Minus Mitvol

Vladimir Putin has reduced the number of deputy heads of Rosprirodnadzor

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday supported the personnel initiative of the head of Rosprirodnadzor Vladimir Kirillov. The government press service reported that the prime minister signed a decree reducing the number of deputy heads of the environmental department from four to three. As Rosprirodnadzor told Vremya Novostei, the decision on who will be laid off will be made after a qualification exam. However, the newspaper's high-ranking sources in the service are confident that the most famous official of the department, Oleg Mitvol, will lose his post. Mr. Mitvol himself, who is on vacation until September 1, confirmed to Vremya Novostey yesterday that he may well be left without work. “It’s difficult for me to talk about anything now, but most likely Rosprirodnadzor has finally figured out how to fire me,” he said.

It became known three weeks ago that a draft resolution on reducing the number of deputy heads of Rosprirodnadzor was placed on Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s desk . The document prepared by the service was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Justice and only awaited the signature of the Prime Minister. Vremya Novostei's sources in Rosprirodnadzor already reported that it was Oleg Mitvol who should leave his chair, having entered into an open conflict with his boss Vladimir Kirillov. Mr. Mitvol told Vremya Novostey at the time that in some ways he was even happy about this development of events: “For me, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin’s assessment of my activities as deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor is very important. It’s like an institute exam—I will be assessed for my work.” Apparently, this assessment turned out to be unsatisfactory, and Mr. Mitvol did not pass the exam: Rosprirodnadzor is confident that the reduction will affect him specifically.

However, even if the environmental department made an unofficial decision to dismiss Mr. Mitvol from his position, his final fate is in the hands of the Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev: the authority to dismiss deputy heads of the service belongs to him. Mr. Trutnev himself, like Mr. Mitvol, is on vacation, from which he will return on August 22.

“I’m currently on vacation, so I can’t take any action. When I graduate, I have to pass a qualifying exam. And if I get laid off, it will be very interesting to find out how I, who was awarded numerous awards, unlike my colleagues, deserved the title of the worst deputy,” Oleg Mitvol told a Vremya Novostei correspondent yesterday.

The official explained that if, after all, he is recognized as an “extra” deputy and receives a corresponding notification from Yuri Trutnev, according to the law, he will be offered two positions to choose from. “A watchman and a security guard,” he foresees, “which, naturally, is not serious.”

Oleg Mitvol does not understand the personnel policy of the head of Rosprirodnadzor Vladimir Kirillov. “We have a huge amount of work, a lot of functions, the staffing table has been increased, and for some reason deputies are being cut,” he is perplexed. However, the misunderstanding between the subordinate and his boss began from the moment they had to work together. Immediately after the resignation of the former head of Rosprirodnadzor Sergei Say and the appointment of Mr. Kirillov to this position, Oleg Mitvol was indignant at how such a position could be held by a person who, while working in administrative positions in the Leningrad region, allegedly violated environmental legislation. In response to these statements, Vladimir Kirillov, who undertook to build a clear vertical of power in the service, tried to deprive Mr. Mitvol of the right to sign on all outgoing appeals to government bodies.

Then the failed officials began to look for the truth in the Prosecutor General's Office. Vladimir Kirillov initiated an audit of the official activities of his deputy, whom Techneftinvest OJSC, controlled by entrepreneur Gendrik Mundut, accused of inflating the amount of arrears. Oleg Mitvol complained to Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika about the protracted reorganization of the service and violations in the recruitment of new employees. According to Vremya Novostei, inspections have begun on both appeals.

Kirill MELNIKOV