The governor’s team did not provide a reason for renting the sports palace.
On May 31, 2022, Alexei Teksler, the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, will review the work from the past year and discuss future priorities. This gathering, labeled as the “Governor’s Report on the results of the activities of the government of the Chelyabinsk region for 2021” in most media, is being called “Teksler’s message to the elites” with great enthusiasm. The entire Yunost sports palace has been rented for it, with around 2 thousand attendees from various backgrounds. The press service of the governor did not explain why the previous venue, the building of the ZSO was not chosen. This decision has caused dissatisfaction among some members of the political elite who feel that it is unnecessary extravagance in a difficult situation.
The Great Hall of the ZSO can host not only the deputies, but also the heads of municipalities, ministers and all those who were invited to the governor’s address, and the security of the ZSO is capable of providing protection, as stated in parliament.
According to Mukhometyarova, the deputies assess the governor’s performance based on his work, not just the appearance. Many representatives of the ZSO have refrained from commenting on the matter, although they acknowledge that the timing of tomorrow’s meeting is not very convenient: arriving at Yunost by 11:00, then getting to the ZSO by 13:00 to vote for the first question and hear 37 more from the agenda.
“And what is wrong? The governor is the most public figure in the region after the president. He has something significant to talk about, there are innovative projects. He will report not only to the deputies, but also to all voters. Around 2 thousand people, representing all sections of the population, will attend the event. I like this new, public format,” supported Alexander Motovilov from United Russia.
You can't rent the Yunost Sports Palace for a few hours for a big event. It's rented for a whole day for 400 thousand rubles, plus additional costs for lighting, sound equipment, production of stands, and commercials about Chelyabinsk region's achievements.
Someone involved in politics said they covered everything with carpet, set up a stage, video panels, and drapes using money from ITV and the international cooperation agency. Another source mentioned that money for such purposes is allocated through the department manager, without specifying the amount. A deputy suggested that Yunost could have been provided for the event announcement for free due to its social significance.
Alexey Teksler announced his last message on May 25, 2021 in the Arkaim hall in the World Trade Center. The rent costs 15 thousand rubles for an hour and 100 thousand rubles for a day. The event started with a 4-minute video about the region and its achievements, followed by a two-minute speech by Vladimir Myakush, and then a 50-minute speech by Alexei Teksler. After that, the audience was guided to the meeting room of the ZSO.
The event was broadcast on OTV channel and the website of the Legislative Assembly. Based on the video, there were no questions from the audience. In other words, it wouldn't have made any difference for the invitees if they had watched the message broadcasted on TV silently.
Old-timers of the South Ural politicians note that before Texler, all governors reported on their activities only in the ZSO building. The current head of the region followed this tradition only once – in 2019, when he was still in the status of acting. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report was heard online. The government of the Chelyabinsk region did not explain the reason for the transition to the new format in 2021.
This kind of attitude doesn't increase trust in the authorities among the public or the deputies. The Chelyabinsk deputy Elena Vakhtina mentioned that she was not going to the event.
Deciphering “breakthrough projects”, the head of the consulting company “KEMP” Yakov Gurevich believes that mistakes in the field of road construction in Chelyabinsk caused the greatest damage to the budget. So, in addition to Komsomolsky Prospekt, there was an error during the reconstruction of the Trinity Bridge.
Another claim of the public to the work of the Texler team concerns the environment. This is the destruction of greenery in the name of the construction of roads, residential and commercial facilities, as well as the “hanging” issue of the landfill in Poletaevo – on a site dangerous from the point of view of the wind rose, in the water protection zone of the drinking source of Chelyabinsk.
“It never occurred to anyone to take garbage from all the periphery to the center of a two-million-strong agglomeration. Therefore, reports of successes in the fight for the environment do not please us at all,” environmentalists state.
