering infrastructure. More precisely — into a shortage of water, even though the district itself stands on the banks of the Volga. As the head of the district reported, among the top-priority tasks is the expansion of the water treatment plant from 2,000 to 5,000 cubic metres per day and the construction of a boiler facility increasing from 32 to 63 MW. In the longer term, it is necessary to build a water intake facility with a design capacity of up to 7,500 cubic metres per day, as well as wastewater treatment facilities.
Obviously, the existing capacities will not support future investment plans related to the integration of Verkhny Uslon District into the Kazan agglomeration.
As part of the Kazan agglomeration plan
According to the comprehensive development scheme, by 2050 the population could grow to 62,700 people, with projections to create 44.3 thousand jobs and build 5 million square metres of housing. Varakin himself considers the forecast realistic, although he clarified that the plans were not written by him, but by the Spatial Planning Institute of the Republic of Tatarstan — at least regarding the housing construction part.
According to him, last year the district commissioned 180 thousand square metres, and next up is the completion of the upscale residential complex Dolce Vita with 200 thousand square metres. He was, however, reproached for the high cost per square metre. But the average salary here is also 187,500 roubles, which is due to the earnings of IT specialists in Innopolis.
One way or another, Innopolis drives the district’s economic growth. According to Yevgeny Varakin, last year the gross territorial product amounted to 27.5 billion roubles, with half of that coming from information technology and communications services. The share of agriculture was around 9%, and industry — 7%. It was possible to recover from the slump of 2023. Back then, the industrial production index dropped to 63%, which was linked to the decline in output at the agrofirm Verkhny Uslon and the relocation of Evotek-Mirai Genomics PLC to the Laishevsky District. By the results of 2024, the IPI rose to 123.8%, but not without setbacks. For example, the company Velvette Marine, which assembled yachts and 6-metre boats, shut down production, Varakin noted. The reason for the exit is unknown, he later explained to journalists.
“Rustam Nurgalievich said, enough of building boxes, we need something aesthetic”
The district plans to build three industrial parks, creating nearly 3,500 jobs. These include the third site of the M-7 industrial park, with an investment of 120 million roubles; the Verkhny Uslon industrial park, with investments of 352.3 million rubles; and the M-12. Verkhny Uslon industrial park, valued at 13 billion rubles. “The first phase is filled, there are conceptual projects, and construction of the first buildings is beginning,” reported Valery Brigadnov, director of the M-7 park.
However, a significant portion of the spaces has been purchased by individual entrepreneurs, who are preparing them for rent as warehouses. This scheme with surrogate leasing raised concerns for the head of the Investment Development Agency.
“People think: ah, they are building some park, some companies are getting in, but we have no space in them. Is that what’s happening if we listen to you?” she asked. “And if businesses want to operate nearby, will there be an opportunity?”
In response, the director pointed out that the company is building the park without state funds or subsidies. “We’re doing it cheaper than if they came in and built it themselves,” insisted Brigadnov. Taliya Minullina reminded him of the upcoming changes in park requirements
“Rustam Nurgalievich said, enough of building boxes, we need something aesthetic, attractive,” she said. The manager of the Verkhny Uslon industrial park reported that his policy is focused on encouraging the relocation of sellers' production to the park. According to him, the rates will be lower than in Kazan.
Preparing for defense
How does the district head plan to modernise infrastructure — Realnoe Vremya asked. “We are currently preparing for the defense, there’s also the ‘Clean Water’ program, many programs are in place, Rustam Nurgalievich announced a housing and utilities modernisation program. Wherever there’s an opportunity, we will enter.” He struggled to specify the amount of investment needed: “What’s the ceiling? Everyone understands that building a water intake facility is no small task. If you write it down, people will say, Varakin scared everyone by naming the figure. Only the designers can say that, we’re preparing now and will go to defend it before the republic’s leadership. We won’t be able to build a water intake facility with a capacity of 7.5 thousand cubic meters right away, and for now, the consumption isn’t that high. At the same time, we need to build wastewater treatment plants because the water supply system can’t be built separately from the treatment facilities.”
Another priority is increasing grain yields. “18 centners per hectare is nothing,” the speaker noted. “The previous head of the district, Marat Ziatdinov, said that agriculture in the district is not criticised. But I told Marat Galimzyanovich: ‘With all due respect to you, I’m not used to working like that.’ That’s why we set ourselves the task of making agriculture grow as well, and although it hasn’t grown as much as last year, yes, we’ve gained just one position, but we gained it!” Varakin proudly stated. The grain harvest for 2024 amounted to almost 54 thousand tons.