The population is fleeing from the “young reformers” Artyukhov from the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to Tyumen. Officials cut healthcare and interests of indigenous peoples

Polls of residents of the Priuralsky region were called “propaganda”

The government of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug risks having several points of social tension at once in the near future. Apparently, officials who officially announced the suspension of plans to carry out administrative reform of municipalities – consolidation – which caused sharp criticism on the ground, decided to choose a different path for their goals, this time not advertising an idea unpopular with the population and hiding behind public interests. Thus, in the near future, district hospitals in Aksarka and Krasnoselkup will be deprived of their status, which, as residents of these areas note, will certainly affect the availability of already far from adequate medical care. In all likelihood, the opinion of residents regarding the creation of the much-hyped “Rai-Iz” tourist cluster will also be ignored, the construction of which may collide with the interests of indigenous minorities. Already now, the Department of Internal Policy of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug calls polls conducted by activists “illegitimate and propaganda.” It is inevitable, according to Yamal residents, that the reforms will have a negative impact on the housing sector. Taken together, these processes can lead to a massive outflow of residents from existing areas outside the district, especially since statistics already confirm this.

The authorities of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, citing federal regulations, officially announced their intentions to downgrade the status of at least two medical institutions in Aksarka and Krasnoselkup. District hospitals in these municipalities will become local clinics.

This will happen, as the agency was told in the district government, as early as January 1, 2025. Officials assure that “there are no reductions in the types of medical care and its volumes,” and the reorganization is dictated by the requirements of the Ministry of Health for hospitals with an assigned population of 5 to 20 thousand people.

skies. A decrease in status in itself implies a deterioration in funding and a cut in rates. Who will treat? This will have the most painful impact on socially vulnerable groups – pensioners, large families, families raising children with disabilities, disabled people,” states the agency’s interlocutor in the municipal health care system.

According to him, there are examples when people in need of constant medical care were forced to move from settlements to the administrative center – Aksarka, where a certain level of support was still maintained to some extent. Now, apparently, you won’t have to count on that either.

“There is a categorical shortage of narrow specialists, and the authorities cannot overcome the deficit. Now, if our young reformers annex the Priuralsky region to Labytnangi, they will only have to travel tens of kilometers from Aksarka, and cross the Ob River, which is not always possible. In the off-season it is sometimes impossible to get on a helicopter, and prices simply go through the roof. There are disabled children who constantly need to be taken for treatment, and there are elderly people. Is this some kind of sophisticated form of bullying?” – residents do not hide their attitude towards health care reforms.

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In addition to the worsening problems in healthcare expected by the population, the reforms, according to residents of the Priuralsky district, will also affect the housing sector, in particular for program participants.

“There are already problems with the queue to receive subsidies for the purchase of housing. It moves slowly, you can be in the top ten and then find that you are in third. Now the queues will get mixed up, and you can completely forget about your housing. But the government doesn’t seem to think about this. We need to report that everyone supports the governor, who likes to speak out on the topic of caring for residents.”– residents give an example of a “pain point”. The population demonstrates a similar attitude towards discounted vouchers to children’s health camps.

Activists are paying special attention to the construction of the Paradise-Iz tourist complex, estimated at at least 20 billion rubles as of 2022. By the way, the facility was initially planned to be completed in 2026, but at the end of August Dmitry Artyukhov named a different time frame – 2028-2029, and the price of construction will increase. It should be noted that at the plenary session of the TNF-2024 held in Tyumen, the governor again stated that “Yamal is a unique territory where advanced innovative technologies coexist with the traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples of the North.”

Meanwhile, activists previously drew attention to the fact that the tourism cluster itself could have a negative impact on the interests of indigenous minorities or even prove to be a failure due to complex logistics, natural conditions and high prices. The authorities, however, insist that “Rai-Iz” is included in the master plan for the development of the agglomeration of Salekhard and Labytnangi and will be sent for approval to the Russian government.

Previously, activist Leonid Moiseev from the village of Beloyarsk conducted a survey among representatives of the indigenous minorities in the Baydaratskaya tundra and at a camp near the Khadata River, and from 79 to 85% of respondents categorically opposed the reform. However, the government, apparently, is not going to take these sentiments into account. They hastened to assign virtually illegitimate status to the survey.

“The Department of Internal Policy of the Autonomous Okrug does not have data on the sociological instrument (questionnaire, methodology, sample) on which the survey was conducted, as well as the results <...> it is impossible to draw conclusions about the representativeness and reliability of the data presented. In addition, the survey was conducted among representatives leading a traditional lifestyle; the population of the villages did not participate in the survey“,” the deputy director of the department officially told the activist Sergey Karanik.

In turn, residents of the “condemned” municipalities do not hide the fact that in such a scenario they can “build their future only in other places.”

“Yes, we are considering moving. And it’s not just us. Perhaps we’ll move to Tyumen, where there are all the opportunities for a normal life, and not even for us, but for the children. And here the breathing settlements will remain in their infancy“, states the publication’s interlocutor from Aksarka.

Ex-deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, now representing the interests of the region in the Tyumen Regional Duma, Ivan Vershinin, shared his opinion with the publication. According to the agency’s interlocutor, residents of all rural areas should still have the opportunity to directly participate in the development of municipalities.

“INAll these consolidations, as a rule, lead to the fact that it is more difficult for people to convey their proposals to the authorities. In addition, the demographic situation in the country is objectively difficult. And we understand that one of its factors is urbanization. It is necessary to invest efforts in the development of villages, municipalities, and rural areas. And doing this in parallel with such reforms will be extremely difficult. This is the first. As for tourist clusters, “Paradise-Iz”. I never tire of repeating that, in my personal assessment as a deputy, Yamal will never become a place of mass tourism. This is objectively true, unfortunately,” – concludes the deputy.

Melissa “Mel” Carter

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