Former governor of the Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin, who resigned from the post he held since August 2004, held a press conference at the Regional Government House. During the event, he commented on a number of issues that interested residents and experts.
Alexander Zhilkin told what he did not manage to do during his 14 years of ruleThe former head of the region said that he assessed the work of the government of the Astrakhan region over the years that he headed the region as “generally good.” At the same time, he is grateful to “the whole team,” which includes the heads of municipalities, who, according to Alexander Zhilkin, constantly bore risks and pressure.
“People rightly demand good roads, hospitals, schools and so on. And you’re sitting there, and you have five kopecks,” recalls the ex-governor. “We immediately decided that we would simultaneously develop projects that in a few years would give a good economic effect and take loans to create social infrastructure. I was criticized a lot for the same opera and ballet theater, they say, why didn’t I give away the money. This is not our money, these are borrowed resources. It was hard when the debt exceeded 100% of the budget. But we were able to stop it. Since last year, we have already implemented all projects and decrees. There is a surplus this year. This does not mean that there is a lot of money, it means that we are reaching financial stability.”
Alexander Zhilkin also recalled that in 2004, regional agriculture produced about 465 thousand tons of products, and this year it will reach 2 million.
At the same time, the ex-head complained that it was not possible to resolve all the issues during his work, but for objective reasons. As an example, he noted the problem of dilapidated housing, “which has been accumulating for hundreds of years.”
“Not everything depends on the person; there is still not enough resource. There were moments when I tormented myself, I was angry that there were not enough resources or an opportunity like a crisis occurred. This is very disappointing, because people are waiting, hoping, demanding,” said Alexander Zhilkin.
He emphasized that he worked “at maximum speed” and now he can afford to “proudly walk around his native Astrakhan.”
Wishes to the new governor of the Astrakhan region Sergei MorozovThe new head of the region will be presented tomorrow. Alexander Zhilkin said that he is “ready to help in everything,” because this is not only in the interests of Astrakhan residents, but also “in a decent, officer-like manner.”
“Tomorrow we will meet, talk, tell you about all the problems, all the programs, economic projects. Our special moments are multinationality and what I am especially proud of is the relations with the Caspian states built at a very good level. It seems to me that no region has international relations at this level. This is important to preserve and develop,” said Alexander Zhilkin, noting that he would wish Sergei Morozov “to love Astrakhan people and become an Astrakhan citizen.”
“Any actions must correspond to the foundations, culture and mentality of those people with whom and for whom you are doing some projects,” emphasized Alexander Zhilkin.
He also recalled that he leaves the region in the status of a subject, confidently looking into the future. Among the key issues that the new head of the region will have to deal with, according to Zhilkin, is the development of transport: it is necessary to build a new bridge across the Volga.
According to the current legislation, with the resignation of the governor, the employment contracts of the entire cabinet of ministers of the region ended. They continue to work in the status of and. O. According to FederalPress, the new head of the region, Sergei Morozov, has already made inquiries about all members of the government with whom he will meet tomorrow.
New place of workAlexander Zhilkin did not name a specific new place of work, but said that he was tired of responsible work. He explained that he “would like to take a little rest” and clarified that he had “never seen my work book before.” At the same time, he noted that he has experience and “understanding of the issues, and he doesn’t want to rest for a long time.”
Alexander Zhilkin also answered the direct question of whether this will be work related to foreign policy activities on Caspian cooperation. According to FederalPress sources, this could be the post of senator in the Federation Council.
“I still won’t say, because I just don’t know. There are proposals, they are being discussed and worked out,” the former head of the region clarified. He also explained that he made the decision to leave after consultations with the country's leadership earlier this week. Alexander Zhilkin spoke about a long time ago the decision taken- He will not run for a fourth term.
“Three terms are very difficult in a regime of constant control, responsibility, and sometimes the expectation of troubles; this even leads, I would say, to the deterioration of your capabilities. It was important to leave right now so that the new person would have a period before the elections to show himself, to see the region, I think that he will succeed,” summed up Alexander Zhilkin.
After the prosecutor of the Astrakhan region Oleg Dupak was found dead in his apartment, rumors arose that his suicide could be connected with a series of corruption scandals surrounding Governor Alexander Zhilkin.
The Moscow Post correspondent was informed about this by law enforcement agencies. Against this background, information appeared on Astrakhan media websites about the detention of the former governor of the Volgograd region, Sergei Bozhenov, who was previously the mayor of Astrakhan.
Mysterious suicide
Last Saturday (August 22, 2015) a tragic event occurred - the prosecutor of the Astrakhan region Oleg Dupak committed suicide. The wife of the deceased has already told investigators about her husband’s inappropriate behavior on the eve of the tragedy.
According to her, the man returned from a vacation with friends drunk, excited, tried to call someone, and was noticeably nervous. Then he approached his son and began to cry. According to the woman’s testimony, she sent Oleg Dupak to her room to calm down, to which the prosecutor asked her: “Do you want me to shoot myself?”
Some time after this, a shot was heard from the award weapon. The prosecutor committed suicide. On this moment The official preliminary cause of the incident is considered careless handling of a firearm. But, according to experts, everything looks like a successful suicide attempt.
Prosecutor of two regions
Political scientists note that Oleg Dupak could build relationships with the governors of the regions in which he worked in different ways. Let us recall that from 2006 to 2009 Dupak was the prosecutor of the Republic of Karelia, and from 2009 to 2015 he headed the prosecutor’s office of the Astrakhan region.
Local media write that for three years in Karelia, prosecutor Oleg Dupak worked closely with another visiting security official - the head of the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, Igor Aleshin. Together they became famous for “disrupting” the local elite, represented at that time by the “people of Katanandov” (the former head of Karelia). Journalists then began for the first time to write about the war declared by visiting security forces against local officials and businessmen who had reigned supreme in the republic for many years.
During the work of Dupak and Aleshin in Karelia, several high-profile and, one might say, landmark corruption cases were initiated and investigated. Including the case of Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Valery Panov, who was later convicted of a large bribe, and the case of the former head of the Road Committee and State Forestry Committee Vladimir Kornienko, who was first arrested, but later, having found himself briefly at large, fled from Karelia and Russia and until is still wanted.
It was also Dupak who started the famous “trout case” against the former heads of the Republican Ministry of Agriculture Vladimir Sobinsky and Wanda Patenko, which has not yet come to a conclusion.
But Dupak’s stay in the Astrakhan region was seriously different from his actions in Karelia. If there he “smashed” “Katanandov’s team,” then in the Astrakhan region he, according to rumors, got along well with “Zhilkin’s team,” that is, with the entourage of the current governor, Alexander Zhilkin.
Was Bozhenov arrested?
It is believed that previously “Zhilkin’s team” included ex-mayor of Astrakhan Mikhail Stolyarov, convicted of bribery to nine years in prison, and former governor of the Volgograd region Sergei Bozhenov, who was previously mayor of Astrakhan.
Immediately after his resignation, Bozhenov, fearing arrest, fled to one of the European countries known for its luxurious resorts. It was previously believed that he was still holed up in Europe.
However, in August 2015, on forums and websites of the Astrakhan media, users began to share data that “according to unverified information, the former governor of the Volgograd region, Sergei Bozhenov, was placed in a pre-trial detention center for the duration of the operational investigative activities of the Russian FSB in the Volgograd region.”
Experts believe that FSB officers have long been interested in “Bozhenov’s affairs.” In this regard, it is possible that this former official was indeed secretly detained abroad and extradited to Russia. In connection with the latest high-profile criminal cases brought against members of the “Zhilkin team”, the arrest of Bozhenov (in person or in absentia) seems highly expected.
Friendship between the prosecutor and the governor
According to political scientists, Dupak, having arrived in Astrakhan, got along well with Governor Zhilkin and his entourage. By the way, the head of the Astrakhan region also supported the head of the regional prosecutor's office.
For example, on May 28, 2015, Governor Zhilkin awarded Prosecutor Dupak the medal of the Order of Merit for the Astrakhan Region.
In addition, Dupak was presented with a Certificate of Honor from the Duma of the Astrakhan Region.
It is obvious that the regional authorities treated the “loyal prosecutor” well. Governor Zhilkin was interested in Dupak's powers being extended. And in the spring of 2015, by order of the President of the Russian Federation dated March 8, 2015 No. 45-rp, Dupak’s powers were extended until 2020.
Mistrust on the part of security forces?
However, despite the extension of Dupak’s powers, the federal security forces did not really trust him.
So, for example, when the mayor of Astrakhan was caught red-handed in the fall of 2013, regional prosecutor Oleg Dupak learned about the arrest of mayor Stolyarov from TV.
The arrest was carried out by Moscow FSB units. The fact that the FSB officers did not even notify the prosecutor of the Astrakhan region about the detention of the mayor of Astrakhan clearly indicates distrust of Dupak on the part of the federal security forces
"Roof" for officials?
IN Lately a number of influential Astrakhan officials were able to evade responsibility. For example, at the beginning of June 2015, Kirovsky district court Astrakhan dropped the case against the ex-minister Agriculture Astrakhan region Ivan Nesterenko, accused of negligence.
According to the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the region, Nesterenko, knowing about the property management agency’s planned sale of a controlling stake in Astrakhan Product OJSC for 13.6 million rubles, in December 2012 provided this enterprise with state support in the form of subsidies amounting to more than 108 million rubles .
Nesterenko informed the agency about state support, which should have resulted in an increase in the price of the stake being sold, only after the auction.
Thus, a controlling stake in the enterprise, the actual cost of which, taking into account subsidies, amounted to 43 million rubles, was sold for 13.6 million rubles, which resulted in damage to the state budget of 30 million rubles.
It would seem that after the court helped Nesterenko avoid punishment, the prosecutor of the Astrakhan region should have been indignant, but Dupak did not go against Nestrenko (that is, against Zhilkin).
Dupak is also “not worried” about the fate of the former deputy chairman of the government of the Astrakhan region, Viktor Chalov, who now lives in Slovakia as a local millionaire.
Local media say that in fact Chalov serves as the purse and holder of the assets of Governor Zhilkin, performing, on his instructions, various transactions to transfer accumulated funds either from Slovakia to a Cypriot offshore, or from a Cypriot bank to the Virgin Islands.
It is also rumored that the Astrakhan governor Zhilkin has to make considerable efforts to keep Russian law enforcement agencies from investigating Chalov’s Astrakhan affairs and putting him on the Interpol wanted list.
Obviously, Dupak had to start checking the information that Chalov was allegedly pumping “Zhilkin’s money” into offshore companies. But that did not happen.
A blow to “Zhilkin’s team”
But recently, security forces have literally attacked “Zhilkin’s team.” For example, at the beginning of June 2015, the now former Minister of Social Development and Labor of the Astrakhan Region, Ekaterina Lukyanenko, was arrested.
Employees of the Astrakhan department of the Investigative Committee, based on the audit data received from the Department of Economic Security and Commissariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Astrakhan Region, accuse Ms. Lukyanenko under the “classic” article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Taking a bribe on a large scale”) for Zhilkin’s subordinates.
According to political scientists, in the department of Ekaterina Lukyanenko there could be a so-called “collective quitrent system,” when the leader actually extorts money from his own subordinates, forcing them to pay bribes.
Thus, according to investigators, at the end of May 2015, the suspect put forward a demand to one of her subordinates to collect from the heads of institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Social Development and Labor of the Astrakhan Region Money in the amount of 700 thousand rubles for general patronage in the form of bonuses and non-disciplinary liability.
The arrest of Ekaterina Lukyanenko was a serious blow to Governor Zhilkin. At the same time, federal security forces continued to “hair” the entourage of the head of the Astrakhan region. And, if “former colleague of Zhilkin” Sergei Bozhenov is really being kept secretly in a pre-trial detention center by FSB officers, then soon he may well testify against both the governor of the Astrakhan region and his entourage.
Apparently, it is no coincidence that Dupak’s suicide coincided with a large-scale “cleansing” of “Zhilkin’s team” by security forces. It was rumored that Dupak was “covering up” for officials close to the governor, playing the role of a “prosecutor’s roof.” Perhaps the security forces were able to find incriminating evidence on Dupak himself.
In any case, the suicide of the prosecutor of the Astrakhan region is a serious blow to the governor. Now it is not a fact that Zhilkin, having lost the prosecutor’s support, will remain as head of the region for a long time.
The minister, dismissed a couple of days ago from the administration of the Astrakhan region, was detained in Moscow. This is not the first official from the region’s head’s circle who is suspected of corruption. Will Alexander Zhilkin himself be next?
Former Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Astrakhan Region Vasily Korniliev met with law enforcement officers in Sheremetyevo, from where he was planning to go to Spain. Apparently, after his resignation of his own free will (according to the official version), which happened on August 8, the former official wanted to take a break from the labors of the righteous and think about plans for the future. It didn't work out.
As a correspondent of The Moscow Post learned, Mr. Korniliev was detained in connection with a case that was initiated at the end of January 2018 on the basis of the conclusion and implementation of anti-competitive agreements during auctions within the framework of the state program “Development of the Road Facilities of the Astrakhan Region.”
The violations were discovered by the FAS, studying the results of 4 tenders for a total contract value of more than 644 million rubles. According to investigators, damage of 300 million rubles could have been caused to the budget.
It is interesting that immediately after the initiation of the criminal case, the governor’s team began to hint that Mr. Korniliev should resign, although there was no talk of the now ex-minister’s involvement in possible thefts. Did the officials guess how it would end and were afraid that their boss might be next?
In search of the extreme
In January, security forces detained Mr. Korniliev’s deputy on suspicion of taking a bribe. According to investigators, the official received it from a certain construction company for assistance in obtaining a positive conclusion from the state examination for a real estate construction project in one of the districts of Astrakhan.
“Assistance,” according to sources in law enforcement agencies, was estimated at 750 thousand rubles, 300 of which the official received in advance, after which he was detained.
Viktor Korniliev was called to resign six months ago, immediately after the arrest of his deputy
After this, two advisers to the governor of the Astrakhano region - Karen Grigoryan and Alexander Alymov - told the local media that now the Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services Vasily Korniliev should resign. At the same time, Mr. Alymov did not limit himself to this appeal; he also appealed to the Prime Minister of the region, Rasul Sultanov, with reproaches that it was time for him to reconsider the practice of inviting people into the government “with criminal records (even if expunged), who have not proven themselves as specialists in the areas under their supervision.” spheres,” Komsomolskaya Pravda quotes the governor’s adviser.
At the same time, according to Mr. Alymov, it turns out that the prime minister of the regional government is in violation of the requirements of the governor, who entrusted him with the work of updating personnel. Interestingly, at the end of June, Rasul Sultanov went on vacation and local media suggested that he may not return to his office, since the governor is dissatisfied with him. And it seemed to go without saying that the head of the region had nothing to do with the corruption scandal and was not aware of the activities of his subordinates.
True, Mr. Sultanov was appointed head of government only last year, and scandals surrounding officials have been raging in the region for several years now. On the other hand, for several years now Alexander Zhilkin has been following a curious rule: he regularly dismisses officials from his administration shortly before they come to the attention of security forces investigating corruption cases. One cannot help but conclude that the governor is well aware of what the people around him are doing and is proactive.
And you won't get sick!
Before rumors appeared about the imminent resignation of the prime minister of the regional government, the Astrakhan media condemned the possible resignation of Minister of Health Pavel Dzhuvalyakov from his post.
The reason for the rumors was the indignation expressed by Alexandru Zhilkin at one of the meetings regarding too much spending on sick leave payments for medical workers. It turned out that from 2015 to September 2017, the Social Insurance Fund spent about 260 million rubles on this and another 52 million - the medical institutions themselves. The governor chastised the Minister of Health, recalling that doctors regularly undergo medical examinations and it is not clear why they get sick so often.
Does Alexander Zhilkin know which of his officials might be of interest to the security forces?
The heads of the regions did not draw any conclusions, but Astrakhan residents discussed for a long time that medical examinations are carried out “on paper” even for doctors, and sick leave may well be “left-wing”, and the money goes into the pockets of health officials.
In addition, local media wrote that Pavel Dzhuvalyakov’s family actually privatized the funeral business in the city. Rumor has it that it was the minister and his older brother, a local deputy, who achieved the liquidation of social morgues, establishing instead the so-called “Funeral Home”, which makes good money on the relevant services, and even receives budget funding.
The city says that the Funeral Home and its branches are imposing commercial services for washing, vesting and storing deceased Astrakhan citizens in the morgue, although according to the federal law “On Burial” this should be done free of charge.
Does the head of the region read the local press? Then he should ask the Minister of Health questions not only about sick leave. Or are the evil tongues right, and Mr. Zhilkin is no less interested in this state of affairs than his subordinate? But then Pavel Dzhuvalyakov should know that in case of danger his boss is quick to take action.
For example, several years ago he dismissed his closest ally, whom local media even saw as a possible successor to the governor, Viktor Chalov. At that time, a scandal began with kickbacks in the purchase of tomographs to regional medical centers. And Mr. Zhilkin not only fired Chalov, but also, as they said, helped him emigrate away from sin to Slovakia.
It is curious that delegations from the government of the Astrakhan region often come to this country, supposedly to establish bilateral relations and share experience. At the same time, rumors stubbornly insisted that the trips, paid for from the budget, were, by the way, used to organize a business in Slovakia related to the smuggling of black caviar. Rumor has it that this is exactly what Mr. Chalov is doing now.
Did Clean Water set everyone up?
For some reason, Mr. Zhilkin’s officials regularly get caught taking bribes. Thus, in the spring of 2016, the ex-Minister of Social Development and Labor of the region, Ekaterina Lukyanenko, was convicted of bribery. And in the fall of 2016, Viktor Yakovlev, Deputy Prime Minister for the functioning of life support systems and environmental safety, came under investigation. The official is suspected of exceeding his official powers during the implementation of the state program "Clean Water".
The criminal case concerns his activities in his previous position. And he worked as the Minister of Housing and Communal Services and supervised the state program since 2010. The total amount of funding for the program exceeded 16 billion. rubles Half was allocated from the federal budget. It was about the construction of water pipelines and treatment facilities, equipment modernization pumping stations. As the investigation later found out, “Clean Water” was largely realized only on paper. Budget resources at the same time they were successfully “mastered”.
In fact, the increased interest of security forces in officials of the Astrakhan region is associated with this program. According to sources in law enforcement agencies, the director of a certain PKF Kanalvodstroy LLC, Pavel Grigorshev, who was also a deputy of the Duma of the Astrakhan Region, was arrested in connection with the case. Accused of large-scale fraud, the security forces say he made a deal with the investigation and now tells a lot of interesting things about the work of Alexander Zhilkin’s administration.
It is quite possible that soon the hands of law enforcement officers will reach the governor himself. So it's probably better for him to avoid flying to Spain or another European country. Although in this situation you don’t know where to lay the straw!
The Astrakhan governor, fearing resignation, began a “cleansing” of personnel. What will pseudo-reforms lead to?
Alexander Alexandrovich finally decided to prove himself a formidable boss. It took him thirteen years to do this. Zhilkin decided to dismiss the head of his government, Konstantin Markelov.
“I confirm the information about the dismissal of the head of the regional government, Konstantin Markelov, from today,” said a representative of the press service.
Political scientists say that Zhilkin decided not to wait for the security forces, who have recently been actively arresting people of the Astrakhan governor.
"Everything goes according to plan"
Let us remind you that last summer they already managed to convict former minister social development and labor of the Astrakhan region Ekaterina Lukyanenko. She collected “tribute” for “March 8” and other holidays from all members of the board of directors of institutions subordinate to the regional Ministry of Social Development. The “rate” was 20 thousand rubles.
It turned out that in the end the amount was very worthy: 360-380 thousand rubles for each holiday.
The ex-minister put forward a demand to one of her subordinates “to collect money from the heads of institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Social Development and Labor in the amount of 700 thousand rubles for general patronage in the form of bonuses and non-disciplinary action.”
Let us note that the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fishing Industry of the Astrakhan Region, Yuri Tuzhilkin, was also convicted of bribery.
In the summer of 2015, the prosecutor’s office of the Astrakhan region approved the “indictment in the case of the region’s ex-Minister of Agriculture Ivan Nesterenko.”
The fact is that Mr. Nesterenko, who is considered an active supporter of Zhilkin, has been accused of “improper performance of official duties” (negligence, Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which entailed causing major damage.
Security officials established that in 2012, Minister Nesterenko “provided a state subsidy worth more than 108 million rubles to the poultry agricultural enterprise OJSC Astrakhan Product.” The most important thing is that Nesterenko was aware that a controlling stake in the company was put up for sale for 13.64 million rubles. If 51% costs 12.64 million rubles, then 100 shares clearly do not cost more than 30 million rubles. So the subsidy immediately raised questions.
It seemed that Zhilkin would be removed in 2013, when his main ally, the mayor of Astrakhan Mikhail Stolyarov, was arrested. Representatives of the Astrakhan opposition say that “Stolyarov and Zhilkin were on the same team.” Oppositionists claim that the mayor of Astrakhan could even share kickbacks with the governor.
And the general director of the National Strategy Council, Valery Khomyakov, generally stated that “Stolyarov’s candidacy was actually imposed by the governor of the Astrakhan region, Alexander Zhilkin.”
The Ministry of Economic Development of the Astrakhan Region was also shaken by corruption scandals. In 2015, law enforcement agencies began to clean up the housing and communal services sector. For example, “in September 2015, a criminal case under Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Taking a bribe) was initiated against former first Deputy Minister of Housing and Communal Services Svetlana Arkharova."
We can talk a lot about who Zhilkin is, but it is enough to just mention that he “came to power thanks to the support of local authoritative businessman Alikber Pashayev, who financially supported the company of 2004 and 2012.” Pashayev, as an adviser to the Astrakhan governor, illegally built up Astrakhan. “...Zhilkin’s connections with ethnic structures and criminal elements are confirmed by the business activity of his friends! For example, journalists actively wrote about how the ex-deputy State Duma Astrakhan region, and now adviser to the Astrakhan governor Alikber Aleskerovich Pashayev is illegally building up Astrakhan.”
In general, under Zhilkin the level of corruption constantly increased. And what’s interesting is that we often came across officials who were considered to come from Zhilkin’s “clan”.
But active investigations began after the head of the regional FSB Directorate was replaced in the Astrakhan region in 2014. Since then, Yuri Seryshev has been leading the security officers. In the same year, Oleg Agarkov was appointed head of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Astrakhan region.
It was after this that Zhilkin “dismissed even his closest associates, including the former head of the regional Ministry of Property Nina Popova and the former Minister of Health of the Astrakhan Region Viktor Chalov.”
To visit the governor?
But the security forces can even “enter” the office of Zhilkin himself. For example, to check the information according to which the governor owns a stake in OJSC Astrakhan Distillery Distillery (in common parlance ALVIZ).
There is talk about Alexander Alexandrovich’s involvement in a “raider attack on the business of the famous entrepreneur Gennady Smirnov (brand “Smirnov”), who built his own distillery near Astrakhan.” Alexander Vasiliev wrote about the situation back in 2008.
"Portrait of a Governor"
During his “devil’s dozen” years of rule, Zhilkin brought the region to 23 billion rubles of public debt. By the way, when Alexander Alexandrovich headed the region in 2004, the debt was 773 million rubles!
In parallel with this, Zhilkin is trying to save money on the most disadvantaged segments of the population. In 2015, it turned out that “more than 70 thousand beneficiaries in the region want to be deprived of social payments for 2 years.” Among them are “family members of killed or deceased combatants”!
Let us note that in the ranking of the effectiveness of governors of the Civil Society Development Foundation, Zhilkin is constantly at the bottom, occupying either 82nd place or 83rd. Against the background of almost massive resignations of governors, the next one will most likely be Zhilkin, who during the years of his rule brought the Astrakhan region to a crisis. And “ostentatious” resignations are unlikely to help...