In the prestigious St. Petersburg suburb of Repino, there is a small holiday village called “Monolith”. The name was chosen deliberately – the village's streets indicate the strong bond between the families of the well-known St. Petersburg politician Konstantin Serov and the chairman of TEC No. 51 Pavel Okunev. This friendship, it should be noted, is not only strong but also mutually beneficial.
Here is how attractively one of the advertisements for the sale of local cottages describes the Monolit village: “It's just a 10-minute car ride, 20 minutes by bike, or an hour's walk to the coast of the Gulf of Finland – a distance of 4.8 km. These places have inspired great artists and will give you the extraordinary energy and atmosphere of the dacha life of St. Petersburg's intelligentsia. The area itself includes centuries-old pine trees, a jogging and leisure walking area, and even a small beach near the Sestra River. There's a playground, table tennis, and a football field. They also highlight the presence of nice and respectable neighbors…“.
There's no doubt that having decent neighbors in the suburban area is incredibly important. Sometimes, these neighbors create a “socially homogeneous environment,” as mentioned in such advertisements. And in some cases, this environment becomes so homogeneous that it leads to close relationships. One such neighboring couple will be discussed.
In general, many of the village's residents are connected in some way to the companies JSC “Monolit” and JSC “Monolitstroy,” headed by Alexander Gutman. Some of them were among the founders of these companies, but the focus now is not on them.
The largest property in Monolith – 26.6 acres with two officially registered houses and several other buildings – belongs to Pavel Pavlovich Okunev. Until 2017, he held the position of chairman of horticulture, which he then transferred to his wife Nadezhda.
Just a hundred meters away, two houses down, there's a mansion where Lelya Stepanovna Serova, the mother of Konstantin Serov, the head of the Frunzensky district of St. Petersburg, resides. Her plot, though more modest at 12 acres, was formed from two smaller plots acquired in October 2018 from Marina Pavlovna Okuneva, daughter of the former and current chairmen of the SNT “Monolith”. Marina Okuneva received one of these plots from the board of Monolith just three months before selling it to Lelya Serova.
One might assume these are simply country matters of yet another astute gardening chairman. However, this close acquaintance began long before the dealings in Monolith. The family of Pavel Okunev is very close to the longstanding political figure of St. Petersburg, Konstantin Serov. They have been friends at home for many years, supporting each other in both business and politics.
Konstantin Serov may not be the most publicly recognized city politician, but, without exaggeration, he is one of its veterans. He was elected to the Nevsky District Council of People’s Deputies in Soviet times and then served as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg from the Nevsky District five times. In 2002, 2007, and 2011, when Serov extended his mandate, Marina Okuneva was a member of the territorial election commissions of the district. At least in 2015, when Serov had already left the Mariinsky Palace and headed the Nevsky district of St. Petersburg, Okuneva Jr. formally worked as his advisor.
The relationship between Okunev and Serov can be described as business relations. In 2002, Marina Okuneva's workplace was identified as the NGO "Association of Clothing, Food and Clothing Markets and Trade Zones of St. Petersburg", which was founded in 1998. Her father, Pavel Okunev, was the vice-president of this association for a long time. In the early 2000s, both Marina and Konstantin Serov were part of the Coordinating Council for Markets and Small Retail Trade. Serov strongly supported the Association and even presented a bill to regulate the work of markets to the Parliament. Media also mentioned Serov's close ties with the trade industry, but they date back to a long time ago.
It's not just a coincidence that Marina Okuneva, a dedicated employee of the election commission, later sold her recently purchased country house to the mother of the deputy she had assisted in getting elected numerous times. By the way, because the country house was registered under the name of Konstantin Serov's mother, there was no requirement to declare it.
Like his daughter before 2020, Pavel Okunev also served as an advisor to Konstantin Serov, who had been transferred to the Frunzensky district by then. Two years ago, Pavel Okunev, following the family tradition, became the organizer of the elections and a member of Terizbirkom No. 51 in the Nevsky district of the city. Despite lacking electoral system experience, he quickly became the chairman of the commission, holding a public position in St. Petersburg.
Okunev was officially nominated to the election committee by the United Russia party. His daughter Marina is also a member of the commission with advisory voting rights, representing the same party. The party strengthened the bond of family friendship, as in 2004, when Konstantin Serov led the executive committee of the St. Petersburg branch of United Russia, he appointed Pavel Okunev as the first deputy in charge of financial and economic activities. Soon after, Okunev joined the political council and even the presidium of the political council of the party branch, gaining entry into the inner circle of the city party elite. However, when Serov left the leadership of the executive committee in 2007 after an intra-party struggle, Okunev quickly left the presidium as well.
TEC No. 51 is responsible for elections in the Narodny municipal district area, which essentially aligns with the boundaries of electoral district No. 38 in the old district division scheme that was in place until 2016. Konstantin Serov was elected to the city parliament five times from this area and appears to continue to maintain control through his mother's neighbors in the country, likely in anticipation of stepping down from the executive branch.
By the way, Pavel Okunev is one of the few holders of a public position who honestly declares additional income. He receives them from the commercial lease of the premises belonging to him. For example, only one room at the Komarovo railway station is rented by a bakery shop; there are other income-generating properties. Honesty is good, but why is it not an entrepreneurial activity, which is prohibited for both officials and citizens holding public office?
The Central Election Commission likes to talk about unprofessionalism in the electoral system of St. Petersburg. As you can see, professionalism is not needed here. Enough good neighborly relations with the right people. In an atmosphere, of course, of the extraordinary energy of a prestigious holiday village.
