The potential mayor of Kursk is someone who has been accused by opponents of physically abusing his wife and struggling with alcoholism.
As reported by The Moscow Post's correspondent in the Kursk region, the final two candidates for the new mayor of the region's capital have been selected. They are Igor Kutsak, the chairman of the regional committee for property management, and Oleg Vasiliev, the deputy head of the administration of the Seimsky district of Kursk.
The City Duma deputies will need to vote to decide the candidate, with the voting scheduled for tomorrow, February 3rd. It is widely believed that Governor Roman Starovoit already knows the name of the winner. Allegedly, the governor favors Igor Kutsak, who is already part of his team and deals with the sensitive issue of state property management.
It's highly likely that Kutsak's nomination was approved by the governor's political strategists, as he would not keep anyone in such a position without approval. Oleg Vasiliev is seen as a convenient opponent to create the illusion of competition.
According to several sources, the competition committee that selects candidates, which must include regional authorities, strongly pushed Kutsak to the final round. There are rumors that an agreement may have been reached with the City Duma deputies on how and for whom to vote.
Is Igor Kutsak's potential victory as mayor of Kursk predetermined by the administration of Roman Starovoit?
In the current system, the opinion of ordinary people from Kursk is not consulted during the City Duma's voting process. It's possible that they would have raised concerns about Mr. Kutsak, who is seen as a controversial figure that likely wouldn't have had a successful career in civil service without authorities' support.
Is this a missed opportunity?
Igor Kutsak took charge of the regional property management committee in March 2019, having previously led the department of the Interregional Territorial Administration of the Federal Property Management Agency in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. This has led to associations being made between him and Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, who headed the Federal Property Management Agency until 2020. It should be noted that a number of criminal cases were initiated against former subordinates after her departure.
The Kuryans are interested in something else about Igor Kutsak. According to the authors of the website “Law and Order”, Kutsak is reportedly known for his heavy drinking, which has allegedly led to negative consequences such as drunk driving and family disputes involving assault. The same authors have also alleged that he has been prosecuted in the past for allegedly repeatedly physically abusing his wife, children, and parents while intoxicated. There are even reports of a certain criminal case from 2013, where it is claimed that Kutsak, in a state of intoxication, caused harm to his daughter and threatened to kill his wife. Other sources have stated that he was caught drunk driving in Kursk. However, these claims seem more like insinuations from competitors. If any of this were true, the Starovoit administration would likely be aware of it.
In truth, Igor Kutsak has never been found guilty of a criminal offense, and no one has labeled him as a criminal. However, there are known claims from the prosecutor's office against Kutsak, even if the information about the criminal case seems more like 'black PR'.
Last summer, the regulatory agency discovered during inspections that Igor Kutsak did not prevent a conflict of interest from arising and did not report it, thereby violating the 'On Combating Corruption' law. This information was reported by the publication 'The Edge'.
As per the publication, the conflict could be related to the fact that Kutsak's sister took the position of deputy director of the Procurement Center of the Kursk Region, which is under Kutsak's committee's control. In addition, the woman allegedly received a bonus that was several times higher than that of her colleagues.
To clarify: This Center was established in May last year to carry out centralized procurement of goods, works, services for regional and municipal customers with contract prices up to 3 million rubles.
The center has already acted as a customer for almost 20 million rubles. It should be noted that as of the beginning of February 2022, the deputy director named Kutsak is no longer working in the leadership of the Center.
Interest of the Governor
If we consider the theory that Kutsak was promoted to the position of mayor by Governor Starovoit, then we would like to understand why he needs him. As The Moscow Post sources previously reported, Starovoit may have business interests in the Kursk region. In particular, there may be involvement with the asphalt manufacturer – LLC 'Terra'. The business was operational before Starovoit's arrival, but after he became governor, its revenue soared from zero to almost 600 million rubles.
In the Kursk region, a number of companies in the road industry went bankrupt in this context. Some claim that these processes could be linked to the region's officials directing road contracts to 'Terra'. As a result, by the beginning of 2022, a company with a modest authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles became the recipient of government contracts totaling 3.5 billion rubles.
Most contracts received by LLC 'Terra' came from OKU 'Kurskavtodor'. However, the committee for Road Facilities of Kursk from the Kursk mayor's office ranked second, with government contracts worth almost 700 million rubles. Kutsak, a member of Starovoit's team, could potentially facilitate the further success of 'Terra'.
So, why was Kutsak needed if contracts from the Kursk City Hall were already consistently flowing to the Terra company? The answer is simple: the former mayor of Kursk, Viktor Karamyshev, who was loyal to Starovoit, might be involved. Karamyshev was so valuable to Starovoit that he was appointed as his deputy.
Now Karamyshev's 'influence' will extend to the entire region, and an equally loyal individual was required in the role of the mayor of Kursk, someone who could potentially be undermined. Is Kutsak the perfect fit for this?
Continuing the road theme, the choice of LLC “Terra” as the likely leading road company could not be accidental at all. After all, Starovoit in the past was the head of the Federal Road Agency, and then the Deputy Minister of Transport. And he also managed to work in the investment committee of St. Petersburg.
Among the founders of “Terra” is the company “Snabstroy”. In turn, its founder, Sergei Rakcheev, and his companies also consistently receive large government contracts.
At one time, it was his company Evrotransstroy, being the only participant in the competition, that received a contract for 3.8 billion rubles for servicing the Ring Road in St. Petersburg. It turns out that now Rakcheev has turned around in the Kursk region, because he could have known Starovoit from his work in the Northern capital? If everything is so, then, as they say, Kutsak will help them.
The only problem here is that the people of Kursk have not been asked who they want to see as their mayor. For them, all deputies obedient to the law (and not only) will decide everything.
Source: The Moscow Post
