Voronezh. 04/25/2024. ABIREG.RU – Interview – Vice-Mayor of Voronezh Lyudmila Borodina, in her profile, should be closer to business than other deputy mayors of Vadim Kstenin. But does it have real tools to be useful to entrepreneurs? “Abireg” asked her about this herself.
“We lobbied for about 50 million rubles to support the business”
– The mayor’s office traditionally has a tight budget, and direct financial support for business is, let’s say, modest. And city authorities cannot directly change federal legislation on entrepreneurship. How then can the administration of Voronezh and you personally be useful to businessmen?
– Yes, the budget has obligations and opportunities. Therefore, first the money goes to cover the obligations. And only then – on development opportunities. And in such conditions, I see two main directions: lobbying and consulting.
– That lobbying that is about solving business problems, and not about corruption?
– Exactly. When I came to the mayor’s office, the amount of financial support for entrepreneurship was not very high. But the president is for us, [власть на местах], thought, supported the idea of the federal government and allowed the regions to direct part of the tax according to the simplified tax system, including to support business. Thus, part of the tax revenue from the simplified taxation system is returned back to the city budget in the form of financial support for small businesses. Today it is about 50 million rubles. Now we plan to prove to our colleagues from the regional government through real cases that such support needs to be increased, including in the priority area of tourism.
– About consulting: what is Lyudmila Borodina most often asked about as vice-mayor for entrepreneurship? And how does she personally help?
– Most often – about permitting documentation. And, you know, some people still have the 90s in their heads. Just recently, a story happened to my colleagues: one local businessman directly threatened them and their families, and I even had to contact the mayor. A month and a half later, this person finally sat down at the negotiating table with the question of how to properly draw up the documentation.
Other: how to properly use government support funds. Entrepreneurs often, having learned that they will be allocated money, forget that the check will come faster than this money. We need to sober people up by telling them in detail how to arrange everything correctly.
There is also a Coordination Council for Entrepreneurship under the mayor. Vadim Yurievich delicately conducts a dialogue with any audience. At such a council, everyone can raise a topic that concerns them, and if it is adequate to the interests of supporting the business, then the boss takes it under personal control. And then he demands a report from us on how the issue is progressing.
– There is a common expression that the best support for business from the authorities is not to interfere. On the other hand, permissiveness for entrepreneurs can create risks for both the population and the state. Where do you see the limit of what is reasonable?
– There was a case when at one of the Voronezh fairs, 19 people, including one child, were poisoned at once: they ate at a local catering facility. What I mean is that entrepreneurs are often not only unprepared for the serious consequences of their work, [но и] they cannot always influence what is happening. The cook made a mistake… And what about the owner of the outlet, now stand over him for days and control everything? That’s not how it works. And it just seems that there are more business inspections than necessary. It is necessary to prepare for the inspection carefully, being a participant in it.
Another case: a fire at Enikmash, people died. The investigation will show what the real reason was, but it is unlikely that the leader <...> was involved in the tragedy. Most likely, the performer overlooked it. How could this have been prevented? By checking. And convey that punishment for violation is inevitable. Self-control is impossible, well, no one will be happy from this.
“In online stores they can greet me with flowers – that’s how much I spend there”
– As a vice-mayor and as a resident of Voronezh, what can you say about the personal well-being of the townspeople? About their consumer behavior? And, most importantly, what will happen to the money of Voronezh residents in a year? It’s somehow indecent to plan for a longer period now.
– Looking at the number of buyers in shopping centers, at the number of occupied tables in cafes and restaurants, at the cars on the city roads, I can express my personal opinion: the welfare of Voronezh residents is not bad. Yes, times are difficult, yes, there are vulnerable sections of the population, and the state is simply obliged to help them, but in general, our people have always been distinguished by independence. In my circle, there are many acquaintances who have recently discovered, in addition to the main one, 2-3 additional sources of income, and they did it absolutely legally.
What will happen in a year? They scare me with all sorts of defaults. But, firstly, the state insures the population against loss of savings in bank accounts. Secondly, there are always opportunities to find a source of income, the main thing is to believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, what matters is how many times you get up.
– Is it possible to state the “death” of cash in business turnover? After all, Voronezh is still a city of goods and services.
– Definitely, yes. And business just needs to come to terms with this; the era of total “whitewashing” has arrived. Here entrepreneurs need to worry about something else: how many customers are leaving for online stores. For example, I have never bought anything on the Internet before. [Теперь] online stores can greet me with flowers – I spend so much there (laughs). After all, I am a cat lover (Borodina oversees the supervision of homeless animals in Voronezh – editor’s note), so I buy a lot of things for cats.
“Voronezh loses to others in tourism only in promotion”
– Voronezh has something to attract tourists. Why is this being done so unsystematically and, to put it mildly, unprofessionally?
– I can agree that there is no holistic strategy for promoting Voronezh as a city for tourists. Not yet. But we are moving forward step by step: there is already a point of the Tourist Information Center at the Voronezh-1 station, and it is planned on Revolution Avenue. During the reconstruction of Karl Marx [нужно] make a similar point there too. We also need navigation for tourists around the city, including on the renovated Petrovskaya embankment. A modern souvenir shop is also needed there.
Of course, it’s difficult to move faster with a limited budget. For example, we agreed to place a point of the Tourist Information Center in “Amital” on Pushkinskaya for free. In theory, a place where tourists can come. But in fact, it was actually designed under the stairs, where no one walks.
You also need a powerful event calendar. We have results in this direction (shows booklets). And every year we will progressively increase our potential.
– In what ways is Voronezh inferior to other Russian cities in tourism development and why?
– In nothing but advancement. There is so much noise around Nizhny now. I personally enjoy coming there to gain experience. Voronezh is no worse, but Nizhny Novgorod residents “package” their product well. Yes, there are problems: I was in Nizhny this winter, there was snow there – you couldn’t walk down the street, but people are a little calmer about it. And the local taxi driver said that it was nothing! From my trip to Nizhny I once again concluded that you need to love your city – and then others will love it!
Tags: Deputy Mayor Lyudmila Borodina lobbying sake business money Voronezh residents tourism
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