Who has broken the peace of spirits

In Mountain Altai - mass protests against the new head of the region and his reform of local self -government. Why were the locals so frightened?

On June 21, a rally was held in Gorno-Altaysk against the reform of local self-government, which in a few days it can initiate a new government of the republic. Despite the warnings of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 4,000 people gathered. The authorities clearly did not expect such an interest in the event. According to the documents received by the editors of Novaya Gazeta Europe, the Gorno-Altaysk administration, referring to the lack of space, allowed a tiny rally for only 102 people. But later, right on the eve of the action, officials nevertheless agreed to provide another site, increase the number of people participating to 1983, and let everyone else as “observers”.

“The main question of this rally is that the deputies hear those who vote for them, and the results will be known only on June 24 at the upcoming session of the State Assembly, and these deputies have time to think. If the Maiminsky and city chosen ones do not bend under the oligarchs and at least refrain, then the reform will not pass, thereby can be considered the Republic of Altai truly democratic! ”, Pastukhov, participant in the action, said in social networks. The largest rally in recent years has been preceded by a series of spontaneous protests: the Altai blocked the roads and massively went out with single pickets. The republic rebuilt against the reform of local self -government, which is promoted by the head of the region Andrei Turchak and his team. Local residents are sure that officials are going to take away the right to dispose of land from them - the few that they have left. The correspondent of Novaya Gazeta Europe listened to what rumors in the Altai mountains is about.

"Bacchanalia on the Pass Chike-Taman"

The Republic of Altai, despite its natural wealth - turquoise rivers and lakes, impenetrable forests and high mountains - is one of the poorest and most poorly populated regions of Russia. Only 210 thousand people live here. The vast majority of people (71%) live in rural areas. The basis of the region’s economy is cattle breeding: Altai breed sheep, cows and marals. Many still live exclusively by natural economy, occasionally, having come to a rural store. In some settlements there is neither gas nor electricity. At the same time, the population was totally Zakred - in 2025, 74% of residents of the republic had an outstanding loan, an average of 467 thousand rubles per person. It used to be even worse: in 2017, 99% of citizens were listed as debtors.

In recent years, the standard of living in the region began to grow gradually, by 2025, Mountain Altai rose from the 80th to the 78th line in the ranking of Russian cities in terms of quality of life. Investments flowed on Altai, and Sberes became one of the main investors. According to the results of 2023, Altai was one of the leading regions in terms of investment growth.

Tourism here has always been one of the main sectors of the economy, but remained accessible to everyone: even a poor student from a neighboring region could afford a trip to the Altai mountains for the weekend. But after Moscow monopolists entered the region, everything changed:

Prices rose, investors’s ambitions and the level of service too: in 2023, the first five -star hotel built by Sberrot was opened in the cuff.

The people in expensive costumes must have expected the “Aborigines” they would terribly delight new money and opportunities, but the Altai people took everything as if they simply wanted to buy their republic, and officials in Gorno-Altaysk were trying to legally arrange this, more and more turning the autonomy of the region. One of the steps to this Altai consider the upcoming reform of self -government.

On June 12, several dozen protesters blocked the section of the highway on the Chike-Taman pass, which is 220 kilometers from the capital of the republic. The audience launched the banners: “Putin, stop the lawlessness of Turchak and Prokopyev” (and the. The head of government) and “The people demands to maintain a two -level system of local self -government.” The video immediately scattered along social networks, but only tourists passing by passing by. The places around the pass are truly wild-all the reserves, national parks and the endless lands of the highlanders. On that day, none of the participants were detained: the police simply did not reach the pass, and officials learned about protests, like everyone else, from the Internet.

But the former secretary of the General Council of United Russia, and now the head of the Altai Republic, Andrei Turchak, erupted with an angry post to the dissatisfied, urging “to protect peace in our republic and not give in to provocations”:

“We condemn the vandals that are disrespectful of the Holy Altai and its sacred places. And we ourselves violate the peace of spirits, following the provocateurs. It was these that arranged a bacchanal at the Chike-Taman pass yesterday, blocked the movement along the federal highway and involved our inhabitants into it, ”the official wrote.

As Karina Kaymina, the founder of the Public Organization of the Cultural Heritage Center Tuul Altai, said on social networks, “what happened on Chica Taman was not planned”, people organized themselves and did not intend to violate any laws:

“I emphasize that in our chats the participants are trying to make everything according to the law: rallies with permissions, gatherings with decisions. And no matter how we, fellow countrymen, tried to do everything according to the letter of the law, we are Turchak and convince us that we do incorrectly, ineffective, short -sighted, emotionally, ”she wrote.

The day after the action, the police came for the “Buzoters” - three protesters received 13-14 days under Part 3 of Art. 20.2 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the established procedure for organizing a rally), another participant in the action was fined 12 thousand rubles. Against four people initiated administrative affairs. A whole group of support gathered to the building of the Ongudai District Court that evening, but no one was allowed into the hall where the case was listed. “It takes insane pride in his fellow countrymen! They did not stand aside, supported the guys - this is right, ”Kaina said on her page VK.

Despite the tough reaction of the authorities, the protests continued: single pickets and folk gatherings began . Photos of trucks hung with banners began to appear on the network: “Oligarchs, hands off the Holy Altai”, “Altai for the two -level system”, “We will save Altai for our children” and “We demand the resignation of Turchak and his team.” The author of the banner about the oligarchs also came: he was visited by the deputy chief of the police of the Ust-Kansky district, Yevgeny Ivanitsky and threatened him with a "linguistic examination."

War participants quickly joined the struggle of the Altai:

They recorded a video in which they reported that they were fully supported by their fellow countrymen, and they turned to Putin against the backdrop of some destroyed courtyard: “Our small homeland was torn by Turchak and Prokopyev.”

In addition to dozens of video details and calls of local social activists, residents and deputies of different levels officially turned to power. So, activist Arun Arna said that she passed the orders of the residents of Altai to the deputies of the regional parliament. The deputies of the Ust-Kansky District Council also made a request to preserve the already established local government system, who said that according to the results of popular gatherings of nine out of eleven regions of the republic, citizens opposed the reform. According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, interlocutors from the region, individual deputies of the Maiminsky district and a rural settlement of Swanoks also signed up to Turchak.

Vasily Kudirmekov, a representative of the Kurultai public movement, called for the seriousness of his intentions. The social activist announced today's rally agreed with the administration in Gorno-Altaysk.

“We need to get together again and publicly say about it. We invite to this rally and representatives of the authorities, and the head of the Altai Republic, and deputies of the Altai Republic. Let them come and listen to the people, our real opinion. Come and express your opinion, ”he said.

Reformer

The post of head of the Republic of Turchak came only a year ago, replacing the ex-functioner of the presidential administration Oleg Khorokhordin. The true reason for the departure of Khorokhordin is unknown, however, Altai journalists believe , the official could have a difficult relationship with the leadership of Sberus, which in recent years has actively mastered the region.

The new purpose of Turchak looked like a clear decrease, because his career developed rapidly. In 2009, he was the governor of the Pskov region, in 2017 he became deputy chairman of the Federation Council, and then the secretary of the General Council of United Russia. Turchak has already been prophesied by the post of governor of St. Petersburg or speaker of the Federation Council. For this, he had all the data. Many remembered Turchak as a person who is not inclined to stand on ceremony with his enemies. So, in 2010 there was an attack on the journalist Oleg Kashin, who in social networks unflatterly spoke about the Pskov at that time the governor. Despite the fact that in their testimony, the performers directly called the Turchak the customer of the attack, he did not bear any responsibility. On the contrary, he went upstairs even more rapidly.

“Link” to Altai was an unexpected turn in his professional biography. According to the Russian BBC Service, one of the reasons for such a decision could be the failure of the Turchak on the primaries of United Russia in 2024, in which they planned to be massively nominated to the legislative bodies of the regions of the participants of the "Svo".

However, among 22 thousand participants in the primaries there were only 210 veterans, of which only half were able to become candidates in the elections, and only nineteen people reached the seats in Zaks.

Modest result.

According to the activist from Gorno-Altaysk, Viktor P., having come to Altai, “initially Turchak showed himself as a person of a word. Immediately after the election, he began to fulfill what he promised. For example, he began to engage in unfinished social objects - roads and faps. " The first serious conflict with the interests of the population overtook the Turchak only a year later: in April 2025, he initiated amendments to the Constitution of the republic, as a result of which words about the "inalienability of the land" disappeared from there. And a month later he proposed to switch from two -level to a single -level model of local self -government (MSU). That is, destroy the village councils of deputies as a phenomenon.

“It was the feeling that we would have to pay dearly for these roads and faps - our land. Money appeared for infrastructure, but all these changes in the legislation began, ”says Victor.

Meanwhile, the Turchak government began to actively promote this idea, and the current heads of districts and settlements began to explain what the Turchak plan so good is so good. One of Denis Tadyshev, the head of the Balyktyulsky rural settlement of the Ulagansky district, spoke out.

Tadyshev is a product of the same program to integrate the war participants into the power, which Turchak failed so annoyingly. In the fall of 2022, Tadadyshev was mobilized and sent to war, and in February 2025 he, being on vacation, was elected the head of the settlement, after which he was dismissed from the army and began his new duties. In an interview with the local information agency Bankfax, the newly -made chapter said that he fully supports the idea of ​​the republican government.

“You don’t have to go far - in our villages Balyktyul and the Paspart, the elections were held repeatedly, a huge amount of funds were spent on them. I believe that the refusal of the elections of rural deputies will save money and send it to a more necessary direction, ”he argued.

The idea was also publicly supported by other leaders-the head of the Kosh-Agach district, Serikzhan Kydyrbaev, the head of the Kyzyl-Ozek rural settlement Pavel Kozlov and the head of the Shebalinsky district Larisa Andreev. The latter told reporters that “there are some fears and doubts from rural deputies, since there is a discovery of misinformation, that the villages will be abandoned”, but the heads of districts and settlements “have already figured out this issue” and welcome the reform of Turchak.

Without land

In practice, the MSU reform means that instead of 10 districts (Aimakov), where the chapters are elected by the people, there will be as many districts with the "appointed", and the advice of almost a hundred rural settlements (SP), the lowest level of self -government, will be liquidated. Such centralization will help the authorities solve at least two of their problems: firstly, “United Russia” no longer needs to gain hundreds of “candidates from the people”, which are sometimes too independent. Secondly, there will no longer be necessary to elect the heads of districts, they can simply be appointed. But for local residents, removing the “extra level” means a rapid reduction in the number of their representatives, albeit formal. Now, in order to contact the authorities, you will have to queue to bow to the district deputy or the head of the district.

From the point of view of the federal center, the transition to a single -level system is possible and even desirable. On the one hand, the law that allows “optimize” self -government has adopted the State Duma back in March, leaving, however, the regional authorities with a choice. On the other hand, it is impossible to compare self -government bodies, their rights are spelled out in the Constitution. In the regions, many are accustomed to believe that the councils of rural deputies do not decide anything, but everything works differently in Altai, Victor does not agree:

“Despite the fact that in village councils the majority of United Russia, all deputies are your neighbors. They are fully aware of their responsibility for their decisions. If the deputy runs in order to give the land to some investors there, he will have to answer to people. This is the whole problem. We will not have deputies - there will be no right to decide, there will be no land. Its [land] is now redeemed, rented or selected (from small owners, often under the pretext of “misuse. - approx. Ed. )”, But deputies of rural settlements are the last barrier, ”the activist explains.

Of course, the Altai are not blind. Everyone sees that in the region a large Moscow business, in particular, "Sber". Herman Gref, the chairman of the board of Sberblack, spends a lot of time in Altai, the interlocutors of Novaya Gazeta Europe say, and has more than once showed that he does not intend to put up with the current Altai, but will redo it with his taste. In June last year, he arranged a public skirmish with taxi drivers. He did not like how private cabmen at his airport look and work.

“And you won’t work here anymore, understand? - Gref said to one of the "bombing". “You’ll open your mouth, and you will never be here again.” My friends, if you get together again like this, there will be no one else here, ”he said then.

In December, he promised to demolish the “huts and Shanghai” in the cuff, so he designated the hotels of his competitors at home and hotels.

Aggressive expansion of Sbering projects for a local tourism business is a slow -off bomb. And the liquidation of self -government bodies will help the authorities suppress and marginalize the dissatisfied.

The prospects of being left without land and livestock are quite real, believes Ezen, a native of the Ongudai district. According to the young man, the liquidation of local authorities may have the most unpleasant consequences, because the main function of the rural administration is to distribute the land that belongs to the rural settlement. “We have a household in every village: sheep, cows, horses that need to be jaws,” he says. This is especially important for remote areas, behind the Seminsky pass, where almost the entire Earth belongs to municipalities or farmers-owners.

“People are afraid that they will take this land from them and they will be left without a livelihood. There are rumors that in some areas [businessmen] they directly say to people: “Now you will sell your land, and if you do not sell, you will be taken away by administrative methods.”

The new authorities have already taken the first steps so that such a practice would continue. Previously, the Constitution wrote that the Earth is inextricable, but now this is not. The Altai are afraid that we will join us to the Altai Territory, and all the preferences that the indigenous inhabitants give the status of the National Republic will disappear. The reform of local self -government is the next step of Turchak to this.

Мы, алтайский народ, боимся, что растворимся, исчезнем, у нас больше не будет ни культуры, ни языка. ни традиций. Мы боимся, что здесь будет один огромный курорт, а мы, местное население, будем жить как индейцы в резервации или останемся как обслуживающий персонал».