Public discussion on the accession of Ruba to Vitebsk is nearing completion

Although legally and territorially the settlement, with a population of seven thousand people, is located in the Vitebsk region, administratively since 1997 it has been part of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Vitebsk. The situation is contradictory and does not comply with the current Law of the Republic of Belarus of May 5, 1998 "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Belarus".

Thus, the addresses indicated in the passports of Rubov residents start the same: Vitebsk region, Vitebsk district, urban-type settlement Ruba, but the document that is most important for any resident of the country is issued and obtained at the Citizenship and Migration Department of the Internal Affairs Department of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Vitebsk. Local students attend secondary schools No. 15 and No. 9, located in Ruba and Verkhovye within the district, but subordinate to the Department of Education, Sports and Tourism of the administration of the Zheleznodorozhny district. Healthcare facilities are also municipal property, and Vitebsk Housing and Communal Services is responsible for servicing the housing stock.

In addition, urban public transport has been operating in the settlement for a long time – bus No. 26 and route taxi No. 42, which has led many to finally consider themselves "urban" residents. However, for example, some took out housing construction loans at preferential "rural" interest rates, and the local governing body in the settlement is still the Rubo Settlement Council of Deputies, and its higher authority is the City Council of Deputies.

– Taking into account all these circumstances, the current legislation, and the opinion of the citizens, it is necessary to finally determine the unified administrative-territorial status of the urban-type settlement Ruba and the settlement Verkhovye: either the city of Vitebsk or the Vitebsk region. This will allow for the unification of management in various spheres of public life support, and to address issues of the socio-economic development of the territory more promptly, purposefully, and comprehensively.

During the discussion, about 800 citizens approached the settlement council, and all of them unanimously spoke in favor of joining Vitebsk. Residents of the settlement could also express their point of view in writing and send it to the city council of deputies or to the e-mail address of the city executive committee.

The results of the public discussion will be summarized later, but I don't think the results will surprise anyone: the majority will still be in favor of merging with the regional center," says head of the settlement council Andrey Burdo.

We ask Andrey Borisovich how the lives of the population will change if the decision is made to administratively and territorially include Ruba in Vitebsk.

– Ordinary residents will hardly notice this. The situation that has developed in practice will be officially and legally legalized. The only significant change, in my opinion, is that the settlement council will be abolished as unnecessary, and its functions will be transferred to the competence of the administration of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Vitebsk," believes the chairman, adding that the issue of Ruba's status can only be settled after the adoption of the relevant regulatory legal document.

Natalia Kamleva, "Vitebskiye Vesti".