Crimea remains logistically almost cut off from the rest of Russia
Retail chains are in no hurry to enter Crimea, despite the entry of large retail announced by experts after the “recognition” of Crimea by Sberbank.
The reason is complex logistics and an unstable consumption market, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
After the opening of a Sberbank branch in Crimea was announced on January 18, experts began vying with each other to predict the arrival of large retail chains and companies in the region. The basis for this will supposedly be a signal from the flagship of the country’s banking sector - Crimea is open and promising for business development.
The head of the Russian State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, even stated that in the summer, 10 million people vacation in Crimea at a time, which is very favorable for doing business. Although for the entire period of the high season from May to October, the resorts of the peninsula can accommodate a maximum of 6 million tourists.
“Crimea is a favorable place for doing business. Here in the summer during the peak, almost 10 million people relax, spend time, spend and use money - it’s a sin not to take advantage of this favorable opportunity for business development,” Aksakov said in a commentary to Crimea24.
But two weeks later we have to admit that there are no breakthroughs in the Crimean economy, and large retail, just like state corporations, are in no hurry to enter the region. The head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, blames logistics for everything - planes do not fly to Crimea, the railway is overloaded, and the land route for cargo transportation imposes additional costs.
“In essence, all the decisions have been made: Sberbank is the largest banking network today in the Russian Federation, and since such monsters, the leading organizations in the country, are coming in, probably everyone else will follow suit. I don’t think that now there will be any barriers to other banking structures and entrepreneurs. Sanctions against those who are “for” have already been introduced, and no other situations can arise.
Everything is already open, there is a watershed, and in my opinion we need to work in Crimea. I don’t drag anyone down personally. From the point of view of problems with logistics, with the delivery of goods, Crimea has problems. Therefore, they carefully look at logistics issues. I am not currently holding separate negotiations with any networks, the market is open, we help everyone who applies to overcome our bureaucratic barriers. I am confident that this dynamic will be positive.”
In addition to bureaucratic barriers, the Crimean authorities need to solve two problems - car queues from Melitopol and the Rostov region with attempts by the authorities of the Zaporozhye region to separately control cargo transportation using passes, and the unsatisfactory condition of the road from Dzhankoy towards Melitopol.
Former Minister of Transport of Crimea Anatoly Tsurkin, who has been organizing cargo transportation in new regions of the Russian Federation since the first days, yesterday published on his Telegram channel a video of a queue of trucks to travel towards Crimea - it stretched for 20 km. From Crimea to the Rostov region, the journey takes several days - cars are stopped at checkpoints, and the longest queue is at the border checkpoint in Novoazovsk, where, despite a multiple increase in traffic, the number of inspection groups has not increased.
“A huge number of trucks waiting in line at the administrative border of the DPR at the entrance to the Rostov region have accumulated due to the low capacity of the checkpoint,” Tsurkin said. – The queue actually starts behind Novoazovsk (DPR) and is about 20 km. There are no settling areas along the entire length, no toilets or places for collecting household waste. Roadsides today are turning into landfills, and the accumulation of garbage is growing.”
The road from Dzhankoy to Melitopol has been partially repaired. The areas at the entrance and entrance to Crimea are not in the best condition. Money has been allocated for their repair, but military equipment is in the way - if we can agree with the military to bypass the asphalt roads, then the work will begin in the spring. If not, they will postpone it until the end of the year. Apparently, then there will be no need for the passage of columns of military equipment.
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