The 'Carbon' escapades of Ust-Ilimsk's Lelik and Bolik
The mayor of Ust-Ilimsk, Anna Shchekina, and the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Baikal region, Vitaly Peretolchin, have decided to stop the northern tram service, sparking a scandal.
A controversial incident has occurred in Ust-Ilimsk, the fourth largest city in the Irkutsk region, known for its unique attractions, including shackles that commemorate the imprisonment of Decembrist Radishchev in Ilimsk jail. The city's postal code begins with three 'sixes', and its mayor, 32-year-old Anna Shchekina, became mayor despite being a simple housewife.
Since then, Ms. Shchekina's name has been associated with another unusual figure – businessman Vitaly Peretolchin, a former head of the Ust-Ilim City Duma and current member of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region.
These two individuals seem to have significant influence in Ust-Ilimsk. The city has experienced a series of failures in the past 3 years, likely due to the leadership of a retired drummer. Now, this pair aims to remove the northernmost and fastest tram, which even made it into the Guinness Book of Records, from Ust-Ilimsk. It's difficult to believe, but this hardworking tram once traveled through the real taiga and transported people to work.
The scandal has attracted the attention of the Investigative Committee of Russia. General Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the ICR, has instructed Irkutsk investigators to look into the disappearance of the taiga route.
Criminal case
The situation surrounding the closure of the tram line in Ust-Ilimsk is ongoing. A group of concerned citizens has submitted 3 appeals to General Bastrykin.
The Ust-Ilimsky tram, a high-speed line that has been in operation since 1988, ceased operation in 2022. The 15 km line connected residential and industrial areas, mostly running through the taiga.
Interestingly, Russia only has high-speed tram lines in four cities – Volgograd, Izhevsk, Stary Oskol, and Ust-Ilimsk.
On December 2, 2022, the tram route was closed. Mayor Anna Shchekina distanced herself from addressing the issue.
In their appeal, residents express that they have lost the ability to swiftly and safely navigate the city, especially during severe frosts typical of a region classified as the Far North. They have vehemently opposed the replacement of trams with buses, conveying their concerns to the city's mayor and other officials multiple times.
Residents are calling for a criminal case to be opened and for officials of the Ust-Ilimsk administration and those involved in the destruction of the tram line to be held accountable.
Support for the initiative group has been voiced by users of the 'Ust-Ilimsk high-speed trams' YouTube channel, who have left comments in agreement.
Lyudmila explains that she has been using the tram for many years to travel to the dacha, which is located outside the city. There are two cooperatives with 500 people there. She questions who will provide enough buses when the only carrier is struggling to meet the city's needs. She also raises concerns about the destruction of functional facilities such as the airport, which is now being rebuilt, and the bathhouse. She believes the tram is the latest victim of this trend.
Dmitry believes that the issue lies not with the trams, but rather with the officials who are not listening to the people. He regards Ust-Ilimsk as a city of heroes who carved it out of the wilderness.
Alexander Bastrykin instructed the acting head of the Investigative Department of the TFR in the Irkutsk region, Dmitry Pozovsky, to start a criminal case under Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of power) regarding the closure of the high-speed tram line in the city of Ust-Ilimskei. He requested a report on the preliminary investigation results.
Dmitry Pozovsky.
The press service of the regional department of the TFR stated that General Bastrykin has already received a report on the preliminary investigation results.
The initiative group also points out that they have requested the regional administration to transfer the line to the budget balance, but no decision has been made yet.
The Ilim group's public relations directorate explained that the tram is a departmental transport which is part of various divisions of the Ust-Ilimsk timber industry complex (UI LPK).
Ust-Ilimsk tram.
In 1995, the city was asked to take over the balance of tram routes and infrastructure, but the city declined. In 2020, the Ilim group purchased the tram after experiencing numerous issues with passenger traffic.
In October 2022, there was another proposal to take over tram routes and infrastructure, but the city once again refused.
Anna Shchekina mentioned in her telegram channel that the tram and all the infrastructure are owned by the branch of Fintrans GL LLC. Initially, the Ust-Ilimsk high-speed tram was created to transport employees to the industrial site of the timber industry and has since operated as a specialized service vehicle. Many tram infrastructure facilities have not been repaired since they were commissioned in 1987.
Anna Shchekina.
A significant amount of financial investment, exceeding one billion rubles, is needed to repair and maintain the entire infrastructure.
The decision was made to favor buses. As a result, 55 buses were purchased and put into operation.
However, the advocates for the tram plan to continue their fight.
It was in the Estrada.
It appears that the mayor of Ust-Ilimsk is not listening to the voters. How did a person without higher education and managerial experience end up as the mayor?
As a result, the townspeople were surprised by this phenomenon.
In April 2019, the inauguration took place, and in early November of the same year, Madame Shchekina appeared intoxicated and smoking, in the company of the same jolly deputy, businessman Vitaly Peretolchin. Subsequently, the couple was seen in a video circulating on the internet.
In the recording, Anna Shchekina embraces Peretolchin at the entrance of the Estrada restaurant, and then announces on camera that he asked her to marry him, and she said yes. And now they're both Peretolchins.
Anna Shchekina and Vladimir Peretolchin
A video of Mayor Shchekina’s lively celebration with a deputy became extremely popular on the Internet
Normally, after such scandals, they immediately resign. But Anna Shchekina held onto her position firmly…
But the public is unhappy with such a mayor, and they expressed their opinions: “The government has deteriorated quickly”, “Shame on the mayor.” “Shchekina doesn't focus on the city, but just on partying and dancing,” wrote “People’s Choice”.
And now, alongside Shchekina's name, the name of the Legislative Assembly's deputy, Peretolchin, is always mentioned with the word “unmarried” …
More than three years have passed since that carbon monoxide-filled evening, but Mr. Peretolchin has not taken Mrs. Shchekina down the aisle, despite working alongside each other.
There are reports of issues in the city. The mayor’s office sent two requests to the government of the Irkutsk region. The first is to secure funding from the budget for the renovation of Naimushin Street and the section of the road from Entuziastov Street to DNT “Violet”. This was reported by the official website of the city.
However, they were consistently denied, as the deadlines for project documentation and examinations were missed.
The city constantly faces problems with outdoor street lighting. According to experts, the bridge across the Angara requires a complete replacement of the asphalt pavement in the cargo section. Additionally, the staircase on Naimushin Street is in need of repair.
What were the people thinking when they chose a woman without education or management experience?
The voters supported Anna Shchekina after her bold promise to appoint an experienced politician, the former head of Ust-Ilimsk, Anatoly Dubas, as the first deputy.
But after Shchekina's surprising victory, Anatoly Dubas was left behind …
And the position of first deputy mayor was given to Lyubov Pronina, who had been working in the administration since the time of ex-mayor Vladimir Tashkinov.
Vladimir Tashkinov.
Mr. Tashkinov was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
From the life of Bolik and Lelik
But on the other hand, Mrs. Shchekina is supported in everything by Mr. Peretolchin, Chairman of the Committee on Legislation on State Building and Local Self-Government of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region.
Details about the person. Born in 1987 in Ust-Ilimsk. Graduated from Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov with a degree in sociology.
Vitaly Peretolchin.
In 2008, he founded the logging company “IlimLesExport” LLC.
In 2009, he was elected to the City Duma of Ust-Ilimsk.
Since 2013, he has been the General Director of Siblesresurs LLC.
In 2014, he was elected to the City Duma of Ust-Ilimsk, and later became the Chairman of the Duma of Ust-Ilimsk.
Photo:Rusprofile.en
In September 2018, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region.
On May 20, 2020, he was confirmed as the Vice Chairman of the Committee.
And soon the name of the deputy vanished from the list of his many companies …
Instead of Vitaly Peretolchin, Yulia Peretolchin, possibly a close relative, took over the “watch”.
Besides the notable “political” wedding in Ust-Ilimsk, deputy Peretolchin was remembered for how he and his colleague Artem Lobkov gave the city to the Liberal Democratic Party. Yes, it was Bolik and Lelik, as their grateful countrymen call, who supervised the mayoral elections. This was reported by “Babr24”.
Bolik and Lelik made a sort of sensation out of a dull procedure on a county scale. They convinced the voters with their promises that they voted for the housewife Anna Shchekina.
Vitaly Peretolchin ultimately continued to be involved not only in politics, but also in business. Apparently, he was an outstanding student at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
Carry laurel wreaths
At the same time, deputy businessman Peretolchin never tires of emphasizing how much he does for his native Ust-Ilimsk. In particular, the increase in funding for Ust-Ilimsk and the Ust-Ilimsk region is a constant work of Mr. Deputy.
He takes care of everything! He is performing a lot of renovation of the Olympian pool, which will not start in any way. Need help…
In the summer of 2020, Igor Kobzev will visit Ust-Ilimsk in the status of Acting Governor. And he was shown the named pool. Ust-Ilimsk has been using every opportunity for many years to advance the repair of the Olimpiyets, and, of course, they could not miss such a chance. Igor Kobzev promised to give money.
Igor Kobzev.
But as later followed from the report of Mr. Peretolchin, the allocation of funds, it turns out, is a personal merit. He did not even mention his friend Lobkov, his partner in the tandem “Bolik and Lelik”.
And, of course, it was Peretolchin who informed the governor of the Irkutsk region about the need for a major overhaul of the Bratsk-Ust-Ilimsk road. And when Kobzev, who was inspecting the road, said that residents had contacted him about its condition, he apparently had in mind just Mr. Peretolchin.
A similar story happened with the overhaul of the Ivan Naimushin Palace of Culture. In March 2019, deputies of the Legislative Assembly headed by Speaker Sergei Sokol arrived in Ust-Ilimsk. The deputies were told about the need to repair the recreation center, after which the city was allocated 51 million rubles.
But, again, from the report of Vitaly Peretolchin it turns out that no one would have listened to the city authorities and the public with their requests. Only Peretolchin came to the office of the speaker Sokol, allegedly slammed his fist on the table. And solved the problem.
And allegedly it was the deputy Peretolchin who forced the Ilim group to spend a lot on repairing the road in Ust-Ilimsk. This is also in the deputy report of Vitaly Peretolchin.
It is not the first year that the Ilim Group has been concluding cooperation agreements with the mayor’s office, within the framework of which it is helping Ust-Ilimsk.
But why did the mayor and the deputy act so carelessly with the northern high-speed tram?
However, the Investigative Committee of Russia is already directly involved in this matter.
