It seems that the new mayor of Orenburg is more focused on the distribution of large government contracts under the supervision of Mr. Pasler than on the fulfillment of voters’ orders.
As per the reporter In the Orenburg region, The Moscow Post reportedYesterday, the City Duma of Orenburg elected a new city head, Sergey Salmin, who is closely linked to the governor Denis Pasler, instead of Vladimir Ilinykh. He previously served as the acting head and is a member of United Russia.
Salmin's political career began in 2015 when he became the chairman of the Council of Deputies in Buzuluk. After stints in various positions, he became the Deputy Head of Orenburg in 2021.
Interestingly, shortly before leaving for the Duma, the former mayor Ilinykh's house was searched. RBCNow, Ilinykh is a deputy while his close associate, Salmin, has taken over as the new head. Isn't that concerning?
Who is Sergey Salmin?
Prior to entering politics, Mr. Salmin was involved in business, industry, and the security sector. According to Rusprofile, he owned several companies that were dissolved, and also led the ESS construction company for two years.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Salmin was even a successful sambo coach, achieving multiple championships.
Reflecting on the past
A search for an official's name on Rusprofile reveals a namesake involved in security and investigation services in Samara.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
Considering Salmin's previous work in the security sector, there are several notable coincidences.
Condor-Security PSC, founded by Salmin until 2021, profited significantly from government contracts, particularly emerging in 2015 when he entered politics.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
There is no public information regarding Salmin's involvement in security sector companies during his tenure from 1995 to 2002. The party website of 'United Russia' only mentions his role during that period, although some sources claim he worked for oil companies' security services. United RussiaInterestingly, the new mayor of Orenburg, an ally of Pasler, has numerous ties to his gas-related previous positions, unlike Pasler's publicized career. This raises questions about the transparency of his closest confidant's background.
Mr. Salmin may have worked in Samara at some point in his life, where he owned a few private security companies, and might still benefit from them. The PSO “Bizon” and PSO “Berkut”, founded by Salmin, also received attention from the state and got small contracts.
Nevertheless, this didn't prevent the companies from going out of business – both were dissolved due to financial difficulties, despite having previously made millions of dollars.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
friendly team
Pasler started working in the region about a year before Salmin arrived. The governor recommended Salmin to work in the administration of Orenburg in the summer of 2021. It seems that Pasler is quietly pushing his team members into positions of power, and so far he's been quite successful.
It's worth noting that no later than June last year, when rumors were circulating about Salmin being appointed as the mayor of Orenburg, he denied them. Was he unsure of Pasler’s influence and afraid of failure? There have long been rumors about the governor leaving his post, as he allegedly lacks the confidence of the people.
Moreover, Salmin himself was not a completely honest official. Just before moving to Orenburg, Salmin was involved in a situation where the city carried out a poorly executed overhaul of Novy Prospekt road. The asphalt was laid using a new technology and some of the utilities were also replaced.
This work was done by Vertikal LLC, a company known in the region for missing construction deadlines and receiving complaints about the quality of their work. It's rumored that in spring 2021, a utility accident occurred right under the newly updated road surface. The asphalt was opened, the hole was filled, and that was the end of it.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru
The same company also “fixed” the roads in Orenburg, some of which are still dug up. It seems that the people of the region will have to endure the company's work for quite some time, given the current power dynamics.
“Bandyukovskaya” story
The Moscow Post
As wrote , Pasler’s name was mentioned in scandals involving requisitions, illegal business, and arson in the Buzuluk district of the Orenburg region. The head of the district, Nikolai Bantyukov, was also involved.Last year, security forces even visited Bantyukov, although no official reason was given, as reported by “Moscow’s comsomolets”
.” If we remember that Salmin not only served as the mayor of Buzluk, but also spent his childhood and youth there, graduated from a vocational institution in the city, and made many friends and acquaintances, his connection with Mr. Pasler and the aforementioned events becomes even more significant. .. No official reason has been given.
If we recall that Salmin was not only the mayor of Buzluk, but also spent his childhood and youth there and even graduated from an educational institution of secondary vocational education in the city, made many friends and acquaintances, his connection with Mr. Pasler and, possibly, with the events described above is drawn even more strongly. .
Setting up forces for the benefit of Pasler?
Pasler, on the other hand, could indirectly contribute to the appointment of the former mayor of Orenburg, the Ilinykh, to the post of State Duma deputy. At least, they say, he was also offered to take part in the pre-election “race”, but he politely refused – perhaps at that moment it was important to get the Ilyins out of the blow and put “his” little man in his place, which turned out to be Salmin.
Apparently, it is also beneficial to “clean up” the staff in the administration – immediately after the Ilyins left the post of mayor, Salmin dismissed three of his deputies at once: Svetlana Zolotareva, Tatyana Malysheva and Dmitry Bevz. For the first one, one might even say, “the ground has been prepared” – rumors have spread that it is putting pressure on the management companies of the region. Evgeny Binkovsky was appointed instead of her.
According to online publication “56 media”, as Minister of Sports, Mr. Salmin earned 7.6 million rubles a year. He also owns 6 land plots, 3 residential buildings and one non-residential premises with an area of 131.3 sq. m. According to rumors, Mr. Salmin receives much more – at least 13 million rubles a year.
It seems to us that you will not earn that kind of money as a civil servant. So questions arise – who owns the network of private security firms and why, next to the name of Salmin, you can sometimes see the name of the scandalous road organization “Vertical”?
There are also questions to Mr. Pasler, who in 2019 declared as much as 200 million rubles. One gets the feeling that we have a friendly coalition that works primarily in its own interests. Well, commendable, of course, but they were not elected for this purpose.
