Dressed

The Special Corps of Medusa Andrei Pertsev tells how and why the head of Yakutsk Sardan Avksentieva, the most popular mayor in Russia, resigned

The mayor of Yakutsk Sardan Avksentieva resigned, having worked at her post a little less than two and a half years. Until January 11, she was (and still formally remains) the only head of the regional capital, who won the election with the candidate of uninstabus and was able to maintain her post. Avksentiev was called the "People's Mayor", it was popular outside the borders of her native city. Immediately after taking office, Avksentieva sold expensive SUVs of the City Hall, then reduced the prices for travel in transport, and in 2020 declared plans to resettle officials to openses on the outskirts of the city. In addition, Sardana voted against amendments to the Constitution and supported Alexander Gabyshev, who declared herself shaman. However, Evgeny Grigoryev, the United Russia and the winner of the Kremlin contest “Leaders of Russia”, announced its successor to the national mayor. According to Medusa, the resignation of the mayor of Yakutsk has long achieved the Kremlin.

“Today, January 11, I will make an application for the addition of powers to the Yakut City Duma. You know, I never held on to power or for the position. Perhaps hence freedom in making complex decisions. I ask, do not dramatize the situation: there are no irreplaceable people, and the story of Yakutsk is measured for centuries, ” wrote the head of Yakutsk Sardan Avksentieva on Instagram. She explained her decision with health problems: “The reason is stress and constant anxiety outside the city. I must admit that I can no longer work 24/365. Tomorrow I go to the hospital, soon surgery. ”

In the same post, the mayor announced the successor - her first deputy Evgeny Grigoryev, urging him to vote for him in the elections, which should be held in the spring of 2021. In the next publication, she explained that Grigoryeva was supported by the head of Yakutia Aisen Nikolaev. Both Nikolaev and Grigoriev are United Russia, and Sardana Avksentiev won the elections as an opposition candidate, having defeated the nominant of United Russia - the speaker of the City Duma Alexander Savinov, who was supported by Aisen Nikolaev (for a long time he headed Yakutsk).

In the comments to the posts of Sardana, many citizens did not appreciate the choice of the successor. “In my opinion, a psychologist, Grigoryev does not look like a fighter, but as an adaptor. It is a pity that you have such a successor. In the elections, I will not vote for him, ”wrote Mmanasytova . “That is, the city voted against United Russia, choosing you, and do you intend to vote for United Russia?” - Vladimir_dsone was indignant. Such opinions in the comments under the post of Sardana Avksentieva can be found a lot. Avksentieva herself subscribers from both Yakutsk and other cities of Russia, however, wish good luck - and call it the "people's mayor."

The resignation of the mayor of Yakutsk immediately after the New Year holidays was for most residents of the city a surprise, although back in November, local media and telegram channels began to spread rumors about the imminent resignation of Avksentieva due to health reasons. She herself commented on them evasively. “Today I woke up from dozens of messages that I was sick, dying (or already died) and resigned 👻. Officially: I took a few days of vacation to be examined, some markers outside the norm. Well, when you are fifty years old - it happens 🤒. If you notice, in two and a half years I have never taken sick leave, did not hurt, always at a combat post. Perhaps that is why rumors about my ailment caused such a commotion, ”Sardan Avksentieva responded . Exactly two months later, she resigned. The city Duma must accept it on January 14.

The Medusa interlocutor close to the presidential administration (AP) in February 2020 argued that the “fundamental decision on Avksentieva’s care” in the Kremlin has already been made. The mayor then hoped to “agree in a good way,” they said sources, but there are mechanisms and involuntary resignation of the heads of municipalities: they can be dismissed by deputies of the City Duma after a declaration of distrust from the governor or after the second unsatisfactory assessment for the annual report of the head of the city.

Perhaps the fulfillment of these plans was first prevented by the pandemic of coronavirus, and then the protests in Khabarovsk after the arrest of the governor from the LDPR Sergey Furgal - just like Sardan Avksentiev, who was chosen on an opposition wave: in the Kremlin they feared that in Yakutsk people would also go outside their mayor.

“There were no special complaints about work to her, she was in contact [with AP], took part in the study of mayors, she was not an undyerated politician. But its very stay in the post, the victory over Savinov was a system failure that needs to be corrected, ”the source of Medusa reasoned in February 2020. According to him, Avksentiev was supposed to change the young official from the Iceen Nikolaev team. This can be called Evgenia Grigoryev, albeit with a certain stretch: he began working in the Yakutsk administration back in those days when the mayor himself was Nikolaev himself (led the city from 2012 to 2018).

In 2018, the victory in the elections of the mayor of Yakutsk Avksentieva, who ran for the little -known “Renaissance of Russia”, also turned out to be a surprise: she had some political experience, but she was not a public politician. Sardana Avksentieva for a long time led the apparatus of the Yakutsk City Hall, and by the time of the election she worked at the airport of the city as the director of the production and commercial complex Aerotorgservis. In addition, although the republic is considered a rather protest region (for example, during the presidential campaign - 2018, the region showed the lowest support of Vladimir Putin), and in the elections of the heads of municipalities there are often losing the authorities from the authorities, to Sardana Avksentieva Yakutsk, the United Russia always led the United Russia.

One of the main factors of her victory was the support of a popular local politician, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Vladimir Fedorov. He moved to the elections from the Rodina party and was considered the favorite of the race, but the party withdrew his candidacy from the elections. The political strategist, who worked with the AP, told Medusa then that it was done at the request of the Kremlin: the presidential administration did not want to see a “ convicted person with their opinion” in the mayors of the mayor.

The politician did not come to terms with the removal from the campaign and in response began to openly support Avksentiev. Fedorov came to meetings with voters with Sardana, represented it to people, saying that they were one team. In the Yakut media and blogs, images of Fedorov and Avksentieva appeared in the image of the heroes of the television series “Secret Materials”, agents of Mulder and Scully (Fedorov looks like the performer of the role of Mulder, actor David Dutinniy). Sardana Avksentieva received 41% of the vote in the election, United Russia Alexander Savinov - 31%.

Interestingly, Aisen Nikolaev, who supported Savinov, won the governor’s elections on the same day.

Shaman, constitution and relocation of officials

Sardana Avksentieva quickly turned into a popular public policy. She reduced the prices for travel in city transport Yakutsk and announced that she would sell expensive cars from the city hall. The mayor also started Instagram, which became one of the main channels of her connection with voters. The supporting her Vladimir Fedorov was appointed the first deputy of Avksentieva.

In March 2019, during street performances of the indigenous residents of Yakutia (after the rape of a local resident of visitors from Kyrgyzstan), the mayor became one of those who met and talked with the protesters. Moreover, the republican administration suggested going out to the citizens, where Avksentieva was recognized as the popularity and the power of her words, then the interlocutor in the city hall told Medusa.

However, Avksentieva herself took a step towards the system, entering the ranks of the "supporters" of "United Russia".

Relations between the mayor of Yakutsk and the head of the republic, according to the interlocutor of Medusa, close to the regional authorities, were not hostile, but stretched: "Aisen [Nikolaev] zealously perceived the defeat of his candidate, he believed that in Yakutsk his opinion is decisive."

In September 2019, Vladimir Fedorov, on the proposal of the prosecutor's office, had to be fired from the post of Vice-mayor: the department considered that the official’s education did not correspond to his post-the official had a bachelor's diploma, not a master.

Despite this - as well as on a ritual gesture towards United Russia, Sardan continued to behave quite freely. Even before Fedorov’s dismissal, she supported Alexander Gabyshev, who declared himself a shaman and went to Moscow to “expel Putin”. And in the summer of 2020, Avksentieva openly voted against amendments to the Constitution - and even showed the citizens a ballot. After that, it began to actively criticize her controlled by the republican authorities of the media.

“Some sites day after day continue to distort the facts. Yes, I may not be the best mayor in the history of our city, but certainly not the worst, as they try to outline. An unprecedented lie poured at me after voting under the constitution. It was expected. I won’t be surprised if they still have any criminal case, ”she expressed fears on her Facebook. Vasily Gogolev was subjected to criminal prosecution a year before: in 2020 he was found guilty of abuse of powers and sentenced to four years in prison.

One of the last high -profile initiatives of Avksentieva was her decision to sell the city hall building in the city center: it was assumed that the administration would move to the outskirts and would be located in a new building where officials would sit in openses, and not in individual offices. Aleksey Tolstyakov, spokesman Avksentieva, assured local journalists that the mayor’s resignation would not change these plans (Medusa said that Sardana Avksentieva has not yet given interviews or comments, since he was “preparing for the operation”).

One of the Medusa sources close to the Kremlin said that initially in the negotiations of the Presidential Administration with Avksentieva, its nomination was discussed to the State Duma or in a single -mandate district, or according to the list of one of the parties (now the republic in the lower house of the parliament is represented by a single -member Fedot Tumusov from “Fair Russia”; he did not answer the calls and messages of Medusa). But in the end, this scenario was “paused”, the source claims.

Vladimir Fedorov, who is now working as the director of development in one of the management companies of Yakutsk, in a conversation with Meduza, said that he was considering the option of his nomination in the mayor’s elections as opposed to the successor of Sardana Avksentieva Evgeny Grigoryeva. “There are thoughts, I did not finally decide - I evaluate the situation, I spend consultations. The townspeople say: “Fedorov, go to the mayors!” I can work, I am not a sofa expert, but I need to evaluate everything, the nomination should be for the benefit of people, ”he said. He did not evaluate the candidacy of Evgeny Grigoryev, adding that "he respects Sardan and her decision."

According to Fedorov, the residents of the city are in shock after the statement of the mayor’s resignation (the city Duma must accept it on January 14). “How so? What happened? Sardana leaves his departure and surge in discontent among the townspeople so that there is no second Khabarovsk. But the people understand everything, he tensed. The mayor crushed, a systematic work was going on, ”said Vladimir Fedorov.

The Yakut journalist and political scientist Vitaly Ododin said that, “judging by the comments on social networks and on the forums of Yakutia, few sincerely put on health reasons, the majority believes that there is political and administrative pressure behind this.”

“The head of the region, Aisen Nikolaev, immediately after the announcement of the resignation of [Avksentieva] several times publicly emphasized that everyone was discussing with him in advance,” says Obrandin. - Well, of course, a cherry on the cake was a completely humiliating mayor’s trip with her deputy to the head of Yakutia to receive a blessing for Mr. Grigoriev. Look at the situation from the side: the sick woman on the eve of the operation after the announcement of either her or a exhausted decision for some reason goes with her deputy successor to a personal reception to the governor, then poses in front of the cameras, and he approves all. ”

“It is clear that under Avksentieva, at the head of the city, it is difficult to choose the loyal authority of the candidate for the State Duma, and I have long dreamed of returning control of the city of Aisen Nikolaev,” said Political strategist Ilya Paimushkin, who participated in the campaign of Sardana Avksentieva. - Agreeing with her to care, as the head of the republic seems to be, he kills several hares at once: the popular mayor leaves; In early elections that will be held as soon as possible [in the spring of 2021], a loyal candidate Grigoryev is elected; The elections to the State Duma may be in a different scenario and it will be possible to squeeze the [deputy of the State Duma from Yakutia, reference] Fedot Tumusov in a single -mandate district. "

The successor of Sardana Avksentieva Evgeny Grigoryev is the winner of the competition “Leaders of Russia”, which is held by the Administration of the President of Russia. The interlocutor of Medusa, familiar with the contents of training programs for the winners of the competition, said that the audience is cited by Avksentiev as a negative example of the municipal leader: “They say, it is engaged in PR, and little has been done in the city.”

“But it is clear that this is not so, Yakutsk lives, everything is in order there,” he concludes.

Author: Andrey Pertsev

Editor: Valery Igumenov