Andrey Turchak may head the general council of the party in whose youth organization he began his career / Andrey Gordeyev / Vedomosti

Pskov Region Governor Andrei Turchak will become a senator from the Pskov Region, sources close to the presidential administration and in United Russia told Vedomosti. In addition, he is one of the candidates for the post of secretary of the party's general council, a source in the faction and two sources close to the presidential administration confirmed to Vedomosti. Turchak did not answer Vedomosti's calls.

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According to one of the members of the United Russia leadership, in order to appoint Turchak, he must first be made a member of the General Council, and this can only happen by decision of the party congress, which will not take place before December. According to a source of Vedomosti in the government, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will meet with Turchak on October 12. According to him, the party charter contains a clause stating that if the secretary of the General Council moves to another position, not only a member of the General Council can be appointed to this post.

The Pskov governor is a compromise figure, the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin worked with Turchak, says a source in United Russia. The appointment looks like a hardware victory for the administration, believes a federal official: the General Council is now only Volodin's people, and Turchak is an administration decision approved by the president. "This means that now the party and the faction are not the same thing," he adds. The source in the State Duma agrees that with this appointment, the presidential administration gains influence over the party. Apparently, Turchak is tired of "sitting in Pskov", and he is a person from the team of the head of Rostec Sergei Chemezov, so he was in demand at the federal level, he adds. It is not entirely correct to call Turchak Chemezov's man - his father Anatoly was close to the president regardless of the CEO of Rostec, rather, they have a partnership, says a source in the state corporation.

Turchak is a figure that is understood by Putin, Medvedev, Volodin, and the leadership of the presidential administration, says a source in United Russia.

Andrey Turchak was linked to the beating of journalist Oleg Kashin, which took place in 2010. In 2015, the perpetrators were detained (their trial is ongoing), stating that the customer was the general director of the defense holding company "Zaslon" Alexander Gorbunov, who acted in the interests of Turchak. Then a case was opened about the kidnapping of Gorbunov by the perpetrators of the beating of the journalist, and he himself was released. Turchak called these accusations a provocation.

The parliamentary faction is always the political core and political face of any party, believes the head of ISEPI Dmitry Badovsky. Sergei Neverov worked as the party's secretary general for six years, conducted two federal and many regional campaigns, advanced the party in technology, was engaged in the development of the primaries institute, the expert says, therefore "it is logical to let new people work further". Turchak is historically connected with the party, headed the "Young Guard of United Russia", Badovsky reminds: "After that, he worked for eight years "on the ground" at the head of the region and is now returning to the federal level. His career trajectory is the same as that of those young governors who are now leaving to work in the territories."

I was already a senator

Currently, the Pskov region is represented in the Federation Council by Elena Bibikova and Alexander Borisov. Before his appointment as governor, Turchak was a senator from the Pskov region from 2007 to 2009.

Turchak's appointment is connected with internal party alignments, says political scientist Alexander Kynev: "We were looking for a figure with the help of which we could build the necessary balances. The removal of Neverov certainly does not strengthen, to put it mildly, Volodin's position. However, it is not clear whose position is strengthened by Turchak's appointment." This decision is controversial, Turchak has a negative image trail, says Kynev: "The story with Kashin, the scandal with the burial of paratroopers and Lev Shlosberg immediately comes to mind. He tried to be a neutral governor, but was always involved in scandals."

Governor Andrey Turchak may become a senator