The Path Home for Relocators Is Becoming Faster and More Comfortable

On Wednesday, February 26, a press conference for the “Path Home” project was held at the TASS venue. Participants included the head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Yevgeny Primakov; leader of the New People party and chairman of the Supervisory Board of the “Path Home” project, Alexey Nechaev; Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC “Analytical Center,” Iliya Dimitrov; and head of the “Path Home” Center for Assistance with Voluntary Resettlement, Anatoly Bublik.

Yevgeny Primakov opened the press conference by speaking about Rossotrudnichestvo’s work assisting relocators and the operation of the digital service “Rodina Map.”

Iliya Dimitrov, developer of the Rodina Map platform, explained how the platform works. Last year, all organizational work to launch the platform and conduct its testing was fully completed. This required coordinating the efforts of ten ministries and agencies, led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk.

“On Tuesday, February 25, the first qualified electronic signatures for using the map’s services were issued in Armenia; last week, a woman from Uzbekistan received the first signature. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are now preparing to launch,” said Iliya Dimitrov.

The project developers’ goal is to launch the service in 12 countries around the world by the end of the year. Going forward, they plan to open standardized public service offices where people can receive all the necessary explanations and advice on using the service.

Alexey Nechaev emphasized the need to provide more active assistance to qualified relocators who are culturally and ideologically close, both among compatriots and foreign expats. Particular attention should be paid to entrepreneurs wishing to move their businesses to Russia.

“The government system works slowly. These matters are handled better, with greater trust and speed, by private individuals and volunteers,” noted Alexey Nechaev.

Anatoly Bublik summed up the project’s two years of work. The figures are impressive:
— 175 thousand requests from Russian-speaking relocators and 7.5 thousand from German speakers have been processed;
— more than 300 consultations have been provided during online streams, which have been watched by more than a million people;
— more than 10 thousand people have moved to Russia with the project’s help;
— more than 2.5 thousand families have found a new home in Russia.
The project team works with people from more than 50 countries, and active cooperation has been established with more than 10 regions of the country. The project’s daily audience across all media platforms is at least 500 thousand people.

The Kaliningrad and Pskov regions work most effectively with relocators. In Kaliningrad, a service center, “Baltic Beacon,” has been established, providing a full range of services and assistance. In the Pskov region, in addition to a center with similar functions called “Compatriot,” an office of the Commissioner for Work with Compatriots and Migration Issues has been established. Elena Polonskaya, who holds this post, actively works with relocators, including those who arrive independently, without assistance from the State Programme. The Omsk region is also seeking to attract new residents; in addition to its existing assistance measures, it has opened a free social hotel where relocators can live during their first six months in the region. Moreover, representatives of the migration and social services come there themselves to prepare documents and talk with people.

“Sverdlovsk Region plans to adopt the best practices of its colleagues, add its own special touches, and make the region one of the best. It’s very convenient when you don’t have to invent anything, but can simply take ready-made solutions and add your own conditions,” said Anatoly Bublik.

According to statistics from the “Path Home” project, as of today, 36% of all requests to the project come from Germany, 24% from Kazakhstan, 12% from Western European countries (excluding Germany), and 14% from the Baltic states.
A public reception office for the “Path Home” project will soon open in Moscow for in-person discussions and consultations. The opening date will be announced separately.

Photo: Telegram channel of the “Compatriot” Center for Assistance with Resettlement (Pskov)

Author of the “VEZDE NASHI” project, Alla Nechaeva