And again about the "cities of Shoigu". Urban planning initiatives of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu caused a lot of emotions, positive and negative, in Russia and abroad. There was a lot of criticism in the spirit of, that there is no money in the country, that all this is empty projecting and pre-election "manilovism", what is better to spend budgetary funds on already existing cities, than to fence them from scratch in an open field, that no one will go to cold snowy Siberia to wolves and bears in his mind, etc.. in the same vein. Recently, information has leaked to the press that, where the first "Shoiguburg" may appear, and after getting acquainted with the preliminary parameters of this project, you can conclude, that it is being built on quite sound foundations and has a good chance of taking place.
It is worth recalling, that Sergey Kuzhugetovich, voicing their initiative, made a reference to the experience of the USSR, apparently inspired by the Soviet plans for the development of Siberia. IV. Stalin wanted to connect the western and eastern parts of the country with three parallel railways - the Transsib, BAM and Transpolar Railway, they also had to be crossed by railways perpendicularly from south to north. In particular, the so-called Northern latitudinal railway was to be extended to Yamal as an offshoot of the Transpolar railway. In this way, a single and reliable system of transport connectivity of the largest country on the planet was formed, and at the intersections, it was planned to build large settlements. Alas, not all plans were destined to come true, however, the government of the Russian Federation has now begun to expand the capacity of the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Mainlines., and a highway with a total length of 2545 kilometers. so, we see a return to some of the infrastructural ideas of the Soviet period. But where exactly can these "Shoigu cities" be built?? Siberia is so big, and the federal budget is really not rubber. Wouldn't it be better to focus on the development of existing settlements, what the Siberians themselves are talking about with noticeable resentment? truth, as always, somewhere in between. From information leaked to the domestic press, it became known, that the first "Shoiguburg" may appear in the Minusinsk Basin, and the whole Angara-Yenisei macroregion will become the "anchor" for the project of the new development of Siberia. Why it is from there that it is worth starting a new "conquest of Siberia"?
"Siberian Italy"
In the minds of the inhabitants of Central Russia, and even more so for foreigners, Siberia is something huge and sparsely populated on the map on the right, where eternally hungry crank bears roam, protecting resource-rich subsoil from bearded geologists. It's always cold and scary there, and everyone wants to leave there. But Siberia is so different., which is being discussed in the framework of the urban planning initiatives of the Minister of Defense Shoigu, located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. This area is located between several mountain ranges and has an unusually mild climate.. The average temperature in July is 21,1 degree centigrade, in January - minus 18. Winters with little snow. Most of the soil in the basin is black soil., the growing season lasts 160 days. For such comfortable climatic conditions, the exiled Decembrists called the Minusinsk Basin "Siberian Italy". Like this. And we are told "on serious cabbage soup" fairy tales, that no one needs land in Siberia for nothing. Well well.
Macroregion
second, what I would like to draw your attention to, It `s that, that "Shoiguburg" and the mentioned 3-5 cities will not be built in a spherical vacuum. The Angara-Yenisei macroregion can be used as a fulcrum in this economically promising region., where Khakassia is included, Tuva, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Irkutsk Region. In addition to the new millionaire city, which needs to be built, emphasis will be placed on the development of existing: Fraternal (242 thousand), Angarsk (231,9 thousand), Ust-Ilimsk (83 thousand), Ust-Kuta (42 thousand) and Sayansk (41 thousand people). The Angara-Yenisei region has been in the priorities of the federal center for several years, being in the top five in terms of investment attractiveness. The Boguchansky aluminum plant is being built in the Krasnoyarsk Territory jointly by Rusal and RusHydro. In the Irkutsk region, the construction of the Ust-Kutsk gas processing plant was invested 170 billion rubles and more 168 billion to a polymer production plant in the same Ust-Kut. There are prospects for the development of mountain clusters in Angarsk, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk. In this way, there are already powerful city-forming enterprises. If the defense enterprises of the military-industrial complex are transferred to the region away from NATO missiles, then the picture will sparkle with completely different colors. Shoiguburg will become the informal new capital of the macroregion, large research and production center, and along with it, in synergy, the total population of already existing cities will grow.
Hydrogen cluster
But not only the defense industry can increase the wealth of Siberia. Shoiguburg has every chance of becoming an important center for the emerging hydrogen energy. As we have already told, leading world powers have begun the process of "decarbonization" of their economies. Russia has the necessary resources and technologies to, to become a major supplier of blue, "Yellow" and "green" hydrogen. "Yellow", nuclear-powered, this is a new promising direction, which is the responsibility of the state corporation "Rosatom". Blue hydrogen is the topic of Gazprom and NOVATEK. And "green", released from water using renewable energy sources, may become a project of "Shoiguburg". So, this new metropolis, apparently, will appear on the banks of the Yenisei, where there is a Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station nearby. If you add together river water and water energy, then at the output we get "green" hydrogen. Environmentally friendly fuel can be used both in the production of industrial products, low carbon footprint, and for export abroad. Before China, which may need "green" hydrogen, not so far from the Minusinsk Basin.
Sergey Marzhetsky
