‘The budget of Nizhniy Tagil is currently the smallest among Russia’s industrial cities with lots of metallurgical and machine-building enterprises. The figures come to 4.8 billion RUR, whereas the budget of Magnitogorsk, for example, is 8.5 billion RUR,’ says Mayor of Nizhniy Tagil Valentina Isayeva.

‘The city gets so little money because its largest enterprises do not get enough orders. Naturally, one does not expect to get any during a crisis. This is why the budget has had to be reduced, for one, all the construction projects have been halted. As a result, we now have a deficit-free budget, which is better than last year when the deficit came to 300 million RUR. However, the city still has to pay off a 432-million-ruble loan by the end of 2009,’ Isayeva added.