Despite Kuyvashev's experience and resources, his hopes for re-election may be ruined by corruption, ongoing issues, and Western sanctions.
A recent attempt to elect a new mayor in the Beloyarsk city district was obstructed by local deputies. They defiantly challenged the regional authorities who wanted to appoint their candidate for mayor.
The competition commission chairman, Vadim Dubichev, stated that 11 out of 20 votes were needed to elect a new mayor, but they didn't obtain enough votes. A new competition will be announced due to the majority of votes being spoiled, which is seen as a form of sabotage by the deputies.
Mayor from Uralmash
Beloyarsky, a small town of 11 thousand people, has been struggling with leadership issues. The previous mayor, Mikhail Ivanov, was removed from office after being involved in land fraud. His predecessor, Andrei Gorbov, also lost his post due to an anti-corruption check.
Ivanov's predecessor, Andrei Gorbov, was dismissed after an anti-corruption check revealed that he had awarded himself bonuses over two years. Therefore, the current mayoral election is significant for the townspeople.
The vote for the team of Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev was unofficially held in conflict with local deputies. The Beloyarsky Duma is not under the residence's control, with only six out of 20 deputies representing United Russia. The rest are mostly part of speaker Vladimir Koshkarev’s team, supported by local businessmen, who want to see Alexander Kozhevnikov as the city's head.
The deputy's unexpected move surprised the mayoral candidate Grigory Vikharev. ura.en
A group of deputies clashed with the governor's residence, which had agreed on the election of Vikharev back in February. Kozhevnikov, his strongest opponent, was not allowed to the final vote, leading the deputies to believe the commission unfairly excluded him. As a result, two candidates were presented to the Duma: Vikharev, officially recommended for election, and the ex-deputy head of Beloyarsky, Anton Poluyaktov, who was an obvious “spoiler”. The deputies had already indicated that they would vote against both candidates, despite not being taken seriously.
It seems that the people of Beloyarsk are familiar with Grigory Vikharev. According to the Negovernor Kuyvashev telegram channel, the governor of Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, is allegedly connected to the Uralmash organized criminal group through the Vikharev brothers, and they are planning to carry out a land privatization scheme. Aleksey Vikharev, married to the daughter of Grigory Tsyganov, the founder of “Uralmashevites”, is presumed to oversee the transfer of the Shartash forest park to private ownership.
Grigory Vikharev was assigned a duty in Beloyarsky, near Yekaterinburg. The Uralmashevites plan to develop cottage construction and prepare sites for logistics centers and a waste processing complex. The Beloyarsk deputies opposed the arrival of such a mayor and preferred a fellow countryman who would prioritize the city's interests over those of a group foreign to the Beloyarsk people.
However, there are additional motives behind the nomination of a candidate, particularly relevant to the incumbent governor. According to the authors of the same telegram channel, Negovernor Kuyvashev, if Yevgeny Kuyvashev is nominated for a new gubernatorial term, the Uralmashevites could become a power group to compel him to support his candidacy and finance the election campaign through small and medium-sized businesses in Yekaterinburg.
Nevertheless, a valid question arises: if the governor struggles with the deputy corps of a small town, how can he handle such a large and complex region as the Sverdlovsk region.
“Everything’s under control”
Based on comments on social networks, many regional residents are surprised by Kuyvashev’s desire for a new governor’s term, as he evidently lacks compelling reasons in his favor. In January-February of this year, the governor’s team encountered significant challenges and are not being dismissed for a new five-year governance term of the region.
Especially considering the numerous criticisms presented to Kuyvashev before.
Despite this, Kuyvashev tried to maintain a positive demeanor and act as a “little president,” as described by local telegram channels. On February 25, he also met with businessmen, a day after Vladimir Putin did. He was invited to participate in the annual meeting of the regional union of industrialists and entrepreneurs, led by businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky.
He turned out to be the solitary entrepreneur from the Sverdlovsk region invited to a meeting with Putin. It is evident that Pumpyansky is the primary guarantee of Kuyvashev’s appointment for a new term. It is rumored that he visits Moscow and meets with key figures of the Presidential Administration more frequently than Kuyvashev.
Dmitry Pumpyansky is the hope and support of Governor Kuyvashev. Photo: UrFU press service
Pumpyansky is linked to construction projects at the budget expense with Yevgeny Kuyvashev, particularly regarding the Sinara Group – receiving the highest monetary contracts for unknown reasons. The reconstruction of the Central Stadium in Yekaterinburg cost 13 billion rubles, 10 billion was spent on the Congress Hall of Yekaterinburg-EXPO. Another 34 billion rubles is the cost of the facilities of the Universiade-2023 village, constructed by the general contractor Sinara Development.
However, it is possible that Pumpyansky may inadvertently frame Kuyvashev. The main complaint against the governor today concerns the preparations for the Universiade 2023, as the work is significantly behind schedule and the construction exceeds the planned budget, possibly due to contractors manipulating estimates. It is worth noting that Dmitry Pumpyansky and his Sinara Group were entrusted with the construction of the Universiade facilities.
When the Minister of Sports from Russia, Oleg Matytsin, visited, the governor made reassuring statements to the media, but it's clear that without extra money and help, the competition venues won't be ready on time.
The federal minister asked private businesses for help, but local industrialists no longer see Evgeny Kuyvashev as someone worth talking to. He won't get any support from them for his election campaign.
It's likely that in this situation, both Kuyvashev and Pumpyansky will benefit from big geopolitical events. It's convenient for them to blame Western sanctions or the coronavirus for their failure to fulfill orders.
There are rumors that Moscow Mayor Sobyanin's family is supporting Kuyvashev at the federal level because they know each other well from their work in Tyumen.
We should remember the hard work and skills of labor.
There are many problems in the Sverdlovsk region.
The economy of the Sverdlovsk region is in a tough situation. Kuyvashev can always blame Western sanctions, a convenient excuse for everything.
The new wave of coronavirus has had a very negative impact on the primary health care system, which is only developing digitally on paper. It's also alleged that security forces found channels for withdrawing hundreds of millions of rubles spent on suspicious equipment and services for medical institutions.
Last summer, just before Kuyvashev's negotiations in Moscow and the elections to the State Duma, a new development occurred in a criminal case on bribery in the Ministry of State Property of the Sverdlovsk Region. Alexei Pyankov, the former head of the MUGISO, was charged with creating a criminal group that allegedly withdrew budget funds through shell companies. RBC reported it.
The most important thing for Kuyvashchev now is to stay positive.
He is charged with acts that took place when Yevgeny Kuyvashev was in power.
Recently, Evgeny Kuyvashev informed his subordinates that the regional budget is under sanctions pressure. Due to this, government contracts will be reviewed and new budget commitments will not be accepted. However, this doesn't apply to expenses on Kuyvashev's personal orders.
Among these expenses is Kuyvashev's recent instruction 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 intended for the City of Labor Valor stele, which has caused outrage among the region's inhabitants, as reported on social networks.
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
