Capacity of the municipalities

Agryzsky District

On the map of Tatarstan, the Agryz district stands out for its bizarre shape. As if from a mycelium, it grows from the Nizhnekamsk reservoir up to the North, in some places narrowing within the boundaries of up to 3 km, and somewhere again spreading out and cutting into neighboring Udmurtia. At the very top of the "mushroom" is the district center of Agryz, a town with 19 thousand inhabitants, a major railway junction. 

 Reference. Agryz district was first mentioned in the census books of 1646 as a small village with only six courtyards. According to legend, Tatars moved here from the vicinity of Kazan after its capture by Ivan the Terrible. The name supposedly comes from the name Agerj – was the name of one of the settlers. Agryz received the status of a city in 1938

 The railway has been setting the tone in the city for more than a hundred years, since 1915 Every day, the Agryz marshaling yard passes through more than two hundred trains in four directions, including to the Urals. Children here fall asleep to the sound of wheels and dispatchers announcements. The railway tracks run right in the middle of the city. The peculiar smell of the railway is a complex mixture of creosote, solar, and fuel oil permeated the surrounding streets. But the residents of Agryz do not complain, but faithfully serve their main breadwinner Russian Railways JSC8. Its structures employ more than a quarter of the city's population. Russian Railways (RR) provides a third of all tax revenues to the district budget and is considered the city-forming enterpris of Agryz.

Who needs Agryz cows? 

 In contrast to its locomotive rattling center, the rest of the Agryz district is a quiet corner of the North-East of the Republic with an agricultural gradient. 60% of the area is given over to land in the district, and all of them are not idle. For the most part, cattle, cows, and pigs are raised here, but grain crops are also grown – rye, wheat, and barley.

 Even 13 years ago, the agricultural sector of the Agryz district was dying – farms were in ruins, fields were in desolation. But a major investor came – the TA holding company, and a new life began in 47 localities of the Agryz district. The established agricultural firm repaired livestock farms, purchased Swedish milking equipment, updated the fleet of agricultural machinery, and started building not only a new Elevator but also houses for workers and specialists. Under its wing – 80 thousand hectares, which is 74% of the agricultural land.

Agryz district is one of 11 districts of Tatarstan, where the holding company AK BARS launched investment activities. And this is clear evidence of the existence of large-scale state support for agriculture in Tatarstan (The main shareholder of the holding is the government of the Republic of Tatarstan). But the residents of Agryz, despite such abundant assistance in the agricultural sector, live by the principle: “The state helps those who help themselves”, that is, they actively develop farming. Therefore, the share of the private sector in the structure of gross agricultural output in the region is 45%. This is a serious figure. 

 Favorite areas of Agryz farmers are beekeeping and dairy farming. The latter is a priority. 80% of the peasant farms operating in the region are engaged in cattle breeding. It would seem that with such data, Agryz beef and milk should long ago become a brand and be sold out throughout the Republic, especially since the ecology in the area is wonderful, and there is no doubt about the purity of the products. But while farmers sell their products to dealers, no one knows about them. To unite and create a strong agro-industrial cluster that would connect all participants in the process – farmers, producers, processors, service, and trade enterprises – this goal is spelled out in the Strategy of socio-economic development of the Agryz region until 2030 There are all the prerequisites for achieving this goal in Agryz, and most importantly, these are inspiring examples of successful enterprises that are growing steadily and attracting small businesses.

How to “catch” HACCP in Agryz 

 Mikhail Batanov started the business with resale. Together with partners, he bought live cows from farmers and sold them to meat processing companies. Three years later, they purchased a long-abandoned meat processing plant in Agryz and leased several specialized trucks for transporting livestock. They quickly built up all production processes, and since February 2011, the Agryz meat processing plant has officially started its work. In seven years, the meat processing plant has grown from one direction – slaughtering of livestock to a full cycle – cutting, deboning, manufacturing, and deep freezing of semi-finished products, packaging. Products (and they are sold mainly in bulk to large meat processing plants and state institutions) are distributed not only in neighboring regions but also to Moscow and beyond the Urals. The company's annual turnover exceeded 1.3 billion rubles.

The District Executive Committee considers the meat processing plant the locomotive of the economy of Agryz. “Today it is the only major industrial center in the district. These are the employment of the population, legalization of wages, timely receipt of funds to the local budget, deductions to the social insurance Fund, and the Pension Fund. This is an index of industrial production - an indicator of the development of the district is growing due to it,” says Ruslan Ivanov, Deputy Head of the Executive Committee of the district for property and economic issues. 

 But the trick of the Agryz meat processing plant is not in the pace of its development, but in the way it does it. For example, four years ago the company implemented the international quality management system HACCP (from the English HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points – risk analysis and critical control points). Under this system, food production is controlled at all stages, including storage and sale. An enterprise operating under HACCP must carefully monitor not only its products, but also demand the same from suppliers, auxiliary systems, and commercial enterprises. HACCP not only guarantees a high quality of products but also opens up world markets for the Agryz meat processing plant.

 However, the company does not hurry with deliveries abroad but prefers to tighten the environment first. At the initiative of the meat processing plant and with the support of the authorities, an industrial site “Agryz - Development” appeared next to the enterprise a year ago.

 Reference. An industrial site at the municipal level in Tatarstan is a geographically separate complex of real estate objects that creates favorable conditions for doing business. Residents of industrial sites engaged in the manufacturing sectors of the economy, the production of new products, and the introduction of advanced technologies receive state support for the purchase of equipment or compensation for interest on loans.

 The meat processing plant, which became the first resident of the industrial site, doubled its tax deductions to the budget in a year – up to 20 million rubles, and is now busy searching for other participants. Mikhail Batanov, General Director of the Agryz meat processing plant, believes that everyone will benefit from this activity in the end: “What is an industrial site at the municipal level? This is, first of all, a point for the development of local business, in this case, meat production, an opportunity to improve the business climate, and therefore strengthen the economy of the Agryz district, ensuring its financial self-sufficiency.

 You couldn't say better. We can only add that this is the third industrial site in the Agryz district, and there are 34 of them in Tatarstan.

 Who will open the Agryz “Klondike”?

 Buying Alaska a hundred and fifty years ago, the USA authorities did not even assume that huge treasures were hidden in its depths. In the eyes of all participants in the transaction, it was a harsh Northern region, which is expensive and difficult to settle and maintain. But in the same year, gold was discovered in Alaska, and in the coming decades, prospectors washed up in the Klondike River valley about a thousand tons of this precious metal.

 The land of the Agryz district also contains potential treasures that can lead it to future prosperity. There are oil fields, peat, and a lot of construction resources-limestone, marl, clay, and sand. And most importantly - this is a land of natural resources, with an excellent climate, the most humid and cool in Tatarstan. A significant area of the district - 6% - is considered protected. It is a natural complex reserve “Kichke-Tan” with its numerous lakes, “Complex pinewood” with fabulous forests of southern taiga type, the unique Krasnoborsky geological section, which emerged in the glacial period, the floodplain of the Kyrykmas River.

The Izh River, which flows through the district because of its unique water composition, is also considered a natural monument. Some of the multiple tributaries of the Izh are simply priceless, for example, the spring in the Bimskoye settlement, which recorded an increased content of silver ions. “Silver” water is actively used in medicine as an excellent bactericidal remedy. 

 Another treasure of the Agryz district lies literally under feet, it has long been used to advantage by the neighboring region. This is the therapeutic peat mud of the Tabarlinsky field. The Udmurt village of Varzy - Yatchy is only 30 kilometers from the Tatarstan Taberle, but unlike it, the whole country knows Varzy- Yatchy because of the sanatorium of the same name. People have been coming here to be treated with mud and mineral waters for more than 120 years, and the peat mud in the “Varzy -Yatchy” sanatorium is still used from the Tabarli Deposit. This mud is also in demand in other health facilities, for example, in a sanatorium in Naberezhnye Chelny, where it is taken 140 kilometers away. So the construction of a mud-baths, or rather a multi-specialty health and recreation resort, using, among other things, the unique mineral waters of the region, in the Agryz district is long overdue.

 Not far from the sanatorium, near the Nizhnekamsk water reservoir, in the village of Krasny Bor, a ski complex, tourist and fishing bases could be located – all that a tired citizen values so much and is ready to pay for. Head of the investment development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan Taliya Minullina believes that recreational tourism in the Agryz district is the future: “The development of this territory requires significant investments, and they will pay off not earlier than in five years. But if you use effective marketing strategies, the project can be very profitable.” It's up to the experienced and far-sighted investor.

 Mission: to revive the Boby case

 A rare tourist who comes to Tatarstan will get to the Agryzsky district. And Kazan residents, who are so fond of going to a neighboring city for a weekend vacation, are unlikely to choose Agryz for this purpose. But this is temporary. Because as soon as the history of The Izh-Boby madrassa becomes known and popular, there will be flows of tourists from all over the country, especially from regions where Islam is widespread.

The Tatar village with the Udmurt name Izh-Bobya at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries thundered throughout the Russian Empire as a center for training teachers, scientists, and cultural figures of the Turkic peoples. In 1895, Gubaidulla and Abdulla Nigmatullins, the sons of a local Mullah, took a new surname at the place of residence – Boby opened a madrassa of the same name with an unprecedented level of education for a provincial village. In addition to Islam, the shakirds (students) studied mathematics, physics, history, philosophy, French and Russian. Russian, Polish, and Finnish Tatars, Bashkirs, Kirghiz, and Kazakhs came to study at the “Boby Madrassas”. There was also a six-year school for girls, organized by sister Mukhlisa Bobinskaya. In practice, it was the first Tatar women's gymnasium where girls studied Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Russian languages, mathematics, history,
geography, chemistry, biology, and basic sanitation. The history of the Boby educational center ended abruptly after the brothers were arrested in 1911 and wrongly accused of spreading pan-Islamic ideas, and the madrassas were destroyed. 

 In modern Izh-Bobye, several buildings related to the history of Boby have been preserved – a mosque, a house of brothers, the estate of a merchant who supplied money to the madrasah, his shop, and a barn. All this is waiting for a generous patron who understands the need to revive the traditions of national enlighteners and is ready to restore the famous madrasah. In the future, the history of Boby will give an impetus to the development of cultural and educational tourism in the area. “At first sight, investments in cultural and educational tourism do not seem to be profitable for private investment, - says Talia Minullina. “But over time, it will become one of the key tourist destinations in the Agryz region and will bring its dividends.”

In modern Izh Bobye, several buildings related to Boby's history have survived - the mosque, the house of brothers, the manor of a merchant who supplied the madrasah with money, its store, and barn. All this awaits the generous patron of arts, who understands the need to revive the traditions of national educators and is ready to restore the famous madrasah. In the future, the history of Boby will give impetus to the development of cultural and educational tourism in the area. “At first glance, investments in cultural and educational tourism do not seem profitable for private investment, - says Talia Minullina. - But over time, it will become one of the key tourist destinations in the Agryzsky district and will bring its dividends”.

 

5 ideas for small businesses in the Agryz District:

1.  Production of peat pots for growing sprouts or organic fertilizers – there are significant deposits of peat in the area.  

2.    Spill of branded mineral water – there are many mineral springs, including unique “silver” water.

3.    Organization of weekend eco-tours to nature-protected areas of the district.

4.   A network of rental points for tourist equipment (tents, kayaks, bicycles, etc.). 

5.    A waste collection and recycling company (PET bottles and electric power), including a network of recycling points. 

3 facts about modern Agryz

1.  In Agryz there is a local radio broadcasting at a frequency of 106.6Fm. “Radio Agryz” is a mega-popular radio and, according to the Executive Committee, is listened to by 90% of the district residents. 

2.  Two natives of Agryz occupied prominent positions in the Government of Tatarstan for a decade. Born in February 1968, Airat Farrakhov was Minister of Health of Tatarstan from 2007 to 2013 And his age-mate Ildar Khalikov (three months older) served as Prime Minister of the RT9 for seven years - until 2017 Both of them come from intelligent Agryz families. Farrakhov was born in the family of a doctor and teacher, Khalikov's parents are teachers. 

3.  In September 2018, Agryz won a grant of the nationwide competition of projects to create an urban environmentin small towns and historical settlements and received 55 million rubles for the reconstruction of the park “Oreshnik”. The project of the park was discussed by the entire city, and Valery Makarov, the head of Agryz municipal district, traveled personally to defend it at the contest. Photo: “Oreshnik Park”.  . Фото: парк Орешник

Источники фото: putdor.ru, photogoroda.com, headsgroup.ru, tatarnews.ru, vc.com, abh.ru, agrizmk.ru, fotki.yandex.ru, 2morya.ru, komanda-k.ru, realnoevremya.ru