Today, ships and units of the Northern Fleet have dozens of chefs from almost all cities and regions of Russia. Assistance, primarily in food, goes to the fleet all year round and, according to the commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, it is invaluable because "the bosses help us to close those "holes" in the provision that the Fleet cannot close for various objective reasons." On holidays and various anniversaries, governors and mayors send their congratulations, gifts, and other items to the Arctic region, and the grateful North Sea Fleet personnel honor and respect them for their dedication to the fate of the Russian Navy. In light of these cordial relationships between Russia's Arctic outpost and its hospitable heartland, it sometimes seems that the North Sea Fleet personnel do not always appreciate the assistance provided by the administrations of the cities and towns where the North Sea Fleet is based. It is, let's say, everyday and perhaps even mundane, but that doesn't diminish its significance. However, you decide.

The closed administrative-territorial formation (ZATO) of Severomorsk is the capital of the Northern Fleet. More than 120 units and institutions of the Northern Fleet, the Kola Air Defense Unit, and four border outposts of the Arctic Regional Directorate of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation are stationed here. In addition, several nearby military garrisons are part of the municipal formation. As a result, more than 45 percent of the residents of the ZATO are military personnel and their families. However, this figure was much higher in the past. However, if we take into account that since the early 1990s, the number of military pensioners has increased by more than two thousand people, and they now account for more than a third of the total number of pensioners in the closed administrative-territorial entity, it becomes clear that the social composition of the population has not changed significantly. Therefore, in general, the implementation of social programs by the administration of the closed administrative-territorial entity in Severomorsk is directly related to the most pressing issue of social protection of military personnel and their families.

"Our situation is more complicated than that of other cities, which only occasionally communicate with their subordinates," the mayor of the main base of the Northern Fleet told me.

- ZATO of Severomorsk, Vitaly Voloshin, - since we live in the same city all the time, we constantly share all their problems with the military sailors. I believe that the biggest шефская help that Severomorsk provides to the Northern Fleet is that we are generally doing a good job solving the social issues and problems of our city's residents, especially the military personnel.

The Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel" is the main regulatory document that determines the activities of the Severomorsk administration in the field of social protection of military personnel. Unlike many Russian cities, the capital of the Northern Fleet fully implements benefits for military personnel that are covered by the local budget, primarily in the form of tax benefits. The administration of the closed administrative-territorial entity is also making every effort to ensure that benefits that should be funded from the federal budget are not frozen, but unfortunately, they have not been funded for a long time. These benefits include, for example, 50% payment for housing and utilities. By the way, this benefit costs the city budget 9.2 million rubles annually.

The same applies to the payment of expenses for free travel for military personnel on public transport. The Ministry of Defense does not provide a single kopeck for this purpose, and in Severomorsk, in addition to military sailors, there are 29 categories of so-called transport beneficiaries: veterans of the Great Patriotic War, "Afghans", and the tax police. As a result, the city authorities have to cover the Ministry of Defense's debt to transport companies from the local budget, which amounts to a significant 7 million rubles per year.

In my opinion, the most important thing that the ZATO administration has done for the Northern Fleet in recent years is to take over the entire housing stock and social infrastructure from the sailors, thereby freeing the North-Sea Fleet from dealing with issues that are not typical of their status and purpose. Now, all of the housing and utilities that belonged to the Northern Fleet, with the exception of the electrical grid, are in the hands of the city. Some may argue that this measure has nothing to do with the social protection of military personnel. However, this may seem like a superficial observation.

As a result of the transfer of housing and other facilities to the city administration, the Navy has been relieved of some of its most burdensome, time-consuming, and financially onerous functions. This means that the North Sea Fleet will now be able to focus more on maintaining its barracks and improving the living and working conditions in its military units.

Secondly, the city not only accepted the social and cultural facilities from the fleet, but immediately began to develop them. Moreover, in the Roslyakovo settlement of ship repair workers, which is part of the closed city, the city authorities have renovated the boiler house, which is still under the fleet's jurisdiction, and people who had been freezing in their apartments for several years without access to hot water have been enjoying a warm winter in the last year or two. The mayor's office of the naval capital also pays great attention to the city's improvement, including the repair of houses, yards, and roads. Sometimes, as they say, it's a strain on the city's budget. After all, it's the sailors, not the administration, who are expecting visits from the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and the Minister of Defense. These events are official and crucial for the Northern Fleet, but the city government allocates funds for the asphalted access roads to the Northern Fleet's surface ship squadron and the Severomorsk-1 military airfield. They could have "squeezed" them, figuratively speaking, but the fleet asked, and the city replied: "Please!"

By the way, in order to fully describe the relationship between the Navy and its capital through the lens of the housing problem, I would like to emphasize that the administration of the closed military town has left the right to distribute apartments to the command of the Northern Fleet and military units. Therefore, the Navy has not lost any apartments with the transfer of housing.

"We took this step because," said Vitaly Voloshin, "we are well aware of the difficult situation with housing for military personnel in Severomorsk. While the Navy used to build up to 10 new residential buildings annually before 1990, it is currently unable to build even one. In my opinion, the current socio-economic situation in the country has made Severomorsk residents hostages to their situation. According to our program for resettling northerners to the mainland, they have very little chance of obtaining housing..."

In general, the effectiveness of the much-publicized "State Housing Certificates" program has recently come into serious doubt. This can be seen, in my opinion, from the sudden "death" of the pompous and promising TV commercials for the program. As for military personnel living in closed military areas, they are not eligible for the program at all. Meanwhile, the data from a survey conducted by the Northern Fleet's Personnel Department clearly indicates that 89% of officers and warrant officers who are being discharged from the military need housing in the central regions. It is understandable that people want to move from the Arctic to more favorable climatic conditions after being discharged from the military, where they have more opportunities for employment.

Given the Northern Fleet's current limited capacity to relocate military retirees, the Mayor's Office of Severomorsk and the City Council of Deputies have decided to include military personnel who have been discharged and have served for at least 15 years in the queue for housing in central Russia under the municipal resettlement program. Currently, there are over three thousand families in this queue. Additionally, an average of 150 to 180 apartments are built annually for resettlers.

Of course, the pace is slow. However, the resettlement of Northerners began only after the city was granted the status of a closed military town, which was when funds were allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of this program. It is undeniable that even small steps forward are better than standing still, but the inertia in addressing the housing issues of military retirees has created a range of new social problems for Severomorsk. And what a range...

It is no secret that one of the main problems in the polar cities and garrisons is the extremely limited labor market. In 1997, 1,100 unemployed people registered at the Severomorsk Employment Center, of which only three were reserve military personnel. However, in 1998, the number increased to 2,078 and 138 former military personnel, respectively. According to data as of May 1, 1999, there are 5,200 military pensioners living in Severomorsk, of which only 850 are officially registered as unemployed at the employment center. Again, this is only official statistics. According to the Fleet Personnel Department, almost 66% of those who have been discharged due to retirement or organizational changes require a new profession, and 92% require employment. Many of these retirees also have unemployed wives. Judge for yourself how "sweet" it is to live in the Far North on a military pension alone.

And there are very few real opportunities for creating new jobs in Severomorsk. The city administration is almost constantly puzzling over how to support those state and municipal enterprises that have already been established and have been operating for a long time. For example, recently it was necessary to allocate 500 thousand rubles to JSC Severomorsky Bakery. What is the relationship here, you may ask, with the patronage of the Northern Fleet? Direct line.

About two-thirds of the products produced by the enterprise are shipped to ships and units of the Northern Fleet. Due to underfunding, the fleet does not pay the plant, and the debt amounts to about two and a half million rubles. However, it is impossible to keep the sailors on a hunger diet. Therefore, the mayor's office provides an interest-free loan to the naval capital to ensure that both the enterprise and the sailors are well-fed.

- If we're talking about creating new jobs in the polar "villages", then we need targeted government programs for the implementation of various projects, which will be really funded, really! - says Vitaly Ivanovich.

In February 1998, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted the Federal Target Program for the Retraining and Employment of Military Personnel (Officers, Warrant Officers, and Ensigns) to be Demobilized, Citizens Retired from Military Service, and Their Family Members for the Years 1998-2000. However, its financial support leaves much to be desired, and most importantly, it does not provide for the support of urban programs for the social adaptation of former military personnel, especially in areas where they live in large numbers. The retraining program planned by the government in Moscow and St. Petersburg is simply unrealistic for the vast majority of Northerners due to the high cost of education and travel to and from the training centers.

So, "saving drowning people is the responsibility of the drowning people themselves"? In principle, yes. However, it's not that simple. For example, local initiators have decided to establish a Delta training center in Severomorsk, which focuses on addressing the socio-economic challenges faced by reserve military personnel. However, the administration is currently struggling to find the necessary funds (approximately 2 million rubles) to finance the project. They are seeking sponsors in Moscow. They are working on an agreement on joint activities for retraining military personnel who are being discharged from the army with the municipality of the Norwegian commune of Ser-Varanger, with which Severomorsk maintains friendly relations and which has extensive experience in similar work. However, the creation of the center does not solve many problems. Well, they have been retrained. But what's next? There is no work. There is no work for dozens of lawyers, economists, and programmers in the polar garrisons. They had to think more pragmatically. The idea emerged to train security personnel for long-distance trains. But due to a number of problems that have arisen, all of this is only in projects. Although, of course, I would like to believe that it is only for now. After all, the administration of the closed administrative-territorial entity has already resolved the issue of supporting private entrepreneurship in Severomorsk.

More than 200 former military personnel have already been registered in the city as private businessmen. They have been granted all the benefits provided by law, and the relevant departments of the administration and tax authorities are also providing comprehensive consulting assistance. Moreover, the city budget has allocated 2 million rubles for the development of small private businesses in the naval capital. The algorithm for spending under this budget item is as follows: the mayor's office reviews a business proposal submitted by an individual, usually a former military officer, and if they conclude that the proposal is promising and guarantees a return on investment, they provide the prospective entrepreneur with an interest-free loan to start their business.

Such a practice is already bringing tangible results. For example, the commercial enterprise "Flotservis", which was established under the auspices of the North Sea Union of Reserve Officers, headed by Yuri Klyuev, has firmly established itself, operates efficiently, and not only does not seek financial assistance from the administration, but also provides assistance to the city, schools, and military units. Additionally, the enterprise employs approximately forty former military personnel. This is a solution to the problem of employment for reserve officers. It is also a form of patronage for the navy. There are numerous examples of such initiatives in Severomorsk.

Most businessmen are willing to cooperate: some out of kindness, so to speak, and others for their own reasons. However, if there are some particularly stubborn individuals who do not understand the complexity of the current socio-economic situation, the head of the administration has enough leverage within the existing Russian legislation to make certain entrepreneurs understand that "the military needs to be supported."

"If you want, this comes directly from the mayor's position," Vitaly Ivanovich admitted frankly, "but we don't abuse it in any way. This is mainly because Severomorsk is a naval city, and many of the entrepreneurs are former sailors. Therefore, we appeal to their conscience, as it were: "Well, you've left as a captain. You're young, energetic, and your business is thriving, which means you have money. So, share it with your fellow sailors who continue to serve for you and me. After all, we're all sailors here...""And you know, it works almost always...

However, it would be fundamentally wrong to imagine the mayor of the Northern Fleet's capital as a "tsar in charge," solely focused on extracting resources from the merchant class for the benefit of the naval forces. Vitaly Ivanovich, on the other hand, is well aware of the addresses of the patronage assistance. The first of these is the large anti-submarine ship "Severomorsk."

Of course, the city administration pays more attention to this ship. Moreover, it is currently located in St. Petersburg. During this time, Vitaly Voloshin has already visited the Severomorsk ship twice and has addressed the issue of unstable funding for repairs to Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Most importantly, progress is being made. Some may shrug their shoulders in confusion, wondering if the mayor has nothing better to do. Don't you have any other worries? Of course I do.

But the mayor of Severomorsk is a realist. And the time has come when, if you don't push and support from all sides, and don't "scrabble" for funds and resolutions, the repair of the ship will take years. Moreover, in Vitaly Ivanovich's understanding, patronage is much more than a TV and a cart of potatoes as a gift for the ship's day. The fleet should not be docked and should not be engaged in combat training in the base. Ships should sail at sea, and planes should fly.

By the way, it was in the light of his inherent realism that he purchased, as they say, together with the Governor of the Murmansk Region, Yuri Evdokimov, modern flight overalls for Russia's only naval fighter aviation regiment, the pride of the Fatherland. For the naval crew, where conscripts undergo initial training, the administration of Severomorsk purchased a mini-telephone exchange, and for the Officers' House of the Northern Fleet, they purchased various equipment worth 45,000 rubles. Every day, the mayor of Severomorsk receives requests and appeals from the military: to sponsor an upcoming unit anniversary, to connect a Northern Fleet institution to a cable TV network for free, or to help the fleet's marine engineering service finance road repairs.

"Sometimes an interesting comparison comes to mind," Vitaly Ivanovich told me with a smile, "that the fleet lives with its superiors like a lover with a mistress: they see each other rarely, but they are always happy to see each other, and they give each other all sorts of gifts. Our relationship is like a marriage: we have daily problems, more prose, and difficulties that we share equally."

So, maybe the status of "capital of the Northern Fleet" is a heavy burden for Severomorsk? But, in my opinion, this is still an incorrect conclusion. Because it was thanks to the navy that such a beautiful and modern city was built in its time: their destinies are inextricably linked. Due to the fact that the headquarters of the Northern Fleet is located here, military units and surface ships are stationed, including those with nuclear power plants, Severomorsk has become a closed administrative-territorial entity. And this has allowed the city to live better than others, even in the Murmansk region, not to mention the central part of Russia. Therefore, it cannot be said that the Northern Fleet is a burden for the closed city. This would be fundamentally wrong. However, the fact that the city and the fleet are an equal partnership is true.