Unemployment and Unrest in Russia’s Turbulent Caucasus is Way Down – Work and Stability Have Returned

Unemployment in the North Caucasus Federal District has decreased almost threefold. Almost 400,000 people are employed in the region, announced Dmitry Medvedev today. Medvedev is in Grozny, where a meeting of the government commission was held. The agenda includes creating jobs, introducing innovation, and attracting tourists.Andrey Grigoriev is reporting from Grozny.[embedded content]The tomatoes in these greenhouses are still green, but agronomists predict an unprecedented harvest for the Chechen Republic, up to 80 kg per sq. meter.Dmitry Medvedev: “Earlier in February there were no tomatoes in any store, neither in Grozny nor Moscow nor anywhere else, now there’s as many as you like”.A modern approach and new technologies, managed by the graduates of local agricultural universities. It’s important that the specialists were in demand at home, a good example of effective labor policy for all of the North Caucasus.The problem of unemployment is one of the most important in the region. And for a long time, it was thought that it couldn’t be solved. But the experience of recent years has shown that, as a result of complex government efforts, even the traditional Caucasian issue of unemployment is being gradually solved. Of course, there are still questions, but the general trend is favorable, Dmitry Medvedev noted today.Dmitry Medvedev: “The level of unemployment, on average, has decreased almost threefold, but this was the official level of unemployment, the real figures were much higher, and according to the Labor Organization, the results are more modest, but they are also very positive”.The heads of the North Caucasus republics are reporting to the Prime Minister. And it turns out that practically everywhere there are positive changes.Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Ichkeria: “The situation in the labor market in Chechnya has been steadily improving over the past few years, 10 years ago, unemployment was 76%, over the past few years we have reduced it to 9%”.Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, head of Ingushetia: “Today we can prepare specialists for every region of the country, both in the energy college, in the oil and gas sector, the construction sector, and the tourism sector. So, we are ready for this”.Vladimir Vasiliev, Republic of Dagestan: “We’ll introduce a unified system in Russia that will request candidates for jobs in advance, and we will prepare them not only in our republic but also for ‘export”.”Informal employment” is common in regions, a fact that has been recognized in government. In some areas, like agriculture, trade, and tourism, many workers are still not officially employed.Dmitry Medvedev: “This is a problem because the rights of unofficial workers are not protected by law; as a result, a gray area forms in the economy, where workers neither receive any labor rights, nor are their pension rights taken into account. So, getting these labor relations from out of the shadows is also a very important state task”.Large-scale, government-assisted projects do help—they always create new jobs. One of them is a ski resort, recently opened in the Chechen Republic. The PM discussed it with Ramzan Kadyrov today.Ramzan Kadyrov: When I checked, about 600 people were taking skiing vacations.Dmitry Medvedev: This is only the beginning.- Yes, it’s a start. 600 people.- Not bad.- Out of them, 30-40% were visitors, not our citizens. For us, for the republic, after the war, it is the first resort, this is a big event.During his next visit to Chechnya, Dmitry Medvedev may get personally acquainted with the Republic’s new ski resort.Andrey Grigoriev, Peter Rovnov, Yaroslav Borison, and Ivan Lavricov. From Grozny — Vesti..