Easy jigsaw

It is unlikely that anyone was waiting for high-profile statements on the press trip of the Vologda governor Oleg Kuvshinnikov. I am sure that most of the audience came to listen to stories about economic successes, the development of tourism and, of course, import substitution. However, the loud statement sounded and was instantly replicated in the federal media. "I believe that the election of the governor takes a large amount of time and resources. During the election campaign, the Governor’s team is distracted from the solution of operational issues that are facing the regions. I think this is inappropriate. In my opinion, in Russia it is still necessary to return to the appointment of governors by the president. Of course, for me as a governor who received the majority of votes on the election, this The trust that we must work out now.

And cool, the governor is sitting who believes that governors must be appointed and constantly talks about the European level in everything - business, tourism

- Evgeny Domozhirov (@domozhiroff) September 29, 2015

But this is the matter. The governor is cunning or simply forgotten: his opinion has changed. And not for the first time.

In December 2011, Dmitry Medvedev appointed Kuvshinnikov as the head of the Vologda region, when his predecessor “failed” elections to the Goskdaric Duma (in the largest cities of the United Russia region, a murmur with “fair”). In May 2012, giving an interview with the local newspaper Premier, Kuvshinnikov said that he was “welcoming the election of governors”, but was not ready to spend budget money on the polls and resign a few months after his appointment. However, in the spring of 2014, the governor decided to spend money and asked Putin to accept his resignation. A year ago, he won boring, formal and completely uncompetitive elections, extending his powers until 2019. So what happened now?

Political scientist Yevgeny Minkchenko believes that this is the personal position of Kuvshinnikov and it is dictated by a “light mandrage” after the victory of the communist Levchenko in the Irkutsk region. But I do not believe that the Vologda governor can have a completely personal, independent of Moscow and at the same time a public position on this issue.

Russia is sometimes called the "Federation of corporations, not regions"

To understand the words of Kuvshinnikov, you need to deal with him a little. The main thing: this is as much a systemic person as possible. This is a person from large business: before he came to politics, he worked for Severstal. The influence of the Cherepovets metallurgists on the Vologda policy is generally difficult to overestimate: the native of Severstal was the previous governor, from there three of the current deputies of Kuvshinnikov and the speaker of the regional parliament came out. Russia is sometimes called the "federation of corporations, not regions", and if so, then the real subject of the Federation is "Severstal", and its head is the oligarch Alexei Mordashov, quite loyal to Putin.

So, the whole biography of Kuvshinnikov is through and through systematic. Career at the metallurgical plant, the election of Cherepovets to the city Duma, the election of the mayor of Cherepovets, the appointment of the governor - never, for a second Oleg Kuvshinnikov was a rebel. He was always strict, fastened with all the buttons by the manager and official.

Putin returns the governor’s elections, and the jugs “welcomes” this. The heads of regions are massively going to early elections - jugs with them. If now the head of the Vologda region says that the governors should be appointed, this cannot go only from him. This means such conversations are in Moscow.

But the conversations in Moscow can really be caused by a "light jolly", which Mintchenko is talking about. Fedor Krasheninnikov suggests : the victory of the Communists in Irkutsk suggests that Putin’s confidence is only growing. But in Russia there were already several dozen new governor elections, and all of them were still walking along one scenario: strict selection of sparring partners for a candidate from power, a sluggish campaign, a predictable outcome. That is how he re -elected to his post of jugs.

The Irkutsk region first broke this scenario. The Communist Party is unconditionally a system party, and Levchenko may turn out to be an absolutely typical Putin governor, but so far even his victory is stress for the ruling regime.

The replica of Oleg Kuvshinnikov is about this.

Ivan Belyaev - Vologda journalist, employee of Radio Liberty

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  Ivan Belyaev

  Social Networks Editor Radio Liberty