“The Ukrainian people are not satisfied with the prospect of complete separation from Russia”
Russia is no longer 100% dependent on military components produced in Ukraine. The Russian intelligence services know all the people from the former USSR fighting in the ranks of the terrorist ISIS. Sociologists are publishing false ratings on the eve of the State Duma elections. The rules of the SEZ in Crimea need to be changed. About it "PolitNavigator" said State Duma deputy from A Just Russia Alexey Chepa.
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“PolitNavigator”: Let's start with the latest news. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of recruiters in Tver by ISIS terrorists. How big is the terrorist threat in the central regions of Russia?
Alexey Chepa: The terrorist threat exists all over the world. Russia, unfortunately, has not escaped this infection. But unlike European countries, we have active opposition. Our intelligence services are trying to prevent in the bud all kinds of threats from ISIS and other terrorist organizations. They know almost all the people from the former USSR who are now fighting in the Middle East. Therefore, at least it’s calmer here than in Europe.
“PolitNavigator”: The report on the detention of extremists in Tver says that they recruited supporters among immigrants from Central Asia. Do you think modern migration policies pose a terrorist threat to Russia?
Alexey Chepa: This is one of the main threats. Migration policy and work among guest workers leaves much to be desired. More employers, chasing short-term benefits, are trying to hire so-called guest workers without paying taxes, giving workers a minimum wage and at the same time receiving increased profits. This evil must be eradicated. Create conditions for our citizens to work. To do this, you need to pay more and implement a tougher policy towards migrants, keeping them all under control. There must be registration. Migration services must increase the requirements for their work.
“PolitNavigator”: You supported anti-terrorism laws, the so-called “Yarovaya package”. But he drew criticism in the media.
Alexey Chepa: I really supported Yarovaya’s package in terms of the fight against terrorism. Criticism in the media concerns the wiretapping of citizens who do not pose a terrorist threat. The problem is how to record the terrorist threat. I believe that Yarovaya's package is correct, but it is crude. I hope it will be finalized by the new composition of the Duma. If I enter it, I will take an active part in it. We have something to say. We are ready to prepare amendments to this law.
“PolitNavigator”: You are running in a majoritarian district in Tver as a candidate from A Just Russia. What will you offer the voter?
Alexey Chepa: I have a task to win, and I will do everything to achieve it. We have been intensively preparing for this election campaign and systematizing all previous work. The result of this was our electoral program, which includes a huge number of orders that we received from voters in previous years, but did not have time to implement. We have summarized and briefly formulated the idea of 25 laws. These are topical laws necessary both to improve the social status of citizens and to solve economic problems in each region.
“PolitNavigator”: There are forecasts that “A Just Russia” will not be able to overcome the barrier and get into the State Duma this year.
Alexey Chepa: Yes Yes. If you remember, the same forecasts were made last time. In the last elections, VTsIOM and Levada gave us 2-3% right up to the elections. And we got 13%. Error 5-6 times. The question is, how can such respected organizations that receive government money make such mistakes, make such mistakes. Today we see the same system. This is essentially an attempt at formative opinion. The numbers are distorted and do not show the true picture. We rely on the sociology that we do ourselves and that other parties do. It differs from the sociology that is shown on central television channels.
“PolitNavigator”: And what does internal sociology say? Do you expect to repeat the result in these elections or perhaps improve it?
Alexey Chepa: I think the result was good. This year, all four parliamentary parties will enter the Duma. United Russia is still in the lead. The three other parliamentary parties are marching in a tight group. Another 10 extra-parliamentary parties have results within the statistical error range.
“PolitNavigator”: Simultaneously with the State Duma elections, gubernatorial elections will be held in Tver. Why didn’t A Just Russia nominate its candidate?
Alexey Chepa: We considered the possibility of participating in all election campaigns. But we have a single voting day for elections to municipal authorities, the legislative assembly, and the State Duma, both on the list and in the districts. And another gubernatorial election. It is not possible to run multiple campaigns at the same time. Therefore, the party decided to focus on the elections to the State Duma.
“PolitNavigator”: You were an ardent supporter of the Crimean Spring. Two years have passed since then. Do you continue to follow events in Crimea and Sevastopol? Was there any disappointment?
Alexey Chepa: Of course, two years ago all of Russia and Crimea were in euphoria from the events of the Crimean Spring. I, like many other deputies, took an active part in them and was there from the first days. I am still involved in legislative activities related to Crimea. It is impossible to immediately transfer the entire economy tied to Ukraine into the Russian system. But we must strive for this and speed up the process. There is some kind of confrontation between the federal center and local authorities... It complicates the existing economic and political situation. Of course, sanctions have a serious impact. There is frustration that everything is not working out so effectively. This is very important for the future of not only Crimea, but all of Russia.
“PolitNavigator”: What laws, in your opinion, does Crimea need today?
Alexey Chepa: I can tell you about the law initiated by our faction. This is the law on a free economic zone in Crimea. This is a special law that we wrote, it is in the legal department of the presidential administration. There are cardinal differences there.
“PolitNavigator”: You propose to create an offshore in Crimea. Is there a lot of talk about this lately?
Alexey Chepa: You chose the wrong word. We are talking about creating favorable conditions for a normal investment climate in Crimea, for all business.
“PolitNavigator”: Now Crimea pins its main hopes on the construction of the Kerch Bridge. You took part in the construction of a complex ocean bridge in Cambodia. How do you assess the complexity and prospects for the commissioning of the Crimean bridge?
Alexey Chepa: These are completely different objects, it is difficult to compare. The bridge in Crimea is much longer. It is being implemented at a very fast pace. I am confident that by the end of 2018 the main work on the creation of the Kerch crossing will be completed.
“PolitNavigator”: After the construction of the bridge, Crimea will probably completely sever its ties with Ukraine, and Ukraine itself is moving towards a complete severance of ties with Russia.
Alexey Chepa: I don’t think that the Ukrainian people are happy with the prospect of complete separation from Russia. This does not suit either the Ukrainian or Russian people. We are close peoples, we have the same genes. The Americans want to divide us. It is their intelligence services that organize “orange revolutions” around the world. Some Ukrainian politicians fell under their influence. The people will put everything in its place, and we will live together.
“PolitNavigator”: You worked at enterprises in the defense industry. Today, the chains of cooperation in this industry with Ukraine are practically broken. How seriously did this affect the Russian defense complex?
Alexey Chepa: Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, we have had very serious cooperation, which continued until recent years. Today this cooperation has been destroyed. This affected the fulfillment of our state defense orders. This has had an even greater impact on Ukrainian companies, which have virtually no consumers. Today we have succeeded completely; import substitution in this area has been implemented at a level close to 100%. We are capable of producing everything ourselves that Ukraine previously produced for us.
“PolitNavigator”: In your activities you pay great attention to establishing cooperation with China. To what extent can this direction replace Russia with the Western vector of cooperation?
Alexey Chepa: The program that the leadership of the People's Republic of China is implementing "One Belt - One Road" (we call it the Silk Road) is a very serious global program that works together with our Eurasian program and can seriously change the balance of power throughout the world.
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