A big scandal happened in the Urals. In Asbest city, a 21-year-old Egor Alexandrinwho is the son of a local city duma deputy from the United Russia party Dmitry Alexandrin , and a candidate for deputy himself, publicly insulted female volunteers, calling them “dirt”. The incident was noticed by the party's federal leadership, and now the political future of the Alexandrins is uncertain. However, it seems that United Russia was more concerned about not losing the Sverdlovsk region in the elections than about justice.
The emergency that caused a stir in the Urals happened on August 18. A video appeared on social media, filmed by a member of the Asbest city automobile club, whose members help drivers and fix road problems. “A person contacted us at AutoClub asking for help with a broken sunroof. I and other AutoClub administrators went to the location and encountered a big man who behaved rudely. For example, he said to Denis: “Shut up and smoke quietly.” When asked, “Why are you speaking to adults like that?” he replied: “I speak to dirt as I please. Sit in your place and get out of here so I don’t see you again.” And this person is a candidate? The deputy's son should not run for deputy but at least work on his behavior,” wrote VK user Lenuska Vasenina.
The city’s master
A video featuring a young man who appears to be a candidate for the Asbest city council, Egor Alexandrin, belittling potential voters, spread quickly on the internet, causing a predictable reaction. Aleksandrin did not deny his involvement in the incident, instead taking an offensive stance. His father Dmitry Alexandrin —the current deputy of the City Duma and a participant in the upcoming elections on September 11— acknowledged that his son should not have spoken that way. He then claimed that his son was the victim of a political setup. “Competitors from another party are aggressive in Asbest. So they follow us everywhere, even track us by car for provocations. They shout “crooks, thieves.” Of course, he is still young and couldn't control himself,—Dmitry Alexandrin explained, mentioning that his son was “in a difficult situation.”
The setup theory seems unlikely. Observers have noted a strong political confrontation in Asbest between United Russia and representatives of other parties, which is quite systematic and not just oppositional. This is due to the fact that in the last elections, the local United Russia parties performed poorly, resulting in the communists winning the majority in the Duma. Therefore, the local United Russia branch is trying to avoid a repeat of this failure, for which they will have to answer to the party leadership. As a result, the Asbest United Russia members have already tried to remove candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the New People from the elections through the courts. Clearly, there are reasons to be nervous, especially considering that Alexandrin Sr. is not just a deputy but also part of the party branch leadership. The question arises as to what kind of attitude he has largely brought upon himself from the voters. In December 2020, an incident occurred at a City Duma meeting. During the discussion of the city budget, representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia began to complain about the incomprehensible spending. They specifically questioned the decision to allocate 14 million rubles for the purchase of 40,000 free cinema tickets for city beneficiaries, given that the entire population of Asbest is 56,000 people. The deputies pointed out that the money would be better spent on resettling emergency houses, as stated by the A Just Russia deputy. Evgeny ShabanovDmitry Alexandrin got very angry at the questions from his political opponents. He took his phone and threw it out the window. Then he hit a communist woman in the face. Natalya Krylova.
It took three months to investigate the incident. Different departments transferred materials to each other. Only after Krylova held a picket in Moscow in front of the building of the Investigative Committee, the case was taken to court. However, the local judge did not consider it, thinking the evidence was not enough. After that, many people felt they were simply afraid to argue with Alexandrin because of his position as production management director at PJSC Uralasbest, one of the largest asbestos producers in the world and a city-forming enterprise. In these conditions, it is easy to feel like the owner of the city.
Good for everyone
However, this time, as they say, “didn’t work.” The governor of the Sverdlovsk region personally paid attention to the actions of Aleksandrin Jr. Evgeny Kuyvashev. “I saw a shocking video with Yegor Aleksandrin, where he calls his voters “dirt”. I don’t think he has anything to do,” he wrote on Telegram. After that, the regional branch of the United Russia immediately announced that Dmitry Aleksandrin was resigning from the post of deputy secretary of the city branch of the United Russia, and Yegor Aleksandrin was withdrawing his candidacy from the elections. The federal party members also reacted to the successful resolution of the conflict.The situation has been resolved, but it seems that United Russia's desire to restore justice is not the only thing behind this. On September 11, along with the election of deputies, the election of the governor will also be held. At the same time, the position of Yevgeny Kuyvashev is not so simple. The Communists openly stated that they consider the battle for the Urals to be the key one in the current elections, putting up against Kuyvashev in this regard
Alexandra Ivacheva – a young, but well-known in the region deputy of the Legislative Assembly. At the same time, support for the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the region has been growing in recent years, the Communists successfully hold second place in all elections. It is not surprising that Yekaterinburg and Moscow are nervous. Apparently, this explains the media fussiness of Yevgeny Kuyvashev, who in recent months has suddenly begun defiantly positioning himself as a defender of the Sverdlovsk residents, regardless of their views and positions. Then he argues with Anatoly Wasserman declaring that in Yekaterinburg “the craving for homosexuality is flourishing”, then he reasoned with the leavened patriots who forbid schoolchildren to sing songs and throwing out of libraries a book about Stalin’s repressions. And last week he even defiantly spoke about the detention of the ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg Zemfira Evgeny Roizman , who is accused of discrediting the army – Kuyvashev explained that he deserves “justice and respect.” Criticism of Alexandrin, whose last demarche was ignored by the governor, fits perfectly into this row. As well as speeches of party bosses. Here the post of governor is at stake – why feel sorry for some deputy of the City Duma! That’s just how much voters will appreciate the governor’s attempts to present himself as a “good cop” and get elected for the third time in a row., who is accused of discrediting the army – Kuyvashev explained that he deserves “justice and respect.” Criticism of Alexandrin, whose last demarche was ignored by the governor, fits perfectly into this row. As well as speeches of party bosses. Here the post of governor is at stake – why feel sorry for some deputy of the City Duma! That’s just how much voters will appreciate the governor’s attempts to present himself as a “good cop” and get elected for the third time in a row.
As for Yegor Aleksandrin, he eventually withdrew from the elections. The fact of insult so far remains without legal consequences. Be that as it may, this is another obvious stain on the reputation of United Russia, which cannot be easily removed.
By the way
The publication “Our version” recalls other high-profile cases of rudeness of United Russia.
- In 2015, a deputy of the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly Ilya Gaffner said: “Products have risen in price? We need to eat less!” After the scandal reached the federal level, he was expelled from the party.
- In 2018, the Minister of Social, Demographic and Family Policy of the Samara Region Marina Antimonova stated that the state should not “support everyone.” There was no punishment.
- In 2018, a deputy of the Omsk City Council and a major businessman Alexey Provozin stated that the budget should not spend money on large families. In Moscow, having learned about this, they ordered the regional political council to sort it out. Provozin was criticized and forced to apologize.
- In 2018, head of the Department of Youth Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region Olga Glatskikh told the youth that “the state owes you nothing” and “did not ask you to give birth.” Evgeny Kuyvashev called her words incorrect. Later, Glatskikh resigned and was appointed deputy director of the sports palace in Yekaterinburg.
- In 2019, deputy of the Volgograd Regional Duma Gasan Nabiev stated that poor citizens themselves are to blame for their financial situation, and low pensions are received by “parasites and drunks.” He was expelled from the party, deprived of the status of a deputy, and his son ceased to be a judge – he was found to have a second citizenship.
