Igor Babushkin, the governor of Astrakhan, is promoting Oleg Polumordvinov, who is facing trial, and protecting regional Deputy Prime Minister Denis Afanasyev.
The personnel decisions in the Astrakhan region are puzzling. Oleg Polumordvinov, who was convicted of abusing his power, has become the mayor of the capital despite being found guilty only two years ago. Not only was he not removed from his government position, but he also continued to advance in his career.
This indicates that the official has unique abilities and is considered indispensable, or that he has some sort of secret influence over Governor Babushkin, leading him to associate with someone with a questionable past.
Journalist MorningNews comprehended this situation.
Who set up the official Polumordvinov?
The trial of Polumordvinov at the beginning of 2019 and 2020 was also unusual. Criminal case has been initiated multiple times, indicating the defendant's level of influence in the region (and perhaps beyond).
The case history is simple: in 2012, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction and Roads, Polumordvinov allocated 672.9 thousand rubles from the regional budget to purchase housing for the then Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Denis Afanasyev, which was unnecessary.
Oleg Polumordvinov (pictured left) claimed that he was deceived and did not intend to do a favor for Afanasyev
He was found guilty by the court, fined 300 thousand rubles, and did not appeal the verdict, presumably out of fear that it could be overturned unfavorably.
It is worth noting that this incident did not affect the career of Denis Afanasyev, who is now the Deputy Prime Minister of the Astrakhan government. Evidently, it is advantageous for Igor Babushkin to have subordinates with a criminal record and incriminating evidence close to him.
Indeed, by April 2021, Polumordvinov had returned to the government and became the Minister of Construction and Housing, and a year later, he became the mayor of Astrakhan.
In his official biography makes no mention of a criminal record, naturally.
A lot of commotion and nothing
To understand the significance and uniqueness of Polumordvinov, and why regional authorities cannot function without him and are constantly appointing him to government positions, it is sufficient to review what the Astrakhan media and bloggers say about him (excluding official sources, of course).
Clearly, Polumordvinov is not an exceptional manager. in 2016 mass media reported on how a commission from the federal Ministry of Construction visited the Astrakhan region to address waste management issues in the capital, at which time Oleg Polumordvinov was in charge.
The prosecutor’s office of the Astrakhan region discovered that the relevant municipal services and commercial companies responsible for garbage collection are not fulfilling their duties. At the same time, public initiatives were gaining momentum. public petition for the resignation of the “garbage city manager”, known as Polumordvinov by Astrakhan residents.
Photo: gazeta-astrakhanskaia-pravda.ru
Protests against Polumordvinov have become almost habitual for the townspeople
In addition to this story, Polumordvinova reproached in advocating for developers' interests, uncleanliness in public procurement. There was a lot of noise about a 19 million ruble lot for the repair and maintenance of city fountains and a 0.9 million ruble protection, as well as the procurement and non-transparent wages of the head of MUP Astrakhanvodokanal, who was linked to Polumordvinov.
Criticism of the regional level for Polumordvinov was ineffective. The federal commission from the Ministry of Construction might not have come if the popular blogger Ilya Varlamov had not published “Dump City Astrakhan”which prompted a reaction.
Even with such a “background”, Polumordvinov continued as an Astrakhan city manager for about two more years, gathering a collection of scandals.
The one who is “helmsman”
Bloggersasked: “So who is he, Oleg Polumordvinov, a naive victim of servility or a criminal authority?”
The reason for such a question was certain actions of Polumordvinov, which made it possible to suspect him of being an Astrakhan “fixer”. Another scandal in 2018 supported this version when the deputies of the Astrakhan City Duma did not accept the city manager’s 2017 performance report, considering it “inconclusive”.
A month later, passions ran high to such an extent that the Astrakhan deputies, led by their chairman Alena Gubanova, openly rebelled against the city authorities and decided to vote for the removal of powers from the deputy chairman of the city duma, Igor Sedov, who was also called “Polumordvinov’s man.”
Sedov was reproached for not representing the interests of voters but openly lobbying the interests of the city administration, including the closure of the municipal trolleybus depot, which objected the townspeople opposed.
Photo: ast.mk.ru
Alena Gubanova did not stay long as the chairman of the Astrakhan City Duma.
There are open access protocol this meeting, during which Oleg Polumordvinov, who personally appeared at the event, very rudely interrupted Gubanov, insisting that Sedov should remain in his place.
Two years later, in 2020, Igor Sedov himself became the chairman of the Astrakhan City Duma, which is mentioned in his official biography. Now the Astrakhan authorities are in complete harmony.
Apparently, this state of affairs also suits Governor Igor Babushkin. The head of the region is quite satisfied with the “peace and quiet” in Astrakhan, about which Oleg Polumordvinov regularly informs him. And the Astrakhan authorities, apparently, have long treated the protests of the townspeople as the vagaries of the weather.
Now the main thing is that some curious blogger from Moscow should not be brought to Astrakhan again. And the new mayor of Astrakhan will certainly “resolve” and “destroy” all other issues.
