At the meeting with representatives of youth organizations in Astrakhan there was a very interesting and meaty discussion of issues connected with Youth Year. I’ve decided to put out on the website some questions that are of particular concern to young people (and not only in Astrakhan), together with my answers to them.
I’d be glad if these topics are of interest to you also, and you share your views by leaving a response or comment on the website.



1. The Young Family federal programme and benefits for youth house-building cooperatives

Question. We urban newlyweds are disadvantaged compared to those that live in the country. The amount offered under the programme is sometimes not enough to buy a place to live. A square meter of housing is much more expensive in the regional capital. And the level of social support guaranteed by the programme is not high. Perhaps it would be better to allocate funds to build housing such as hostels for young people with small families as well, as they did in the Soviet period. And also pass a law approving the benefits for youth house-building cooperatives. Perhaps the Duma Youth Committee has already drafted some legislation to help promote social housing for young people.

Answer. I wouldn’t agree that urban youth is disadvantaged, because people in towns are in a better starting position: pay, education, job opportunities, infrastructure. But I think the idea of granting benefits to youth house-building cooperatives is a very good one. I’ll ask them to raise the issue and consider it.
As for legislation to promote social housing for young people, there are no laws aimed specifically at young people, but one way or another you can find benefits available under various programmes, such as the federal Housing 2002-2010 programme.



2. Jobs for Graduates

Question: I’m a final-year university student and, like many other graduates, am having great difficulty finding a job. According to the statistics, one third of those graduating from higher and secondary education are unable to find jobs in their fields. Of course this is partly because so many unneeded specialists are being produced. And secondly, there are no jobs reserved for young people. Everyone is looking for specialists with experience. But where do you pick up experience if you can no longer play the trick of including time spent in higher and secondary specialized education in your work service record? We young specialists are offered low-paid jobs. Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about a nationwide Youth Talent Pool programme. This would aim to standardize the criteria for candidates and include tests to assess the knowledge, psychological and physical qualities of young specialists, while also providing potential employers with recommendations on recruiting people. What do you think of creating programmes like this to tackle the problems of jobs for young people?

Answer. I think it’s a good idea. But on the other hand we have a Federal Employment Service that has branches in every region and town in Russia. Any graduate student can go there and register as unemployed, and the Service will help him find a job free of charge. But it can only offer the jobs that employers need to fill. In Moscow State University, for example, there’s a student job placement section. And if an employer doesn’t take on young people or takes them on at low salaries, neither the Employment Service nor any other unions or programmes can change things. I think we need to set up a Russian national data base to regulate the numbers training in the various subject areas. And this should preferably also take account of geographical factors.

I agree there’s a problem of too little demand for young specialists. But from my point of view this needs to be addressed at the legislative level. In other words, the employment laws need to be amended give employers an incentive to hire graduates – for example, by cutting taxes for companies that employ a certain number of young specialists, students and graduates.

3. Building New District Health and Fitness Centres for Young People

Question: “I represent the Sporting Russia national voluntary society. A large sports centre was recently opened in our city, but not that many people can get to it from different parts of town. Take me, for example: I study until lunchtime, then I go to work, and in the evenings I’d like to do some sport and work out on the weight machines, but it can be quite a problem travelling from one part of town to another, especially in the evenings. Our organization has suggested setting up district health and fitness centres for young people, co-funded from the city, district and federal budgets under specialized programmes. We’d really like you, as a State Duma deputy and the official representative of all sportsmen in the Russian Government, to help us with this issue!”

Reply. Interesting idea. Put together a formal petition in writing (see specimen on my website) and I’ll try to help.

4. Programme to Promote Tolerance amongst Young People

Question. There are over 200 nationalities living in our city and after many long years of coexistence we’ve all learned to respect each others’ culture, religion and customs. I think there’s now a need for a special programme at the federal level to promote tolerance amongst young people. And we could make our own contribution to writing this programme by sharing our experience. What’s your view on this?

Answer. That’s a good idea, and I’d be happy to discuss it in the committee. Send your suggestions to my website or by post to the Duma. You could also organize a virtual debate on this via the Internet.