The governor of the Perm region changed his representative in the Federation Council

The governor of the Perm Territory, Viktor Basargin, refused to reappoint ex-Minister of Labor Alexander Pochinok as a representative of the region in the Federation Council (FC). Instead of Mr. Pochinok, the head of the region delegated to the Federation Council the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Andrei Klimov. The head of the region explained the reshuffle by saying that a “resident of the region” should represent the region in the Federation Council, and Mr. Pochinok called the governor “a weak and cowardly person.” Experts consider the replacement logical.

Governor Viktor Basargin announced the decision to change the senator from the executive branch of the Perm Territory. “I believe that the interests of our region in the Northern Fleet should be represented by a resident of the region. This is consistent with the decisions that were made by members of the Federation Council at the meeting with Vladimir Putin. All areas of development that are relevant for the region are connected with our representative - this is both the topic of positioning the region and the emphasis on investment attractiveness,” explained Mr. Basargin. According to him, the region needs to attract foreign investment, and Mr. Klimov has “extensive experience in international activities, which will help him implement the project “Perm - the cultural capital of Europe.” “We will implement it (the project - Kommersant ) and will position ourselves abroad,” Mr. Basargin emphasized.

“I don’t think that the decision on the senator is Mr. Basargin’s personal choice.”

Alexander Pochinok, who until now represented the governor in the Perm region, commented to Kommersant on his resignation: “I wish the new senator success; as for Governor Basargin, I have the feeling that he is a weak and cowardly person. Well, no need to impose. I feel sorry for the people who voted for me (Mr. Pochinok was elected as a deputy of the Mechinsky village council of the Kishert region of the region, thereby fulfilling the formal condition for nomination to the Northern Fleet - “Kommersant” ), I really wanted to help the region, to support. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.” Mr. Pochinok held the post of senator from the Perm Territory for five months. He was appointed to this post by the former governor of the region Oleg Chirkunov in January of this year. Before that, from 2007 to 2011, he was a senator from the Krasnodar Territory.

In turn, Andrei Klimov said that he also intends to join the Committee on International Affairs in the upper house of parliament. “Thanks to the governor’s proposal, I have additional opportunities to lobby for the interests of my native land,” he noted. “Here I was born, raised, studied, worked, and from here I was repeatedly elected to the State Duma. Work in the Chamber of Regions, taking into account the reform that the President of the country spoke about, will be emphasized to represent and protect the interests of the regions. For me, this is an opportunity to concentrate my efforts in order to carry out work in the interests of our residents both at the federal level and abroad.” Let us recall that Mr. Klimov was a deputy of four convocations of the State Duma. Until today, he was the first deputy chairman of the House Committee on International Affairs, as well as the co-chairman of the Russia-EU parliamentary cooperation committee and a member of the presidium of the General Council of United Russia.

Party representatives and experts consider the resignation logical. “Pochinok had nothing to do with Perm and was Chirkunov’s protege, Andrei Klimov is a Permian, he has not compromised himself in any way, I believe that the candidacy should not raise objections,” said State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Oleg Kulikov. “Alexander Pochinok was also forced out of the Krasnodar region. Alexander Tkachev (governor of the Krasnodar region - Kommersant ) appointed Akhmed Bilalov, who, in his opinion, was more experienced and close to him, to the position of senator instead of Pochinok. He was brought to the Perm Territory by Oleg Chirkunov (former governor of the Perm Territory - Kommersant ),” said Rostislav Turovsky, vice-president of the Center for Political Technologies. In his opinion, it is more interesting for Viktor Basargin, who was appointed governor in May and “not a local himself,” to interact with local elites, of which Andrei Klimov is a representative. “Klimov is an active politician, he knows how to stay afloat, so it is not surprising to me that the bet was made on him,” the expert believes. “Everything is simple here: the governor has changed, the senator has changed. Pochinok had a good relationship with Oleg Chirkunov, and he resigned. In addition, Pochinok is one of the faces of Mikhail Prokhorov’s project. Alexander Pochinok is an unsinkable figure, so I think that he will quickly find a new place for himself,” Evgeny Minchenko, head of the International Institute of Political Expertise, told Kommersant.

Natalia Bashlykova, Alexandra Kozlova, Dmitry Borisov

Viktor Basargin dismissed Alexander Pochinok