Regions Report! St. Petersburg Prepares Tourist Tax; Green Initiatives and New Leaders Program!

We'll get back to the Northern Capital's streets later. But for now, let's stop by Smolny. What's in here? The former Institute for Noble Ladies maintains the reputation of being elegant. St. Petersburg's government headquarters is located here once again, this time not for a revolution but for some interesting changes.

Development Region. Saint-Petersburg. Special Report by Sergey Brilyov

It's the City on the Free Neva

Spring has finally come to St. Petersburg. It was actually hot at the beginning of the week. Spring came so swiftly that even native residents of St. Petersburg are amazed. For instance, the city is being washed again. Well, let's make a deal.

We'll get back to the Northern Capital's streets later. But for now, let's stop by Smolny. What's in here? The former Institute for Noble Ladies maintains the reputation of being elegant. St. Petersburg's government headquarters is located here once again, this time not for a revolution but for some interesting changes.

 

- Alexander, I haven't been here for a year. I think Peter the Great has a different facial expression now. He looks at the hall and doesn't recognize it.

Alexander Beglov, acting governor of St. Petersburg:

- His facial expression never changes, actually.

- Look how many blank plates there are.

Gone are the names of those whom Beglov having come asked to leave voluntarily, if they had some gaps left. If some didn't leave on their own, he made them. He also brought a new tradition to Smolny and to the life of the city, weekly radio messages per the request of its residents.

Alexander Beglov: Good afternoon, dear St. Petersburg residents, Alexander Beglov is here.

The topic of the week is where the money, which Beglov forcefully returned from the federal center to the city, for unplanned tax deductions will go.

Alexander Beglov: 4 schools and 24 kindergartens.

Also, the money will help to build new medical facilities in new neighborhoods built in recent years without due regard to social needs. A separate topic is the improvement of the center.

Unfortunately, this is what we saw even on Kronverkskaya Street when Beglov came there with an unannounced visit.

Alexander Beglov: That graffiti is just terrible.

Ivan Gromov, Chief District Officer: We cover up 46 of such acts of vandalism per day.

- It seems like this was torn off this winter.

- This is the plague of the city's central part. We keep a record of every piece of graffiti here and we have 24 hours to get rid of it.

- Ivan, it doesn't look like it happened yesterday or the day before. It looks much earlier than that. You have two days to remove all of it and report to me personally.

- I will.

Right there, the head of the city gave a folder with the residents' complaints to the chief officer. Where did Beglov get them? For now, this is what he said when we departed.

- I have a friend in St. Petersburg. He had a good saying: "St. Petersburg isn't in the first place, but it can't be in second place." Unfortunately, there are several spheres in which St. Petersburg isn't in the second place. It's in third place, fourth place, or even further down. It's lagging behind in terms of life's esthetics, even though the city is a federal city. How can we change things so that St. Petersburg would become a model for the country?

Alexander Beglov: Sergey, first of all, it hasn't lost its beauty. People here are polite, cultured, and friendly.

- I've known that since I first came here in the 80s.

- So nothing has changed really, it's just that the new generation has grown up. As for the way the city is being managed, that needs to change. You know, I'd say the city needs to be aired out with a northern wind.

This is what we also found on Kronverkskaya Street.

Ivan Gromov:

- We had a clean-up event right here.

Alexander Beglov: So what?

- All of this was painted over and cleaned. It appears here every day.

- No, this is just impossible. Look over there, the asphalt is warped. It's even unclear whether this is a bus stop. There should be a bus pavilion installed. The location is really good here, there's even a school nearby. We can build a park here. But it shouldn't be such a mess. I see the guys have a good time here.

On the other side of the Neva, near St. Isaac's Cathedral, which is a symbol of St. Petersburg and its character, we met someone who, under Beglov, headed the Committee on Youth Affairs and knows their problems.

Yulia Ablets: Young people in St. Petersburg often see opportunities to develop themselves only via the Sapsan (express train), in the sense that they go to Moscow looking for windows of opportunities. In fact, the city needs these young, ambitious, often very intelligent people.

She is a native resident of St. Petersburg and a winner of the Leaders of Russia competition. Beglov invited her to the program "35 of 35." It's when 35% of management positions are taken by people under 35 years of age. She is now holding city planning meetings with young people. For instance, on territory improvement.

Yulia Ablets: We have a sick project, pardon my slang. The Green Nevsky. On Nevsky, we want to place as many tubs of flowers and greens as possible, hang them on poles, put them along the roads. This is the idea.

In his office, Beglov installed an entire information display showing the city's state of affairs. So, this is where the official and alternative sources are displayed, right? Correct.

- So the district officials can't fool around?

Alexander Beglov: No, they can't because I have access to the cameras and can see if there's something wrong.

- You mean these cameras? Is this Vosstaniya Square?

- I can switch to any district and see most of it.

At this stage, explains the acting governor, manual control is vital.

- This habit of being an economic planner dies hard. I blame myself for it but I can't help it.

What else was known about the mood in the city? For example, over the years, residents of St. Petersburg have been discussing the following. Opposite Vasilyevsky Island, they were going to build up a judicial district for the Supreme Court, which was moving from Moscow. Many were afraid of a transport nightmare due to the appearance of a large number of federal authorities in that area. As we can see, the foundation for the building of the Supreme Court is ready. But it seems that all of it will end up under a thick layer of soil.

There's a new project now. Instead of the Supreme Court, there'll be an art park for recreation and creativity. Everything is very large-scale and quite different from the initial design. But the changes were approved by two-thirds of residents. A new pattern of interaction between the authorities and the residents of St. Petersburg has emerged.

This is the very construction site Beglov brought Putin to. It turned out the longstanding grumbling of city folk can be converted into a well-thought-out project that was presented to the Head of State. The Supreme Court will be near Smolny, where the political and administrative center has been formed at the very place where a new museum dedicated to the Siege of Leningrad was to be built. But Beglov has negotiated with the Defense Ministry on the matter, and the military will allocate more than 32,000 square feet of premises for the museum on Solyanoy Lane, where it's always been. But here, there will be an art park.

Alexander Beglov: Thank you for supporting the residents of the city. This is important for us. For the first time, we're working on developing one of our city's most historic sites.

Vladimir Putin: It's a good large-scale project. It's worthy of St. Petersburg.

- Thank you so much. Will this be like in Moscow?

- Maybe even better.

- You think so?

- First of all, look at the scale of it. Secondly, it's a place right on the bank of the Neva, with access to the Peter and Paul Fortress and to the Rostral Columns. These are views worthy of world capitals.

By the way, Putin proposed that the park should be expanded like so. But once more, this is a project that was prompted by residents.

Yulia Ablets: Often, they solve social issues much faster than the state or businesses. It's not about saying something is wrong but about doing something productive.

- So, the state should catch up with society?

- Absolutely.

Beglov proposes to turn other suspended wastelands into parks and gardens.

- Could you build a park here?

Alexander Beglov: Hello.

- Good afternoon.

- Yes, we're going to do just that.

- Moreover, there's a school and a prenatal clinic nearby. I ask you on behalf of all the residents around here.

Now it looks so terrible here. Beglov proposes to such citizens to write to him on VK [Russian social media] on a special page where he can communicate with the residents of his beloved city.

Alexander Beglov: This is my native town, my ancestors lived here. When St. Petersburg was being built, a lot of people gathered there.

- Really?

- Yes.

And now from the office to St. Petersburg's streets.

- It's a good thing we announced the Home District Program so that the heads of districts would prepare their proposals on district development for the next 2-3 years. Why? Because we manage our budget just for such periods. It means we can take into consideration all the projects that relate to the development of the districts when making the budget for 2020, 2021, and 2022.

- There is also a citywide competition for the best project, which will receive about $150,000.

- The best project will receive $1.5 million.

Based on what he receives via VK, Beglov chooses topics for his radio addresses.

- There's another thing on our way to the radio shack. Since April 27th, all pensioners and five other categories of people in need will have a year-round free pass for suburban electric trains.

- It's quite expensive for the city, isn't it?

- It is indeed. But I think our residents deserve this.

- Well, they do, especially since summer is on the way.

But where to find new sources of income for the city? For instance, for the reconstruction of facades in the historic center. St. Petersburg has four times as many of such unique facades as Moscow. After the 300th anniversary, when the facades were cleaned, a lot of time has passed. But fortunately, on some facades, scaffolding has already appeared. But at what expense? One of the solutions is a small tax on tourists. 14 EU countries have such a tax.

- Let's talk about this tourism tax of $1.5 that you will charge. Is it going to be applied to foreign tourists only?

- It's applicable only to foreign tourists. The sum of $1.5 per day is not a big deal for them. It's almost nothing.

- How much does the city make on it?

- More than $30 million per year.

- That's quite a lot.

It might seem like a lot but... Now the city makes $9.1 billion annually while it needs more than $15 billion.

Alexander Beglov: “Our goal is to make the average salary in the city about $1,500. Many call it a fantasy. Personally, I don't see anything unrealistic about it. We just need to set the goal.”

But how can the city obtain the missing billions of dollars? Here, in built-up St. Petersburg, you can't just build a steel plant just like that.

Following Beglov, we are going to the Proton Therapy Center, which he oversaw when he was a special envoy in the northwest. This is technology that even attracts foreigners from Israel, Britain, Kuwait, and Canada. But Russian children with cancer are naturally given top priority.

Alexander Beglov: We'd like to know where you're from.

- Krasnodar Krai.

- And everyone else?

- We're from Stavropol.

- We're from Ukraine.

- Ukraine? That's nice.

Little St. Petersburger Danya turned out to be the closest. He's had five operations already.

Arkady Stolpner, MIBS Chairman of the Board: "Then Danya came to us and now, thank God, he's OK. The latest tests showed that the tumors aren't growing anymore. So I think he'll have a long and happy life."

Here we asked about conventional medicine. All the more, 2019 has been declared the "Year of Health" in St. Petersburg.

Alexander Beglov: I hope our children will never have to wait in line here. That's why we developed the Lean Clinic program. It's an online appointment booking system. All 65 children's clinics will be transferred to this system by the end of the year.

- It's a good system, tested in Yaroslavl two years ago. It's becoming popular in the country. Oddly enough, it hasn't become an everyday thing in St. Petersburg.

- It will be an everyday thing when all pediatric clinics are transferred to the system by the end of the year. 35 adult clinics will also begin using it.

Beglov thinks that in order to make medicine even more responsive, they don't have to ask Moscow for anything. It would suffice to see how potentials can be combined, considering what federal health centers St. Petersburg has.

- Let's say someone is having a heart attack, the golden hour is ticking away. An ambulance will deliver him to the city hospital. But it can be busy with 5-6 people with a similar problem.

- At the same time, the federal health center is idle.

- It's simple. We should be effective. This is a big job. Of course, it's hard. But this is something that needs to be done. So, we should strive to improve in all areas.

Now about the federal track. A contract with Russian Railways for $1.3 billion has been signed. The idea of upgrading the global railway hub of St. Petersburg is getting real for residents.

- Before 2030, we have to build at least 17 overbridges, over the railways, in order to solve the traffic congestion problem and to normalize the road traffic in general.

- It's like killing two birds with one stone.

- Right now, happens like this: Russian Railways thinks of what crossroads they need and the city considers what overbridges we want. As a result, each party files the appropriate paperwork. Then there are discrepancies and the city remains with poorly managed road traffic.

- You're speaking about obvious things. How come no one assessed the situation before? I mean, I couldn't agree with you more. Strange that it wasn't done before.

- You know, I like looking forward, not back.

- Well, some parties are thinking who they can put forward against you in the upcoming election. Do you know what your rivals are up to?

- I'm not interested in the matter. I'm just working. I'm a manager, I know how to run a tight ship and raise funds. I need to build kindergartens and schools by September 1st, to ensure that teachers could go on vacation and their salaries and allowances are paid in full, to ensure that hospitals are commissioned on time and new houses are connected to the road network.

- It's obvious that it's the builder in you talking.

- In a sense, we're all builders.

Alexander Beglov: Better than in Moscow?

Vladimir Putin: Well, in some ways, it's always better in Moscow. But this project is very good. Well, let them compete for a while. It's for the good.

After the conversation with the President, we get back to the governor.

- A good competition with Moscow has begun, right?

- It's more like an exchange of experience rather than a competition because we have the capital of our country and we have the Northern Capital. There's a simple example. We had a deal with Sergey Sobyanin and he sent teams here so we can share the experience of washing facades of the five-story buildings that haven't been washed in a very long time. And we will send our teams because we have our own methods and techniques on how to wash complex facades.

As for the radio addresses, this week, there has already been an idea voiced on creating social district officers who can help with doctor's appointments or paperwork. There will be 240 specialists to start with but the pensioners who want to help others can join them as volunteers. This spring, in today's St. Petersburg, there are a lot of ideas floating around.

“What do we need another Moscow for? We have our beautiful, majestic, golden-domed capital. Let it remain this way. St. Petersburg has its own peculiarities.”

- Alexander, do you think all of this is doable?

- No, it's not if you work alone. But it can be done if your fellow St. Petersburgites help you.

- Alexander, how long were you out of town, about 15 years, right?

- Yes, almost 15 years.

- How long do you want to stay here?

- For the rest of my life.