"Tired - they saw and saw money!" The first protests against the growth of housing and communal services tariffs in the regions

In Novosibirsk on Saturday, February 4, for the first time in three years of covid restrictions, a protest rally agreed by the authorities - a rally against raising utility tariffs. Their growth was from 9 to 17%. Previously, such shares were held in the city center, now the activists were “exiled” to the outskirts.

The action was announced for 1000 people, but North reached the city airport to protest about three hundred .

Just 10 minutes before the start on the site, where the organizers installed the platform and equipment, the snowman suddenly drove, dispersing the already gathered people. An elderly man blocked the road to the car: "Who are you threatening? Do you scare pensioners?!" The driver quickly jumped up from his seat moved towards him, a bickering began, after which the loader nevertheless left.

The organizer of the rally, an independent deputy of the Novosibirsk City Council Anton Kartinov said that after raising tariffs, he turned to the prosecutor’s office with a proposal to check the legality of such a decision of the authorities, but the prosecutor's office refused to conduct an audit, after which the deputy submitted an application for a rally. The rally was allowed, but the loader was not forgotten just in case.

“There was experience in Novosibirsk when ex-governor Vladimir Gorodetsky had to respond to a series of rallies,” Kartavin recalled. - Then the authorities also raised tariffs above the recommended 6%, but after the protest rallies retreated. According to the constitution, the source of power is the people, and if the authorities listens to him, this is good. Let's hope, and this time we will be able to achieve something.

In Novosibirsk, the tariff is on average by 11%. Most of all, water disposal has risen - by 17%. Hot water supply and heating services - by 11.9%. Cold water became 12%more expensive, gas - by 10%. The maximum increase in the tariff in Kuibyshev is 12.3%.

The protest experience that Kartin recalls is December 2016. Then the Novosibirsk authorities also sharply raised tariffs for housing and communal services. The decision, signed by the then governor Vladimir Gorodetsky, caused mass indignation. Even 30-degree frosts did not prevent protests . The rallies continued in 2017. In the end, the authorities retreated.

“Gorodetsky then reduced tariffs, because he was somehow dependent on the voters, and the traumatic people ( the governor of the Novosibirsk region since September 14, 2018.-SR )-Varangian, who was appointed, and he does not depend on us,” the pensioner Tatyana Petrovna argues. “Therefore, they want to cancel the mayor’s elections so that he also does not depend on us.”

“Interestingly, this is the first time in my life at a rally,” says one of the participants in the action, Valentin Dyachenko . - I am at such an age when all this bacchanalia hits me on the wallet too. And it's not only about these tariffs. Just tired - they saw and saw money, I am watching it from year to year.

- My pension increased by 4%, and the heating tariff - by 12%, hot water - about 10%, overhaul - by 25%. We become poorer, and they have no more to take them from, they will not take them from themselves, ”the pensioner Yuri Pavlov is sure

- The fact that, perhaps, an increase is necessary, I admit, but we did not receive any information about the fact that such a decision was justified. And most importantly, there are no tools for monitoring the use of this money - will they really be put up for modernization? - says entrepreneur Dmitry Kholyavchenko.

-Still, you can get a reduction in tariffs in today's Novosibirsk?

- Perhaps, but for this you need a certain mood of people. I’m not sure that people will quickly be able to swing quite quickly after those three years when public events were impossible due to pandemia.

The organizers turned on the Russian anthem and after the first verse announced the rally open. The host Andrei Gladchenko asked to raise their hands on those who participated in rallies against tariff growth in 2016-2017. Several dozen people responded to the call.

The first was the independent deputy of the City Council Svetlana Kaverzina , One of the founders of the Novosibirsk 2020 coalition, created by local activists and politicians to combat the "United Russia Alliance Alliance".

- Any raising of tariffs is now criminally, and raising above the percentage of inflation is doubly criminally criminally. And the closeness of information about how and why such a decision was made, even more insults Novosibirsk, ”said Cavex.

“Let me remind you that the current increase in tariffs occurs against the backdrop of SV, which devours billions of rubles daily,” the microphone was taken by Sergey Krupenko , a representative of the left -wing -willed “red turn” information resource. - This money, including from the National Welfare Fund, had to be a long time ago to restore our destroyed infrastructure. This is not done because it is unprofitable to the ruling class. The question is how we will live on? What will happen to us and our unfortunate country? This catastrophe, where the ruling class leads today, will have to make a mock many generations of Russians, our children and, probably, grandchildren. We need a change in the political course, which is impossible without removing the ruling click from their ragged places!

The rally was attended by 98-year-old war veteran Vladimir Stepanov. The authorities, according to him, are afraid when people gather in the city center, so the protesters were here on the outskirts.

- This is a robbery! Why? For what? Because they need to steal! The thief is Gorodetsky, a thief - an elbow and herbalists, who arrived from Vologda.

According to Anton Kartavin, he sent invitations to the local branches of all parties, but only the head of the Novosibirsk "Yabloko" Natalya Chubykina came to the rally.

- Housing and communal services tariffs in Novosibirsk are managed by Moscow. The question arises: how long? The main problem is that we cannot solve anything for ourselves. The next step in power is the cancellation of the mayor’s elections. Soon we will lose the last opportunity to speak out about a particular phenomenon in our city. This must be stopped, people should have the right to vote, ”said Chubykina.

In addition to several dozen police officers at the rally were attended by officials of the city hall, as well as the chief federal inspector for the Novosibirsk region Yuri Semenov. They did not want to speak to the audience.

At the end of the rally, the participants signed a letter to the governor of Andrei Travnikov, in which they demanded to cancel the increase in tariffs and accept the “reasonable and honest” amount of payment of utilities corresponding to the fall of citizens' incomes. "In the absence of an answer, we will gather again and there will be more of us!" - The letter says.

On Sunday, similar protests will be held in the Altai Territory, Biysk and Rubtsovsk, where one of the highest tariffs in the country are adopted. The maximum level of indexation of housing rate tariffs is set at 9%, while in Barnaul they were raised by 14.7%, in Biysk - by 11.4%.

“We decided to organize a rally because we saw the outrage of the inhabitants,” says Andrei Chernobai, the head of the city branch of the Rubtsovsk Communist Party. - People are extremely unhappy with raising tariffs, this is evident both in appeals and social networks. Due to the fact that the situation is aggravated, and the authorities do not take any measures, we are forced to go to a public event to show these moods. And as the population is ready for this, the rally itself will show. Now some words - for kitchens, others - for the streets, and while people from kitchens will not go out on the streets, the situation in our country will not change.