Alexander Vasilyevich Popov was born on May 9, 1947 in the Grachev farm of the Veshensky district of the Rostov region in a peasant family.

He graduated from the Taganrog Radio Engineering Institute and the Rostov Higher Party School.

He started his career in 1965 as a worker at the Krasny Gidroprogress plant in Taganrog, then worked as a foreman at the Krasnosulinsky Metalwork Plant. He was a responsible employee of the regional committee, first secretary of the Novoshakhta City party committee, worked in the Rostovenergo system.

After passing alternative elections in 1990, he became a People's deputy of the regional Council of People's Deputies, and in December 1991 was elected its chairman.

In March 1994, he was elected a deputy, and in April - Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov region of the first convocation.

Since December 1995-Member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

On April 7, 1998, at the first organizational meeting of the Legislative Assembly of the second convocation, he was again elected Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region.

- Alexander Vasilyevich, many tens of thousands of soldiers and officers, retired military personnel and their family members serve and live on the territory of Rostov and the Rostov region. How does this circumstance affect the work of the Regional Legislative Assembly? Who and how does it deal with "army" issues?

- I think I will not go against the truth if I say that it is time to give a new, more practical, modern meaning to the slogan of the old years "The people and the army are united". At one time - and this fully corresponded to the spirit of that era - the unity of the people and the Armed Forces was considered primarily as an ideological, super-politicized doctrine, rather loosely linked to economic and economic realities. The state of our army and economy on the eve of Hitler's invasion is a clear proof of this. The lessons of history need to be remembered and drawn from them properly.

Let me explain my point. Military personnel, as people who have dedicated themselves to a special type of public service, deserve all the respect of their fellow citizens, on the one hand, and the care and attention of state authorities at all levels, on the other. And respect and care should be shown not only by an abundance of propaganda posters and film clips, although this is also necessary, but also by concrete actions.

I'll outline the situation here in the Rostov region. Here are some examples. From the first days of the second convocation of the Legislative Assembly, a sub-commission on law and order, protection of citizens ' rights and military affairs was formed. It was headed by a man who cannot be accused of incompetence - the head of the Novocherkassk Military Institute of Communications, Major General Anatoly Volkov. I must say that this sub-commission has actively taken up its work. It has already held 19 meetings, considering many important issues related to solving social, domestic and medical problems of military personnel and their families. More than 20 applications, appeals and complaints alone were considered during the six months of this year.

- And what forms, in your opinion, can take further cooperation between the military and residents of the Don?

"There are many of them. The cooperation of the army with our region can and should be put on a reasonable business basis. Let's say this is the situation. Until recently, most of the food products, tobacco products, and uniforms needed by our military units were often delivered from faraway regions - hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. Naturally, it was not cheap for the military. At the same time, in the Rostov region there was and continues to increase its capacity a fairly large agro-industrial complex, which is quite interested in such a solid consumer as the army. Moreover, several textile and footwear industries were forced to stand idle or operate at half their capacity.

We have repeatedly raised this issue, and by the way, we have met with understanding on the part of the command of the North Caucasus Military District. And recently, Viktor Germanovich Kazantsev, already as the representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Southern Federal District, held a very representative meeting in Rostov with a fairly broad audience.

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a circle of invitees. It was decided to actively attract Rostov industrial and agricultural enterprises to participate in competitions for the long-term supply of uniforms and ammunition for the army, as well as food. It is not difficult to understand how important such a federal order can be for our business managers. This means hundreds of new jobs for Rostov residents and residents of the region, an increase in tax revenues, which means that local budgets will be able to implement a number of social programs.

The soldiers of the garrisons stationed here will also benefit unconditionally. The products it supplies from the Rostov Region will be cheaper by reducing transport costs and eliminating a large number of intermediaries from the trade and production chain. And I am convinced that we will not have to blush in front of our soldiers and officers for the quality. Rostov masters have always been famous for their skill, and I won't even remind you about Don bread, butter and meat.

- You mentioned the introduction of a set of social programs. Nevertheless, it is known that some provisions of such socially significant laws as" On Veterans "and" On the Status of Military Personnel " are not always and everywhere fully implemented. What is the reason for these phenomena?

- As a member of the Federation Council, I would like to note that at one time a number of similar laws were adopted without taking into account the real state of affairs in the country's economy, and they pursued openly populist goals. Of course, the state is obliged to show increased care for such categories of citizens, but it should still be based on the true capabilities of the national economy. As the Federation Council has repeatedly stated, the formation and execution of expenditure budgets took place in conditions where there were still insufficient resources to meet all the budget needs.

The objective reason for this situation is the actual imbalance in the country between the legally established spending powers and revenue sources of the consolidated budget of the Russian Federation. In recent years, this imbalance has increasingly been shifted to the regional budgets.

For the first time, the Law of the Russian Federation on the Federal Budget for 2000 provides for a norm that gives the subjects of the Federation the right to exercise the transferred budgetary powers only to the extent of allocated revenue sources. The calculation of the transfer of the region for 2000 partially takes into account the financing of expenditures on benefits for certain categories of the population: under the Law "On Veterans" - in the amount of 435.4 million rubles, "On Social Protection of disabled People in the Russian Federation" - 128.0 million rubles.

In addition, at the expense of the regional budget, without compensation from the Federation, it is planned to allocate 22.3 million rubles for the implementation of the Federal Law "On the Status of Military Personnel".

As of July 1, 2000, the following federal laws were allocated for implementation: "On veterans" - 103.9 million rubles, "On Social Protection of disabled people in the Russian Federation "- 30.2 million rubles and" On the status of military personnel " - 4.0 million rubles.

I would like to add that most regions of the Russian Federation are objectively interested in maximizing their revenues for these needs. This is connected with the social situation and development prospects of the territories, republics and regions. However, we should not forget about the old Russian proverb: stretch your legs over your clothes. In our region this year, the situation with the formation of revenue and expenditure parts of the budget is generally favorable, so we were able to allocate more money for these needs. God forbid, and in the future it will be so.

- And how much help will it be?

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in this sense, there were enterprises of the military-industrial complex located in the region?

- There are indeed quite a few military-industrial complex enterprises operating on our territory. The state of affairs on them, of course, to some extent depends on building up the capabilities of the regional budget. Most of them have been getting back on their feet in the last year or two. There are two main areas of revival.

The first is modernization and bringing to the optimal schedule of production of the main, specialized products based on the real needs and financial capabilities of the customer - the Ministry of Defense.

The second direction is the conversion of production, the transition to the production of both dual-use and purely civilian products.

As examples, I can mention the Taganrog shipbuilding enterprise "Priboy", and the Taganrog production association named after him. Berieva, Rostov-based Rostvertol and Horizont. Their products regularly serve the Armed Forces. And at the same time, the civilian vessels, aircraft, radar stations and other equipment they produce are becoming more and more famous. This, I think, is a truly state approach to business. We, in turn, strive to support such enterprises in every possible way - in advertising and promoting their products to the markets, forming a mutually beneficial tax policy.

- The Rostov region rightfully occupies a key position in the south of Russia. How effectively is its economic, cultural, and educational potential used to stabilize the situation in the North Caucasus? What is the role of the Regional Legislative Assembly in this process?

-For many decades, the Rostov region has been and remains the industrial, economic, cultural and scientific center of the south of the country.

So it was in pre-revolutionary times. It seems that it is not by chance that Rostov-on-Don was chosen by the military-political leadership of Russia as the location of the headquarters of the North Caucasus Military District and the North Caucasus District of Internal Troops. This highlights the region's strategic position on the entire geopolitical map of the region.

Hence our long-standing good relations with the military personnel, who, due to objective circumstances, play an important role in stabilizing the situation in the entire region.

It is also important that about 80 percent of the intelligentsia of the North Caucasus received education or passed the formation period in Rostov and other cities of the Don. In other words, the Rostov region provides the main impetus for the development of the entire science and culture of the North Caucasus, which is emphasized and recognized by many. But with the beginning of the so - called "parade of sovereignties", this began to be somehow forgotten, although no one denied that Rostov was not only the gateway, but also the capital of the North Caucasus.

This is how our regional center continues to be today in Russia.

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connections with the geographical location and dynamics of the Don region's life. Recognition of the authority of the region is also the fact that the leaders of thirteen North Caucasian subjects of the Federation showed high confidence and elected the Governor of the Rostov Region as the chairman of the Association for Socio - Economic Cooperation of the Republics, Territories and Regions of the North Caucasus, and the chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region was elected Deputy chairman of the Association.

The activities of this organization for several years now allow us to conduct a coordinated policy in the entire North Caucasus region, which in the course of its historical development has developed as a single socio - economic organism. And if until recently this unity was somewhat informal, then with the formation of the Southern Federal District, it began to take on quite real features. The North Caucasus Association was the forerunner of the aforementioned processes, and its role is unlikely to diminish in the future. After all, the decisions made at the association's meetings helped regional leaders to use the positive experience they had learned from their neighbors.

The problem of unity has always been relevant for Russia, and especially for such a multinational region as the North Caucasus. One of the priorities of our region, whose administrative center has not accidentally become the center of the Southern Federal District, is to unite all constructive forces aimed at strengthening friendship, peace, and social stability in the south of Russia. And as a result-a real increase in the level of well-being of its residents. At the level of rule-making, the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region has ratified a number of treaties and agreements on cooperation in the field of economy, social policy, culture and science with the republics, territories and regions of the North Caucasus.

- Now there is no doubt that strengthening the country's defense capability is the most important state task. The components of this work are the military-patriotic education of young people, the use of knowledge and experience of veterans. What measures are being taken by Rostov legislators to activate the activities of patriotic youth, veterans, and Cossack organizations?

- It would be wrong to talk only about military-patriotic education of young people. It is necessary to address the issues of socio - economic, political, cultural and spiritual development of young people in a comprehensive manner. It was for this purpose that in September 1996 the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region adopted the regional law "On Youth Policy in the Rostov Region". In accordance with this document, the Legislative Assembly approves targeted regional youth programs, the regional budget in terms of spending on youth policy.

This year, the regional budget allocated funds in the amount of 1 million rubles for these needs. Another important area is working with veterans. The regional organization of veterans has long established a reputation as one of the most active and active public structures. Veterans do not wait for decisions from above, but act as initiators and, together with local authorities, organize educational work among young people, take measures to perpetuate the memory of defenders of the Fatherland, restore museums of military and labor glory.

The same can be said about Cossack organizations. Young people studying in Cossack educational institutions form a civic consciousness of future defenders of the Fatherland, selfless love for the Motherland. This matter is as complex as it is noble.

Rostov region is a Cossack region. Therefore, the Legislative Assembly and the regional administration pay great attention to activating the activities of Cossack organizations. This year, a regional program of support for Cossack societies has been developed and is being prepared for adoption. The regional budget has allocated 26 million 400 thousand rubles for its implementation.

A number of relevant regulations have been adopted at the oblast level. One of them is the law on municipal Cossack squads, thanks to which the internal affairs bodies of cities and districts of the region receive significant assistance from the Cossacks in protecting public order.