MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. The experience of the Murmansk Region to develop social spaces under the Sopki brand, where families exchange experience and young people can be engaged in creativity and sports for free, may be effective across the Arctic, the Murmansk Region's Deputy Mayor Elena Diaghileva told TASS after a presentation at the 5th Forum of Social Innovations.
"The Sopki ('hills' in English) social space is an effective form to improve the quality of life in the regions, especially in the Russian Federation's Arctic zone with many settlements in hard-to-reach places, with closed military garrisons. Normally, such municipalities lack leisure facilities. The Murmansk Region addressed this problem in 2021, and we can share our experience with other Arctic regions," she said.
What are Sopki?
The idea to develop such social spaces was initiated by local residents at meetings with Governor Andrei Chibis and on social media - to have comfortable and free places for leisure. These aspirations were formalized in the regional plan, where the residents can choose priority development areas. The key task is to offer opportunities to young northerners to make the Murmansk Region more comfortable and attractive for living, and this is equally relevant for other regions in the Russian Arctic zone.
The first Sopki appeared in 2021-creative spaces for the youth; and a year later - modern gyms, where the northerners aged up to 35 can play sports for free. In 2023, the first three family centers will open in the Murmansk Region, where visitors can relax, discuss parenting issues and receive advice from various specialists. The regional authorities have united all these initiatives under the Sopki brand.
"Sopki are created at ready sites and do not require much time or big investments - just six months and between 5 and 10 million rubles ($50-100 thousand). Compare it with newly organized sports and recreation complexes that require from 400 million to 1.5 billion rubles ($4.1 - 15.5 million) and at least 18 - 24 months. By the end of the year, we will have more than 40 such social spaces - "Sopki", "Sopki. Sports", "Sopki. Family". We have organized one Sopki. Sports hall in the Zaporozhye region, which we sponsor," she said.
Role of social spaces in small towns
Spaces of the kind are very important in sparsely populated, hard-to-reach municipalities and closed garrisons in the Arctic, the deputy governor continued. Especially popular in such municipalities are Sopki. Sports. Since the first sports spaces were opened in November 2022, more than 50,000 people have visited them. About 14,500 people living in the North are regular visitors of Sopki. Sports.
"We can see the feedback from local residents. Especially from small settlements where there are no big sports facilities. Sopki. Sports take just 50-100 square meters. Moreover, a unified approach is applicable not only to branding. We have a single color scheme, these spaces should be recognizable in any locality. It is also a single set of sports equipment, strength and cardio equipment, to make sure every municipality has what the other may have," she said, noting the Sopki spaces are fully maintained at city budgets' expense.
Family space in one spot
A separate focus is on those who live in closed military garrisons - the military personnel and their families. They are about 30% of the Murmansk Region's population. For them, the region has organized Sopki. Family spaces, ordered by Governor Andrey Chibis. Thee spaces now work in three municipalities: in Murmansk, Severomorsk and Alexandrovsk. The choice was not incidental: very often in military garrisons young mothers, being far from family and friends, suffer a lack of communication and need support.
Sopki. Family invite mothers with their children. Kids attend educational classes, and moms can meet with teachers, social workers, doctors, psychologists and other specialists. Families of the special operation participants receive support, when a young mother may leave the child with a teacher to consult a curator," the deputy governor said.
Sopki. Family offer weeks of family law and social protection, mother and child health, educational and developing leisure, culture and local history. This family space is an opportunity for young families in the region to get promptly a turnkey solution without big transformations of the social sphere or large-scale investments, she added.
"The Sopki project is developing, we receive new requests from the residents. The project's idea is a quick solution to requests, so that our young families feel supported, and young people could be busy and could have a good rest with health benefits. At the same time, wishing to live in the Murmansk Region, which is located fully within the Russian Federation's Arctic zone," she said in conclusion.