“I know your attitude”

The Vice-Governor of Karelia accused deputy Slabunova of disloyalty to the SVO because of her demand to repair water supply columns

The deputy head of Karelia and the governor's representative in the Legislative Assembly of the republic, Yuri Shabanov, accused Yabloko deputy Emilia Slabunova of “not supporting the SVO.” The deputy simply proposed to allocate 1.3 million rubles from the republican budget for the restoration of 12 water intake points in the Pryazhinsky national region, which received this status because of the densely populated areas of Karelians, the titular people of the republic.

This happened at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on budget and taxes, where budget amendments were discussed. According to Slabunova, the national district does not have funds to repair and restore the pumps. “Elderly people are forced to drag flasks of water on carts for kilometers,” a deputy from Yabloko told her colleagues. “The amount, one might say, is ridiculous, but given the state of municipal budgets, it is unbearable for them.”

However, the representative of the head of Karelia in the Legislative Assembly

Yuri Shabanov drew the attention of the committee members to the fact that Deputy Slabunova proposed to remove the money for the repair of the water pumps from the expense item that provides for funding for “support for the SVO.”

“What, you don’t support the SVO? If you don't support it, say so! Don't we need to support our warriors? When there is a special military operation or war, the last is given, and our priorities today are extremely important. Our soldiers defend our country, you and me, and today you are offering a “ridiculous amount” of 1.3 million to pay for water intakes!” — Shabanov was indignant.

The vice-governor did not fail to remind that in 2023, Yabloko deputy Emilia Slabunova was fined by the Petrozavodsk City Court under the administrative article of “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” for her speech within the walls of the republican parliament. Slabunova was then brought to administrative responsibility following a denunciation by her colleague in the Legislative Assembly from the United Russia faction, Leonid Liminchuk. “I know your attitude towards the SVO well,” noted Mr. Shabanov.

But deputy Emilia Slabunova replied to the vice-governor that working water intakes in Karelian villages are also a form of support for the relatives of those residents of Karelia who are in the northwestern district.

“And at the same time, I immediately ask you to help with firewood for the SVO participant in the village of Tiurula. A lonely person is about to go on vacation, but there is nothing to heat the house with. And all the residents of the village are already struggling with how to help a person come to a warm home,” said Emilia Slabunova.

She noted that the line of expenditure of the republican budget, from which she proposed to take funds for the repair of water pumps, does not indicate what exactly the funding is for.

“It says ‘for unforeseen expenses,’” explained the deputy from Yabloko. “We have an unexpected order from the prosecutor’s office, which was issued to elderly residents, including whose relatives are in the SVO.”

The Budget Committee of the Parliament of Karelia ultimately did not support Emilia Slabunova’s proposal. At the same time

members of the committee voted to allocate more than 208 million rubles from the republican treasury to increase one-time payments to those who will go to fight under a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Since the end of August, the amount of such payment has increased in Karelia to 400 thousand.

Meanwhile, as it turned out at the committee meeting, this year Karelia received 126.7 million rubles from the federal authorities to pay bonuses to officials for “achieving the indicators of executive authorities.”

“I would like to see the indicators for which such large-scale payments have been made not for the first time,” said Deputy Slabunova.

According to her, she made a request to the government of Karelia, but she was told that this data is classified. The acting Minister of Finance of the Republic, Alexander Klimochkin, refused to provide the deputies with data “in the public space,” citing the stamp “for official use,” which is found on Russian government documents.

Obviously, in this case, too, in the words of the Karelian vice-governor, they “gave their last.”