Russian President Vladimir Putin
Photo: REUTERS
Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin today opened passenger traffic on the third Moscow Central Diameter (MTsD-3). And the President of Russia did not even dream in the abstract, but set specific tasks for the development of the transport infrastructure of our country in the near future. What’s in the future! Present.
“This first-stage high-speed rail project between Moscow and St. Petersburg has been discussed for a long time, but at the moment we have really reached the possibility of its implementation,” the president stated. The time has come not for projectors, but for work.
– If you build a new highway for the movement of passengers, the current one will be released for the movement of goods, and the speed of movement of goods, which is extremely important for the country’s economy, will increase significantly. As for the movement of passengers, the speed of movement will increase, the travel time will decrease. From today’s 4 hours 5 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes between St. Petersburg and Moscow, between Tver and Moscow – 39 minutes, between Veliky Novgorod and St. Petersburg – 29 minutes instead of today’s 3 hours 10 minutes, – Putin shared .
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin at the launch ceremony of the Third Moscow Central Diameter (MTSD-3). Photo: Kristina Kormilitsyna/POOL/TACC
It was certainly not an improvisation, but rather a well-crafted statement, even indicating clear periods of time that the path from point A to point B, C, and other “alphabet points” would take. But it turned out that it is not only about communication between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
– Without a doubt, we will have to further develop this system. If you drag it from Moscow to Adler, it will be 10 hours on the way – a completely different story for those who go on vacation to the south. You know, it seems to me that this issue should be resolved with the government of Belarus. I’ll talk to the president. The Minsk direction will be in great demand both by our citizens and by the citizens of Belarus,” Putin continued, adding that “we need to move to Nizhny, we need to move to Voronezh, from Nizhny to Kazan, from Kazan to the Ural region. “
This, of course, is such a reality that it will surpass any fantasy. And most importantly: it’s not just about how to get to the spa faster. The new infrastructure will unite the country with its highway lines much stronger than any administrative innovations or purely managerial decisions of Moscow. If we talk about the essence of the plans, then we are talking about the new economic geography of Russia, about interregional ties at a completely different qualitative level.
However, there is no doubt that the president understands this and that is why he came up with this initiative.
– This will not only significantly reduce the time of movement of people from one large agglomeration to another, but will significantly improve the country’s connectivity, boost the development of such seemingly distant areas of transport as education and science. When people can easily move in half an hour or an hour from one large agglomeration to another, the distance will be measured not in kilometers, but in minutes and hours of movement. And it will be much easier to study there and work, engage in other activities, – Putin shared the results of the analysis.
The same cumulative effect, when one ruble of investments brings 10 rubles of investments and additional returns. Something that will give new impetus to the development of the high-tech sectors of the economy, modern industry, information technology, etc. And the time has come, and the money for this is available.
“This is such a powerful impetus for the country’s development,” Putin summed up. Still, one of the main obstacles in the development of the country, gigantic distances will suddenly cease to be as decisive a factor as they have been throughout the history of our state and remain so to this day. Not suddenly, of course, but as a result of hard and intense work. But they will stop. And there is still Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk ahead… And Russia will be truly different. Even now, in many respects, we are already at the head of the world movement on the path of scientific and technological progress, but what will begin then! …
And, you know, what else is surprising about Putin’s speech today? He never says things that aren’t calculated. His plans and forecasts have a rare property in our times: they come true. Most. But now there are circumstances that complicate the solution of problems: our country is involved in a military conflict not only with a neighboring state, but, first of all, with the same collective West, which is ready to put all its efforts for the good of our destruction. And Putin expresses such plans that could shock and amaze many experts, especially those from the liberal camp, even in the period of “freedom, democracy and passionate kisses” with this very West. And not like now. But Putin announced these plans, which means that he trusts the country, appreciates the strength of our state and is confident in the reality of solving the set tasks. No matter how much the entire “civilized world” rises up in arms against us and no matter how many sticks they put in our wheels.
How I envy those who will live in Russia when all projects and plans are implemented! Or will this never happen, because as tasks are solved, new ones will appear? Anyway guys, it’s just great!
