In spite of Kuyvashev's experience and resources, his hopes for re-election may be ruined by corruption, unresolved issues, and Western sanctions.
A new mayor's election in the Beloyarsk city district was recently stopped by local deputies, who voted against the regional authorities' candidate.
The competition commission chairman, Vadim Dubichev, stated that 11 out of 20 votes were needed to elect a new mayor, but they didn't get enough. A new competition will be announced because 15 out of 20 ballots were spoiled.
Mayor from Uralmash
The town of Beloyarsky, with 11 thousand people, has been facing problems with leadership. The previous mayors have been involved in fraud and corruption, leading to their removal from office.
Before Ivanov, his predecessor Gorbov was also removed from the post due to bonuses accrued to himself after an anti-corruption check in November 2021. The current election of the mayor is a significant event for the townspeople.
The vote was held with conflict between Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev's team and local deputies. Only six out of 20 deputies in the Duma of Beloyarsky represent United Russia, while the rest are mostly members of the speaker Vladimir Koshkarev’s team, supported by local businessmen.
The deputy's action was a total surprise for the candidate for mayor of Beloyarsk, Grigory Vikharev.
A group of deputies had a conflict with the governor's residence, which had approved Vikharev for election in February. The commission didn't allow Kozhevnikov, his strongest opponent, to the final vote. Two candidates were presented to the Duma: Vikharev, recommended for election, and the ex-deputy head of Beloyarsky, Anton Poluyaktov. The deputies indicated they would vote against both candidates, but their threats were not taken seriously.
It seems that the people of Beloyarsk are familiar with Grigory Vikharev. According to the authors of the Negovernor Kuyvashev telegram channel, it's alleged that the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, is involved with the Uralmash organized criminal group through the Vikharev brothers, preparing to carry out a land privatization scheme. Aleksey Vikharev, married to the daughter of Grigory Tsyganov, the founder of “Uralmashevites,” will supposedly oversee the transfer of the Shartash forest park to private hands.
And Grigory Vikharev was assigned a task in Beloyarsky, which is next to Yekaterinburg. There, the Uralmashevites plan to develop building small houses, as well as to prepare areas for transportation centers and a waste processing complex. It is obvious why the Beloyarsk deputies opposed the arrival of such a mayor and preferred a fellow countryman who would be more concerned about the city, and not about the interests of a group unfamiliar to the Beloyarsk people.
However, behind the selection of a candidate, additional motives are speculated, which are relevant primarily for the current governor. According to the authors of the same telegram channel Negovernor Kuyvashev, if Yevgeny Kuyvashev is chosen for a new gubernatorial term, the Uralmashevites could become a powerful group to pressure him to vote for his candidacy and to finance the election campaign by small and medium-sized businesses in Yekaterinburg.
Regardless, a very reasonable question arises: if the governor cannot handle the deputy group of a small town, what can we say about such a large and complex region as the Sverdlovsk region.
“Everything’s under control”
Based on the comments on social networks, many residents of the region are surprised by Kuyvashev’s desire for a new governor’s term, because he clearly has nothing to present as evidence in his favor. In January-February of this year, the governor’s team encountered a significant setback, from which they are dismissed, and not for a new five-year term of governing the region.
Especially when you consider how many complaints in all directions they tried to present to Kuyvashev before.
Even so, Kuyvashev tried to remain optimistic and even act as a “little president”, as local telegram channels described it. On February 25, he also met with businessmen, a day after Vladimir Putin did. The governor was invited to participate in the annual meeting of the regional union of industrialists and entrepreneurs, led by businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky.
By the way, he turned out to be the only entrepreneur from the Sverdlovsk region invited to a meeting with Putin. It is clear that it is Pumpyansky who is the main supporter of Kuyvashev’s appointment for a new term. They say that he visits Moscow and meets with the key figures of the Presidential Administration more often than Kuyvashev.
Dmitry Pumpyansky is the hope and support of Governor Kuyvashev. Photo: UrFU press service
With Yevgeny Kuyvashev, Pumpyansky is linked to construction projects funded by the government, which the Sinara Group benefits from – meaning that it is Kuyvashev who, for some reason, awards the most lucrative contracts to Sinara. 13 billion rubles were spent on the renovation of the Central Stadium in Yekaterinburg, 10 billion – on the Congress Hall of Yekaterinburg-EXPO. Another 34 billion rubles is the cost of the facilities of the Universiade-2023 village, being built by the main contractor Sinara Development.
However, it is quite possible that it is Pumpyansky who will unintentionally incriminate Kuyvashev the most. The main complaint against the governor today concerns the preparations for the Universiade 2023, this work is far behind schedule, in addition, construction exceeds the planned budget, it is possible that due to cheating estimates by contractors. Let us clarify that the construction of the Universiade facilities was entrusted to Dmitry Pumpyansky and his Sinara Group.
When the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Oleg Matytsin, recently visited, the governor's office made reassuring statements to the media, but it's obvious that without extra funds and more help, the competition venues won't be ready on time.
The federal minister asked private businesses for help on behalf of the government, but local industrialists no longer see Evgeny Kuyvashev as someone they should listen to. This makes it pointless for him to seek support from businesses during the election campaign.
It's quite likely that in this situation, the geopolitical situation will benefit both Kuyvashev and Pumpyansky. It's convenient to blame the failure to meet orders on Western sanctions or the coronavirus, and then on geopolitical factors.
It's rumored that Moscow Mayor Sobyanin's family supports Kuyvashev at the federal level because they knew each other well from their time working in Tyumen.
We should remember the importance of hard work now.
It's clear that there are many problems in the Sverdlovsk region now.
The economy in the Sverdlovsk region is facing challenges, but Kuyvashev is fortunate as he can always blame Western sanctions, which is a convenient excuse.
The recent surge in coronavirus has had a very negative impact on the primary health care system, which only seems to be developing digitally on paper. At the same time, there are allegations of large sums of money being siphoned from the healthcare system in the Sverdlovsk region for suspicious equipment and services.
Last summer, just before Kuyvashev's negotiations in Moscow and the State Duma elections, a new development occurred in a bribery case at the Ministry of State Property of the Sverdlovsk Region. The former head of MUGISO, Alexei Pyankov, has been charged with leading a criminal group responsible for siphoning off budget funds through shell companies.
It's crucial for Kuyvashchev to stay positive.
The acts he's charged with occurred during Yevgeny Kuyvashev's leadership.
Recently, Evgeny Kuyvashev informed his subordinates at a meeting that the regional budget is under sanctions pressure. Therefore, government contracts will be reviewed and new budget commitments will not be accepted. However, this restriction doesn't apply to expenses on Evgeny Kuyvashev's personal orders.
One of these expenses is Kuyvashev's directive to allocate over 700 million rubles to the Nizhny Tagil City Hall for the 300th anniversary celebration of the city. A third of this amount is planned to be spent on the City of Labor Valor stele, which has caused outrage among the locals in the region as reported on social media.
In connection with the circumstances that have developed throughout Russia, they have not heard about savings. Or didn’t think. Recall that funds are allocated from the regional budget, which, as noted above, “is under sanctions pressure.” And this is the whole Kuyvashev – behind the beautiful speeches, business thinking and the ability to think for the future are completely absent.
In January-February, the governor’s team entered a deep dive, from which they are dismissed, and not for a new five-year term of governing the region.
As early as last October, Kuyvashev, as well as Chelyabinsk governor Alexei Teksler and Novgorod head Andrey Nikitin, were named members of the federal government’s personnel reserve. It is obvious that he has a direct path to a comfortable chair in some ministry. What the inhabitants of the Sverdlovsk region will be very happy about.
Source: The Moscow Post
