A way with a future

THREE ANSWERS TO THE THREE QUESTIONS

Leonid Gorbenko,
the Governor of Kaliningrad Region

1. WHAT ROLE CAN THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE NORTHWESTERN REGIONS PLAY IN INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF YOUR PRODUCT IN DISTANT MARKETS?
2. WHICH INVESTMENT PROJECTS CAN BE REALIZED BY UNITING THE EFFORTS OF PARTICULAR REGIONS OF THE NORTHWEST, INCLUDING YOUR REGION?
3. WHICH PRODUCTS OF ST. PETERSBURG ENTERPRISES IS YOUR REGION MOST INTERESTED IN?

1. "WE ARE READY TO FURTHER DEVELOP BUSINESS LINKS WITH St. PETERSBURG"

         Our region is interested in the development of multiform cross-sectional inter-regional links more than any other subject of the Russian federation. The geopolitical position of the Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea dictates the need for its close full-scale cooperation with the Northwest regions as well as with other regions, territories and republics of the country. The potential and opportunities of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ),guaranteed by an appropriate federal law, give special advantages in this situation.
         This law allows to import the latest equipment to the Special Economic Zone without paying duties, and we have the opportunity of developing production of more competitive and higher quality goods. I would like to mention, for instance, an enterprise that produces pasta was recently set up in Kaliningrad. The latest western technologies are being used and as a result the products of this company are second to none, not even to Italian spaghetti. There is great demand for this product not only in our region, but also in other Russian regions including St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as in the Baltic States. We are also re-equipping and modernizing the production of specialized railway dump-cars with a carrying capacity of 180 -220 tons. The annual demand for such cars in Russia is 15,000. The Kaliningrad manufacturer is the only one in Russia producing such dump-cars. We intend before long to attain our previous level of output of 2000 cars a month.
         The main obstacle is the difficulty of obtaining credits.
         We consider the development of full-scale cross-sectional inter-regional links to be strategically important. We are ready to cooperate with St. Petersburg business circles in producing and marketing foodstuffs. The agricultural sector has considerably recovered in the region, our motto here being "state-of-the-art technologies bring high profits". This sector relies heavily on the region's industry for financial backup, as it is there that such support can be found.
         For the last few months we have been working on the realization of the project of a ferry link between Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. We have, on our part, done everything required from us. Now we expect our partners to carry out all the preparatory work. We hope they will ensure the fulfilment of legal procedures in the port. All this provided, freight and passenger transportation between our ports will become a reality. This is vital for our region because it is separated from the Russian mainland by three state borders.
        

2. "WE MUST LOOK FOR AN UNORTHODOX WAY OUT".

         We must look for an unorthodox way out. I envision this is the "amnesty", so to speak, of Russian capital abroad. In my opinion, President Yeltsin, the government and the Duma will have to make this step, since they allowed an unlimited flight of national capital from the country. This seriously hurt the economy. Common sense prompts us to create appropriate conditions so as to make that runaway capital work for Russia. Meanwhile, as this can not be provided, I suggest we find some intermediate variant of the amnesty that would enable us to use the opportunities and potential of the SEZ. Let Russian money come back from abroad via Kaliningrad.

3. "I AM REFERRING TO THE CULTURAL COOPERATION".

        In terms of the economic aspect of the question, what interests us most of all in the output of St. Petersburg industries is electric power. So far we have been getting it from three power plants, one of which is the Leningrad Nuclear Power Station. I recently had some very fruitful meetings with the heads of this station and MINATOM(Ministry of Atomic Power).
         Another strategically important product for us is fuel, especially boiler fuel. Kirishi plants have been supplying it to us at a reasonable standard price for many years.
         Another aspect to our interest in St. Petersburg is cultural cooperation. Our region, being an enclave and isolated as it is from the rest of Russia, experiences certain cultural and spiritual difficulties. Unlike many other places in Russia our region has not, for a number of reasons, developed strong cultural roots that could support and "feed" new generations with folk traditions and art. St. Petersburg, rightfully regarded as a treasure house not only of Russian, but of world art and culture, is quite a different story. The same applies to Vologda, Pskov, Novgorod and other regions of the Northwest. Many Kaliningraders, especially the older generation, feel nostalgic because they cannot afford to visit Russia. Our young people are in an even more disadvantageous position. Most of them have never been to their parents' native land, that is, to other parts of Russia, which, of course, affects the formation of their world outlook. Therefore, we are interested in enriching the lives of the people of Kaliningrad not only through economic, but also through cultural cooperation with St. Petersburg.