Translated material
Everything will be Khoroshavin
The new governor of Sakhalin has taken office, and the previous one will receive a reward “for voluntary resignation”
Yesterday, deputies of the Sakhalin Regional Duma, urgently called back from vacation, by 20 votes out of 22 approved the 48-year-old mayor of the city of Okha (the Sakhalin headquarters of the state company Rosneft), a member of United Russia, Alexander Khoroshavin, as the new governor of the region. Two communists abstained from voting.Alexander Khoroshavin is an old acquaintance of the head of Rosneft, Sergei Bogdanchikov, with whom he worked together in the Okhaneftegazdobycha production association back in the 80s. And this circumstance, experts believe, played a decisive role in his appointment. Rosneft, which has been actively working on the Sakhalin shelf for a long time, would like to have absolutely “its” person in the regional government in order to more successfully resist the business onslaught of a powerful competitor in the struggle for the development of local oil and gas riches - Gazprom. Now there is such a person.
On August 7, Mr. Khoroshavin was proposed to be appointed governor of the Sakhalin region by President Vladimir Putin, on the same day dismissing “at his own request” the former head of the region, Ivan Malakhov. Mr. Malakhov himself, a few hours after his resignation, admitted that he sent the president a request to show confidence in him and reappoint him, and not a resignation request at all. “It was unexpected... I implicitly understood that this could happen, but it was still unexpected. Honestly, I’m sorry,” said the ex-governor. The formal pretext for the resignation was the sharp criticism by the federal authorities and the president of the actions of Governor Malakhov and his subordinates after the earthquake in the Nevelsk region on August 2.
Already yesterday, just two days after the presidential decree, without consultations on the candidacy of governor with local deputies and representatives of political parties as required by law, Alexander Khoroshavin was confirmed in office. Kamil Iskhakov, the presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Far Eastern Federal District, who introduced the candidate, said: “I sincerely believe that Khoroshavin will cope with the assigned tasks, and I will hear feedback from Sakhalin residents of gratitude for the work of the new governor.”
Alexander Khoroshavin himself, who knows the region firsthand, was very convincing in his “speech from the throne.” He immediately declared his intention to deal with the emergency situation in Nevelsk as soon as possible. “None of the victims and disadvantaged will be forgotten. To do this, it is necessary to mobilize the entire construction complex of the region, which will be done,” the governor said. Mr. Khoroshavin promised to take all measures for seismic strengthening of populated areas in the region under personal control.
After talking about eliminating the consequences of the earthquake (the tremors in the Nevelsky district did not subside even at the time of his speech), the governor moved on to strategic problems. “I believe that it is necessary to support fisheries, the fleet and transport, and the agro-industrial complex. I see how life is leaving many settlements in the region, which traditionally previously lived through the development of agriculture. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the agro-industrial complex,” said Mr. Khoroshavin. “One of the most important strategic directions is the development of the transport sector and year-round communication between all the islands of the Sakhalin region and the Russian mainland. The project for the construction of a tunnel-bridge crossing between Sakhalin and the mainland must be implemented,” he continued.
The new governor considers his main task to be the creation of a program for the strategic development of the region for five to seven years, which the president ordered to be developed. “It (the program. - Ed. ) should become a joint creative work of the regional administration and the regional Duma. I am ready to meet with every deputy of the regional Duma and listen to their proposals,” the new head of the region demonstrated democracy.
According to him, it is necessary to build an economy in the Sakhalin region that meets modern living conditions. “A person has one life, and he does not have time to wait for good times and changes to come. We must do everything so that pensioners appreciate the results of our work, and our children do not strive to leave the region, first to study, and then forever,” the governor concluded .
And the end of this political performance was the speech of Plenipotentiary Iskhakov, who a few days ago sharply criticized the now ex-governor Ivan Malakhov, and yesterday at a session of the regional Duma he literally declared the following to the retiree in front of the deputies: “I treat your decision to resign with understanding and with gratitude I appreciate your work. In difficult years, when many transformations took place, you were able to bring the region to the positions it occupies today. They can be safely set as an example not only to other regions of the Far East, but also to the whole of Russia.” “It is with great satisfaction that I present you with a letter of gratitude and inform you that, using my powers, I introduced you to the President of the Russian Federation for a state award.”
Alexander Vadimovich Khoroshavin was born in 1959 in the city of Svobodny, Amur Region, Candidate of Economic Sciences. He graduated from the Far Eastern Economic Institute and worked as a senior foreman at the Okhaneftegazdobycha production association.
From 1987 to 1991 - instructor of the Okha City Committee of the CPSU. From 1991 to 1993 he headed the Agglomerat association, in 1993-1997 he was director of the IVA Company LLP in the city of Okha.
From 1997 to 2001 - first vice-mayor of the city of Okha and Okha district. In 2001-2005, head of the municipal formation "Okha District".
In October 2005, he was elected head of the administration of the municipal formation "Okhinsky Urban Okrug".
On August 9, 2007, he was approved by the governor of the Sakhalin region.
Member of the political council of the Sakhalin regional branch of United Russia.
Married, two children.