Eduard Sosnin elected Mayor of Perm City, his candidacy supported by the majority of councillors of Perm City Duma.

On August 22, at the plenary session of the Perm City Duma, the councillors held the hearing for the Programmes from  two candidates running for the position  of the City Mayor, namely Eduard Sosnin and Alexandr Rusanov. These candidates have previously won the most votes at the selection committee.

Eduard Sosnin presented his vision for the future development of the city.

He noted that the preparation for the 300th anniversary of the city has seriously transformed the city, with tens of billions rubles of the federal funds attracted through the support of Dmitry Makhonin, the Governor of Perm Region. New facilities appeared in education, culture and sports; roads and public transport were renovated.  Great attention was given to the territory improvement:  new public spaces were created, parks and central streets renovated. As a candidate for the position of Perm Mayor, he outlined his main goals as maintaining  the momentum and completing in time the objectives laid down in the «Perm-300» program and  ensuring the uniform development of city districts.

“The implementation of the plans requires a balanced budget policy. Our objectives are to keep up to the approved budget parameters and municipal debt repayment. Through the   preparation for the anniversary, the development budget of the city increased significantly. The main improvement activities have been completed. I believe that part of development budget should be allocated to the maintenance of facilities established during the period, and another part – to deficit reduction and surplus generation», he said.

Eduard Sosnin also touched upon Perm’s participation in national projects.

The city actively participates in those, increasing the amount of funds attracted. In 2023
 8.8 billion rubles were raised for 6 national projects, which is 1.5 times more compared to in 2022. «It is my task to expand Perm’s participation with the regional government in more national projects», he said.

Eduard Sosnin stressed that Perm has a significant potential to attract investment. “It is necessary to more actively create basis for the implementation of investment projects, to use the principle of targeted support for investors. The Perm Region investment map lists the total of 329 sites, of which only 12 are located in Perm, which is less than 4%. If we want to attract investors to the city, it is necessary to form and offer more sites for the implementation of projects», he said. There is also a need to expand municipality-private-partnerships, for example for such facilities as parks and public spaces, cultural facilities and social services.

Eduard Sosnin called the small and medium business in Perm the potential «growth point» of the city economy. “We must not only minimize administrative barriers, but also help in development. The most promising directions should be: cooperation of SMEs with industrial companies; the formation of a comfortable urban environment: beautification, cafes and restaurants, health services, entertainment; informing business about support measures-  financial, property, educational ones», he said.

The problem of emergency housing is one of the most acute for Perm. Despite the annual increase in resettlement rate, the negative upward trend has not been yet overcome. “We should make maximum use of all available opportunities to resolve this problem actively participating in  federal and regional programs, building municipal housing, using mechanisms of complex territorial development», said Eduard Sosnin.

A special place in his program is given to youth policy, because the success of development depends on how close is the identification of youth with the city and their opportunities for self-realization.  This means it is necessary to build a strategy to promote Perm among young people, to actively promote Perm education and employment opportunities in leading enterprises. The new Youth Palace should become the center of youth policy and set development trends.

The city provides 100% access to pre-school education, but there is still the issue of providing kindergartens within a walking access.  “It is necessary to change the approaches to cooperation with developers, including the use of mechanisms of complex territorial development.  I believe it reasonable   to strengthen the support of private educational institutions in areas where there is shortage of places in kindergartens. This will resolve the problem», said Eduard Sosnin.

He called the development of mass sports and the development of courtyards an important direction of the city authority’s activities. It is necessary to analyze the accessibility of sports infrastructure and to develop a programme for its development.

With regard to transport services, the convenience of routes and schedules should be addressed in cooperation with residents. In the planned mode, it is necessary to continue the modernization of the tram system to increase the comfort, speed and reliability of electric traffic.

As key directions of cooperation with the Perm Region Government Eduard Sosnin noted providing assistance to the participants of the  Special Military Operation  and assistance to enterprises of the defense complex, participation in national projects, attraction of financing and timely execution of obligations, especially related to social development.

He called the openness and access to power the main principle of the administration.” Personal communication with residents is a key principle of city management, so meetings will continue and their frequency will be increased. It is important to work as a single team, together with residents, regional and federal authorities», - said Eduard Sosnin.

After the reports, the councillors asked their questions to both candidates. A majority of 24 councillors voted for Eduard Sosnin.

“I would like to thank all those who took part in the competition and seriously approached the preparation and presentation of their program. Many useful suggestions were made for the city authorities. I hope they will definitely find their way.

We congratulate Eduard Olegovich Sosnin on his victory. I am convinced  that the renovated city team will be able to attain its  main goal - to make the life of the residents as better and more comfortable  as possible »,  remarked Dmitry Malyutin, Chair of the Perm City Duma.

Eduard Sosnin thanked the councillors for their support and addressed  the words of special gratitude to Governor Dmitry Makhonin and the entire government of the Perm Region.

“I rely on cooperation and constructive position from the City Council. It is important to work as a team, together with the residents, the regional and federal authorities. Synchronization of plans, coordinated decisions and coordinated work is the success of the city development», he stressed.