The governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyev, said that he submitted his resignation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He cited the unbearable moral burden after the fire in the Winter Cherry shopping center as the reason. A video message from the outgoing governor, who led the region for two decades, was published on YouTube his press service. It is not yet clear who will take his post.

“We are all living through the terrible tragedy that occurred in Kemerovo on March 25. We lost 64 people, most of them children, our children. Each of us passed this through our hearts, all this horror, the grief of this catastrophe. All of Russia mourns with us and the whole world. Dear Kuzbass residents, I did everything I could. I met with the families of the victims, tried to resolve the issues of providing assistance. Once again, I offer my deepest condolences. But we must live, continue to live, to preserve the memory of those we lost. ", said Tuleyev. The governor also transferred his one-day earnings to the families of the victims; based on the 2016 declaration, this is 5,724 rubles.

Tuleyev also said, addressing residents of the region: “Dear fellow countrymen, together with you we have come a long, very long journey in life - from Kuzbass striking, sitting on the rails, banging helmets, to Kuzbass, creating and supporting our state. And you did all this. , you. And I am immensely grateful. Quite honestly, as before an icon, I can tell you that in my work I have always been guided by the interests of our country, Russia and our region." (Quote from Interfax.)

At a meeting with the initiative group in Kemerovo, which took place in the lobby of the local morgue after the fire, President Vladimir Putin, in response to a question about Tuleyev’s possible resignation, urged not to rush to “appoint those responsible right now” for what happened. At the same time, RBC, citing sources close to the presidential administration, reported that the Kremlin decided not to carry out a demonstrative resignation of Tuleyev after the tragedy.

After the fire in Kemerovo, Tuleyev outraged many Russians with his behavior. First of all, by the fact that he did not appear at the scene of the tragedy and did not go out to the Kemerovo residents who had gathered at a spontaneous rally on March 27, demanding his resignation and the truth about the number of victims. In addition, Tuleyev called the protesting relatives of the victims “troublemakers,” “rocking the situation,” and apologized for the tragedy only to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in Siberian federal district Sergei Menyailo said that he does not comment on the decision of the governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev to resign, RIA Novosti reports.

The fire at Winter Cherry occurred on March 25. According to official data, 64 people became victims of this emergency, including 41 children.

Tuleyev has headed the Kemerovo region since July 1997, when he was appointed head of the regional administration. In October of the same year he won the election. He was re-elected, each time gaining at least 93% of the votes. Also, his region consistently provided strong electoral results for Vladimir Putin and " United Russia"In the March elections, Putin received more than 85% in Kuzbass.

Elections in the fall

The date for the election of the governor of the Kemerovo region, which should take place in 2018 after the resignation of the current head of the region Aman Tuleyev, can be set no later than the first ten days of June. Professor of Kemerovo State University, political scientist Alexander Konovalov reported this to TASS. The elections themselves, in his opinion, will be held on September 9.

According to the law of the Kemerovo region on gubernatorial elections, posted on the regional administration website, the decision to call elections must be made no earlier than 100 days and no later than 90 days before voting day.

“The elections could be scheduled for September 9... If the resignation had taken place at the end of May - beginning of June, then, of course, this backlash would not have happened. But now, in my opinion, there is a very convenient opportunity for the acting governor to prove himself and go for the elections as a registered candidate," Konovalov said.

He asked the president to accept his early resignation after the fire in the Winter Cherry shopping center, in which, according to official data, 64 people died. The “People's Governor of Kuzbass,” who led the region for 21 years, did not intend to leave his post before the end of his term in 2020. He did not want to let go of power even when he was no longer able to stand up on his own. But the reason for leaving was not the physical illness of the elderly person. After the terrible tragedy, Tuleyev spoke in such a way that it would have been better to remain mournfully silent. tells how the head of Kuzbass has come a long way in power and why he himself is the real troublemaker.

Bowed and left

Aman Tuleyev spoke about the reasons for his resignation in a video message and called his decision “correct, conscious, the only correct one”: “Because with such a heavy burden as governor - well, it’s impossible, morally impossible.” And he wanted to join all the residents of Kuzbass: “Each of us has already passed through all this through our hearts, all this horror, the pain of this catastrophe... The whole of Russia, the whole world, mourns with us.” According to the outgoing governor, he did everything he could: “I met with the families of the victims, tried to resolve issues with the provision of assistance. Once again I offer my deepest condolences. But we have to live, continue to live,” Tuleyev added for some reason.

The permanent head of Kuzbass seems to have only now found something to say. Last week he spoke in such a way that it would be better to remain silent. He did not come to the scene of the fire - apparently, he simply physically could not walk even a few meters. In his administration, everything was attributed to safety: they say that the motorcade will not be able to travel to the scene of the emergency and will interfere with fire brigades. “Yes, he should be crawling, not driving up in a motorcade!” - people were indignant. On Tuesday, March 27, when the president appeared in Kemerovo and began a meeting on liquidation of the consequences, Tuleyev could neither get up nor sit down without outside help - he was held by the hand by the presidential envoy to the Siberian Federal District.

But Tuleyev could speak... and he began to apologize to the president. At these moments, residents of Kuzbass at a spontaneous rally demanded the resignation of the governor and refused to believe the official data on the number of deaths. Shouts of “Murderers!” were heard in the square, and Tuleyev continued to say strange things: about the opposition, which profits “from human grief,” about the fact that it was not the relatives of the victims who took to the streets, and he chose the word for them - troublemakers. The broad gesture also looked completely ridiculous: the head of the Kemerovo region and his deputies transferred one day’s earnings to help the families of those killed in the fire.

Photo: Alexander Kryazhev / RIA Novosti

And finally he found the right words and the right gestures - he left his post and bowed. In parting, Tuleyev recalled: “We have come a long way in life from Kuzbass on strike, sitting on the rails, to Kuzbass creating, the support of our state.” And indeed, during the two decades of his uninterrupted rule in the region, a considerable distance has been covered. 73-year-old Tuleyev still has Soviet hardware experience behind him.

From communists to United Russia

The head of the Kemerovo railway in the late 80s, he was nominated as a candidate in the first presidential elections. He supported the State Emergency Committee, which he did not forgive, and subsequently appointed another person as head of Kuzbass. He received this post only in 1997, amid unrest among miners. And he won an absolute victory - 94.5 percent of the votes. And it is worth noting that 18 years later the situation has not changed: in 2015, he was again elected governor with the support of more than 96 percent of voters.

In general, failures in Tuleyev’s political career were rare. Residents of the Kemerovo region supported him regardless of what post he was aiming for. He ran for the presidency of Russia three times. In the 1996 elections, he withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the first round and called on voters to vote in support. In 1999, he refused to accept the Order of Honor from Yeltsin. He explained his demarche by the general impoverishment of the people: “I simply cannot, on principle, accept rewards from the government, which has plunged the country into poverty.”

Photo: Anatoly Kuzyarin / Dmitry Sokolov / TASS

At that moment, he was already preparing to create his own movement and run his candidates in the parliamentary elections. And the noisy story of the award supported the image of an unbending fighter against the regime, who cannot be bought with handouts. However, in September 2000, Tuleyev accepted this award already from. From the ranks of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation he migrated to the lists of United Russia. Zyuganov was subsequently sued, and he declared: “Tuleev organized a plowing operation in the Kemerovo region!”

Father of Kuzbass

The ability to get along with miners played such a role in the history of the Kemerovo region and Russia as a whole that the federal center was ready to follow Tuleyev’s lead. In the summer of 1998, miners of Kuzbass and Vorkuta, who found themselves in dire straits due to months of salary delays, shut down their railways. Tuleyev introduced an emergency regime, but it will not be used against miners forceful actions he didn’t, moreover, he told the Deputy Prime Minister, who was responsible for unblocking the routes, that the strikers’ demands were legal and fair. As a result, part of the debts was repaid, the tracks were cleared, and Tuleyev ended the so-called rail war.

The politician managed to pacify the miners in subsequent years. He dampened worker protests following mining accidents in the late 2000s that killed hundreds. Tuleyev consistently defended the rights of miners and did not hide the fact that he was aware of the danger posed by them, sometimes resorting to unflattering comparisons. In 2015, for example, he banned any work in the Kuzbass mines during New Year's holidays: “A drunk person in a mine, at mining work, is the same terrorist.” And in 2016, he defended the interests of workers who were threatened with mass layoffs. “It turns out that they are simply planning to throw workers out onto the street with mortgages, loans, all payments, reporting with the beautiful phrase “optimization of non-core structures,” the head of the Kemerovo region was indignant.

He established himself in the region as a defender of the rights of the dispossessed, of miners, and even as a defender against terrorists. Tuleyev repeatedly took part in negotiations with attackers. In 1991, as a people's deputy of the RSFSR, he helped free Masha Ponomarenko, who was taken hostage near Red Square, from a bus, offering himself in exchange for the girl. Ten years later, he took part in neutralizing a terrorist who had taken a taxi driver hostage at Kemerovo airport. In 2007, after telephone conversations between Tuleyev and police warrant officer Shatalov, who threatened to blow up a residential building and barricaded himself in his apartment, Novokuznetsk security forces managed to neutralize the terrorist and take him alive.

For a long time, Tuleyev was loved, perceived in Kuzbass as a father, grandfather, and did not want to let go. He took advantage of it. However, not everyone in the region was favorable to him: local businesses had many complaints. Large holdings were made clear that they need to share money with the region and allocate it to the social sphere. The authoritarian governor always conducted a tough dialogue with undesirable entrepreneurs. Tuleyev generally openly entered into conflicts, but positioned himself as a guarantor of stability in the region.

You have to leave on time

Forecasts about the resignation of Aman Tuleyev have been made for several years. They started thinking about a possible successor to the oldest Russian governor, partly because of corruption scandals in his administration. At the same time, Tuleyev himself remained inviolable.

Only health could have brought down such a colossus. And it has been bothering me for a long time. Tuleyev underwent his first spinal surgery back in 2011. Six years later, German doctors performed a second operation. Afterwards, a complication appeared - pneumonia. Due to his long absence from public view and prolonged vacation, rumors began to spread about his imminent resignation from his position. But in 2017, Russia’s oldest governor made it clear: he has no intention of leaving his seat, either now or even in the next couple of years. He intended to retain his post until the end of his term, that is, until 2020.

The governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyev, resigned after the tragedy in the Winter Cherry shopping center. "" found out all the details.

"I did everything I could"

On the morning of April 1, Kuzbass was deafened by the news: the governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyev, who led the region for more than 20 years, submitted his resignation. At first, it even seemed like an April Fool’s joke, but the administration’s press service confirmed this fact, and later a video appeared in which Aman Tuleyev, addressing the Kuzbass residents, explained why he made such a decision.

In an official video message to Kuzbass residents, Aman Tuleyev returned to the tragedy that occurred in “Winter Cherry” on March 25, and where 64 people died, 41 of whom were children.

Each of us has passed all this through our hearts, all this horror, the pain of this catastrophe.

He addressed the residents of the region:

Dear Kuzbass residents, I did everything I could: I met with the families of the victims; tried to resolve issues of assistance. Once again I offer my deepest condolences. But we must live, continue to live, live to preserve the memory of those we lost. Russian law enforcement agencies are investigating the cause of the fire.

He talked about how, together with everyone else, the region had come a long way in life: from striking and starving to creative Kuzbass:

And you did it all, you. And I am immensely grateful to you.

Aman Tuleyev thanked the people for supporting him and bowed. And he said that he was always guided by the interests of our country, Russia, and the region.

I gave it to the president Russian Federation resignation letter. I consider for myself, well, correct, conscious, only the right decision. Because it is impossible to work as a governor with such a heavy load. Morally it is impossible.
Peace and goodness to you and your families. May the Lord protect each of you and our native Kuznetsk land.

Now the fate of the governor of Kuzbass must be decided by the president.

First comments from the State Duma

The governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyev, who resigned, is one of the politicians of the Soviet school, said Russian State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin.

Tuleyev always treated power with great respect - as something sacred. But the external attributes of power: money, luxury, expensive whims - are incomprehensible to him. “This is one of the last politicians of the Soviet school,” TASS quotes Gorelkin as saying, for a long time who worked in Tuleyev’s team.

Political heavyweight

Aman Tuleyev is 73 years old and entered politics in the late 1980s. He headed the Kemerovo region in 1997, and was re-elected four times as head of the region with a result of 93.5-96.69% of the votes. His powers for the next gubernatorial term expired in 2020.

During Aman Tuleyev’s work as governor of Kuzbass, rumors repeatedly appeared about his health problems and his upcoming resignation. In particular, on May 22, 2017, he went on official leave, which was later extended due to an operation prescribed to him due to a problem with intervertebral discs back in the fall of 2016. Against this background, reports appeared in the media that Tuleyev would leave his post, but the information was not confirmed and on August 12 he returned to work.

Illustration copyright Maksim Grigoryev/TASS

The governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleyev, announced that he was resigning. This happened a week after a strong fire in the Winter Cherry shopping center in Kemerovo, which killed 64 people.

Tuleyev recorded a video message in which he expressed condolences over the fire and stated that he “did everything he could.”

“I consider it the right, conscious, and only correct decision for myself, because with such a heavy burden as governor, well, it’s impossible, morally impossible,” he said.

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Appointed acting governor of Kuzbass.

Rumors about the possible resignation of 73-year-old Tuleyev appeared last summer, when the governor underwent spinal surgery and did not appear in public for several months.

However, later RBC and Vedomosti, citing sources, wrote that the Kremlin decided to wait with an “honorary pension” for Tuleyev until the presidential elections, so as not to “disturb the balance of power in the region.”

However, after the elections, the situation was complicated by a large fire in Kemerovo.

On Saturday, Kommersant, citing sources, wrote that the timing of Tuleyev’s resignation depended on how quickly the consequences of the fire in the shopping center could be dealt with - providing assistance to the families of the victims, facilitating the investigation and informing the population about the measures taken.

The current vice-governor of the region, general director of the Kolmar coal holding, Sergei Tsivilev, could be appointed acting governor, media reported. It was he who knelt in front of city residents at a rally after the fire in Winter Cherry, and later accused the protesters of trying to discredit the authorities.

What is Aman Tuleyev famous for?

Tuleyev is a political veteran, a former presidential candidate, a former member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Of the governors who headed the regions under President Boris Yeltsin, by 2017 only Tuleyev and the head of the Belgorod region Evgeny Savchenko remained in office.

Of all the Russian governors, only Tuleyev was regularly included in the ratings of politicians trusted by Russians (not only residents of the region). In February 2016, 4% of those surveyed by the Levada Center called Tuleyev one of the five or six politicians who inspire confidence in them. No other governor was included in this rating.

Two years ago, anonymous sources in the Kremlin told the media that Moscow was trying to persuade Tuleyev to leave his post. But the attempts failed: Tuleyev went to the polls again.

In the latest rating of the political survival of governors, which is compiled by the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation, Tuleyev received three points out of five. Experts among him strengths noted that he “demonstrated a strong determination to resist “anti-corruption” attacks on the regional administration.”

The results of the elections in Kemerovo are similar to the results of the party in power in the elections in Chechnya. In 2015, the head of Kuzbass moved to another gubernatorial term, gaining 94% of the votes. In the Duma elections in September 2016, United Russia received 77% with a turnout of 86%. Voting was more active only in the North Caucasus and Tuva.

In the presidential elections, the Kemerovo region became the second largest number of votes cast for Vladimir Putin - in the region he received 85.42%.

Two days before the elections, the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, sent a warning to Tuleyev not to allow the use of administrative resources during the voting. The reason was the complaints she received from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. The communists eventually refused to recognize the election results in the region, complaining about numerous ballot stuffings.

Successor

Even before a message appeared on the Kremlin website about the official appointment of Tuleyev's deputy, Sergei Tsivilev, as acting governor of Kuzbass, the Vedomosti newspaper reported that people in the region were excited about this news, since Tsivilev does not belong to the local elites.

According to the publication, Sergei Tsivilev is the nominee of Gennady Timchenko, while Tuleyev wanted to leave his own successor.

On February 27, Tsivilev met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and reported on the successes of Kolmar, a coal holding based on high-quality coal deposits in the Neryungri basin of Yakutia. Tsivilev owns 70% of the company, Vedomosti wrote.

“Kuzbass is not the region where everyone is rushing and where you can send young man like [head of the Kaliningrad region Anton] Alikhanov. Mining holdings such as the Siberian Business Union and Evraz have strong positions in the region,” political scientist Vitaly Ivanov told the BBC last year.

The economic model of the Kemerovo region, which developed under Tuleyev, even received the name “Kemerovo socialism”: these are numerous benefits, payments, free trips, low tariffs. Sometimes Tuleyev even generously donated coal to individual families.

Coal and ore are the main source of income for the region. But prices for these raw materials are falling, and the region is receiving less and less income. As a result, Kuzbass is now one of the leaders among Russian regions in terms of the share of overdue loans by citizens.

Kuzbass ends the era of Aman Tuleyev's reign. The resignation of the first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region, Maxim Makin, initiated by the security forces, is regarded as the beginning of the gubernatorial election campaign in the region. Who will replace Tuleyev in his post? Will Kuzbass-Bashi be allowed to choose their own successor? Or will he finally have to answer for protecting the oligarchs and the collapse of the Kuzbass economy?

According to The CrimeRussia sources, the permanent leader of Kuzbass, Aman Tuleyev, will not be allowed to serve in his chair until the end of his fifth term. Discussions that the 72-year-old politician, in failing health, will be sent to an honorable retirement have been going on for several years. But this time there is reason to believe that they are not groundless. The Kremlin's dissatisfaction with the situation in the uncontrolled capital of the Kemerovo region has reached its limit, so the “years of stagnation” in the Siberian region may end. The all-powerful governor, whom Kemerovo residents have long called “Khan” and “Kuzbass-bashi,” can only be saved by early elections of the President of Russia, which have been talked about a lot lately. If they take place, Tuleyev will retain his seat, only for the governor to once again provide the required number of votes. But if there are no early elections, the Kuzbass khan will have to leave his post.

Our
reference

Aman Tuleyev was born in 1944. Formally he has been in charge of Kuzbass since 1997, but has held various leadership positions in the region since 1990. One of the last political heavyweights of the “Yeltsin call” with a federal background: he participated in the Russian presidential elections three times, and in 1996-1997 managed to work as Minister for Cooperation with the CIS countries in the Russian government. Having become the governor of the Kemerovo region, he transferred the region to “manual control” and created in it an original model of socialism with many programs for social support of the population. In 2015, he became the head of the region for the fifth time, using administrative resources to gain an absolute majority of votes in the elections - almost 97% with a turnout of over 80%.

For a couple of years now, the main candidate for the post of governor of the Kemerovo region has been considered the Secretary of the General Council of United Russia and Vice-Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Sergei Neverov. This politician has so far denied all media statements about his plans to become governor of Kuzbass, claiming that he “has no such ambitions.” However, Neverov is too ideal a candidate for the head of Kuzbass for his formal refusal of this position to be considered final: he himself is a native of the Kemerovo region, a native of a mining environment, and was elected to the State Duma in a single-mandate constituency twice, in 1999 and 2003. And most importantly, the second person in United Russia will not pursue an independent policy and will be able to return Kuzbass to the full control of the federal government. Indirect proof that Neverov himself is not averse to taking the reins is that he has already publicly intervened into the conflict between worker Vyacheslav Kantemirov and local oligarch Alexander Aristov, who owns the Kuznetsk Ferroalloys enterprise in the Kemerovo region. Having stood up for the worker, Neverov made it clear that he had already begun to play on Tuleyev’s field and would demand that Kuzbass entrepreneurs work according to their own standards.

Vice Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Sergei Neverov

Previously, it was believed that Aman Tuleyev was so influential that the Kremlin would not risk going into conflict with him and would allow Kuzbass-Bashi to choose its own successor in order to maintain control over the region in retirement. The main candidate for this role was considered Maxim Makin, the first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region, who was already gradually tidying up Kuzbass mines in hand. However, Makin was recently forced to resign, accusing him of unreasonably inflating tariffs during the period when he headed Teploenergo JSC. A prosecutor's investigation was launched against him, so Tuleyev had to accept resignation of his lieutenant governor. On September 18, Kuzbass-Bashi publicly stated that it would reinstate Makin in 15-20 days, when the check was completed and did not produce any results. However, time is up, and there is no talk of Makin’s return yet. Previously, all tariff increases, raider takeovers of enterprises, offshore fraud and other illegal actions of the vice-governor didn't involve attention of law enforcement agencies, but this time everything happened differently. Therefore, assumptions are becoming louder that the issue is not at all about Makin, but about the Kremlin’s desire to remove Tuleyev’s likely successor in case of his early resignation. The constantly ill Kemerovo governor, who appears in his office for only 2-3 hours a day, actually retired from business, and allowed Makin and his team to seize power in the region. This means that the check of the security forces indicates the beginning of the gubernatorial election campaign in the region.

Former first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region Maxim Makin

For the first time in all the years of Tuleyev’s rule, the security forces in Kemerovo generally began to raise their heads. So, in June of this year, law enforcement agencies of Novokuznetsk identified fraud with signs of embezzlement of budget funds in the MP NGTRO "Novo-TV". In the same month, ex-deputy head of the Krapivinsky district administration Ivan Arefyev was convicted for 7 years of imprisonment under Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: he was found guilty of receiving a bribe and extortion on a large scale. At the end of May it was excited a criminal case after the collapse of the entrance to a five-story building in Mezhdurechensk. And then the security forces criticized “municipal officials who failed to prevent the tragedy.” The increase in the activity of investigators at all levels may indicate that in Kuzbass they decided to restore order before the change of governor.

It is possible that instead of quietly enjoying an honorary pension, Tuleyev himself will have to deal with law enforcement agencies. Recently, a lot of information has appeared in the media about the corruption of the governor. Many publications are based on indications Jalol Khaidarov, who previously owned the Kachkanar mining and processing plant. These testimonies, which were received by police officers in Germany and Israel, formed the basis of criminal cases in several cases at once. European countries. And after that, the Liechtenstein police conducted searches in the office of the “aluminum king” Mikhail Cherny and found out that Aman Tuleyev was authorized on the accounts of the companies he owned.

Jalol Khaidarov spoke about “raiding” and corruption in Kuzbass

Khaidarov’s testimony states that Tuleyev received interest from the profits of Mikhail Cherny and the now deceased head of the Izmailovskaya organized crime group, Anton Malevsky. It also describes in detail why and how Tuleyev received millions of dollars from Oleg Deripaska (major shareholder of UC Rusal), Alexander Abramov (major shareholder of Evraz) and Iskander Makhmudov (owner of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC), associated with Izmailovskaya "OPG).

“The whole story began with the fact that we did not have our own coal, and Iskander Makhmudov, when trying to buy shares in Kuznetskugol, ran into the brothers Zhivilo and Alisher Usmanov. In this situation, the Zhivilo brothers took the side of Misha Cherny. Problems began when Misha Cherny tried to expand his coal business and met resistance from the Zhivilo brothers, since the former governor of the Kemerovo region, Kislyuk, sided with the Zhivilo brothers. At this time, Misha Cherny, Iskander and his people began to buy shares of other coal plants and enterprises. At this time, Mr. Abramov appeared, who supported Tuleyev, the Zhivilo brothers also supported Tuleyev (hereinafter - illegible). He waited to see who would be closer to power. Closer to power, as it turned out, was Mr. Abramov. And by the time Tuleyev was elected governor, a turning point in politics had occurred. At this time, Abramov introduced Tuleyev to Iskander. Iskander wanted me to meet Tuleyev, since I was to supervise the work on site. I already had experience based on contacts with Rossel, the governor Sverdlovsk region. Iskander introduced him to Tuleyev. Then Abramov said that Tuleyev needed to transfer $3 million for the election campaign. This conversation took place in my office on the embankment, not far from the Park Kultury metro station. After this, Abramov told Iskander that we are now partners and must bear joint expenses: “1.5 million from you, 1.5 million from us.”

Investigator's question: What happened after?

Khaidarov's answer: During a meeting in our office next to the Park of Culture, Abramov said that this would allow the group of Abramov and Cherny to work. In general, we can say that Alexander Abramov was the initiator of the actions against the Zhivilo brothers. This meeting took place in early 1999, I can’t remember the month. By this time, the relationship of the Zhivilo brothers with Tuleyev and Cherny began to deteriorate. The time had come when Tuleyev needed money. It was possible to reach agreements with him on the division of property in Kuzbass.

Investigator's question: What did you mean when you said “division of property”?

Khaidarov's answer: From my point of view, the following was meant: three groups worked in Kuzbass. One of them, under the leadership of Abramov, had a partnership with Cherny in the Urals and was close to Governor Tuleyev. The second is the Solntsevskaya group, represented by Usmanov. The third group were the Zhivilo brothers, who did not belong to anyone. Since Zhivilo were the owners of enterprises of business interest to Misha Cherny, especially the NKAZ aluminum plant and the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant, as well as several coal enterprises, and since they did not want to work with Misha Cherny, then, of course, in such conditions the preconditions were created for division of property of the Zhivilo brothers. Thus began the division of property of the Zhivilo brothers. It all started with the Novokuznetsk Metallurgical Plant in 1999. Tuleyev announced that Management Company Micom, under the leadership of Mikhail Zhivilo, is not coping with its tasks and needs a new management company to meet the challenges of the time. The reason was simple: Abramov established contact with Tuleyev. Since he had already transferred part of the money to Kuzbass, he told Tuleyev that instead of the Mikom company, the Evrazholding company should operate. In the end, that's what happened. First, the court announced that the management company was not coping with its tasks, then Tuleyev arrived at the plant, accompanied by his bodyguards and police, and decided to take the general director into custody for 10 days, as far as I remember.”

Here is another interesting fragment of the interrogation:

“In my presence, Iskander Makhmudov and Alexander Abramov, chairman of the board of directors of Evrazmetall (“EAM”), discussed the amount that needed to be transferred to Tuleyev. Abramov said that he agreed with Tuleyev that the first part of the payment should be $3 million. And that in exchange for this amount, Tuleyev will provide support in the seizure of all the factories of the Zhivilo brothers in the Kemerovo region. That is, these are coal enterprises, plus the Novokuznetsk Aluminum Plant and the Novokuznetsk Metallurgical Plant. This conversation, during which, in addition to me, Abramov and Iskander were present, took place in Iskander and I’s office at the Park Kultury metro station in Moscow. In 1999, I don’t remember the month, I personally, on Iskander’s orders, gave the command to Nikita Atalulaev to transfer one and a half million dollars to the bank account whose number was given by Abramov himself. The second half was supposed to be transferred by Oleg Deripaska and, as far as I know, this amount was transferred. The idea... was this: with the support of Governor Tuleyev, organize a false bankruptcy at the Novokuznetsk aluminum plant, at the Novokuznetsk metallurgical plant with the help of the regional court, which is subordinate to Tuleyev, to recognize the company “Mikom” of the Zhivilo brothers, which manages this plant, as unable to manage the enterprise. And this despite the fact that these enterprises were among the best enterprises in Russia in their field.

Investigator's question: What do you mean by the word “false bankruptcy”?

Khaidarov's answer: False bankruptcy is the deliberate bankruptcy of an enterprise by presenting it with fictitious credit debt. The technology of this process is as follows. The enterprise, in this case, the Zhivilo brothers' plant Novokuznetsk Aluminum Plant (NKAZ), receives electricity from the regional power grid and, accordingly, pays for it every month. The Tuleyev administration is retroactively raising the tariff for electricity, which the plant has already consumed and paid for. That is, for example, if it is now 2001, then the regional administration presents the plant management with an invoice for 2000, which by that time had already been paid at the previously existing tariff. And the management of the regional power grid tells the plant management: “Either pay the bills, or we will begin the process of your bankruptcy.” In response to the statement by the head of the plant that he has already paid the electricity bills for 2000, for example, the management of the electricity network declares: “We made a mistake, you need to pay extra,” and the bill they present to the plant is several times higher than the amount already paid. The plant management cannot immediately pay such an amount; they claim that this is illegal and are going to court. And the court is under the control of Tuleyev and decides that everything is legal. And then the regional energy network files a lawsuit against the plant for bankruptcy, and the plant is declared bankrupt as soon as possible. This scheme was used to play out the bankruptcy of the Novokuznetsk aluminum plant of the Zhivilo brothers in 1999.”

And one more clarifying point from Khaidarov’s testimony:

“Investigator’s question: You started telling the story of how Abramov and Iskander Makhmudov transferred $3 million to Governor Tuleyev. Can you tell us more about this, how it all started? Did Misha Cherny know that the money was being transferred to Tuleyev? Did he agree with this?

Khaidarov's answer: Misha found out about this after a conversation with Abramov; in my presence, Iskander called Misha and said that Abramov had reached an agreement with Tuleyev and the money needed to be transferred to the account indicated by Abramov. This money was intended for Tuleyev. Since this was the money of our business, and I was responsible for the financial side of our business, it was necessary to agree on this issue with me, so I was present at the negotiations.

Investigator's question: Who exactly gave you instructions to transfer money to Tuleyev's account?

Khaidarov's answer: Iskander gave me this instruction immediately after his conversation with Misha. He told me: “Translate!”, and I told Nikita to get the details from Abramov. Abramov told Nikita: “Get the details from Andrey (inaudible last name).” I don’t remember Andrey, but he performed approximately the same functions under Abramov as Nikita did under Iskander. I clearly remember that Nikita Atalulaev transferred money from Pan American's bank account (inaudible) to Riga. Pan American is an American company.

Investigator's question: Do you have a document confirming the transfer of money to Tuleyev?

Khaidarov's answer: Usually the order was this: I showed the transfer document to the person who was supposed to receive the money. In this case it was Abramov, and after that such documents were destroyed, so I don’t have him with me.”

Indirectly, the veracity of Jalol Khaidarov’s testimony is confirmed by other testimony given by businessman Mikhail Zhivilo after leaving for the United States. What already wrote The CrimeRussia, according to this businessman, Tuleyev received three million US dollars in bribes from the owners of UMMC. Moreover, this money was spent through the company Blonde Investments, affiliated with Makhmudov. The fact that both Khaidarov and Zhivilo independently named the same amount of bribes most likely indicates the reliability of this information.

Governor of the Kemerovo Region Aman Tuleyev

The governor, whose results in the last elections could be the envy of North Korea, and today continues to actively intervene in the redistribution of property in Kuzbass. One of the latest stories is with the Gramoteinskaya mine, which Tuleyev personally ordered took from a foreign investor and handed it over to local oligarch Alexander Shchukin. The governor of the Kemerovo region is always ready to zealously defend the interests of large corporations, especially those with which he has long-standing friendly relations. He rendered a great service to the Kuzbassrazrezugol company, which is controlled by UMMC and Evrazholding, and therefore by the same Iskander Makhmudov and Alexander Abramov, in the war for the Kiselevsky open-pit mine. In 2002, Tuleyev, in violation of all laws got up on the side of Kuzbassrazrezugol and did not allow the notorious businessman and politician Sergei Pugachev to enter the mines.

It is worth thinking about what such loyalty to old friends is based on. The answer can be found by re-reading the testimony of Khaidarov and Zhivilo. Apparently, it was precisely the ability to be friends that helped Tuleyev become the owner of 46% of the shares of the Yubileinaya mine. And relatives Kemerovo governor, according to unofficial information, control Cypriot offshore companies, where money from the sale of Kuzbass coal flows. Revenues from coal mining have been going into Cypriot assets for almost 15 years, causing the regional budget to lose more than a billion rubles annually. Coupled with the “protection protection” of the oligarchs and expensive populist social projects this has a fatal impact on the economy of the Kemerovo region. Budget of the rich natural resources the region has long become scarce. Thus, in 2014 the deficit was 10.9 billion rubles, in 2015 − 9.2 billion rubles, in 2016 - 3.9 billion rubles At the same time, the size of the public debt of the Kemerovo region is constantly growing. At the end of 2014, it was equal to 50.8 billion rubles, in 2015 − 54.3 billion rubles, Now increased up to 81.3 billion rubles, planned for January 1, 2017 in the amount of 55.9 billion rubles, and for January 1, 2018 - in the amount of 66.7 billion rubles. This means that the region, even in the well-fed 2000s, largely lived off federal subsidies. In fact, the Kemerovo region has been bankrupt for a long time. And in the new economic reality, it is much more difficult for the Kremlin to put up with the ineffectiveness of Tuleyev’s management.

At the same time, in a region capable of reaching a budget surplus due to coal alone, they continue accumulate Problems. Some of the most relevant ones are in the housing and communal services sector. Two-thirds residential buildings in Kuzbass have wear more than 30%. 34 thousand people need to be relocated from dilapidated and dilapidated housing stock. Wage arrears are growing and have not been paid for months. The populist system of social benefits is beginning to falter. It turns out that “social bread” for the poor is baked from category 2 feed grain, which came to the Kemerovo region from France as humanitarian aid. And even in the “social” loaves themselves will find larvae of beetles and caterpillars. Popularity among the population has always been Tuleyev's most reliable source of strength. And today, when it begins to fall, the position of the governor of the Kemerovo region in front of the Kremlin is no longer so unshakable. Best time It is difficult to choose to end the rule of Kuzbass-Bashi.

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