Georgy Filimonov at the National Centre RUSSIA: "The focus of our work is the individual and their future"

The development strategy of the Vologda region is centred on the individual and their future. This was stated by the Governor of the Vologda Region, Georgy Filimonov, during the presentation of the development strategy "Region-2030. Vologda Region" held as part of the thematic days at the National Centre RUSSIA. He noted that such an approach requires a deep connection with the history of the state.

"The focus of our work, our aspirations, thoughts, spirit and physical efforts is the individual and their future. That is why a continuous link between eras is important to us — an understanding of history as a single, indivisible chain, with each link of the historical process firmly bound together, from which not a single period of our great history can be removed. We are making every effort to honour the memory of our great ancestors and the achievements of every stage in the development of Russian civilisation — our great, multinational, multicultural, multilingual and united Russia, where the soul, heart and core is the state-forming ethnic group — the great Russian people, their history, traditions, legacy, culture and language," said Georgy Filimonov.

According to the Governor of the Vologda Region, all economic achievements in the region, investment projects in the agro-industrial sector, industry, culture and sport, road transport and public utilities, construction, urban improvement and other areas are aimed at addressing the task of preserving the population, while social projects receive the strongest financial support.

"Our budget has a clearly defined social character — 99.2 billion roubles last year were allocated to our social obligations and expenditures. At the same time, 53.3 billion roubles were directed towards infrastructure development. These figures demonstrate the scale of our work," Georgy Filimonov noted.

Speaking about the future of the individual, he pointed out that more than 7,800 families were able to benefit from new support measures in 2025. These included compensation of 50% of housing and utility costs, the creation of 26 free rental points for essential items for newborns at young parent centres, the launch of the "Social Nanny" service, as well as the introduction two years ago of the programme "Transport for Large Families", under which 70 large families raising seven or more children were provided with cars.

"In addition, support measures include federal maternity capital — 300,000 roubles for the third and subsequent children, regional maternity capital — 150,000 roubles for the fourth and subsequent children, a housing rental subsidy for young families — 500,000 roubles, as well as a subsidy to improve housing conditions for young families. We are also renovating antenatal clinics in large numbers each year, dividing the programme into several stages. Most importantly, we provide regional support measures to young families regardless of their income status," Georgy Filimonov continued.

The support measures are producing tangible results. The Governor of the Vologda Region noted that the region had risen by ten positions in Russia’s demographic ranking, reaching 40th place. This goal was set and achieved in fulfilment of the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. In addition, mortality has decreased in the region, while the number of marriages has increased.

"For the first time in 11 years, the region has overcome depopulation. This is the result of joint efforts. I thank all residents — only together were we able to achieve this. The Vologda region demonstrated the highest increase in the total fertility rate over the past thirteen years. Last year it reached 1.381, which is 3.7% higher than in 2024. The Vologda region is among the top five regions where the total fertility rate grew by more than 0.044. The struggle for the individual is a major battle in many dimensions, and our task is to win. We have begun achieving these results not just in words. Our goal by 2030 is to reach a figure of 1.62," the Governor of the Vologda Region shared.

Georgy Filimonov added that many residents of the region are defending the country’s sovereignty by taking part in the special military operation. He emphasised that a comprehensive support system has been established in the Vologda region for participants in the special military operation and their families: over the past two years more than 10.5 billion roubles have been allocated for these purposes, 45 support measures are in place, personalised case management has been introduced for every family through municipal authorities and social services, a unified call centre and project office have been created to address social and financial issues, and continuous cooperation is maintained with the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and public organisations. Separate career advancement programmes are also being developed in the region for veterans.

The Vologda Region Days are being held at the "Book of Fairy Tales" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA from 3 to 8 February. All events within the programme are free of charge, with advance registration required for some of them on the website russia.ru. The current schedule is available in the "Events" section.