Translated material
"Fair" retribution
The Stavropol governor may pay with his position for an alliance with United Russia
The possible resignation of the Governor of the Stavropol Territory, Alexander Chernogorov, became perhaps the main intrigue in the “debriefing” after the regional elections on March 11. The Stavropol Territory became the only one of the 14 regions in which elections to legislative assemblies were held last Sunday, where United Russia did not take first place on the party lists, losing almost 14% to A Just Russia. At the same time, the list of United Russia members was headed by the governor himself. Moreover, if his resignation does take place, this will mean that in the absence of direct elections of governors, the head of the region was actually removed by the people, who gave votes to Chernogorov’s political opponents.After this shameful result for the party in power, the leader of United Russia, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov called on Mr. Chernogorov to resign. “I believe that if the people in the Stavropol Territory voted in such a way that United Russia received only the second result, then this means that we pursued the wrong policy in the Stavropol Territory, and, of course, we will replace the regional leader of the party, and we will also raise the question of the leadership of the Stavropol Territory." The leader of A Just Russia, Speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov said that this is not Gryzlov’s business and that by right of the winners, representatives of A Just Russia should be involved in replacing the regional leader.
Alexander Chernogorov himself said on Monday that he was ready to resign “for the sake of peace and tranquility in the region.” But yesterday, Deputy Chairman of the regional government Anatoly Voropaev told reporters that the governor does not intend to relinquish his powers as head of the region. The official denied rumors that Chernogorov wrote a letter of resignation. “He is quietly working according to the governor's plan and schedule. Taking into account the fact that he was on election leave for a month, it is clear that he is now analyzing the situation,” said Mr. Voropaev.
The Stavropol Territory turned out to be the place where the election struggle of the “two Russias” became perhaps the most brutal. Experts called it a struggle of administrative resources, given that the governor headed the electoral list of United Russia, and the mayor of Stavropol Dmitry Kuzmin was number one on the A Just Russia list.
The figure of the Stavropol governor himself also found himself surrounded by an aura of scandals. Alexander Chernogorov was elected governor in 1996 as a candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, then in 2000 he was re-elected for a second term. In October 2005, he scandalously became famous throughout the country during Vladimir Putin’s “direct line”, when the head of state communicated with the people. A resident of the Degtyarevsky farm, Lyudmila Karachentseva, complained that, contrary to promises, the farm had not yet been supplied with water supply. Putin responded: “The documents regarding the Stavropol governor have been prepared for sending, but will not be sent until he solves this problem.” Then Alexander Chernogorov urgently carried out water supply ( in the picture) and was successfully reassigned.
In November 2006, Alexander Chernogorov followed the example of most of his colleagues, heads of regions, and joined United Russia. Many experts called this union a hasty one. The governor’s problems did not end after joining the party in power; on the contrary, they worsened. Already during the election campaign, a new scandal awaited him, this time a family one. His wife Irina Chernogorova began speaking in the press criticizing the head of the region as a family man. Mr. Chernogorov himself expressed the opinion that his wife was bribed by A Just Russia. Indeed, in their propaganda, the Social Revolutionaries focused attention on the scandal in the Chernogorov family.
United Russia, in turn, threw its forces into the fight against the mayor of Stavropol Dmitry Kuzmin. United Russia Duma members have prepared two requests to the Prosecutor General's Office. The first concerned the dismantling last summer, on the basis of a decree by the head of the city, of the stele to the heroic donors. Representatives of A Just Russia, in turn, argued that the decision to dismantle the monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War was made by the governor. The reason for the second request was an accident that occurred in August last year due to the fault of the then head of the Pyatigorsk administration Igor Tarasov. According to the authors of the document, Dmitry Kuzmin, while at the scene of the incident, did not provide assistance to the victims.
For the entire month before the elections, the streets of Stavropol were decorated with pickets of “United Russia” and “A Just Russia”. The former demanded the resignation of Kuzmin, the latter - Chernogorov. Now the leadership of both parties is announcing personnel decisions that will be made based on the results of the regional elections. It seems that Alexander Chernogorov, despite yesterday’s optimistic statements from his deputy, will become the first victim of these decisions. However, it is not yet known which party will propose a new candidate for governor for the president’s consideration. Despite the fact that “A Just Russia” won on the party lists, “United Russia” had more seats in the Stavropol parliament - 15 versus 12 for the Just Russias thanks to single-mandate seats. In addition, there are 13 more volunteer candidates, the struggle for whom is just now unfolding.