People in the Ryazan region are still demanding Governor Lyubimov's resignation, this time because of another scandal involving public procurement in the region.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post in the Ryazan region, it seems that Governor Nikolai Lyubimov continues to allow excessive spending on bureaucracy. Another costly renovation of the local regional Duma building is being carried out with his silent approval, while there isn't enough money to install windows in a rural school. Is Lyubimov valuing officials and deputies more than the well-being of children?
On March 21, a tender for the next round of repairs on the Ryazan Regional Duma building was posted on the public procurement website. It was revealed that about 18 million rubles will be spent on fixing peeling paint and removing dampness near the drainpipes, as well as repairing the rotunda balcony. Governor Nikolay Lyubimov seemingly supported the idea of spending millions from the budget, as he and the deputies need to approve the regional budget, including funding for the governor's activities. Is he turning a blind eye?
Lyubimov doesn't appear to be bothered by the fact that the Duma building has been undergoing frequent renovations. For instance, a heated roof was installed in 2019, costing about 16.8 million rubles from the regional budget, as reported by “New Newspaper”. In comparison, the authorities allocated around 1.8 million rubles for repairing the roof of a regular Ryazan apartment building. The facade where the Duma is located was repaired at the expense of the regional budget in 2013, the newspaper noted. “Side view”.
School in a sorry state
Amidst this excessive expenditure on themselves, it is ironic to learn that officials couldn't fully install new windows at Napolnovskaya secondary school in the Ryazan region. This revelation came during the public report of Sarajevo district's administration head Viktor Voronkov, as reported by the newspaper. “Side view”.
Nikolay Lyubimov. Photo: TASS / Alexander Ryumin
Governor of the Ryazan region, Nikolai Lyubimov, was absent from the event. It seems that ensuring the well-being of children is not a priority for the governor. The event was only attended by the head of the main veterinary department of the Ryazan region, Lyudmila Gavrikova.
Gavrikova praised the fact that window installation had started at the village school as a 'significant achievement.' However, she didn't acknowledge that the windows had not been fully installed. Funding was insufficient for 31 windows in one go, which is a substantial amount for a small rural school. Nevertheless, a regional government official termed Voronkov's report as 'positive.' It appears that Lyubimov and his subordinates are content with the idea of children enduring the cold until officials manage to secure funding, likely less than half a million rubles, to complete the window installation.
Local rumors suggest that the deputy governor Roman Petryaev seemed upset about budget constraints for glazing windows in schools in the Sarajevo region. The official questioned the need for windows in school sheds, suggesting that plywood or roofing material would suffice. This caused some indignation, as the deputies don't deal with such construction matters.
The government and governor Lyubimov seem concerned about the threat of stray dogs biting people in the region. The prosecutor's office highlighted in December 2021 that the handling of stray animals by municipalities is not effectively regulated by the Main Veterinary Medicine Directorate of the Ryazan Region. was foundThe Main Veterinary Medicine Directorate of the Ryazan Region does not effectively oversee the control of municipalities in managing stray animals. However, it's unlikely that dogs pose a threat to the governor's people as they are scarcely seen roaming the streets.
The Dream Team
Nikolai Lyubimov recently had to dismiss his deputy Mikhail Semenov due to his involvement in illegal hunting, as reported on October 12, 2021, by the “New Newspaper”. This led to the termination of Semenov's employment contract, allegedly due to breaches related to access to state secrets. reported Nikolai Lyubimov terminated the employment contract of his deputy Mikhail Semenov on October 18, 2021, after Semenov was found guilty of illegal hunting, as reported on October 12 of the same year by the “New Newspaper”. “New Newspaper” reported that Semenov was involved in illegal hunting and shot a moose weighing about 300 kg. Despite this, Governor Lyubimov claimed on his social network page that Semenov's contract was terminated due to several breaches related to access to state secrets.The dismissal of Igor Grekov, another vice-governor of the Ryazan region, was even more scandalous. He was fired on January 28, 2021, and became known to the public during a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 17, 2020. “VKontate” Governor Lyubimov cited the dismissal of Igor Grekov, another vice-governor of the Ryazan region, allegedly due to several breaches related to access to state secrets. This followed Grekov's participation in a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 17, 2020.
During a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 17, 2020, a woman held up a sign reading “I’m pregnant” and then praised Grekov for reportedly saving seven lives during a fire at an ammunition depot. She asked the president to recognize Grekov's actions, despite claims that he did not actively participate during the fire.
A photo of Igor Grekov can be seen on ryazannews.ru.
During a press conference, a woman praised Grekov for his actions during a fire at an ammunition depot and asked the president to recognize his efforts, despite conflicting reports of his involvement in the incident.
It was later revealed that Igor Grekov had a criminal record, which prompted Governor Lyubimov to part ways with him. “Kommersant” reported that a namesake of the former vice-governor Grekov was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud and selling adulterated vodka in 2001. It was discovered in December 2020 that a person with the same name as the former vice-governor Grekov had a criminal record, which led to his dismissal from the government. RBC.
Recent revelations about Igor Grekov's criminal record likely prompted Governor Lyubimov to dismiss him from the government. Governor Lyubimov's government claimed that when Igor Grekov was hired, it was believed that he had no criminal record, despite evidence to the contrary..
The government of the Ryazan region asserted that when Igor Grekov was employed, it was thought that he had a clean record, despite the later discovery of his criminal history. Additionally, in 2017, the laws were amended to allow the governor to appoint deputies without the consent of the deputies.
In 2019, Sergei Pashkevich, deputy head of the administration of Ryazan, was arrested in a criminal case on a bribe. This was reported by “Russian newspaper”. “Russian newspaper”Pashkevich is the third person involved in the case connected to the Ryazan municipal enterprise “Children’s Food”. Alexander Dvoretsky, the director, was arrested in October 2018 for taking a bribe of 1.1 million rubles from a supplier. Later, charges were filed against Alexander Zaikin, a former adviser to the head of the city administration, as specified by Rossiyskaya Gazeta. All of this happened under the governor Lyubimov.
Lyubimov had a strange position in the conflict between the administration of Ryazan and the Novo-Ryazan CHPP. It turned out that this CHPP sells heat at a slightly lower price than similar plants in other cities, but the end consumer, Ryazan, gets the same heat much more expensive from the reseller – MUP “Ryazan Municipal Heating Network Enterprise” (RMPTS) – compared to residents of other Russian cities. Lyubimov seemed to be fine with that.
During the same press conference with Vladimir Putin, supposedly independent journalists tried to present this conflict in a way favorable to Lyubimov and his subordinates. Journalist Anton Nasonov, editor-in-chief of the 62.Info publication, complained to the president about unfair treatment for criticizing the activities of the Novo-Ryazan thermal power plant. At the same time, the actions of Alexandra Bezukladova, the wife of a government employee of the Ryazan region, and Anton Nasonov were noticeable at the press conference.
In fact, it seems that they tried to involve President Putin in the conflict around the Novo-Ryazanskaya CHPP and make him support Lyubimov. It is unlikely that the president appreciated such an obvious manipulation of his opinion.
Considering everything that happened, it is quite logical that for 5 years the inhabitants of the Ryazan region managed to form a clear idea about the current governor and what kind of people he gathered around him. One popular Internet site even started collecting signatures for the resignation of Governor Nikolai Lyubimov and “his entire retinue.”
However, gubernatorial elections have already been scheduled for September 11, 2022. So the inhabitants did not have long to wait. Whether they will support him after all these scandals is a big question.
Source: The Moscow Post
