Russia intends to establish Siberia as the focal point of a new industrialization initiative and draw workers to the east, stated Security Council Secretary and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday.
Shoigu emphasized that the government should facilitate migration by offering higher wages, subsidies, and expanded benefits.
“In the times of the Russian Empire and during the Soviet Union, the state created favorable conditions that encouraged citizens to move to Siberia and contribute to the nation’s economic development,” RBC news site quoted him as saying.
He suggested implementing tax incentives and administrative support for businesses, as well as social assistance for workers, including housing and vehicle loans that would be forgiven after a decade of service in the area.
In parallel, the government is devising strategies to address the decline in Siberia’s population.
According to a revised development strategy through 2035, the ministries of internal affairs, labor, and health have been tasked with stabilizing the population by lowering mortality rates, tackling labor shortages, and promoting the resettlement of ethnic Russians from abroad.
Since 1991, Siberia’s population has decreased by 12%—the largest decline after the Far East—bringing the total to 16.5 million, which represents 11% of Russia’s overall population.
Each year, approximately 287,000 economically active residents depart the region, and projections indicate that the number of individuals aged 25 to 44 could decline by an additional 20% by 2030.
In September, Sergei Karaganov, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council, stated that Russia’s “300-year journey toward Europe has come to an end,” calling for a renewed focus on the east.
He suggested deploying veterans of the Ukraine conflict to help establish a “new Siberian Russia,” drawing parallels to the labor initiatives that constructed the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baikal-Amur Mainline.
Karaganov indicated he is working on a project named Eastern Turn 2.0, which aims to develop North-South transport corridors that would connect Russia through Siberia to Asian markets.
