"He must take revenge." Devlethan Alikhanov was released in Karelia

On December 13, the Karelian politician and businessman Devlethan Alikhanov was released from colony 7 in the Karelian city of Segezha on December 13. In November 2017, the Petrozavodsk court found him guilty of an economic crime and sentenced him to six years in prison. On December 5, 2018, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia canceled the verdict. By this moment, the former Senator Alikhanov spent almost four years in a pre -trial detention center. But now one of the most influential Karelian oligarchs and politicians is rehabilitated.

“What feelings can be? Normal, good! I am glad that I am going home,” said Devlethan Alikhanov to the Radio Liberty correspondent an hour after the release. In Segezh, where the Karelian businessman and politician spent almost a year, he was met by his nephew. ​

Devlethan Alikhanov was born in Dagestan in 1958. In 1982 he graduated from the Moscow Cooperative Institute of the Central Union, immediately after that he went to Karelia and opened his own business. He earned the first capital on vegetable trading. In the late 1990s, he owned a significant package of shares of the shipbuilding industry "Avangard".

In the 2000s, Alikhanov’s business interests grew into political. He easily changed the party affiliation: he was a member of the LDPR, then represented the Yabloko-NPSR faction in the Karelia Legislative Assembly, then entered the Fair Russia faction, financed several election campaigns and became actually the “gray cardinal” of the capital of Karelia. His protege Yevgeny Zhuravlev received the post of deputy mayor, a group of deputies supported by Alikhanov took control of the Petrozavodsky City Council. Alikhanov’s supporters held posts in city municipal units, and he himself headed the “coordination council” of the city, which actually determined the political and economic agenda. It is believed that the control of the mayor's control helped Alikhanov receive several real estate objects for long -term lease and extract from this profit “from scratch”, on the delivery of the premises for sublease. Alikhanov’s “Empire” included construction companies and shopping centers. Under his control, there were several popular media in the republic.

- Alikhanov was helped by political technological enterprises, where he invested money. The forms of activity of these enterprises are certainly not crystal, ”says political scientist Anatoly Tsygankov . -Therefore, to say that he is some kind of crystal honest politician, just funny. He used the same tools that all others used for his victory.

In 2009, Alikhanov was registered as a candidate for mayors of Petrozavodsk. According to forecasts, he could win the elections with Nikolai Levin, who was supported by the then head of the republic, Sergei Katanandov. Alikhanov was offered an exchange: the abandonment of mayor's ambitions for the post of senator from Karelia. He joined United Russia and withdrew his candidacy from the elections of the mayor of Petrozavodsk. In March 2010, Alikhanov received a post of member of the Federation Council, then the post of deputy head of the republic and the post of deputy chairman of the Karelian parliament. In May 2012, Alexander Khudilinen became the head of Karelia. Soon Alikhanov left the parliamentary post - after most of his team was behind bars in the “ land case ”.

According to political scientists and local experts, the process in relation to the Alikhanov team, and then the businessman himself was initiated by the then head of Karelia, who tried to take control of the city. Alikhanov became a consistent critic of the government of the republic. In December 2014, at a meeting of the Khudilainen with deputies of the Karelian Legislative Assembly, Alikhanov proposed to dissolve the Karelian government and hinted at a scandalous story with Siversal Forest during a skirmish with Khudilain. In this case, Khudilainen was held as a witness (a section of the Siversky forest in the Leningrad Region was first illegally sold, and then cut down to build elite real estate; a decree on sale in 2005 signed Khudilainen, then - the head of the Gatchina district).

Now, of course, those people who performed such lawlessness be punished.

In February 2015, Alikhanov was arrested and sent to a pre -trial detention center. He was accused of illegally crossing the border at the diplomatic passport, which he had to hand over by leaving the parliament, and in fraud on an especially large scale. According to investigators, Alikhanov in 2007–2008 through dummies bought 13 premises of Sberkass with the administration of Petrozavodsk, which “caused damage to the city treasury” of 35 million rubles. In April 2015, seven deputies of three parliamentary factions of the Republic of Karelia (United Russia, the Communist Party and Yabloko) were entrusted for him. Among them was the current leader of the Yabloko party Emilia Slabunova.

On November 24, 2017, the judge of the Petrozavodsk City Court Natalya Mannok sentenced to Alikhanova: six years of colony of maximum security, a fine of 700 thousand rubles and 8 million rubles in a civilian claim in favor of the administration. By that time, the businessman spent almost three years in a single chamber of pre -trial detention center. During escort on the corridor, he said: "Karelia is leading!" Or "to us, Karelians, not the first time." He joked with friends that he would finally rest, and all in tattoos would be released, like an authoritative thief.

If he then confessed what he had not done, he would still sit

In January 2018, the Supreme Court of Russia left the sentence previously sentenced by Alikhanov. On April 25, 2018, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the businessman illegally spent three years in the investigative insulator on charges of fraud. In November, the Russian government agreed with the decision of the ECHR and paid compensation to Alikhanov. On December 5, Lawyer Alikhanova Mikhail Shogin said that the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia abolished the verdict and rehabilitated his client.

“This is the second case in Russian judicial practice, when members of the Presidium went beyond the issue under consideration and made a decision on the whole sentence,” said Shogin.

- The system is unpredictable. When he was tried, Devlet did not go along a simple path: to confess everything to him, as he was offered. If he then confessed what he had not done, he would probably sit, probably, says businessman Vasily Popov . ​

Over the years that Alikhanov spent behind bars, he had a grandson. During the time, while he was under investigation, there were changes in the political life of Petrozavodsk. Court processes took place over another oppositionist and business partner Alikhanov, the leader of the Karelian Yabllenniki Vasily Popov. Popova’s cousin Svetlana Chechil went to the colony, the wife of Anastasia Kravchuk received a conditional term in the “Petrocopy case”, which was also based on the accusation of fraud with the privatization of the city building. Popov is hiding in Finland, where he received a political asylum in 2017: the Russian authorities arrested him in absentia and put him on the federal wanted list. From the post of mayor of the city at the end of 2015, Galina Shirshina, close to apple circles, was shifted and close to apple circles. Shirshin connects his departure and arrests of political competitors with the activities of the then head of Karelia Khudilinen.

“This is a period associated with the work of Khudilinen and its influence in power structures,” says Shirshina. - I am horrified by the fact that Alikhanov was deprived of three years of life, and deprived not only him, but also his family, his colleagues, deprived those people with whom he collaborated. This is all disgusting and confirms once again: the period of stay in the power of Khudilainen for Petrozavodsk is one of the most unpleasant. People who said not what the governor would like to hear, but did what they considered it necessary and important for other people, simply washed from the face of the earth - this was Svetlana Chechil, and Devletkhan Alikhanov, and Olga Zaletskaya, Anastasia Kravchuk, Alexander Kornilova.

Khudilainen, who retired in February 2017, refused to comment on the situation in a conversation with Radio correspondent.

On December 5, 2018, all charges were not only removed from Devletkhan Alikhanov - he was released with the right to rehabilitation.

- This is such a "test of water." This practice was used in the Middle Ages: they scald your hand, if it heals, it means that you have not committed crimes. Nothing has changed since then, ”says lawyer Mikhail Shogin . -There is an adversarial process when the parties have equal rights, and we have an inquisitional process: in one case they let you say, in another they do not give.

According to the Karelian political scientist Oleg Reut , Alikhanov’s return to Karelia can change the political situation in the region.

- In modern political theory, there is a very important promising direction - the theory of political emotions. One of these emotions is the manifestation of revenge, the intention to repay for insult, resentment, or suffering. When Alikhanov returns to a socio-political life, he, due to personal characteristics and due to the circumstances in which he is, will take revenge, in a political sense, says Reut.

The leader of the Yabloko party Emilia Slabunova considers it possible to return Alikhanov to politics, but gives cautious forecasts:

- The executive branch, obviously by order (or with the participation) of which repressive actions were carried out in relation to Alikhanov, demolished a considerable shame - the abolition of the sentence and rehabilitation of the convict, and this gives some hope. It is still difficult to talk about returning to Alikhanov’s policy, you must first talk with him. But it would be important that he returned to politics, because the experience of the experience experienced by him will cause additional trust among voters.

Alikhanov promised to tell about his plans at a press conference, but when she would take place, it is unclear: yesterday's prisoner needs time to "recover."