Irkutsk Region may become the first merged constituent entity of Russia to adopt a regional law on the territorys special status. At a roundtable in the Legislative Assembly they discussed what this document should be for the Ust Ordynsky Buryat District, from increased funding and social infrastructure development to creating separate bodies for key areas. The participants emphasized that the law should formalize the fulfillment of promises made prior to the merger, and that it will be submitted for public discussion.

Irkutsk Oblast will be the first unified constituent entity of the Russian Federation to adopt a regional law on the special status of a territory. This was stated by Svetlana Praskova, head of the Legal Information Department of the Institute of Legislation and Legal Information of Irkutsk Oblast, during a round table on the topic “The Special Status of the Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug,” held in the Legislative Assembly of Irkutsk Oblast.
Deputies of the Legislative Assembly, heads of district administrations of the Ust-Orda Okrug, as well as representatives of public organizations took part in the round table. Boris Alekseev, chairman of the committee on legislation on state building and local self-government of the Legislative Assembly, noted that the need to draft a bill on the special status of the okrug had become urgent. “The third chapter of the Charter of Irkutsk Oblast should be embodied in a regional law,” he emphasized.
Deputy of the Legislative Assembly from the Ust-Orda Okrug Oleg Kankov noted that the concept of special status should have been developed as early as possible. “After the merger, the okrug was, as it were, hidden inside Irkutsk Oblast,” he said. “The territory remains subsidized and is financed on a residual basis. For example, under the presidential decree, 15 socially significant facilities were supposed to be built in the okrug, but only two of them were built.”
Member of the Public Chamber of Irkutsk Oblast Sergei Boskholov proposed creating structural subdivisions in the territory of the okrug to oversee education, culture, sports, and agriculture. “It is possible to create an agricultural cluster in the okrug, on the basis of which neighboring agricultural territories will also develop,” Boskholov noted. “This point needs to be specified in the law we plan to adopt.”
In addition, Sergei Boskholov noted that a serious mistake was made during the drafting of the Charter of Irkutsk Oblast—the number of deputies from the okrug in the Legislative Assembly was reduced to one. Boris Alekseev said that the law on the special status of the Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug should be formulated in such a way that all the promises made before the merger of the okrug with the oblast are fulfilled. The deputy also noted that before the bill is submitted to the Legislative Assembly, it will be presented for public discussion.