The head of Rosprirodnadzor may become a deputy governor

The head of St. Petersburg, Georgy Poltavchenko, has begun to rotate his government, the composition of which may change radically after the gubernatorial elections he won in September. The first to leave his post after the elections is one of the governor’s closest associates, his deputy for the cultural and ideological bloc, Vasily Kichedzhi: today he will be elected head of the executive committee of the local United Russia cell. His place in Smolny may be taken by the head of Rosprirodnadzor, Vladimir Kirillov. In Smolny, they are also looking for a post for the former head of the Ministry of Regional Development, Igor Slyunyaev.

Vasily Kichedzhi (right) will be useful to Georgy Poltavchenko as head of the executive committee of the St. Petersburg “United Russia”
Photo: Evgeny Pavlenko, Kommersant

Today, St. Petersburg United Russia members will elect Vasily Kichedzhi as the head of their executive committee, who will transfer to party work from the post of vice-governor. Mr. Kichedzhi was the first appointed deputy of Georgy Poltavchenko after his arrival at Smolny, replacing Alla Manilova (the chief PR specialist of ex-governor Valentina Matvienko, and now deputy minister of culture) in this post. The cultural, educational and ideological bloc was transferred to the new vice-governor, including the committee on press and interaction with the media, although Mr. Kichedzhi’s media resources were linked to the media by the media resources he owned (three radio stations and the Stolitsa TV channel). In 2012, the wife of the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Vasily Kichedzhi Antonina, together with her partner, acquired licenses for radio broadcasting in 21 cities for 5.06 million rubles from OJSC Concern Radio Center, which is controlled by him, which manages the radio station Govorit Moskva. and then resold them to the European Media Group (presumably 25 times more expensive; see Kommersant of July 22, 2013). Mr. Kichedzhi himself, before coming to Smolny, headed the department of transport and communications in the Moscow government of Yuri Luzhkov and was an adviser to the plenipotentiary representative in the Central Federal District Georgy Poltavchenko on economics.

During the 2012 presidential elections, Mr. Kichedzhi was the first to announce the possibility of Georgy Poltavchenko’s participation in early gubernatorial elections, which caused sharp discontent from the federal center. Six months later, Kommersant's sources in Smolny and representatives of the business elite for the first time predicted his resignation (see Kommersant on August 9, 2012), after the prosecutor's office took over the activities of the film director Dmitry Meskhiev, whom he had invited to the post of head of the culture committee. But only Mr. Meskhiev was fired then. On the eve of the gubernatorial elections, the head of the press committee, Alexander Lobkov, who worked under the leadership of Vasily Kichedzhi in the Moscow mayor's office, was also dismissed. At the same time, both officials failed to hold tenders in the outdoor advertising market for three years, which led to a loud scandal (see text on page 1). And the elections and other internal political issues in Smolny were handled by the heads of the governor’s administration. During Mr. Kichedzhi’s tenure, the governor failed to lobby Konstantin Serov for the post of head of the St. Petersburg branch of United Russia; this position was eventually given to the speaker of the legislative assembly, Vyacheslav Makarov.

Kommersant's sources claim that the presidential administration insisted on Vasily Kichedzhi's resignation. He himself told Kommersant yesterday that he was invited to a new job by the leader of the city United Russia, Vyacheslav Makarov, and the governor approved this proposal. Mr. Kichedzhi called his future activities “very creative and promising,” and when asked about his first steps, he promised to introduce United Russia members to “Dunno on the Moon” as a political economy textbook.”

According to Kommersant's sources in Smolny and the presidential administration, Vladimir Kirillov, who has headed Rosprirodnadzor since 2008, will become the new vice-governor. Before that, he was the first deputy governor of the Leningrad region Valery Serdyukov, and previously served as a political officer in the border troops, including the Vyborg border detachment, was a deputy of the Vyborg City Council, and the head of the administration of the Vyborg region. Let us remember that Georgy Poltavchenko also served in the KGB there. Kommersant's sources claim that Mr. Kirillov is not the creature of the governor, but of the president, with whom, according to them, he is well acquainted. It was not possible to contact Mr. Kirillov and his press service yesterday.

In Smolny, they are now looking for a position for the former head of the Ministry of Regional Development, Igor Slyunyaev, however, according to Kommersant’s information, he is not satisfied with the post of an ordinary vice-governor for housing and communal services (Vladimir Lavlentsev will leave him), and the position of first vice-governor does not exist in Smolny. The new government was expected to be introduced in the city parliament today, but this has been postponed until November 12.

Anna Pushkarskaya, St. Petersburg

Georgy Poltavchenko changes associates