A island of calm

The end of 2016 demonstrated in which regions of Siberia the authorities really think about the interests of the population, and in which - only in words. For example, despite 30-degree frosts, Novosibirsk held a rally in December against raising tariffs at housing and communal services.

The city hall, led by the Communist Anatoly Loktom, refused the initiators in access to the central square of Lenin, referring to the cleaning of snow. And the protesters had to freeze on the promenade of Ob at the monument to Emperor Alexander III. There they adopted a resolution in the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, envoy to the head of state in Siberia Sergey Chanipolo with a demand for the region’s authorities to cancel the indexation of tariffs. Interestingly, residents are not against raising prices for housing and communal services in general - but they agree that they grow synchronously with inflation. By the way, the regional prosecutor's office began checking the validity of the increase in tariffs - its results are expected in January.

Housing and communal services in Novosibirsk and the region will rise in price from July 1, 2017 by an average of 15%. Tariffs for drainage and cold water supply will grow by 20.1% and 20%, respectively, for heat and hot water - by 14.9% and 15.9%. City deputies, frightened by protests, asked Governor Vladimir Gorodetsky not to coordinate the indexation. Moreover, the federal authorities recommended not to increase tariffs in the region by more than 4%. But on December 16, Gorodetsky signed a decision, motivating his unpopular decision by the desire to prevent “all kinds of technologists” (Gorodetsky’s ability to express himself in Chernomyrdinsky is known far beyond the boundaries of Novosibirsk). “There is absolutely, believe me, conviction, correctness, economic expediency. But, another thing that is the fate of people. For some, 200 rubles are increasing-nothing to worry, and they will not see. And for someone and 50 rubles, this is a few money, ”the governor said. Adding that the authorities will develop additional measures of social support, but they will not refuse to increase tariffs.

City deputies, frightened by protests, asked the governor not to coordinate indexation

Against the backdrop of this strange battle of the authorities with the population, a neighboring Kuzbass with the Novosibirsk region looks like an island of calm. And this despite the fact that the protest potential of this region in the dashing 90s went down in history-the knock of mining helmets along Moscow bridge and the transmission of the Trans-Siberian Railway has not yet been erased from the popular memory. The main achievement of the Governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev, who has been led by the region since 1997, is that he has created a unique social protection system on this territory, one of the most powerful in Russia. “The most important thing is that all our measures are personal, targeted, pointed,” the head of Kuzbass always emphasizes.

There is a “Kuzbass pension”, free travel, free treatment in the hospital of wars veterans, housing and communal services and other measures to support the older generation, regional personalized scholarships to excellent students, promotions, grants and bonuses to gifted students and students, targeted subsidies for training for learning. The regional action “Help Gather to School” continues to be implemented, and assistance to graduates to prepare for the final ball is provided. Preferential housing loans are issued, a lot of work is carried out to promote a healthy lifestyle, talented schoolchildren of the region are given free bicycles, and the older generation - Scandinavka and so on. So, only in 2016, according to the regional program, children and students received more than 9 thousand bicycles for free, and the older generation - more than 25 thousand pairs of sticks for sports walking.

The average wage in the whole Kuzbass in 2016 increased by 3.5%, to 29 thousand 252 rubles. This is not the highest indicator in Siberia, but decent for the industrial region. And Aman Tuleyev always holds a hand on the pulse of any increase in prices, tariffs and the cost of services. For example, on New Year's holidays, he turned to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to stop a sharp increase in gas prices-on average for Siberia for 20 kopecks per liter from January 1. In 2016, the cost of the running brand of gasoline AI-92 increased by 1.8 rubles. The last increase was ten days ago, and in just last year the price increased five times. Tuleyev called the constant increase in fuel prices for a real lawlessness. “Monopolists use their position in the market, ignore the interests of the Kuzbassians and, in fact, climb into the pocket of the population. They do not explain the reasons, people are simply confronted with the fact: the price has risen, ”Tuleyev said.

In this quote - the typical attitude of the authorities towards monopolists. Therefore, it is not possible to represent a rally similar to Novosibirsk in Kuzbass. As well as a sharp increase in tariffs for housing and communal services - in the Kemerovo region, it is just right to rally the monopolists themselves, who will fly on the head for any increase without demand. The policy pursued by the Kuzbass administration is based on the cult of justice, and Tuleyev himself acts as an expressor of the interests of unprotected groups of the population, a fighter with the dominance of Moscow oligarchs and the defender of the interests of the common people. What is social responsibility - the business here understands clearly, and to those entrepreneurs who do not understand this quickly and intelligibly explain. Sometimes with the help of the prosecutor's office and various supervisory authorities. This style of the team of Aman Tuleyev, of course, does not suit everyone. The most clearly the response of the offended manifested itself in the past year in the case of the “Inskaya” section.

In November, the detention of eight people thundered throughout the country, among whom were the head of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of Kuzbass, Major General of Justice Sergey Kalinkin, two of his subordinates, two deputies of Tuleyev-acting First Vice-Governor Alexander Danilchenko and vice-governor for relations with law enforcement agencies Alexei Ivanov, head of the Department of Administrative bodies of the regional administration Elena Troitskaya; Novokuznetsk entrepreneur Alexander Schukin, as well as his business partner Gennady Vernigor. After a series of searches in the working rooms and at the places of residence of the suspects, they sent to Novosibirsk, where the court decided on house arrest until January 13 for all except Kalinkin - he was left in jail. At the end of December, house arrest was extended until April 13, 2017. General Kalinkin was left in custody until the same date and additionally accused under the article on abuse of authority.

Tuleyev, commenting on the arrest of his subordinates, admitted that they could allow “legal illiteracy”, but they certainly did not commit any extortion

According to the IC of the Russian Federation, the suspects extorted from the local businessman Anton Tsygankov, the Care "Inca" (conducts coal production in an underground way in the Belovsky district of the Kemerovo region; last year - 712 thousand tons), which investigators estimated at a tidy and beautiful amount of 1 billion rubles belonging to him. Without explaining, however, where did such an assessment come from, immediately picked up by the media; Moreover, if you recall the fact that at the beginning of the year the debts of the “Insky” were estimated at 12 billion rubles. Since the end of 2015, the company has plunged into a crisis, did not get coal, and creditors desperately tried to achieve its bankruptcy. According to Interfax, since the beginning of last year, more than 40 claims for a total of more than 200 million rubles have been filed against Inskoye.

The miners who did not receive a salary for several months were going to hold a strike and a rally of protest. Then, in the problem situation, the regional authorities intervened, always striving to extinguish any social explosion in the bud. Tsygankov himself even found herself under the investigation in the criminal case of “abuse of authority that entailed grave consequences” (part 2 of article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, due to its actions, the incision has formed accounts payable, exceeding 500 million rubles.

After that, by the way, the “Inskaya” began to actively pay the accumulated salary debts. In August, salary debts were repaid to 864 employees in the amount of 64.16 million rubles, in October - worth more than 19 million rubles. Some of them were cut workers from the regional fund "Mercy".

In the summer, specialists of Schukin enterprises were involved in the launch of the new lava on the Inska, and he himself began to be considered as the future new owner of the incision. For Kuzbass, such a practice is not uncommon. Such is the “manual control” by the economy, the style of Aman Tuleyev. The “bad” owner who ceases to pay salaries and taxes “on the advice” of the authorities is replaced by the “good”. Everything is done within the framework of the law, but legal casuistry is secondary. It is not surprising that Tuleyev himself, commenting on the arrest of his subordinates, admitted that they could allow “legal illiteracy”, but they certainly did not commit any extortion of the “Inskaya” section.

Be that as it may, but the incision began to extract coal again-six months after downtime due to problems with the launch of a new lava. The enterprise has a future. Employees celebrated New Year at festive tables and with salary debts. It is completely incomprehensible what the security forces and Zamov Tuleyev are still accused of, if the “manual control” again demonstrated its effectiveness with an example of about 800 lives of miners.

In general, in December 2016, the salary debt in Kuzbass has halved - from more than 63 million to 30 million rubles, "as a result of a set of measures taken by the administration together with law enforcement officers." “On behalf of the governor Aman Tuleyev in the New Year's period, the regional administration strengthened work with debtor enterprises to protect the labor rights of Kuzbass and give people the opportunity to meet the holiday in a good mood. Violators of labor legislation will be fined, and in case of repeated violation, they are prosecuted, ”the governor’s press service said. At the same time, more than half of the overdue debt falls on the bankrupt enterprise, similar to the “Insko”.

Such a concern for the population to learn to the neighbors of the Kemerovo residents, to the same authorities of the Novosibirsk region. You look, and folk protests in the city, which is led by the communist mayor, would be smaller. And the holidays would not overshadow the upcoming increase in tariffs.

Denis Davydov, especially for taiga.info