There was another resignation of the governor, but this time it was formal. President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of the head Sverdlovsk region Evgeniy Kuyvashev and appointed him acting head of the region until the elections.
Kuyvashev's term expired in May, and gubernatorial elections will be held on a single voting day in September. Local media predict that in his new status, Kuyvashev will be nominated by United Russia for re-election to a second term.
Maria Plyusnina, correspondent for the online publication Znak.com:
“Yes, the decision, of course, was expected. This means that, most likely, Yevgeny Kuyvashev will go to the polls in September 2017 and he will most likely be supported by the presidential administration, at least that’s what the regional administration is counting on. It should be noted that over the past year he met with Putin one-on-one three times - in January 2017 and also in March and August 2016. In principle, no claims were made by the head of state to the Sverdlovsk governor.”
Now Evgeny Kuyvashev is 46 years old. Previously, he was the head of the administration of Tyumen and Tobolsk, and the presidential envoy to the Ural District. Interestingly, a couple of months ago the media named him on the list of candidates for resignation. Then a large-scale renewal of the governor's corps took place: the heads of the Perm Territory, the Republic of Buryatia, as well as the Ryazan and Novgorod regions left. However, Kuyvashev did not leave his post.
Talks about the head of the Sverdlovsk region and his prospects President of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation Mikhail Vinogradov:
“Historically, Kuyvashev belongs to the team of Sergei Sobyanin, he also worked as the mayor of Tyumen, then worked as a plenipotentiary representative in the Ural District and became the governor of the Sverdlovsk region in 2012 - not the most successful, not the most failure. That is, a full-fledged leader public opinion, of course, Kuyvashev did not, and under him, for example, Yevgeny Roizman won the election for mayor of Yekaterinburg. To a greater extent, Kuyvashev’s political weight is due to the fact that the person of Sergei Sobyanin stands behind him. As a result, intrigue arises this year, because there are quite a lot of strong opposition politicians in the Sverdlovsk region, including the same Roizman, who announced his intentions to participate in the elections. If they go to the polls, it could be a fairly serious struggle, a rather serious clash with a less predictable result. Unless, of course. the parties will not agree among themselves."
The other day, Vladimir Putin also signed a decree on the early resignation of the head of another region - Mordovia. The current head of the republic, Vladimir Volkov, was appointed interim.
Acting Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region Evgeniy Kuyvashev They are tipped to run for election as head of the region in September this year. His supporters note that the president clearly assessed Kuyvashev’s work positively, otherwise he would not have left him in charge of the region.
Early retirement - good sign for the governor
Supporters of the acting governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Evgeny Kuyvashev, commented on his resignation and appointment, which the Kremlin officially announced today. Let us recall that the President of Russia Vladimir Putin accepted the voluntary resignation of Governor Kuyvashev and appointed him as acting governor until the upcoming elections, which are scheduled to take place on September 17.
The first governor of the Sverdlovsk region, now a senator in the Federation Council Eduard Rossel stated that Kuyvashev’s appointment as acting is a good sign for the region.
“This suggests that the President of Russia appreciated the work of Yevgeny Kuyvashev as governor. He worked in local government in Tyumen, served as the presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Urals Federal District and was immersed in issues affecting the entire district. And finally, he worked for five years as governor of the Sverdlovsk region.
This means he has the potential to serve in this position for the next five years,”
— Rossel commented to the EAN publication.
The senator also promised Kuyvashev his support in the elections. The speaker of the regional Legislative Assembly also expressed her readiness to help the head of the region Lyudmila Babushkina. In a commentary for the regional newspaper, the politician said that Kuyvashev submitted many legislative initiatives to the Legislative Assembly for consideration and it was not without reason that he received the trust of the president.
“The governor not only effectively structured the work of the executive authorities, but is also an active subject of legislative initiatives. I am sure that Evgeniy Vladimirovich will justify the trust the president has placed in him,” the publication quotes the speaker as saying.
The governor's resignation has been a long time coming
President Vladimir Putin accepted the resignation of the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Evgeny Kuyvashev, and appointed him acting head of the region. United Russia has already promised to support Mr. Kuyvashev in the elections in September. The mayor of Yekaterinburg, Evgeny Roizman, also intends to participate in them, declaring that he has not lost “a single election” in the region. Experts believe that few people outside Yekaterinburg know Evgeniy Roizman, and “the municipal filter will make it possible to organize an inertial scenario” for the campaign.
The presidential decree on the resignation and appointment of Yevgeny Kuyvashev as acting head of the Sverdlovsk region was published yesterday on the Kremlin website. In a statement sent out by the region’s information policy department, Mr. Kuyvashev thanks “the head of state for the trust shown” and promises to “do everything to justify it”: “In the coming years—I consider this my key task—the region should become one of the three leading regions.” . The department clarified that the appointment will not entail the resignation of the government (it is headed by Yevgeny Kuyvashev): it occurs “only after the elections on the day the new governor takes office.”
Evgeny Kuyvashev, who had experience as head of the administrations of Tobolsk, Tyumen and presidential envoy in Ural federal district, was confirmed as governor of the Sverdlovsk region in May 2012. At the end of 2016, the “political survival” rating of the St. Petersburg Politics foundation and the Minchenko Consulting holding rated his positions at two points plus out of five. In January 2017, Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with the governor, but since political issues they were not discussed at it, resignations were not ruled out even after that. Nevertheless, the region regarded the meeting in the year of the gubernatorial elections (Mr. Kuyvashev’s powers expired on May 29) as approval to participate in them. According to political scientist Alexander Pirogov, “the anticipation of the decree gave rise to a lot of doubts” among the “regional managerial elite,” but now it “received an unconditional signal that Kuyvashev is the one supported by the Kremlin.” Let us recall that Kommersant's sources in the presidential administration stated in February that the resignation of the head of Karelia, Alexander Khudilainen, was the last in a series of gubernatorial resignations (see Kommersant of February 16).
Candidates for governor of the Sverdlovsk region can only be nominated by parties, the municipal filter is 7.9% (about 130 signatures of municipal deputies and heads). Mr. Kuyvashev will have to go through the United Russia primaries. “The president has spoken, we consider Yevgeny Kuyvashev to be our main candidate,” emphasized the head of the regional executive committee of the party, Alexander Kosintsev.
The leader of the Sverdlovsk branch of A Just Russia, State Duma deputy Alexander Burkov and the head of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman also announced their intention to participate in the gubernatorial elections. Mr. Roizman wrote on his Facebook page yesterday: “I am running for governor of the Sverdlovsk region. I have not lost a single election here.”
Political scientist Evgeny Minchenko notes that the decision to appoint Mr. Kuyvashev could have been influenced by the support of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (they know each other from working in the Tyumen region), in addition, “a number of large regional players are not in the mood for active political struggle.” At the same time, “the municipal filter will allow us to organize an inertial scenario with weak extras,” the expert believes. According to Mr. Pirogov, now potential “candidates need to either actively engage in their election campaign or think about whether it is worth putting forward their candidacy.” Political scientist Alexander Kynev says that the Right Russians have lost their position in the region and are unlikely to be able to unite the electorate. The expert calls Evgeniy Roizman a “charismatic politician,” but notes that few people know him outside of Yekaterinburg: “The network of his supporters is urban, and the region is not small.”
Yulia Pozdnyakova, Anastasia Bulatova, Yekaterinburg; Ekaterina Grobman
Today, Vladimir Putin dismissed Yevgeny Kuyvashev and, by the same decree, appointed him acting governor of the Sverdlovsk region. This actually means start election campaign. We answer important questions about early elections.
How will the interim console change the capabilities of Evgeny Kuyvashev?
The simplest question: no way.
. – Performs duties assigned to him by the President.
Why was Kuyvashev dismissed before the end of his term of office?
Evgeniy Kuyvashev replaced the person sent resignation of Governor Alexander Misharin in May 2012. On May 24, President Vladimir Putin nominated him for consideration by the Legislative Assembly. The fact is that at that time the head of the region was elected by deputies. As a result, on May 29, Kuyvashev was elected governor, and on the same day he took the oath. Since the head of the region is elected for five years, Evgeny Kuyvashev’s powers formally expire on May 29, 2017.
However, practice recent years, when general elections of regional heads were returned, is such that the president either appoints the current head of the acting governor in advance, or dismisses him, thereby replacing him with another.
The latter option was widely used in the winter of this year, when Vladimir Putin dismissed five regional heads. He explained this natural rotation process. Evgeniy Kuyvashev was also on the list of those who could be fired, but in the end he retained his post.
So those who said that Vladimir Putin would appoint Kuyvashev as acting turned out to be right. Experts cited the fact that the president does not meet with those heads whom he intends to remove. And Putin and Kuyvashev there was a rendezvous in January of this year.
Does the president's decision mean the governor's automatic participation in the elections?
But can you imagine that it’s not at all! Theoretically, Yevgeny Kuyvashev could lose the United Russia primaries, since this procedure is mandatory in order to be nominated by the party. However, of course, no one believes in such a development of the situation. It's unreal. And Yevgeny Kuyvashev himself has already stated several times that he will participate in the elections.
Who will be Evgeny Kuyvashev's opponent?
Until now, Yevgeny Roizman has been more active than others in talking about his gubernatorial ambitions.
– I frankly don’t like what’s happening: financial strangulation, political strangulation of Yekaterinburg. Ekaterinburg's money is being taken away and it is being humiliated. I need to somehow stand up for the city, - Roizman told ETV.
Today he does not comment on the Kremlin’s personnel decisions.
Other likely candidates are State Duma deputies Andrei Alshevskikh and Alexander Burkov. But they also did not officially announce their participation. Burkov said that consultations are currently underway, and a decision will be made in June.
Previously, regional Prime Minister Denis Pasler was named as a likely opponent of Kuyvashev. But last fall he was removed from the political field, and in the end he chose business.
The list also included the name of the mayor of Nizhny Tagil, Sergei Nosov. But he did not speak publicly about his gubernatorial ambitions. And it’s unlikely that he will go against Evgeny Kuyvashev.
What do you need to do to become a candidate for governor?
The last gubernatorial elections in the Sverdlovsk region were in 2003. It's been 14 years! According to the head of the Yekaterinburg election commission, Ilya Zakharov, the only cardinal difference from that campaign is that for nomination it is necessary to collect signatures of municipal deputies.
– The Legislative Assembly should set elections for governor from June 1 to June 10 (most likely, this will happen on June 6). Then the Regional Electoral Commission decides how many signatures of municipal deputies the candidates must collect. The law says 7.9%. Now it's 125 signatures. Moreover, deputies from 55 municipalities, or three quarters of the total, must leave their autographs,” Ilya Zakharov explained on the website.
Signatures must be submitted by July 26. Thus, by August 6 it will be finally known who exactly will be on the ballot.
Will Kuyvashev be able to use administrative resources?
By law - no. But there is one caveat - the current governor should not go on pre-election leave.
– Elected officials can remain in office and continue to work. You just need to not violate the law and comply with restrictions, and not abuse your position. Such rules are for both deputies and the president,” Ilya Zakharov commented on the legal norm.
So on September 10, or in the case of a second round on September 24, we will know the name of the new governor.
At the end, we will provide a few comments regarding the resignation and appointment of Evgeny Kuyvashev.
– This event is quite expected. We understood that the country's leadership was relying on the current governor for the next five years. A formal decision took place today. “I have no doubt that during the election process, Evgeniy Vladimirovich will be able to confirm his status as an effective leader and achieve victory,” he said today Senator Arkady Chernetsky class="_">.
At the same time, he is confident that Evgeny Kuyvashev will be able to realize a lot useful ideas.
– I think that today, in five years of work, the governor has acquired a large number of ideas and suggestions. It is always positive that there is an opportunity to realize what you yourself have conceived. I have no doubt that the Sverdlovsk region will continue its dynamic development. We see that the region has not fallen into recession and, based on key indicators, looks very decent. We see the problems that exist in the region today. The energy of the first person is needed to achieve the implementation of the plans that are declared,” summed up Chernetsky.
Another senator, who, by the way, represents the governor in the Federation Council, Eduard Rossel class="_"> also reacted positively to the president’s decision.
– Evgeny Kuyvashev has the potential to work in this position for the next five years. I am glad that this appointment happened, and we will, to the best of our ability, help him win the gubernatorial elections in September so that Evgeny Kuyvashev can lead the region for another five years,” TASS quotes Eduard Rossel as saying.
Quite expectedly, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly also supported Putin’s decision Lyudmila Babushkina class="_">.
– The deputy corps has been working closely with Evgeny Vladimirovich Kuyvashev for five years. At the meeting of the Legislative Assembly on April 11, we noted that the governor not only effectively structured the work of the executive authorities, but is also an active subject of legislative initiatives. I am sure that Evgeniy Vladimirovich will justify the trust the president has placed in him. And the deputies of the Legislative Assembly will do everything necessary to provide legislative support for the governor’s initiatives for the development of the Sverdlovsk region,” her press service quotes Lyudmila Babushkina.
