The Mayor of Vladivostok gave an interview to the BELTA news agency

Many foreign delegations came to Minsk for the City Day. Among the guests was the head of the Primorye capital Konstantin Shestakov, who, by the way, has Belarusian roots. September 14, an agreement on twinning relations between Vladivostok and Zavodskiy district of Minsk was signed in the city hall. Whether the Far East will become closer for the Belarusians, what equipment the Vladivostok administration is looking at, whether Belarus has a need in the Far Eastern port infrastructure and how humanitarian ties are developing - in BELTA's material.

- Konstantin Vladimirovich, share your impressions of Minsk and expectations from your current visit to Belarus.

- Minsk is a wonderful city. We have been here five times in the last three years. We always find a good reason to visit Belarus. We are traditionally friends with Mogilev and Brest. Mogilev region is responsible for cooperation between Belarus and Primorsky Krai. They meet us most often and come to us. This time the occasion was to congratulate our dear friend Minsk on its birthday. We came as a large delegation, combining solemn, festive meanings with economic ones. We visited several production facilities of our traditional partners - MAZ, MTZ, AMKODOR. We want to buy additional equipment for the city this year, so we decided to familiarize ourselves with the novelties offered by the Belarusian industry. We have seen new buses of different classes, as well as the municipal machinery, with which AMKODOR is now working in the pilot operation mode. This is small municipal machinery for city streets. We looked at MTZ and saw what attachments are being developed. We want to use both small mechanization and attachments in our squares, parks, sidewalks. We have made a few accents on the equipment that would be very useful for Vladivostok. And then it's a matter of competition. I am sure that traditionally Belarus will find an opportunity to participate in competitive events to supply us with buses and municipal vehicles.

- What other areas of cooperation are you considering? What opportunities for cooperation do you see in the social sphere?

- We have concluded a twinning agreement with Mogilev, we are preparing such an agreement and plan to conclude it with Brest in the near future. The work we are doing is multifaceted. We can already talk about humanitarian cooperation as realized steps, because various delegations often come to us from Belarus. Mostly children, students. Schoolchildren traditionally participate in our sports festival “Children of Primorye”. This is an opportunity to compete, to show themselves, and, of course, to make friends. This year Vladivostok is the youth capital of our homeland. In summer, students came to us to take part in the International Student Games. They showed themselves well. For example, they were unrivaled in swimming. The logic is the same: to show themselves, to take part in master classes, to look at others. We had guys from India, China, DPRK, Uzbekistan. To look at each other, to see the best disciplines is certainly great. Friendship, I think, is very important.

Our guys are also studying here in Belarus. The main direction is forestry, so that in the future they will develop the forestry industry. Believe me, there are many humanitarian reasons for our cooperation. It should be noted that the Mariinsky Primorsky stage of the Mariinsky Theater came to Minsk with its productions. I am sure that it will visit Minsk and Belarus as a whole more than once. Let's see which cities would be worth visiting again.

Our schoolchildren traditionally come to Brest every year. Patriotic education, the history of our two countries and the victories of our great people in the Great Patriotic War - all these meanings are very clearly united in the plan that we will sign with both Mahiliou and Brest in terms of the implementation of twinning agreements.

- President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko visited Vladivostok in 2022. At that time the possibility of involving Belarusian builders in the implementation of projects was also discussed. How do you assess their contribution to Vladivostok's development?

- We showed ourselves very well on the project initiated by the President of our country. This is a museum and exhibition complex on Aksakovskaya Street, one of four unique projects that are being implemented across Russia. The guys are highly professional and are coping with their task very well. The construction continues.

- Are new directions in the construction sphere being worked out?

- We traditionally offer various options. And then there is a question of economic benefit: how interesting it will be for builders from Belarus. We have enough construction projects: we are building sports facilities and road infrastructure. We build a lot of housing in Primorsky Krai - more than 1 million square meters per year. There is a lot to build in Vladivostok and Primorsky Krai in general. We always talk very widely about opportunities for builders, especially for such experienced ones, on the territory of our city.

- There is a lot to see in Primorsky Krai, and Belarus is interested in tourists from the Far East. What opportunities do you see here?

- To a greater extent, these tours are now organized by the state, so that our guys know the common history. But I am convinced that there are many strong tourist sides in Belarus. But the travel companies themselves should work hard here. The logistics may be quite easy, but nevertheless we fly across a large part of our continent to get to Minsk. The offer must be more than curious for a person to make such a decision. From Moscow or St. Petersburg it is much easier to make such a decision. There should be a good reason for us. So far, such state tourism: thanks to the initiative of the region, guys come to visit you.

It is the same in the opposite direction. Our proximity to Asian countries dictates the possibility to form tours, which can highlight our city very brightly and give an opportunity to fly to Harbin, Beijing, Seoul by transit, having visited Vladivostok for a few days. Think about it: it takes 40 minutes of flight to the nearest large city! Vladivostok - Harbin - less than an hour. Now about 10 million people live in Harbin. The city is also developing dynamically. I am convinced that the sea, the hills, delicious gastronomy combined with the opportunity to visit Asian countries is a reason to visit our country.  

- Speaking about transportation, do you see opportunities to make the Far East for Belarus and Belarus for the Far East closer for tourists and business contacts?

- Moscow - Vladivostok is more than eight hours of flight time, and if we talk about the need to fly from Minsk - another 1.5 hours plus. This is really heavy logistics for the tourist product. There are five to seven flights to Moscow every day, and at least seven flights during the mass events in September. It is possible to get to Vladivostok, and it is also quite easy to buy tickets. It takes a long time to fly.  

- In the current geopolitical conditions, the volume of Belarusian cargo transportation in the direction of Russian ports has significantly increased. How is cooperation organized?

- Our port infrastructure is maximally utilized. We are open for clients of our ports. Now there is a demand for cargo transshipment via Vladivostok. This is a good opportunity for our city economy to develop further and develop related industries around a major logistics hub. The city of Vladivostok has several active ports, so pay attention to us! I am sure that we are very strong in this respect, including in the direction of selling industrial goods of Belarus.

- Many natives of Belarus live in the Far East - those who went to develop the Far East in the past and stayed there. How does the Belarusian diaspora live, is the Belarusian presence felt in the region?

- I, for example, am also a native of Belarus. My grandfather Leokadiy Schasny was born in Ratomka, after the war he went to Vladivostok to enter a maritime school. All his life he served in the Pacific Fleet and retired as a commander of a diesel submarine. I think he represented Belarus in the Far East very brightly and honorably. I am sure there are a lot of such stories.

- On the City Day in Minsk, a ceremony of laying flowers at the stele “Minsk - Hero-City” in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War was held. The delegations that came to celebrate the 957th anniversary of Minsk also took part in it. Why is it important not to forget those events?

- We received knowledge also from our older relatives. They could pass on their personal experience to us. The situation is a little different for our children and grandchildren. We need to use concrete examples to tell them in a very clear and understandable way what this terrible war brought to our land, and how we managed to snatch this victory through the efforts of a large nation. There are not so many veterans left, although they live in Vladivostok now and participate in open lessons at schools. Our future lies in clear, interesting, high-quality information and educational products. People should know about that war only for one purpose - to never let anything like that happen again. That's why it is necessary to tell. We need to tell the story in a clear way, using the tools that are most easily perceived by young people and children. I am sure that each city will have its own tools. But, for example, a visit to Brest is one of the vivid experiences that Vladivostok or our country's schoolchildren should have in order to understand what the Great Patriotic War is all about.

- Thank you for the opportunity to meet. We are talking on a festive day, what would you like to wish to Minskers, Belarusians?

- I wish your beautiful country prosperity and well-being. I want your cities to blossom, to remain as green, and in many ways to be an example for many. This is also very important. But most importantly, I want to wish everyone a deep, warm feeling of happiness. I am sure that everyone has its own. And on such a festive and wonderful day in terms of weather, perhaps, this feeling can be felt more vividly. There should be many bright, festive, happy days in everyone's life. But also, of course, we should be one big team, one big family. We should not forget that we have one big common history, and together we are strength!