Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation Alexey Chekunkov
Photo: Konstantin OLKHIN.
THE FAR EAST IS THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S BUSINESS
One of the main problems of development in the Far East is the acute shortage of personnel. The region lacks not only engineers, workers, teachers, doctors, but also civil servants.
To attract qualified managers to the region, a federal program named after the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, who founded Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, was created in 2022. It trains personnel for federal and municipal authorities in the Far Eastern regions; its graduates are already working, including in managerial positions. The newcomers enthusiastically set to work, the governors were happy, and President Vladimir Putin, after listening to the feedback, decided not only to extend the program until 2030, but also to extend it to the Arctic: there is also a shortage of civil servants beyond the Arctic Circle.
The interest of the regional authorities in the influx of new forces is evidenced by the fact that at the session “Muravyov-Amursky 2030″: personnel for the strategic development of the Far East”, held within the framework of the recently concluded Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)-2024, there were as many as five “tops” – the Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation Alexey Chekunkov and the heads of four subjects of the Far Eastern federation – the chairman of the government, the vice-governor and two deputy prime ministers. Not every session of the forum could boast of such a representative composition.
And each of the Far Eastern leaders competed with each other to praise their region.
– We are looking forward to seeing you guys! Welcome, Sholom! – Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Jewish Autonomous Region Anna Tarasenko greeted the cadets cheerfully and in rhyme (as the course participants are called).
Graduates of the programme are already working in the region. Alexander Leonov, for example, heads the youth policy department, and Maria Zaichenko (from Samara) is an advisor to the governor.
The Jewish Autonomous Region is believed to be the sunniest region in the Far East: it is said to have 300 days of sunshine a year. But graduates of the programme are unlikely to have to sunbathe.
“The Jewish Autonomous Region is one of the most administratively difficult, the one with the least budget, but also the one with the greatest potential,” the head of the Ministry of Eastern Development, Alexei Chekunkov, admonished the cadets. – The region is at a turning point. The bridge (across the Amur to China – Ed.) has started to operate, but not all the opportunities associated with it have yet been opened. Forgive me for this comparison: the cards dealt are good, but they still need to be used. It is not easy in the region at the moment, but the five-year plan could be one of the most interesting.
CHALLENGE IS THE BEGINNING OF LIFE
The most developed region in the Far East is Primorsky Krai. But here, too, there is a serious problem with personnel. To attract specialists, the authorities are resorting to a housing rental programme.
“These are public houses, which are rented out for commercial purposes at a price several times lower than the market price,” explained Vera Shcherbina, First Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Primorsky Territory Government. – You can buy them. The price for public sector workers and invited specialists is 120-125 thousand rubles per square meter, while here in such houses a square meter costs 200 thousand.
In general, regional representatives focused on how the invited specialists solve everyday problems and help with housing. But in Chukotka they did the opposite: they attract graduates with difficulties and the romance of overcoming them.
“We are waiting for those who are ready to confront themselves “weakly,” said without further ado the Deputy Governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Anton Yaremchuk. – Chukotka is for those for whom the challenge is the beginning of life. Everything that can go wrong will happen here. Chukotka teaches you to always be on guard. “Black swans” (in economics, unforeseen circumstances that have negative consequences – Ed.) are taken for granted here. So if we manage to implement something in Chukotka, it will be even more successful in other regions.
The region already has experience working with graduates of the program.
“Those who come to us are not only motivated, but also have a good command of the team,” Yaremchuk praised.
And then he described the main problems.
“We are looking for specialists in internal logistics, including the use of unmanned systems for the delivery of food, goods and medicines,” the vice-governor began by listing. – Secondly, tourism, there is a colossal amount of work here. Thirdly, a service economy, so that there are not two cafes per city, but five or at least three. And everything related to food security in the region, the supply of food products of our own production, first of all, the production of greenhouse vegetables. We also need specialists in the energy sector, our task is to reduce the cost of a kilowatt hour, which is now absolutely exorbitant, especially in remote villages.
Chukotka is also waiting for financiers: it needs a head of the department to improve the investment climate in the region and a specialist with banking experience to organize a system of affordable loans for entrepreneurs, primarily those working in the service economy.
The promise of hardship seems to be a kind of “trick” of Far Eastern personnel policy. And it resonates.
– So you say: how to attract people? Tasks, problems! – Maria Karpova, a recent graduate of the program and now Deputy Minister of Tourism of Yakutia, passionately said that she came to the region from Novosibirsk Akademgorodok; – You don’t need to tell us how great you are, tell us what your problems are. Because it’s our turn!
We must pay tribute to the graduates of the programme: they do not cling to comfortable positions. And the heads of district administrations gladly accept such people as their deputies.
“Lena Skromova and her two children went to the Ust-Kamchatka region, which is constantly shaking, Grisha Gusakov went to Sobolevo, where in winter you can only fly by plane, they are constantly drowning,” says Alexander Lebedev, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Kamchatka Territory.
“ELITE IS A BAD WORD”
During the programme, two graduations of 50 people each were held. Now the third cohort has started to study. And there was a competition: 80 people per place! The training costs, including the cost of air travel to the Far Eastern regions, where the cadets got acquainted with the conditions in which they would work, amounted to 350 million rubles a year.
– This is 7 million rubles per person – Harvard level! – noted Alexey Chekunkov, not without pride.
By all accounts, these are the best of the best, the managerial special forces, the elite. But…
“I really don’t want anyone in this audience to consider themselves an elite; it’s a dirty word,” the head of the Ministry of Eastern Development warned the cadets against inflated self-esteem. – You can only be a leader and a manager if you are recognized as such by the people you serve.
The training program is constantly being improved. Cadets will also be taught sciences that are important for a manager, such as the ability to implement a project. Yes, coming up with a good project and even describing in detail what it will provide, in what time frame, what costs it will require, what financial and human resources will be needed – this is only the initial level of a manager. Aerobatics consists of ensuring that the project is included in the plan, the allocation of sufficient funds for its implementation and the implementation itself: from paper to life. To do this, a manager must be an engineer, a politician and a lobbyist: not only design systems, but also achieve results, Chekunkov warned.
Another specific topic is the science of surviving in a new place.
“When a young specialist, a graduate of the program, arrives, a new team is always formed,” the minister noted. – They perceive him as an implant, as someone with an “elite” flag, they will treat him with caution: they say: “Moscow sent him.” I think we do not pay enough attention to this. How to teach not to be fooled, not to be fooled, to overcome the psychological barrier of a new team, to survive some kind of injustice – I do not remember that we discussed this, but this is an area of development of the program.
Five facts about the Muravyov-Amursky 2030 program
1. Citizens of Russia aged 21 to 35 years inclusive with higher education (master’s and/or specialist) are eligible to participate in the Program. Persons who have been convicted, who have a criminal record that has not been expunged or removed, or who have citizenship of another state besides Russian citizenship are not allowed to participate.
2. Admission is carried out on a competitive basis based on the results of tests and interviews.
3. Duration of training: one year. Training is conducted online and during field trips to the Far Eastern regions.
4. Participants of the program sign an obligation upon completion of training to find employment in government agencies of the Far East for a period of at least 2 years and, in case of refusal, to bear financial responsibility for the amount of funds spent on training.
5. When a Program participant is employed outside the area of residence, he/she may be provided with accommodation during the period of work in the public service, as well as other support measures based on the capacities of the region.
