The Investigative Committee of Russia continues to find extraordinary cases in the second largest city in the Chelyabinsk region.
The investigative department of the TFR for the Chelyabinsk region recently started a new criminal case against officials of the administration of the city of Miass based on the results of the prosecutor’s office inspection. This case is about abuse of power.
Investigators claim that in 2021, officials of the Miass city district administration did not consider an application from a participant in an art object installation competition, even though their project was much cheaper.
Recently, investigators searched the administration of Miass due to a scam with land plots of the Solnechnaya Dolina ski complex. There was also a previous criminal case for abuse of power related to payment for outstanding work, resulting in an estimated damage of 1.6 million rubles.
The whereabouts of the Governor are unknown at the moment. Alexey TekslerWhy is he not reacting or speaking out?
It's worth noting that three mayors of Miass ended up in prison lately. The last one, Gennady Vaskov, built a shopping center instead of the Umka kindergarten, which immediately started to deteriorate.
The current mayor, Gennady Tonkikh, gained notoriety for suing residents complaining about water with a foul smell. They accused him of impotence, and the mayor filed a lawsuit. Miass seems to have many anecdotal stories!
This is confirmed by the reporter. The Moscow Post in the Chelyabinsk region.
Criminal “heart”
The controversial art object in the shape of a heart, leading to officials facing scrutiny, was placed on March 8 Street near the Brigantina Palace of Culture.
Miass residents were surprised by the high price of the “heart” and felt that its location obstructed the view of the recreation center “Brigantina.” They also didn't understand the designer’s ideas.
Officials explained that the installation of the art object “Double Heart with the City” is part of the plan to improve the pedestrian zone on 8 March Street. The work on the installation of the “Double Heart” has been completed, and a bench will appear near the “love” monument soon. The object cost 448 thousand rubles after the auction.
The Miass administration, together with the contractor, decided to use stainless steel rivets instead of self-tapping screws for higher strength. They also chose a more durable material for the bench, replacing the planned coniferous bars. Initially, they intended to install the art object in front of the registry office building, but due to heavy traffic, they placed it near the Brigantina Palace of Culture.
The district administration told reporters that the art object is meant to help people relax and relieve stress and tension from everyday life. They also said that the heart symbolizes love for the hometown.
The price of the “heart” was inflated by 2 times, showing different priorities.
The officials presented a simple design to the city at a high cost of almost half a million rubles.
The city could have bought the art object for a much cheaper price, but officials chose a simple design without trying to find a cheaper option, costing the city 489,000 rubles.
The investigating authorities and the prosecutor’s office found that the officials may have overpriced the art object and did not accept a lower offer, leading to a criminal case for “Abuse of official authority.”
There's an ongoing investigation related to the situation.
The former vice-mayor, Vasyl Soroka, who used to work at the ski center, is facing another criminal case.
Vasily Soroka, who has been involved in various business ventures, is under suspicion for fraud related to land plots near the ski resort he previously managed.
Mr. Soroka is suspected of fraud related to land plots near the ski resort. Security forces searched the mayor's office of Miass as part of the investigation.
A criminal case was opened under the charge of “Abuse of office.” “Sign”.
Investigators visited the ski resort and conducted interviews as part of the investigation into the illegal alienation of land plots in 2016.
A photo of Vasily Soroka.
Authorities believe that the sale of the land plots was illegal and violated the city's General Plan, as well as regulations related to the land category.
The plots are within the second protection zone of the underground reservoir and should not have been sold privately. Mr. Soroka is facing a potential 10-year prison sentence.
An article discussing support for mothers with many children.
Recent scandals have become more frequent among Miass officials.
The city authorities faced criticism for using treasury funds to purchase contraceptives for mothers of large families, which they explained as a support measure for women struggling with alcohol abuse. “TVNZ”.
Later, there was a big scandal involving the local deputy Vyacheslav Otkin. He rudely and insultingly responded to a local resident on social media.
Vyacheslav Otkin. Image by Nail Fattakhov, Znak.com
The woman did not stay quiet and went to court. The deputy faced an administrative case for insulting and was fined 2 thousand rubles by the court. However, Otkin probably wasn't too concerned as he soon gained permanent residency in the United States. This was reported “Sign”. Went to Hawaii for a vacation.
Mopping the sick patient's face.
We can't forget the shocking incident in Miass City Hospital No. 2, where a cleaner wiped her face with a dirty mop. The video went viral and sparked public outrage. A Ministry of Health commission even visited Miass, leading to the dismissal of the hospital's chief physician Denis Makhankov.
Denis Makhankov. Image: “City of Miass”
However, Oleg Makhankov, the father of Denis and the chief physician of the regional Hospital No. 3, strongly disagreed with this decision. It's more accurate to say he was furious. He promised his inner circle that he would use the court and the prosecutor’s office to reinstate his son. This was reported “Media Factory”?
In Miass, the influential Makhankov family has connections with the security forces. The media suspected a plot against the Makhankov family in this case. There were speculations about who was behind it. There was also information suggesting that the Makhankov family was pushing the boundaries in their pursuit of financial gain. The scandal transcended the initial incident between the cleaner and the patient.
The moment when the patient's face was wiped with a mop. Image: “Kopeysky worker”
It was soon revealed that Vitaly Lopin, the prosecutor of the Chelyabinsk region, had ordered an investigation into contracts at Miass Hospital No. 2, which were awarded to companies close to the head physician Denis Makhankov's family.
Oleg Makhankov. Image: AiF-Chelyabinsk.
As a result, the prosecutors uncovered many interesting findings. There were so many that Denis Makhankov never returned as chief physician. Furthermore, Oleg Makhankov also stepped down from his position as the chief physician in the regional Hospital No. 3 of Chelyabinsk.
Regarding the foul odor of rotten eggs
Finally, attention turned to Grigory Tonkikh, who became the head of Miass in 2018 after his predecessor Gennady Vaskov was arrested. There is great criticism of Mr. Tonkikh, possibly because his three predecessors faced various challenges and scrutiny…
A resident of Miass, Dmitry Lazarev, also has criticisms of Tonkikh. On his Vkontakte page, Lazarev posted criticisms of the mayor, accusing him of being ineffective. This was reported by “TVNZ”.
Residents in two districts of Miass are dealing with poor-quality tap water: the water from hot taps has a foul odor of rotten eggs.
Grigory Tonkikh. Image: IA “First Regional”
The city government promises every year to fix the situation, but the measures do not work. The head of Miass seems to want to solve this problem, but he can’t. Grigory Tonkikh complained to the prosecutor’s office about the public insult.
In the Big Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language, edited by Dmitry Ushakov, there are two lexical meanings of the word impotence: sexual impotence, and in a figurative sense – spiritual infertility. However, the mayor of Miass did not understand the intricacies of vocabulary. He appealed to the supervisory authority with a demand to bring the author to justice.
In relation to Dmitry Lazarev, an administrative case was opened under the article “Insult”. The maximum punishment is a fine of 3,000 rubles.
“There is a survey of Miass residents on my social network page,” Dmitry Lazarev writes. no one has been writing complaints for a long time. But the problem is 10 years old, and during this time no one has solved it. People simply do not believe that the city authorities will help them … ”
And so Dmitry Lazarev wrote his scandalous post.
It remains only to ask the governor Alexei Teksler – does he know how people live in Miass? And why are there so many criminal cases in this wonderful city? Cheerfully, with a twinkle, the city of Miass lives. With such sophisticated officials as in Miass, you definitely won’t get bored!
