Marat Khusnullin at the Knowledge.First marathon: "We will build 1 billion square meters of housing by 2030"

Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, told how young people from around the world can realize their dreams by creating the infrastructure of modern cities at the educational marathon Knowledge.First of the Russian Knowledge Society. The statesman's speech was dedicated to the theme "Russian Construction Complex: Infrastructure and Urban Environment" and took place on March 6 in the Nizhny Novgorod pavilion of the WYF-2024 World Youth City. Marat Khusnullin's meeting with young people was included in the program of the thematic track "We stand together with Russia" and aroused great interest of young people. 

Marat Khusnullin raised topical issues of building modern and convenient cities, spoke about the Russian experience of creating urban infrastructure, sometimes unique. According to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Russia's construction industry has had record growth rates in recent years. The national project "Housing and Urban Environment" is being implemented. Last year alone, 110.4 million square meters of housing were built across the country, which improved the living conditions of 4.4 million families. At the same time, urban planners make sure that all necessary infrastructure - roads, kindergartens, schools, clinics, bus stops, stores, sports clubs and recreation areas - appear near the houses. 

"Home construction is the largest consumption sector. We have a lot of ground to cover in terms of housing development. Last year was a record for housing commissioning, and we have set a goal of commissioning 1 billion square meters of housing by 2030. We are going according to the plan, we are doing well," said Marat Khusnullin.

At the same time, it is important not only to build houses, but also to create the highway infrastructure necessary for people and businesses.

"In 2023, we paved 188 million square meters of asphalt pavement. The plan was 120 million square meters. We built, reconstructed and repaired 31,000 km of roads - that's 70 percent of the length of the earth's equator. But even that is still not enough. We have made a 5-year program of road construction and repair, which we are successfully implementing," the statesman said.

In addition, the Russian Government has approved a program to upgrade the country's public transport for the next 6 years. In 2023, about 5,000 vehicles have already been replaced. These are buses, trolleybuses, streetcars and electric buses. Subways are also being developed in Russia's regions. For example, such projects are being implemented in Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnoyarsk and Chelyabinsk with the help of infrastructure budget loans, 

Marat Khusnullin's speech aroused interest among the listeners. One of the foreign participants of the marathon asked what are the most important and interesting roads currently being built in Russia and what makes them unique. The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia replied that the "West-East" highway is very interesting and important for cargo transportation. The second is "North-South", from Saint Petersburg to Asia. 

"You said you like to breathe construction, what does that mean?" Yelizaveta from the Tyumen Region asked for clarification.

"When I walk into a construction site, I feel like I belong there. When I see it all being built, plastered, painted, it excites me in a good way. That is why I often visit the construction site, it is both pleasant for me and builders should be stimulated", said Marat Khusnullin.

The meeting between Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and young people at the Knowledge.First marathon took place within the thematic track, which is dedicated to international cooperation, including opportunities for higher education for Russian and foreign students, joint projects, technological developments, and space as a space for international cooperation. 

Also on March 6, the final day of the Knowledge.First marathon, the lecturers of the thematic track "We stand together with Russia" were Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova and Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Executive Office - Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matitsyn, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov, Governor of Zaporizhzhya region Evgeny Balitsky, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod region Gleb Nikitin, Olympic champion, world champion, two-time European champion, Russian boxing champion Alexander Povetkin, artistic director of the Oleg Tabakov Theater, People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Mashkov, Italian actress Ornella Muti and other prominent people.

The Knowledge Society is a general partner of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, and the educational Znanie.Pervye marathon is one of the main events of this program. The most striking presentations of lecturers can be seen on the 24-hour media channel https://russia.znanierussia.ru/tv/Znanie.TV. Educational marathon takes place in Sirius from March 2 to 6 and covers six sites of the World Youth City: WYF International Airport, Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow pavilions. The tracks of the educational marathon are consonant with the meanings of the Festival: “Responsibility for the fate of the world”, “Multinational unity”, “A world of opportunity for everyone”, “Saving the family for future generations” and “We stand together with Russia”. 

The World Youth Festival shall become a platform for communication between young people from Russia and other countries. After the completion of the events on the Sirius Federal Territory, Russian Knowledge Society will continue the educational line of the World Youth Festival from March 10 to 17 within the framework of the regional program WYF 2024, which will cover all federal districts of our country.

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Overview:

The World Youth Festival is held in accordance with the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin to develop international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, it was decided to hold the Festival in the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old had the opportunity to join the event, including 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. 5,000 volunteers from all regions of Russia, including 228 residents of the LPR, DPR, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions be involved in the organization and delivery of the Festival. The organizer of the World Youth Festival is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the operator of the WYF-2024 is the Directorate of the World Youth Festival.

The first federal education marathon was held in May 2021 and became a symbol of the reboot of the Russian Knowledge Society. More than 850 lecturers shared their experience during the marathon.

The Russian Knowledge Society traces its history back to the Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet intelligentsia as the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge (since 1963 — the All-Union Knowledge Society, since 1991— the Knowledge of Russia Society). Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science and lecturing on the achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Knowledge of Russia was transformed into the Russian Knowledge Society. On April 21, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to restart the Russian Knowledge Society on a modern digital platform in his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.