Aisen Nikolaev visited the open studio of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda and spoke about the successes in the development of the region. Photo: KP
At the Eastern Economic Forum, the head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev visited the open studio of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, where he spoke about the successes in the development of the region. But the interview began… with a film.
FROM A CULTURAL PHENOMENON TO THE FILM INDUSTRY
– Yakutia is proud of its status as the most creative region in Russia. Films by Yakut filmmakers were screened within the framework of the last International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg. Will the guests of the Eastern Economic Forum be able to learn about films shot in Yakutia?
– We are proud of our cinema. We know that Yakut cinema today is already moving from being a cultural phenomenon to what is called the film industry. In the coming years we intend to fulfill our president’s decision: to build a full-cycle cinema pavilion in Yakutsk, which will be the largest in the Far East and Siberia. In general, make it the third film center in Russia. In addition, we already occupy third place in the country in film production. But we want even more movies to be made. And not only for the companies of Yakutia, but also for those of the Far East.
For us, any opportunity to promote our cinema, our best achievements, is always an opportunity to present to people not only the achievements of cinema, but also our republic. The World Economic Forum is no exception. We have brought here our best films of recent years: “Private Cheerin”, “Julur”, “Bugun-bylyr”… They are good and kind films. “Private Chaerin” is about our snipers, heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Currently, projects related to the creation of films about the heroes of the Northern Military District are at a very high level of development. We created them in collaboration with new regions, in particular with Zaporozhye and the DPR. The film “Julur” is about athletes practicing the original Yakut sport, which today receives very active international recognition. Now the World Championship is being held in Tashkent: mass wrestling, tug of war. The film is not only about sport, but also about self-improvement. “Bugun-bylyr” is a kind comic-style story about how a modern-day person is transported to ancient Yakutia and what can happen to him there. Wonderful and good movies. I hope that many EEF guests will have the opportunity to see them.
– Recently, the President of Russia signed an order to create a full-cycle film pavilion in Yakutsk, he has already mentioned this. When will this item appear? What conditions are planned to be created there for filmmakers?
– This will be the first and only full-cycle cinema pavilion in the Far East, where a film can be made from start to finish: filming, post-production… Now the discussion on technical specifications ends. Furthermore, with the participation not only of Yakut filmmakers, but also of film companies from the Far East. Today these negotiations are actively carried out here. We would like to start construction in 2024 and have the facility operational by the end of 2026. We already understand the financing mechanisms. Using, among other things, the Far East concession. We really want to make a world-class facility so that in this cinema pavilion we have everything good in the world, including the emerging, the interesting and the original.
THE SAME BUT NINE TIMES CHEAPER
– Previously it was reported on the expansion of the network of Extra Cinema cinema facilities in rural cinemas of the republic. Does this make business sense now?
– This question is far from idle. It is not in vain that the president of the country, after a meeting with representatives of the creative industries, gave instructions, two of which were related to Yakutia. The first is the construction of a cinema pavilion, the second order is related to Extra Cinema. All Russian film distribution is based on Western technologies and standards. Western film distribution standards do not imply the possibility of distributing good blockbusters and big interesting films in rural areas and small towns. They are interested in large halls and cities. As a result, the number of movie theaters in the country over the past decades has decreased not even by dozens, but by hundreds of times. A huge layer of cultural institutions, the very rural and regional recreational centers, were simply thrown away. Now they don’t show movies. And people want to go to the movies.
Our guys related to cinematography thought about this for a long time and created a movie projector that not only shows movies, but also contains software solutions that allow copyright monitoring, viewer registration, including the possibility of pay with a “Pushkin Card”. when going to movie theaters. This greatly influenced the fact that we now began to install this type of film projectors in rural cultural centers in rural areas. This allowed the distribution of the same Yakut films to multiply throughout the territory of the republic, and not only in the big cities, as was the case just a few years ago.
We have already financed about 27 film installations of this type throughout the republic from the republic’s budget. We are also working with other regions, including new ones, so that similar solutions appear there as well. They are absolutely independent of Western technologies. Of course, they are much cheaper. If we made such rooms with Western equipment, we could only open three of them.
– For me, personally, you have made a discovery. It is generally accepted that this type of equipment is not produced in our country…
– These are fairy tales! Both American and our teams are created using approximately the same solutions. But ours is nine times cheaper. This is an excellent way to get out of the situation in which today they are practically isolated from the film industry.
THE POPULATION IS GROWING: THIS IS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
– One of the main thematic blocks of the EEF is called “The Far East in ten years: what happened and what needs to be done?” What events and facts from the life of Yakutia in recent years do you consider to be the most important achievements? What growth points do you see for the region in the next five years?
– We can talk about this for hours. Yakutia’s achievements in the past five years are phenomenal. Both in the economic field and in the social field. We are developing very rapidly in terms of increasing gross regional product and increasing the share of tax contributions to the budget system. But our most important achievement is not in tons of gold, nor in carats, nor in cubic meters of space, although in all these indicators we are already one of the leaders in the country. Our most important achievement is that, despite all the problems, the population of Yakutia has been growing steadily in recent years. Furthermore, it is growing faster than ever in the post-Soviet era. This year the republic reached the level of one million inhabitants. Average life expectancy is increasing. For the first time in the history of Yakutia, we surpassed the average Russian level of life expectancy. We are leaders in the Far East and rank sixth or seventh in the country in terms of birth rate. The fact that people stop leaving Yakutia, and many even come, including to new industrial enterprises, allowed us this year to surpass the figure of one million inhabitants. And we will continue moving forward. Furthermore, the country’s economy has now shifted towards the east, opening up endless opportunities for the Far East and the country’s largest region – the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
– Do you have any future plans, any upcoming milestones?
– Here I would not set the goal of rapid population growth, understanding the current demographics of the country is extremely difficult. But we are developing systematically. I have a firm conviction that if the republic continues to develop in the same stable way, both economically and socially, and people live comfortably in it, the population will grow. But if some problems arise, the trend may change.
– Is Yakutia on time with the completion of the resettlement program for dilapidated and dilapidated housing, recognized as such until 2017? When will the implementation of the president’s instructions on dilapidated housing in Yakutsk, which he gave at a meeting on the development of Far Eastern cities, begin?
– We are not even discussing the question that it is possible not to implement the president’s decision on the stage of resettlement of emergency housing, recognized as such before January 1, 2017. It will be completed throughout Yakutia as planned: in 2024- 2025. As for Yakutsk, this year we are already completing this resettlement. Now we are implementing the President’s decision within the framework of the comprehensive development of the territory; The demolition of many dilapidated houses has already begun.
