Residents of Uglich really want Anatoly Kuritsin to leave his position. They feel he has dragged the entire district into a "bog" for 5 years.
Residents from Uglich reached out to The Moscow Post and expressed their surprise at seeing Mr. Kuritsin, who they refer to as their "brake", as a candidate for the head of the Uglich municipal district (UMR). They feel the district has fallen into a "pit" under his leadership and they are consistently lagging behind. They believe Uglich, with its unique history, has many opportunities.
The inhabitants of Uglich hope that the new leader of the Yaroslavl region, acting Governor Mikhail Evraev, will address chronic issues such as broken roads, a neglected social sphere, and destroyed industrial enterprises. They also hope he will bring the Yaroslavl province to the forefront.
The reporter looked into the details of what was happening, including around district "emperor" Kuritsin. The Moscow Post in the Yaroslavl region.
Concealment of income information
Recently, another negative aspect of Mr. Kuritsin has come to light. It seems he concealed information about his spouse's income.
In late January 2022, State Duma deputy Anatoly Greshnevikov received a response from the prosecutor’s office of the Yaroslavl region, stating that the district head did not report his wife's income from the sale of products from her personal subsidiary plot.
The inter-district prosecutor made a report to the chairman of the Uglich municipal district regarding this issue. The matter is currently under review.
The same document was received by the chairman of the Uglich Duma, Anatoly Kuprin. The prosecutor's report must be brought to the attention of the deputies.
He was supposed to make it public.
But Mr. Kuprin did not do so!
Anatoly Kuritsin has been leading the Uglich municipal district for the past 5 years."
It appears that candidate Anatoly Kuritsin is applying for the position of head in violation of anti-corruption laws?
According to public activists from Uglich, Kuprin and Kuritsin do not want members of the selection election commission to know about this document. They are making efforts to keep the prosecutor’s paper from coming to light before the elections.
According to anti-corruption legislation, failure to provide or providing knowingly false and incomplete information about income, expenses, property, and obligations of an official and their family members may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal due to loss of confidence.
Kuritsin versus Dorian Gray
However, the people in the Uglichsky area were not very surprised by the prosecutor's report about Ms. Kuritsina's hidden income, as there had been previous complaints about Mr. Kuritsin. The most controversial situation recently has been about a hiking trail in a park in the center of Uglich.
We are referring to the project 'The Picture of Dorian Gray,' which is a shopping area on the riverbank. It provided work for the people of Uglich and souvenirs for tourists. However, the Uglich authorities suddenly decided to relocate this zone to the backyards.
Project 'Portrait of Dorian Gray'. Photo from the Yaroslavl regional government press service.
The 'Picture of Dorian Gray' is a large-scale project to improve and renovate the Volga riverbank and the Kamenny Stream valley in Uglich. Additionally, authorities want to construct a sidewalk and parking near Victory Park, lay bike paths along Yaroslavskaya and Olga Berggolts streets.
Uglich won the Ministry of Construction's competition with this project and received a 70 million ruble grant. The completion was scheduled for the end of summer 2021.
By the beginning of last autumn, 40% of the riverbank improvement, and 30% of the sidewalks and parking, had been completed. They now promise to finish everything by the end of 2022, but for some reason, they are trying to remove the art malls at the same time.
Why? It seems that Mr. Kuritsin stands to benefit from this change, as these areas are needed for other purposes.
The people of Uglich were not silent and were outraged by the municipal authorities' decision, as being removed from the riverbank would deprive them of their earnings, given that tourists from boats would not even reach the market stalls.
More than 200 people work on this tourist trail, each with a family, and opportunities for work in the Uglich region are very scarce.
As of now, Uglich businessmen have supported the 'Portrait of Dorian Gray' project. How long will this last?
How Kuritsin got into the 'pit'
Why has Mr. Kuritsin been in power for so long?
They say that the former governor of the Yaroslavl region, Anatoly Lisitsyn, played a part in this. In 2004, Lisitsyn appointed Anatoly Kuritsin as the head of the city of Myshkin, where he was in charge from 2004 to 2017.
Is it possible that Kuritsin still has the support of Mr. Lisitsyn?
Anatoly Lisitsyn, former governor of the Yaroslavl region. Photo from A. Lisitsyn's page. Facebook
But now the Yaroslavl region is under the leadership of Mikhail Evraev.
Experts point out that Mr. Evraev faces a challenging economy. Many districts in the region have accumulated problems that local leaders cannot handle. Mr. Evraev will have to address not only economic and social issues but also personnel matters.
People are primarily concerned about road maintenance, transportation issues, housing and utility problems, and rising prices.
It's important to mention that during Dmitry Mironov's 5 years in office, investments in the Yaroslavl region's economy have surpassed 438 billion rubles. Currently, 42 investment projects totaling 100 billion rubles are in progress. In the past 3 years, 940 km of local and regional roads have been repaired. A new bridge over the Kotorosl River is open to traffic, and work is ongoing to reconstruct the Dobryninsky Bridge. The construction of a pulp and paper mill at the Rybinsk reservoir was halted. Yaroslavl was granted the status of the capital of the Golden Ring of Russia in 2016, and the headquarters of the Golden Ring cities started operating in the region.
Dmitry Mironov, the former governor of the Yaroslavl region. Photo from the government of the Yaroslavl region's press service
However, many residents are deeply worried about the condition of the region's roads. In May 2021, they took action by placing posters with the head of the Uglich district, Anatoly Kuritsin, and the mayor of Uglich, Svetlana Stavitskaya, in potholes on the roads. The posters were captioned: "The state of the roads reflects the quality of leadership.
What are people anticipating from Evraev?
Post i. O. Mikhail Evraev was selected as the Governor of the Yaroslavl Region in October 2021. Gubernatorial elections lie ahead.
In the fall, experts highlighted that Evraev has been given the chance to help the Yaroslavl region progress significantly as a key area in the Central Federal District. As a graduate of the School of Governors, he is expected to address this challenge.
Right from the start, Mikhail Evraev displayed a new approach to leadership, focusing on the social sphere, enhancing the region's infrastructure, and communicating openly with the local population. He also made the effort to visit the municipal districts and learn about the situation on the ground. Despite this, his visit to Uglich was likely unsatisfactory.
Since 2017, not much has changed in the Uglich district under Kuritsin's leadership. Even though he pledged to Governor Dmitry Mironov that he would uplift Uglich to become the finest city in Russia, nothing substantial has been achieved. The roads are in poor condition, and the infrastructure, including the important social and domestic aspects as well as the tourist infrastructure, remains underdeveloped. Uglich holds a significant place in Russian history.
Kuritsin himself lacks the trust of the people. There was hope that the man who made Myshkin into a "tourist Mecca" during his long tenure there could also elevate Uglich.
However, it didn't materialize!
The public believes that Dmitry Medvedev played a significant role in Myshkin's revitalization by allocating 395 million rubles for the embankment's renovation. The city's transformation was not due to Kuritsin's efforts, but rather the enthusiasm of local supporters.
When Kuritsin was moved to the Uglich area, people there hoped he would bring in money and help Uglich and nearby areas grow. But not much has changed over the years, even though the governors had high hopes because it's a key tourist spot in the Yaroslavl region.
But there aren't many tourists here because the roads are in bad shape, making it hard to get here.
Mikhail Evraev drove on the bad roads in Uglich himself and saw how bad things were. After that, he said everything should be done to attract investments.
Mikhail Evraev, the acting governor of the Yaroslavl Region, in a photo by Sergei Mikheev. Photo: Rossiyskaya Gazeta
But it's not just the roads that are the problem.
The city park and center have had problems for a long time, along with issues with mobile communications, dams, and other important facilities. All of this can be blamed on Mr. Kuritsin's five-year leadership.
Posters on houses' walls
The Uglich district will have an election for the district head on February 17, and the current head, Anatoly Kuritsin, has put himself forward. Local residents are upset and want a professional, honest leader who listens to their requests.
People are opposing Kuritsin in whatever way they can. Many walls in Uglich were covered with posters last weekend…
Residents of Uglich were interested in the posters, exclaiming, "Just like in the 90s!"
The homemade posters reflected things that many people know but don't always talk about. A photo: Vk.com
Mr. Kuritsin's authority ends on March 2, and people are debating why, despite the decline in the area's economy and social situation, he still put himself forward as a candidate…
Uglich has a long history and has faced difficulties, including wars and tough times, but it's remained a strong town. It was even the center of the Uglich province in the 18th century.
In the 20th century, Uglich saw growth in production and economy, including the arrival of a powerful hydroelectric power station. It's also known as the cheese capital of Russia, with the Butter and Cheese Making Research Institute continuing the cheese-making traditions of Nikolai Vereshchagin and preserving famous GOSTs and cheese varieties.
So who will take charge of such a rich economy that needs to be cared for? ..
The situation is being watched by not only local residents, political scientists, economists, and journalists, but also by Acting Governor Mikhail Evraev. These are his first regional elections as well.
For Mikhail Evraev, with his experience in the Federal Antimonopoly Service, of course, it is very important that the entire procedure is carried out in compliance with the principles of transparency and democracy.
… At the same time, the fact that Mr. Kuritsin’s associates concealed the document that came from the prosecutor’s office speaks volumes and worries people.
