Evgenia Chirikova: “The people are already awakened”

In Khimki near Moscow, power is changing - the governor of the Moscow region, Sergei Shoigu, who was appointed instead of Boris Gromov, who was considered permanent, dismissed the equally permanent Vladimir Strelchenko. Strelchenko and Gromov are great friends, acquaintances from their service in Afghanistan. Therefore, none of the high-profile scandals in Khimki until this moment had affected the mayor’s career - neither the fight for the Khimki forest with the constant beatings of environmentalists, nor the story of journalist Mikhail Beketov, who was beaten half to death. Acting Oleg Shakhov, the former deputy governor of the Tula region, has been appointed mayor for now. But already on October 14, on a single voting day, a new mayor of Khimki will be elected. The leader of the Movement in Defense of the Khimki Forest, Evgenia Chirikova, told PublicPost that she does not refuse to nominate her candidacy, and considers Strelchenko’s resignation to be her merit.

— Are you happy about Strelchenko’s resignation?

This is an absolutely natural thing, so I don’t jump too much for joy. Over the years of struggle, we precisely demanded the resignation of Gromov, Strelchenko, and Minister of Transport Igor Levitin. And the reputational costs of this government, the people who were the ideologists of the destruction of the Khimki forest, led to the fact that they lost power. We showed an example of how a little person resists the system.

— So the opposition in Khimki defeated the mayor?

Despite the fact that the system seems to be reinforced concrete, even a totalitarian system collapses under systemic efforts. This is the law of physics: action and reaction. This is natural. You can’t even say that Shoigu decided this. The fact that he became governor is the result of the citizens’ attack on Gromov. Everyone understands that it was Gromov and Strelchenko who incited the protest. A lot of complaints boiled down to their parasitic policies. They needed to take away either the park or the building. There were also bloody scandals - the beating of Beketov, the attack of nationalists on the environmentalists’ camp. All this has become widespread.

— But Khimki initially had great protest potential. Several years ago, when the law on the monetization of benefits was adopted, the first civil action against the law was the blocking of the Leningradskoye Highway in Khimki...

Protest potential exists everywhere and whenever people are deprived of their rights. And Khimki is a difficult city: a science city, densely populated, very close to Moscow.

— Are these people ready to vote for an opposition candidate and will they be given a chance to do so?

This is a harmful question. What does “will they give it” mean? According to opinion polls, 70% support forest defenders; I see many initiative groups being revived. And they understand that the man of the system will not help them. People have already woken up, so I'm not worried.

— Is it true that you are not going to stand for election?

I am not declaring anything, but the decision will be made on August 19th, when the Good Camp opens. Then we will nominate a candidate.

—Are you ready to name some surname?

No, but this must be a person who truly values ​​his land, has proven himself to be a fighter for the interests of the people, and who will agree to conclude a social contract. Because we have already seen those who feed with promises.