Rustem Khamitov: "Power - is ability possessed by every citizen of our republic"

UFA, 8 September 2015. /Bashinform News Agency, Alim Faizov/. In September, elections to representative bodies of local self-government will be held in Bashkortostan. The interview of the Head of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov is devoted to importance of the upcoming elections.

“Rustem Zakievich, you always emphasize that the most important thing in your work is to follow the interests of the inhabitants of our republic, the citizens of our country. This is your fundamental position. Do you feel the desire of people to accept responsibility for the fate of their locality, whether city or village?”

“Over the years of my leadership in the republic, I clearly learned: everything done by authorities should work for the benefit of people. From the very first day in office I formulated a principle according to which the main and only objective of the regional government was to increase the well-being and standard of living of republican residents. We do not have any other tasks. And everything that I do is aimed at achieving this result. This work is complicated, it is inexhaustible in scope, because, as you know, there no limit to perfection. The sensational events of the year – Ufa’s successful carrying out of major SCO and BRICS International Summits - allowed increasing recognizability of Bashkortostan and Ufa in the world. This means not only including us in the list of the most successful regions of Russia, but also an opportunity to present ourselves as a modern and developing republic.”

“Due to the difficult social and economic situation in the country we face with new challenges. How does the republic intend to cope with them?”

“Our region is less exposed to negative trends of economic crises. With the support of the people the republic has received unprecedented support in the form of a blocking stake in Bashneft Company. I can say that it is a rare and perhaps a single case when a significant package of a large company was returned to the ownership of the Russian Federation. People came to me with this question asking to solve it. On the basis of these appeals I have formulated our vision of the situation, our own position, which I stated in a conversation with the President of our country. As a result, the Head of the State understood us and made a fair decision. We will continue the course aimed at improving the welfare of residents of our republic, we are obliged to fulfill our social obligations in full.”

“In September, the elections to local self-government will be held. It is not easy being a good deputy. People address to them for solving complex problems that often cannot be fixed quickly.”

“Power is a tool which allows every citizen and all of us together to realize the things, tasks, projects in which all residents are interested. The source of this power is local authorities. That is why the primary level of government - local councils - in my opinion is the most important.”

“In September 7300 local deputies will be elected. How do you assess the current electoral process?”

“Unfortunately, most of our political parties do not actively participate in the elections. It is believed that the price of victory at them is not as great as in the elections to the State Duma, or State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan. This is not true. After all the local government is a basic level of power, from which the statecraft begins. Power starts from each initiative citizen of our republic. If we are not going to be initiative in matters of landscaping, restoring order in the housing sector, solving social problems - nobody would do it for us. Therefore, we all should regularly and not occasionally participate in public life, discuss, formulate instructions to deputies, which they will be required to perform. I am sure that the power is not something far away; it starts from each of us. Only together we will be able to elect really decent, active and energetic deputies to the local authorities, who will defend our interests.”