By the standards of great history, 30 years is a very short period. But from the point of view of the whirlpool of modern Russian events, this is a long period during which the legal foundation of the life of the regional center was formed virtually from scratch to a mature level. Today, deputies and the City Duma staff recalled the stages of development and accepted congratulations.
The history of local government in Kostroma began on March 15, 1994. Then the townspeople elected the first composition of the representative assembly of the regional center. It was he who became the founder of the Charter of Kostroma and many documents that still regulate the life of the city to this day. The deputies had to deal with perhaps the most difficult episodes in the modern history of Kostroma, when they had to immediately solve the pressing problems of the residents. How to pay salaries and pensions, how to feed children in kindergartens, how to organize travel for people? With incredible efforts, all these pressing issues were resolved. The Kostroma people’s representatives try to keep the high bar for all 30 years. Today, deputies of the 7th convocation are already working for the benefit of the residents of their hometown. The Duma continues to make all its decisions based on the pressing problems of the city and protecting the interests of citizens.
Yuri Zhurin, mayor of Kostroma: “Each period was unique in its own way, was not simple, and introduced challenges that had to be solved here and now. The most important tradition is to faithfully serve our hometown and its citizens, understanding that this is our common home, that any request is a cry from the soul, and it is our simply human duty to solve this problem. All deputies of today’s Duma also show the same responsibility to those issues in the life of our city, to the issues raised by voters.”
One of the central events of the anniversary celebrations was a large exhibition. The stands display photographs, documents, and interesting facts about the work of all convocations. Each stage of the Duma’s history was bright and eventful, complex and extraordinary in its own way.
Andrey Ukrasin, Chairman of the Kostroma Duma of the 3rd convocation: “The City Duma is a vital body for the residents of the city of Kostroma. Since deputies directly represent the population, which turns to them with their problems and issues that need to be resolved. But the main issue is, of course, funding for the adoption of the budget of the city of Kostroma for the year. Because this is its adoption, the development of comprehensive programs, improvement, and so on. That is, these are the people who promote the interest of the population of the city of Kostroma, so that the population can live comfortably in our city.”
Difficult times regularly presented the people’s representatives with new challenges that required a quick and, most importantly, effective response. Thanks to the responsibility and experience of the deputy corps, it was always possible to find the necessary and optimal solutions for the city and its residents.
Tatyana Kudryashova, deputy of the Kostroma Duma of the III, IV, V and VI convocations: “I want to say that from time to time the Duma is becoming more and more united, and issues are being resolved much faster and more efficiently. Now you probably see that our city is becoming much more beautiful, it is clean. You drive and you’re just proud of how many trees are being planted, old ones are being removed, the streets are all well-groomed, whitewashed, painted. This is also decided by the Duma. Many kindergartens and schools were built. The roads in the city are getting much better. Therefore, I believe that the work of the Duma is effective and necessary.”
Representatives of the regional legislative assembly, the Kostroma Regional Duma, came to congratulate their colleagues.
Sergey Demenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Kostroma Regional Duma: “This is our closest partner, we will talk. This is the municipality with which we are most closely connected. The Duma of Kostroma has repeatedly submitted legislative initiatives to the regional Duma over the years. The Duma of the city of Kostroma is an asset with which we consult on many issues. Over the years, I have seen an increase in the professionalism of deputies, on the one hand, and on the other hand, deputies are paying more and more attention to work in the districts.”
Veterans of the Duma – current and ex-deputies, employees of the apparatus, in honor of the anniversary and for the successes achieved, were awarded the honorary badge “For the development of local self-government.” As well as certificates and letters of gratitude. After the ceremonial part, the Duma continued its work in the usual format. The first decision of the representative body at the beginning of the fourth decade of its history touched on one of the most pressing topics for Kostroma residents. Deputies unanimously approved amendments to the budget, including the allocation of 180 million rubles. for the repair of the Volga bridge, which will take place this summer.
