Translated material
Evacuation plan
The Kremlin is preparing to replace two Far Eastern governors
Vice-Governor of the Primorsky Territory Nikolai Sidorov, who once played a significant role in the election victory of the current head of the region, Sergei Darkin, is leaving his team and going to work in the Kremlin. He will take the post of deputy chief for internal policy of the presidential administration. This department is headed by Oleg Govorun. As his fifth deputy, Mr Sidorov is expected to oversee the Kremlin's relations with trade unions. The official nomination of the vice-governor of Primorye for this position was submitted to the head of the presidential administration Sergei Naryshkin on Friday.Nikolai Sidorov is one of the most successful political strategists. In 2001, while working for the consulting company Image Contact, he led Primorye businessman Sergei Darkin to victory, which came as a surprise to many. After the elections, the Primorye governor made Sidorov his deputy for domestic and foreign policy, tourism and sports. Thus, yesterday’s political strategist became the youngest vice-governor in Russia. At the same time, they spoke of him as the eminence grise of the regional administration, controlling all political processes in Primorye.
Mr. Sidorov's departure to work in the Kremlin administration fueled rumors of Mr. Darkin's possible imminent resignation . The position of the governor of Primorye now looks very precarious. It is enough that he is - for now - a witness in a criminal case about major fraud with federal property. The case involves a business controlled by the head of the region. Last week, the offices of these companies were searched. The main defendant in the case was the acting head of the territorial department of Rosimushchestvo in the Primorsky Territory, Igor Meshcheryakov. He is now in custody. After being summoned for questioning in this case and a search of his home, Sergei Darkin suffered a heart attack. Then he flew to Moscow for treatment. It is unknown when he will return to duty. “This should be decided by doctors,” said Pyotr Savchuk, secretary of the Primorye political council of the United Russia party and deputy of the regional legislative assembly, who recently visited Darkin. According to him, the governor is on the mend.
In addition, in the Primorsky Territory, bread prices have risen again , despite the governor’s promise to contain them. The regional prosecutor's office even instructed the regional department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to check the validity and legality of the price increase by the Vladkhleb company, which signed an agreement with the regional administration to freeze prices.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Primorsky Territory became interested at the highest level. Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met in the Kremlin with the plenipotentiary representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Oleg Safonov and asked how things were going with Sergei Darkin and the governor of the Amur region Nikolai Kolesov. The head of the Amur region is also experiencing problems with the law: investigative authorities have opened criminal cases against almost half of the regional administration. This brought Mr. Kolesov to the brink of resignation.