Tambov Governor Betin: living with wolves means howling like a wolf... Who “ordered” Oleg Betin? What is Oleg Betin doing now?
Oleg Ivanovich Betin was born into a large family of very distinguished parents. So, his father Ivan Ivanovich, as they say, went through the Great Patriotic War from bell to bell. Since childhood, Oleg Betin was taught to endure difficulties stoically. Therefore, it is not surprising that from a very early age he decided to become a public figure.
Of course, first Oleg needed to get a good education. Therefore, after school he entered the Tambov Institute of Chemical Engineering. He studied well there, and after graduating from the university he managed to enroll in graduate school not just anywhere, but at the prestigious metropolitan Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry named after Karpov.
It would seem that the career of scientist Oleg Betin was steadily going up and, over time, good prospects awaited him. However, Oleg Ivanovich Betin still did not have the soul for scientific work, so at the first opportunity he left the scientific path and switched to party work.
In 1981, Oleg Betin became assistant to the first secretary of the Tambov regional committee of the CPSU. In this position, he showed considerable zeal, for which he was rewarded with the post of first secretary of the Kotovsky district. At the same time, he replenished his theoretical knowledge by graduating from the Higher Party School in Rostov-on-Don.
Oleg Ivanovich Betin wanted to move on, but, alas, the first secretary of the provincial district committee was not going to get into the CPSU Central Committee. However, perestroika was gaining momentum in the country, which was destroying the usual system. In 1990, the Communist Party of the RSFSR appeared, and Betin managed to get into the Central Committee.
But Oleg Ivanovich Betin did not have a chance to enjoy the new round of his party career for long. Soon the USSR ceased to exist, and the Communist Party was even banned for some time after the events of August 1991. Despite this, Oleg Betin managed to stay afloat, becoming a deputy to the new head of the regional administration, Vladimir Babenko, who moved to this chair from the chief doctors of the regional hospital and, of course, had no economic and managerial experience. In 1992, Babenko made Oleg Ivanovich Betin his first deputy.
Oleg Betin Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation
In 1995, the head of the Tambov region had a conflict with the pro-communist regional Duma. Babenko could not withstand pressure from regional legislators and was forced to resign. Oleg Betin took his place, but did not stay there long. In December of the same year, elections were held in which the regional Duma relied on its chairman, the communist Alexander Ryabov. Oleg Ivanovich, who by that time had forgotten about his communist past, advanced with the support of the then ruling party “Our Home is Russia”. During the voting in the second round, Ryabov won.
However, Oleg Betin did not remain out of work for long. Initially, he became the head of the regional Federal Treasury department, and in 1998 he was appointed plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Tambov region.
It should be noted that in those difficult years, real gangster chaos reigned in the region. During the time of Betin's embassy, it not only did not subside, but also reached a new level in connection with the real war around the Tambov central market.
This market was then protected by the criminal group of Tambov boss Alexander Popov, nicknamed Pop. The regional Duma, in which the majority were communists, initiated a review of the market. As a result, the market leadership was replaced, and the so-called controllers (as the priest’s “brothers” were bashfully called) were completely abolished.
We must pay tribute to the courage of local legislators, since they took serious risks. The priests barricaded the market several times, caught the initiators of the checks one by one, beat them severely, even leading to stabbings and gunshot wounds. One of the deputies, realizing that the truth could not be found in his native region, even sent a letter to the then Minister of Internal Affairs Anatoly Sergeevich Kulikov. There was no response to this letter, and the deputy himself soon fell from a bandit’s bullet.
Of course, no one claims that it was Oleg Betin who did not initiate the letter, thereby shielding Popov from deserved punishment. But we can say for sure that all this lawlessness occurred with the complete connivance of the Tambov plenipotentiary. By the way, later, when Oleg Ivanovich took the governor’s chair, Popov became a reputable entrepreneur, deputy of the regional Duma and a close associate of Oleg Betin.
It was this fusion of power and crime that ensured Oleg Ivanovich Betin’s success in the next elections, and also gave him the opportunity to bypass Ryabov in the second round of voting in December 1999.
Betin Governor
From that moment on, the situation in the region began to change radically. The former bandits were legitimized, the composition of the legislative body was radically updated and became much more loyal to both regional and federal authorities. And managers at all levels, as well as the business elite of the region, were built by Oleg Betin into a vertical under his control. No wonder the Russian Biographical Institute called Oleg Ivanovich “The Best Governor of the Year.”
All this allowed Oleg Betin to win the elections for the second time without any problems. Unlike previous elections with his participation, this election campaign was no longer distinguished by either drama or any unpredictability. The entire political field was completely cleared, and the current governor was easily able to gain 71% of the votes. And in 2005, the President of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the new principle of determining regional authorities, nominated Oleg Ivanovich for consideration by the Tambov Regional Duma, which unanimously approved him for a new term.
In order to understand what the Tambov region was like in those years, it is enough to mention one video from 2006, which became available to a wide audience. In it, the famous, who at that time became a respected Tambov deputy, congratulates another “authority”, better known as Kumarin, on his anniversary in one of the St. Petersburg casinos. This Tambov deputy was Alexander Popov, who was already mentioned above. Among the guests were well-known politicians and cultural figures, and Barsukov was even presented with a certificate of honor from the chairman of the Tambov Regional Legislative Assembly. On the recording, Alexander Popov openly recalls, together with the St. Petersburg bandit, the cases that they once “pulled off.”
At the same time, Oleg Ivanovich Betin not only turned a blind eye to what was happening, but also demonstrated his patronage of these people in every possible way. The same Alexander Popov, having secured the verbal consent of the governor, could easily build a shopping center in Tambov, without “bothering” with obtaining any permits.
The fate of those who could somehow shake Betin’s power was decided without unnecessary reflection. So it was with the mayor of Tambov, Maxim Yuryevich Kosenkov, a young talented manager who, already at the age of twenty-five, became the vice-mayor of the city, and then even managed to work as the deputy of Oleg Ivanovich Betin himself. After he became mayor of Tambov, the governor became worried that an overly successful politician might later take his place. Moreover, the young mayor had the audacity to enter the paving slab market, which had previously been completely ruled by Oleg Betin himself.
As a result, the head of Tambov, by order of Oleg Ivanovich Betin, was wiretapped, but did not give a reason for it. As a result, one very unpleasant story for the mayor emerged as a clue. Thus, one of Kosenkov’s assistants, Ukrainian citizen Vitaly Babiy, fled with his mistress to his homeland, stealing money and personal belongings. The mayor of Tambov decided not to open a case, but to give the fugitive a chance to reform. Babiy repented, and a car followed him, which brought him back to Tambov.
It would seem that Kosenkov himself has nothing to fear in this story. However, in June 2008, Maxim Yuryevich was accused of kidnapping, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, as well as abuse of power. Although the video recordings presented in court from gas stations, traffic police posts and stores where the car stopped showed that no violent actions were used against Babii, the court agreed with the prosecution and in early 2009 the former mayor of the city was sentenced to nine years half years in prison.
At the same time, after some time, Vitaly Babiy, tormented by his conscience, went to court with a statement saying that, under pressure from the investigation, he was forced to slander his patron, and that he repented and renounced his accusations. What is noteworthy is that no one could put pressure on Babii, since Maxim Yuryevich was already serving his sentence at that time. But the court simply turned a blind eye to his statement and left everything as it was.
Oleg Betin and the game of power
For the ordinary public, the story was turned into a sex scandal, as if the former mayor forcibly forced his security guard to cohabit with him. Oleg Betin even allowed himself several homophobic statements about this. So, when Kosenkov was still under investigation, Oleg Ivanovich Betin spoke sharply against him, saying that the ex-head of Tambov cast a shadow on the entire Russian government as a whole, and called homosexuality itself a “perversion” that violates the “inviolability of the principles of Orthodoxy.” At the same time, he threatened to “place a viper with a filthy broom” in the mayor’s office.
Because of this statement, Moscow gay activists turned to the Prosecutor General's Office, seeing in the governor's words incitement to hatred and enmity, as well as a humiliation of human dignity. However, the Investigative Committee refused to initiate a criminal case. The case was ultimately referred to the European Court of Human Rights, where it is currently awaiting trial.
But Oleg Ivanovich Betin was not always distinguished by such intolerance. For example, he showed a fair amount of tolerance towards the Kurdish people, back in the nineties he contributed to the settlement of the Tambov region by their diaspora. The leader of the diaspora turned out to be the large Shamoyan family, headed by Jamal Shamoyan. First of all, new residents of the region hastened to take control of the local drug trade. From the very beginning it was clear that it was better not to mess with the Shamoyanites, and already in the 2000s, when they took a good part of the Tambov business under their wing, and Jamal Chatoevich himself became a deputy in the regional Duma from United Russia, their power became unshakable.
Not observing any laws, numerous relatives of Shamoyan were not afraid to even enter into armed confrontation with law enforcement agencies. True, it often didn’t even come to that, since they got away with everything from the beginning. Oleg Betin himself did not see any threat in the current situation and even offered to bring another twenty thousand Kurds to the region. Here the federal authorities had to intervene in the matter and explain behind the scenes to the governor that this was not necessary.
Betin's son's business
It should be noted that appeals regarding the Tambov region have been received more than once by federal authorities. So in 2011 I turned to the then President Dmitry Medvedev. His address said that the governor’s son, Vyacheslav Betin, is not only the deputy chairman of the Tambov City Duma, but also oversees the regional housing and communal services as the owner of the largest construction holding LLC Tambov Investment Company and the holding company Tambovkapitalproekt.
It should be noted that this time Vladimir Volfovich was right. Betin Jr. indeed owns a very large and diversified business, which even appeared in a documentary film by Arkady Mamontov, shown on one of the federal channels. At the same time, the governor not only does not hide his son’s assets, but also publicly boasts about his “hardworking” and “talented” offspring. And naturally, companies of such a successful entrepreneur as Vyacheslav Olegovich Betin regularly win all tenders in the region.
But, despite Zhirinovsky’s letter, Oleg Betin again retained his position in the governor’s chair, since shortly before this the President nominated his candidacy for approval by the regional legislative body. After that, it was somehow awkward to remove the governor.
Meanwhile, elections to the State Duma arrived, in which the pro-government United Russia party looked very pale. In turn, Oleg Ivanovich Betin decided to demonstrate his loyalty during this election campaign, deciding to ensure such a result for the party in power that it would strikingly exceed the indicators of other regions.
For this purpose, all kinds of carousels were organized. Squads of students with absentee ballots roamed the most remote corners of the region. And at some polling stations, observers were simply given bribes. And, of course, all municipal authorities and big businesses, headed by their “authoritative” leaders, worked “for results.” As a result, United Russia gained almost 70% in the region.
Summary of Betin's leadership
Much could be overlooked if the region showed decent economic, demographic and social indicators. But here not only was there no growth observed, but most often negative dynamics were observed. For example, during the reign of Oleg Betin, the population decreased by almost three hundred thousand people, the health care system fell into decay (the number of hospitals decreased by more than half, and the number of doctors decreased). Agriculture is in a permanent crisis. Thus, milk production is rapidly declining, significantly inferior to other agricultural regions.
On May 25, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree releasing Oleg Ivanovich Betin from office. The former governor was appointed Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, and Chairman of the Regional Duma Alexander Nikitin became the acting head of the administration of the Tambov region. Betin himself does not hide the fact that he resigned without waiting for the next elections in order to increase the chances of his successor Nikitin in these very elections.
Oleg Ivanovich Betin eventually achieved what he had been going for since childhood. He became the first in his native Tambov region. By patronizing criminal authorities, Oleg Ivanovich Betin contributed to the fact that they became the de facto masters of the region. Those who protected big business in the turbulent nineties became the owners of this business under Oleg Betin; those who controlled the entire drug trade in the region now sit in the regional Duma in elegant, expensive suits. However, the ability to show unquestioning loyalty to the authorities helped Oleg Ivanovich stay in the governor’s chair for a long time. And now the former head of the Tambov region is not facing legal proceedings, but a chair in the federal ministry, after which, most likely, a well-fed pension will follow.
Family
Born into a large family. Married. Wife - Betina Tamara Petrovna, heads the Tambov Regional Public Fund for the Revival of Orthodox Shrines.
Children: Betin Vyacheslav Olegovich (born in 1980), headed a number of Tambov enterprises. In 2005, he was elected as a deputy of the Tambov City Duma.
Betina Ekaterina Olegovna, graduate of Tambov State University. Three grandchildren.
Biography
In 1972 he graduated from the Tambov Institute of Chemical Engineering and worked as an engineer. Then he studied in graduate school at the Moscow Scientific Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry named after. L.Ya.Karpova. He graduated from it in 1977.
Since 1977 - senior researcher at the Tambov Research Institute of Chemicals for Polymer Materials.
Since 1981 - in party work, was assistant to the first secretary of the Tambov regional committee CPSU, first secretary of the Kotovsky district committee of the CPSU.
In 1987 he graduated from the Rostov Higher Party School.
Graduated from the Russian-American School of Business and Administration at Tambov Technical University.
In 1990, at the Founding Congress of the Communist Party of the RSFSR, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the party.
Since December 1991 - Deputy, since January 1992 - First Deputy Head of the Administration of the Tambov Region for Economics and Management.
In March 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin, he was appointed head of the administration of the Tambov region. In the elections for the head of the regional administration in December 1995, he lost in the second round to the communist Alexander Ryabov.
In 1996 he joined the management team Socialist Party of Russia, headed the regional branch of the SPR.
In 1997 he was elected to the Political Council of the movement "Our home is Russia".
Awarded the Order of Honor (2000).
From 1996 to 1998 - Head of the Federal Treasury Department for the Tambov Region. From 1998 to 1999 - Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Tambov Region.
On December 26, 1999, he won the second round of elections for the head of the administration of the Tambov region, gaining more than 50% of the votes and ahead of the second contender, the current head of the region A. Ryabov (more than 44% of the votes), becoming the governor of the Tambov region.
Since January 2000, he was an ex-officio member of the Federation Council, a member of the Committee on Budget, Tax Policy, Financial, Currency and Customs Regulation, and Banking. In December 2001, he resigned as a senator in accordance with the new procedure for forming the upper house of the Russian parliament.
On December 7, 2003, he was elected governor of the Tambov region for the second time, gaining 71% of the votes of voters who took part in the voting.
July 13, 2005 by deputies of the Tambov Regional Duma on the recommendation of the President of the Russian Federation V.Putin Oleg Ivanovich was unanimously confirmed as governor of the region for a new term.
June 7, 2010 by deputies of the Tambov Regional Duma on the recommendation of the President of the Russian Federation D.Medvedeva Oleg Betin was re-appointed as head of the regional administration.
At the end of 2014 Foundation "St. Petersburg Politics" and communications holding "Minchenko consulting" presented the annual rating of political survival of governors. On a five-point scale, Oleg Betin turned out to be a “B” student. The main factors that will affect the survival of governors in 2015, according to experts, will be the regions’ adaptation to the changed economic situation, as well as the absence of corruption scandals in the regions and the flexibility of the authorities, their ability to implement the policies of the federal center without any special costs and implement municipal reform without conflict.
At the end of May 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the early resignation of the head of the Tambov region administration, Oleg Betin. He was replaced in this post by Alexander Nikitin. Almost immediately, Oleg Betin was appointed Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation.
Oleg Betin has many government awards. Hobbies: carpentry, gardening.
Income
In 2013, Oleg Betin earned 3,286,923.60 rubles. Has land plots of 1992 sq.m. and 1497 sq.m., residential building 152.3 sq.m., apartment 94 sq.m., garage 50 sq.m., utility building 62.5 sq.m., and 95 sq.m. The wife's income was 119,913 rubles.
Rumors, scandals
April 22, 2008, commenting on the arrest of the mayor of Tambov Maxima Kosenkova, accused of involvement in the kidnapping of his former lover Vitaly Babii, and the appointment of deputy governor Petra Chernoivanova And. O. city manager, Betin announced the main task of the new head of administration - " stop the outrage" And " place a viper with a nasty broom"at City Hall.
On May 16, 2008, in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, Betin called homosexuality a “perversion” that violates the “inviolability of the principles of Orthodoxy.” According to him, “people involved in public politics are obliged to be highly moral,” and Kosenkov, who allegedly had a love relationship with a man, “cast a shadow on the government. On the entire Russian government as a whole.”
Betin called for “cleansing this filthy nest,” as well as the central media, which, in his opinion, is “full of gays.” Answering a reporter's question about tolerance, Betin stated: “What?! Tolerance?! To hell! Homosexuals should be torn apart. And their pieces should be thrown to the wind!”
In connection with this statement, Moscow gay activists filed a statement with Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, having seen in Betin’s words the elements of a crime under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity).
However, at the end of July 2008, the investigative department for the city of Tambov refused to initiate a criminal case against the head of the regional administration, Oleg Betin, noting that, based on the results of an audit with the participation of anonymous experts, the words of the governor, said in an interview with one of the federal newspapers, no signs of a crime were identified: " Experts did not consider Oleg Betin’s statements offensive. They also concluded that homosexuals are not a social group against which hatred or hostility can be aroused".
According to the results of a journalistic investigation by the newspaper "Top Secret", the case against the former mayor of Tambov Maxim Kosenkov was completely fabricated.
2012: The Tambov region is shaken by high-profile corruption scandals: the chairman of the regional committee for state regulation of tariffs Valentin Pronin and ex-deputy of the Tambov Regional Duma Alexandra Krapivina suspected of fraud amounting to 500 million rubles.
They, according to investigators, actively collaborated with the organized criminal group (OCF) “Nettle”. To steal funds, the Krapivinsk residents created the energy sales company Spektr-Plus LLC in 2004 with an authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles. Moreover, the founders of this structure included heads of the regional administration, as well as close relatives of entrepreneurs running fuel and energy complex enterprises in the region.
Already in 2007, by the decision of Mr. Pronin, the company Spectr-Plus LLC received a sales premium for electricity that significantly exceeded the normative one. As a result, in 2007 alone, Spectr-Plus illegally received 115 million rubles from consumers. due to rising energy costs. In total, 10 separate criminal cases have been opened in connection with this “energy case,” involving many influential officials from the Betin administration.
Another example of the corruption of local authorities is the amazing business talent demonstrated by the governor’s son, Vyacheslav Betin. He is the general director of Tambov Investment Company LLC. He also owns shares in DSK-Tambov (production of concrete and cement products), Real LLC (advertising activities), Tambovkapitalproekt LLC (commercial consulting), Tambov Poultry Farm LLC, Tambov Construction Company LLC, TOOIR "Lebyazhye" (society of hunters and fishermen), LLC TTK (production of concrete products for use in construction), LLC "Arsenal" (wholesale trade of food products).
Moreover, over the last year, the Tambov Investment Company won tenders in its region totaling 1 billion 364 million rubles, and the Tambov Construction Company won contracts totaling 1 billion 051 million rubles.
As Kommersant learned, in relation to DSK-Tambov LLC, which has reduced production volumes, the Arbitration Court of the Tambov Region is considering another bankruptcy petition. A number of other construction assets of the son of ex-governor Oleg Betin Vyacheslav have changed owners over the past year. Market participants assume that Mr. Betin, who resigned as a City Duma deputy in March 2017, intends to withdraw from local projects. However, Vyacheslav Betin, in the status of general director of RK Stroy LLC, has been actively involved in the completion of problematic SU-155 facilities in several constituent entities of the Russian Federation since the middle of last year.
The large Tambov reinforced concrete products plant DSK-Tambov LLC, owned by Vyacheslav Betin, the construction and launch of which was announced in 2014, has significantly reduced production volumes, sources in the regional market told Kommersant. Since the end of March, the Arbitration Court of the Tambov Region has been considering the bankruptcy petition of DSK-Tambov from the Chelyabinsk LLC Stroydetal. The amount of claims is 141 thousand rubles. At the same time, at the beginning of 2018, the court already rejected Stroydetal’s claim for 1.6 million rubles. And in November 2017, he refused to introduce surveillance and terminated the bankruptcy proceedings of DSK-Tambov LLC at the request of the tax service.
Tambovkapitalproekt LLC, one of Mr. Betin’s former assets, explained yesterday that he was “on a business trip.” Sources in the regional authorities and in the construction market told Kommersant that the DSK-Tambov plant has recently suspended operations and reduced its range to a few units of products. However, the general director of the enterprise, Sergei Pakhomov, assured Kommersant that the plant is not stopping: “We continue to work, customers have not left, the product range has not been reduced, the range has remained. The only change is that we are now working one shift, but if there are more orders, we will open a second one.” According to him, the enterprise did stop work, but this was due to breakdowns. And since the equipment is imported, “you have to wait a month for one or another part to be replaced.” The top manager related information about the closure of the plant to competitors: “We could have been bought, there were not one or two buyers. Now they say we're leaving."
The reinforced concrete plant was updated in 2014, along with the construction of a full-cycle plant for the production of ceramic bricks “T-Building”; the total cost of the facilities exceeded 1.5 billion rubles. They were erected as part of the development of a site with an area of 23.7 hectares in the northern part of the regional center. It was expected that both enterprises would supply construction materials to developers of a nearby site on 6 thousand hectares, where the New Tambov microdistrict for 200 thousand people was being built. At the reinforced concrete plant, a technological line was installed for the production of formless vibration molding of reinforced concrete, which allows the production of an unlimited range of products with minimal costs for switching from one to another. The capacity of the enterprise is more than 50 thousand square meters. m per year of multi-storey frame prefabricated monolithic buildings.
According to SPARK-Interfax, DSK-Tambov LLC was registered in June 2013. The general director is Sergey Pakhomov, the sole owner is Vyacheslav Betin. Authorized capital - 10 thousand rubles. According to the financial statements of the enterprise, its revenue in 2016 decreased by 26% to 162.4 million rubles, gross profit - by 56.5% to 17.6 million rubles, net profit - by 82% to 80 thousand rubles .
According to the consulting company SMPRO, the production of reinforced concrete products and structures in 2016 in the Tambov region amounted to about 110 thousand cubic meters. m, in 2017 - about 80 thousand cubic meters. m, the capacity utilization of medium and large reinforced concrete enterprises is about 60%.
At the same time, according to SPARK-Interfax, several of Mr. Betin’s assets have recently changed owners. Thus, the local Interstroy LLC, which was 51% owned by DSK-Tambov and 49% owned by Tambov Construction Company LLC (the parent legal entity of the latter, Tambov Investment Company LLC, is also controlled by Vyacheslav Betin), since the beginning of 2018 completely passed to local businessman Sergei Martynov. He is also the sole owner of Spetsenergostroy LLC and Stroyblok LLC. And Vyacheslav Betin’s Capital-Finance LLC, specializing in the management of own and leased property, was transferred in February 2018 to Anton Semibratov, a top manager of construction companies of City Duma deputy Igor Pavlov. Agricultural LLC "SFH" in April 2017 was transferred to Knar Asoyan and Rustam Shamoyan (75 and 25% respectively). Tambovkapitalproekt LLC in January 2018 was transferred to Konstantin Aladinsky, one of the top managers of Vyacheslav Betin’s companies. Mr. Aladinsky in October 2016 acquired a 100% stake in Tambov Construction Company LLC. The new owners of Mr. Betin's former companies were not available for comment yesterday. Let us recall that Vyacheslav Betin himself in March 2017 wrote a statement about the resignation of the deputy of the Tambov City Duma of the sixth convocation.
However, Kommersant’s interlocutor in the regional administration yesterday denied the assumption that Mr. Betin was leaving local projects. According to him, the construction companies of the ex-governor’s son have significantly reduced their production activities over the past year, but this may be due to Mr. Betin’s participation in the completion of the problematic SU-155 facilities. We would like to remind you that this is handled by the Russian Capital structure of RK Stroy LLC, which has been headed by Vyacheslav Betin as general director since mid-2017. The LLC was created shortly after, at the end of 2015, the Russian government appointed the Russian Capital Bank responsible for completing construction projects of a large developer who was unable to fulfill its obligations to shareholders. More than 130 unfinished projects in 14 regions (all outside the Tambov region) were transferred to the bank’s area of responsibility. According to the Ministry of Construction, about 30 houses should be completed in 2018, the program for completing the construction of SU-155 facilities will be completed in full. In 2016 and 2017, according to the ministry’s press service, “the problems of 101 residential buildings were resolved.”
Alexander Prytkov, Irina Lobanova
Journalist Igor Korolkov investigated the evolution of Tambov crime bosses - from racketeering to entering the regional power structures
It's easy to die here. It is enough to show independence, and you will be found with a bullet in your head. Here, ending up in jail is as easy as shelling pears. To do this, you need to try to conduct business honestly or recklessly declare your political claims. Here, going crazy is a trivial matter. You just have to start looking for the truth. Everything here is topsy-turvy. Want to make sure? Go to Tambov. Only 500 kilometers from Moscow. Night - and you are through the looking glass.
Don’t think that your problems will begin as soon as you step on the platform of the Tambov station. Go shopping, look into an art gallery, sit in some cozy cafe... Nothing threatens you. Nobody cares about you. Even stray dogs sniffing around yards in packs. But the longer you stay in this city, the more you will become immersed in an uncomfortable, restless, and alarming environment. Conversations with random people, publications in local newspapers will correct your carefree mood. Gradually you will begin to see things that you did not immediately pay attention to. And yet you will look at what is happening through the eyes of an outsider. This is how the spectator looks at the circus arena, knowing that the lions will not reach him. But everything changes if you try to enter the cage.
Go into business, support some oppositionist, publicly criticize government figures - and your life will become unpredictable, like the cardiogram of a hypertensive patient.
Under the hood of the secret services
Maxim Kosenkov also once thought that the world around him was simple, understandable and safe. At least in relation to him personally. Because he was extremely friendly towards this world. He gave shelter to friends and acquaintances, got birds, fish, a goat, and warmed up stray cats and dogs.
Legislator Andrei Popov and Governor Oleg Betin. They find common ground easily
If Kosenkov had been an ordinary clerk, his life would most likely have flowed smoothly and serenely. But the young man was quite ambitious. He felt the strength of a leader within himself. Maxim walked up the career ladder easily, quickly, and confidently. Already at the age of 25, he became vice-mayor of Tambov, a city with a population of 300 thousand! The young, promising apparatchik was noticed in the regional administration, and the governor invited him to be his deputy. A year later, Kosenkov won the competition for the position of mayor of Tambov!
The career rise of the young politician has a sad ending: he is serving time in one of the Mordovian colonies. The court sentenced Kosenkov to nine and a half years of strict regime. Here is the plot of the event as set out in the verdict: “Kosenkov M.Yu. committed a kidnapping of a person by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, with the threat of violence... dangerous to life and health, for mercenary reasons...” The self-interest was to return Ukrainian citizen Vitaly Babiy to Tambov, with whom Kosenkov, according to the court, was in an intimate relationship intimacy, and persuade him to “live together.”
The court relied on the testimony of Babii himself, his mistress Shevtsova, video recordings made by an external surveillance camera near the house where Babii was captured, and transcripts of telephone conversations conducted by participants in the events, including Kosenkov.
Few people in Tambov believe this version, which became law three years ago. Having familiarized myself with some of the documents available to me, I also have doubts about this version. What happened in March 2008 in Moscow and Tambov could be of interest more to the Viktyuk Theater than to justice. Why was the conflict, usually characteristic of a love triangle, suddenly inflated to the scale of an article in the Criminal Code?
In Tambov, many saw Kosenkov as governor. Perhaps that's why he ended up on the bunk
Events began to develop on March 25, 2008. After lunch, Kosenkov’s driver Sychev and his friend Mironov went to Moscow in the mayor’s official car to bring Babii. A young man who lived in Kosenkov’s house and acted as a security guard, fed numerous animals and kept order in the house, unexpectedly left Tambov together with the former mistress of driver Sychev, Nadezhda Shevtsova. He left with one hundred thousand rubles, a 50-gram gold bar, a watch, a mobile phone and a silver signet ring.
At about eleven in the evening, Sychev and Babii left Moscow and arrived in Tambov at about five in the morning the next day. At the trial, as one of the pieces of evidence, the prosecution presented the results of wiretapping telephone conversations starting at 7 p.m. on March 25. There is a link in the case: the wiretapping was carried out with the permission of the court on January 25, 2008. But in this case, the question arises: on what basis did the court issue permission to wiretap telephone conversations two months before the events? The answer to this question, according to Kosenkov’s lawyers, is not in the materials of the criminal case. There is also no explanation as to why in a court order printed on a computer, the date is written in by hand, and the order itself is replete with numerous corrections. The court issued another permit to the FSB on January 26.
These strange court rulings are extremely important in our history. Does it not follow from them that for some reason the mayor of Tambov Kosenkov was under surveillance for a long time? If this is so, then it turns out that by listening to telephone conversations, the special services discovered a situation, which they then spun up and gave it the appearance of a particularly dangerous crime.
From the mayor of Vladivostok to the mayor of Tambov
Why and who needed this? Answers to such questions should sometimes be sought in analogues. At one time (and this was in the mid-90s of the last century), working at Izvestia, I studied the history of the then mayor of Vladivostok, Viktor Cherepkov. Local police accused him of taking a bribe. Fortunately, Cherepkov turned out to be a tough nut to crack, and the Russian Prosecutor General's Office took charge of the situation. And this is what turned out: money and a watch were planted on the mayor. A whole set of measures was developed, for the implementation of which the Primorye guardians of the law spent all the funds allocated to the regional Internal Affairs Directorate for operational work for the year. Legendary police officers and their so-called assistants were involved in the case. Everyone was rewarded with Japanese cars, video and audio equipment, and the authorities were forced to give the senior lieutenant from the outback, who played the role of a “grateful Afghan” (allegedly a bribe-payer), a two-room apartment in Vladivostok, otherwise the officer threatened to report provocation to the prosecutor’s office.
Pensioners hoped to be heard
As a result, the head of the regional police department, the deputy head of the department for combating organized crime at the regional police department and the direct executor of the operation - the captain of the Organized Crime Control Department - ended up in the dock.
The operation, which was carried out by the regional police department codenamed “Virus,” was the result of a long political confrontation between the mayor of Vladivostok, Viktor Cherepkov, and the then governor of the region, Evgeny Nazdratenko. An important detail: during a search in the regional administration, documents were found indicating that a special group had been created here to develop measures to discredit the objectionable Cherepkov. The list of such measures, for example, included: spreading rumors about the mayor’s non-traditional sexual orientation. Judging by the volume of dirt that was poured on Cherepkov (including some metropolitan media), considerable forces and resources were used to implement the program. It is useful to keep this fact in mind when assessing the situation with the mayor of Tambov.
But let's return to the “kidnapping”. In the notorious video recording made in Moscow and used in court as one of the indisputable evidence of the guilt of Kosenkov, Sychev and Mironov, there is nothing that would indicate the forcible capture of Babii. The former mayor's lawyers think so. Having read the description of what the camera recorded in the verdict, I also cannot share the conviction of the court. There is no violent seizure on record. What happened? An analysis of the recording and telephone conversations that took place that day showed that Babiy was in confusion. On the one hand, he was not indifferent to Shevtsova, an unbalanced and scandalous woman who had a strong influence on him, and on the other hand, he did not mind returning to Tambov, where he lived quite well: the guy studied in college, on car enthusiast courses, the owner was busy with obtaining Russian citizenship. At the same time, Babiya was tormented by shame for the way he “thanked” his patron - at Shevtsova’s instigation, he cleaned him out; he was frightened by the aggression and unbridledness of his mistress... Realizing that she was losing her new lover, Shevtsova even threw herself under the car that was taking her boyfriend to Tambov.
Babiy traveled to Tambov together with Sychev. Several times the car stopped at traffic police posts, fellow travelers went to have a snack in a cafe. Babii, if, as the court claims, he was taken by force, he would have had many opportunities to interrupt this trip by contacting the police or asking for help from cafe visitors. He could have just run away after all. On the way, Babiy talked on the phone with Shevtsova, who was hysterical, and with her sister, who lived in Ukraine. The sister unequivocally approved of Vitaly’s return to Tambov, where his future was more or less clear.
Upon Babii’s arrival, close friends who knew about the events of the last 24 hours visited Maxim Kosenkov. That night, the young people went to a disco in neighboring Lipetsk. And here Babii had a lot of opportunities to break out of his “imprisonment,” but he danced and played billiards.
Confession
Having become acquainted with those materials of the case, which for some reason the court did not take into account, we can conclude: the Moscow Themis followed a path well-known in Russian jurisprudence - to highlight and in a certain way interpret what worked against Kosenkov, and turn a blind eye to the facts that interfered with the prosecution . Here, for example, is a fragment from a telephone conversation between Kosenkov and Babiya’s sister Oksana Morozova.
Morozova:
-...he wanted to go. If Maxim calls, I’ll be in Kyiv for a couple of days, and then I’ll leave for Tambov. A little more in Kyiv, and three days later - to Tambov. That’s what he said when she [Shevtsova] was here. I asked him to tell me when you call.
And this is from a telephone conversation between Kosenkov and Babiya.
Kosenkov:
– You have to decide for yourself, whether you want to stay with her [Shevtsova] – you can stay with her. If you want to return, you will return here. What do you want? Decide...
Babiy:
- All. I'm going.
Another important conversation. It concerns things stolen by Babii.
Kosenkov:
– Did she give you the money?
Babiy:
- Yes.
Kosenkov:
-Where is the gold bar?
Babiy:
- I have.
The court did not take these and many other pieces of evidence into account. He called the theft “allegedly theft” and considered this fact invented by Kosenkov. Like, since he didn’t file a report with the police about the theft, it never happened. The court also did not accept the explanation that he did not do this because he did not want publicity and hoped to resolve the problem peacefully.
For the time being, while he was under the control of law enforcement officers, Babiy, a foreigner, easily vulnerable, virtually powerless, almost resignedly agreed with what the investigation demanded of him. But his dependence on people in uniform weakened, and a letter signed by “kidnapped with a threat to life and health” - Vitaly Babiy - was sent to the prosecutor’s office. He revealed the mechanism of how his testimony was formed: the detective himself wrote into the text what he considered necessary, and other explanations that he gave, which were fundamentally different from what the detective wanted, for some reason disappeared from the case without a trace. For some reason, the statement he wrote in his own hand, in which he claimed that no one had kidnapped him, was not heard in court. No one responded to his verbal complaints that the “operator” was threatening him with physical harm. “I deeply regret that I slandered M.Yu. Kosenkov, V.V. Sychev. and Mironova M.N.,” Babiy wrote in his statement, “... I want to correct my monstrous mistake - so that innocent people do not suffer because of my cowardice.”
In the current conditions, when Maxim Kosenkov was already serving his sentence, and Babiy himself could calmly stay in Ukraine, no one could force him to make such a confession. The statement of the victim is, in legal terms, newly discovered circumstances. The Kosenkov case needed to be reconsidered. The Supreme Court studied the case materials and... upheld the previous verdict.
Then Babiy went to the police and wrote a confession. “Do you understand that you face criminal penalties?” - they asked him. “Yes,” answered Babiy. And then a criminal case was opened against the young man. The investigation was carried out quickly, but for some reason they were in no hurry to take the case to court. They say that not all the evidence has been collected yet. At the same time, they did nothing to collect this evidence. The courts to which Kosenkov’s parents appealed made an unequivocal decision: the investigation was completed and the case should be considered in court. But the case is still gathering dust with the investigator.
Why, in the case of Kosenkov, did the case quickly go to court, but now, on the contrary, the case was not brought to court? According to Kosenkov’s lawyers, the reason is simple: if the case is heard in court and Babii is convicted of theft, Kosenkov’s case will have to be reviewed. And upon a new examination, it is likely that Kosenkov will have to be acquitted. All the efforts of those who carried out the work will go to waste, and they themselves will be put to shame. Kosenkov will return to Tambov in the aura of a martyr, which will make him even more desirable for some respectable position. For the position of governor, for example.
Many in Tambov believe that it was precisely this prospect for an energetic, unconventionally thinking young manager that brought him to the Mordovian colony. There was widespread talk in the city that in the coming years Kosenkov would replace the current governor, almost 60-year-old Oleg Betin. If we assume that the basis of Kosenkov’s case is the desire to interrupt the career rise of a talented leader, then the dexterity with which Kosenkov was moved from the administrative chair to the bunk becomes easily explainable.
The version that Kosenkov was removed as a likely contender for the post of governor has been circulating in the region since his arrest. But there is another one, which is not very pleasant for the former mayor. In Tambov, I met with one very strong businessman, who told me that the head of the city personally extorted a bribe from him. My interlocutor argued: it was regular bribery that forced the local FSB to take care of the mayor. That is why he lost his freedom.
If what the businessman says is true, we can say that local intelligence services operate outside the framework of the law and arbitrariness reigns in Tambov. Instead of exposing the head of the administration of corruption, the FSB arranged for Kosenkov to be accused of committing a crime that in fact did not happen. Since the special services resorted to such a method, this may indicate either their professional insolvency, or that talk about total bribery is a myth, and the mayor was eliminated after all for the reason that we have already discussed.
A letter that smells of death
The story of the conviction of the mayor of Tambov reveals a whole layer of problems characteristic of modern Russia in its outback - from the free use of the law by law enforcement agencies to the absolute vulnerability of a person to the aggressiveness of the state machine. The main one is the problem of power, practically unlimited and not controlled by anyone. They are eager to get to her. They want to possess her like a woman. And although power imposes enormous responsibility, deprives one of sleep and multiplies the number of enemies, it not only satisfies vanity, but apparently brings dividends that more than cover the costs. Therefore, someone who has tasted the poison of power does not voluntarily give it up for anything. On the contrary, people are using everything possible and impossible to remain at the helm for at least another year, at least six months... The Tambov governor is no exception.
Oleg Ivanovich Betin has been leading the region for 13 years. In fact, he has been participating in the management of the region for much longer. In 1991, he was appointed deputy and then first deputy governor. From 1998 to 1999 – Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Tambov Region. He is 62 years old. Doctor of Economic Sciences. Member of United Russia. Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree. Admirers of Governor Betin characterize him as an intelligent, strong-willed, intelligent manager who managed to rally the managerial elite around him. Court media say that “the governor ensured political stability, economic growth and a constant improvement in the well-being of the population in the region entrusted to him.” In interviews with supporters of the head of administration, the refrain is the following: there is no alternative to Betin. This means that some part of the people living in one of the agricultural regions of Russia would like to see him as governor of the region for the fourth time. Needless to say, this is a serious reason to reflect on what a man who was born here, who rose to his feet and realized himself on the banks of his native Tsna, did for the region and its people.
Betin found himself on the captain's bridge at a time when the country's economy was changing its course. This time was not only difficult, but also extremely dangerous - there was a merciless struggle for property. You could easily lay your head in it. During the period when Betin represented the country’s president in the region, there was a serious war in Tambov for ownership of the city’s Central Market.
During a business trip to Tambov, I was given a photocopy of a letter from fifteen years ago. It was printed on the official letterhead of Tambov City Duma deputy Leonid Novopavlovsky (he was a deputy of two legislative assemblies - city and regional) and dated September 1, 1997. It bears the number 107. Considering the deputy’s repeated public appearances and the tragic ending, it is highly likely that this is a genuine letter, although only a printout from a computer has survived. It is worth quoting the most important passages.
“To the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation,
To the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation A.S. Kulikov
Dear Anatoly Sergeevich!
I am forced to contact you because I am convinced that the situation in Tambov cannot be stabilized by the local police department. The essence of what happened boils down to the following: the Tambov City Duma, of which I am a deputy, on my initiative decided to check the work of the municipal enterprise “Tambov Central Market”, since there was reliable information that the administration of the enterprise was completely corrupt and the market was controlled by the criminal group Popova A.V. ...
At the same time, the mayor's office of Tambov made decisions to prepare for the reconstruction of the market and restore order in the trade of industrial goods. These city hall events were actively supported by the management of our company ZAO Tambovneftetrans.
The correctness of the decisions made is confirmed by the fact that after the appointment of new market management and the removal of market controllers (persons who carried out extortions), revenues to the local budget increased by 4–5 times, and in the meat department of the market by 10–15 times. These local government events were the reason that on July 25 of this year, in the afternoon on the central street of Tambov, I was shot at, I was wounded and hospitalized. The leader of the group is Popov A.V. and previously repeatedly threatened with physical destruction and ruin...
The group initiated picketing of the mayor's office... On August 8, inspectors suspended from work blocked a group of mayor's office workers in the market administration premises, and... the head of the administration of the Leninsky district of Tambov, deputy of the Tambov City Duma, Nemtsov E.A., who called them to order. were stabbed...
...from the group of Popov A.V. Terror was unleashed against the company's property and its employees...
– On August 8 at night they tried to set fire to a gas station on Montazhnikov Street.
– On August 9, they shot and tried to set fire to the dacha of the general director of Tambovneftetrans CJSC V.V. Davituliani.
– On August 10, company employee S.V. Sechnev was beaten with metal bars.
– On August 10, on the road Rasskazovo – Tambov, the car of our business partner was stopped, and Popov A.V. asked him to convey to the Board of Directors of our company that its members would be “riddled.”
– On August 11, a penetrating knife wound was inflicted on a company employee, V.N. Ashcheulov.
– August 11... on the instructions of the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate V.M. Puchnin. The security outside my hospital room was removed. (Security was also removed from the hospital room of deputy E.A. Nemtsov)…
– On August 14, police officers detained one of the cars belonging to A.V. Popov’s group, which had been parked for a long time near the house where deputy E.A. Nemtsov lives; two firearms, face masks, and metal rods were found in its trunk . […] the detainees were released.
...the concerns of company employees about personal safety, the safety of family members and personal property, the inaction of the management of the Internal Affairs Directorate (none of the listed facts have identified persons subject to criminal liability) prompt me to turn to you for help.”
I was unable to find out whether the deputy’s letter reached the minister. I only know that no one traveled from Moscow to Tambov and did not understand the current situation. And six months later, the author of the letter was killed. At the Camelot nightclub. Three shots to the head.
The dramatic letter from Deputy L. Novopavlovsky cited here perfectly illustrates the period when Oleg Ivanovich Betin took the reins of government in the region into his own hands.
Analytic note
In the same Tambov, I was introduced to another very interesting document. Actually, it cannot be called a document in the strict sense of the word. There are no seals or signatures on it. This is an analytical note about the situation in the Tambov region. During my long journalistic practice, I have read similar works many times. When they are transmitted to the media, when photocopying, for obvious reasons, all signatures, stamps, seals, stamps, and marks are removed from them. As a rule, the place of origin of such papers is law enforcement agencies. Based on the style of presentation, one can guess in which department the “analytics” was prepared. The one that was given to me in Tambov, apparently, was compiled by the intelligence services back in the mid-2000s and, apparently, was intended for internal use or for informing senior management.
Andrey Popov and Governor Oleg Betin
The twelve-page work seemed to pass through the area like an X-ray. Life hidden from prying eyes appeared in all its secret details - with the true motives of actions, unadvertised alliances, criminal plans. Analysts, for example, noted that in the region there is a massive custom bankruptcy of solvent and profitable enterprises, such as the Tambov Concrete Products Plant, the Kochetovsky Juices and Concentrates Plant, the Uvarov Granit and Khimkombinat, the Michurinsky Piston Ring Plant, the Morshansky Khimmash ", Municipal Unitary Enterprise "Passenger Transportation", Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Arzhensky Plump Poultry Plant", Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Tambovovtodor". With the help of such bankruptcies, property ended up in the hands of people bound together by secret agreements. It was an alliance of government officials, law enforcement officers and leaders of criminal groups - Pop, Owl, Boar, Whistling, Father... The note also lists their real names, positions (who had them), social status, spheres of influence. Some are given characteristics. For example, Batyushka’s “right hand” is assessed as “the most terrible leader of an organized crime group, claiming primacy in the criminal hierarchy of the Tambov region.” Father himself is characterized as the brains of the Tambov criminal world, who created an excellent security service equipped with “advanced European wiretapping and tracking technology.”
The note lists high-ranking regional officials who participated in the redistribution of property. A special table indicates their names, positions and numbers of criminal cases in which they appeared, or materials in which they were mentioned. There are 19 people in total. With regard to a number of key figures in the administration, the note says, “in the Internal Affairs Directorate and the FSB Directorate of the region there were and are materials of operational developments or inspections... But due to the cowardice of the leadership and under pressure from a corrupt significant part of the prosecutor’s office, the materials were partially destroyed or the check on them was stopped.” Analysts state: “...in the region, government and law enforcement structures have almost completely merged with the leaders of organized crime groups.”
I think many residents of the Tambov region will agree with the contents of the above note. People may not know some details, but in general they are well aware of who “takes”, who “protects”, who received this or that property and for what merit. They see the houses in which “servants of the people” live, the cars they drive, the friends they greet... It is no coincidence that in 2008, a conference of public organizations in the Tambov region adopted an unprecedented appeal to the President of Russia - to dissolve the prosecutor’s office of the Tambov region “in connection with the criminalization of its activities.”
It’s clear that no one began to dissolve the prosecutor’s office. In the analytical note, the name Betina appears on almost every page. His special affection for Andrei Popov is also noted here. Let's get to know this person better, perhaps this will help us better understand the governor himself. It’s not for nothing that popular wisdom says: tell me who your friend is...
Dear friend
Popov is a successful businessman, a deputy of the regional legislative assembly, one of the leaders of the regional branch of the United Russia party, an extremely influential and even powerful person. For many years, he was not just a deputy - he held the position of deputy chairman of the assembly, and formed the legislative framework of the region.
This is, so to speak, official information. And there is also an unofficial one. Let's take a look at A. Mukhin's book “Russian Organized Crime and Power. History of relationships." The book was published by the Center for Political Information back in 2002. It contains a lot of interesting and useful things. Expanding the 301 page.
“The criminal community of the Tambov region is distinguished by its active participation in local political life and special cynicism in organizing racketeering. Tambov organized crime groups gained fame in 1998 because they actually entered into competition with the city administration for the right to control the Central City Market... The organized crime group operating in the market belonged to Andrei Popov. Popov organized the collection of tribute from market structures since 1994, later... he was elected to the Tambov Regional Duma and became the director of the Tanfet company.
These luxurious mansions are the property of the people's representative, Deputy Popov.
Pop is his nickname. So, in any case, says the newspaper “Arguments and Facts”. Deputy Novopavlovsky spoke about him at his prophetic press conference, claiming that threats to kill or ruin were transmitted to him on behalf of Popov.
An interesting video has been posted on the Internet, complementing the portrait of the Tambov politician. Recorded on February 18, 2006 in the St. Petersburg casino “Golden Country” during celebrations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the famous “authority” Vladimir Barsukov, better known as Kumarin. After drinking heavily, Popov delivered a speech that, to a certain extent, can be considered self-exposing. “And I would like,” the deputy confessed unsteadily, “you know what, raise a toast to his health, to his family, to his wife, to his daughter... To those people who started with him [Kumarin]... Well, you know, to put it simply, they began to work together with him... maybe in business there or a number of other issues that they dealt with... that is, how they built all these things...” Having uttered the last words, Popov laughed.
The editors of “Top Secret” have the full version of the recording of the celebration, and, I must say, this spectacle is quite interesting. Firstly, the selection of guests: at the party of a major “authority” there are a lot of recognizable faces, including famous cultural figures and politicians. Secondly, because of how touching it was in this community, Popov presented Kumarin with an expensive icon. Thirdly, the hero of the day was presented with a Certificate of Honor, signed by the Chairman of the Tambov Regional Legislative Assembly, Mr. Karev: for “contribution to the socio-economic development” of the region and for the “revival of spiritual and cultural values.” Let me remind you that not long ago Barsukov-Kumarin was sentenced to 14 years in prison for extortion.
The political career of Andrei Vasilyevich Popov has lasted for a decade and a half. Today, in the regional legislative assembly, he heads the Committee for Relations with Local Government Bodies, Public Organizations and Issues of Deputy Ethics. It is very symbolic that it is Deputy Popov who heads such a committee. Because in Tambov, as I already said, everything is topsy-turvy. Andrey Vasilyevich is a wealthy man. This catches everyone's eye. He has a mansion in Tambov that looks like the residence of the US Ambassador in Moscow. Near Tambov, in the village of Novaya Lyada, there is a residential building with a total area of 316.8 square meters and a castle in the English style. Popov and his wife (if you believe the declaration for 2009) own several land plots with a total area of more than 14 thousand square meters, two Porsche cars, two Mercedes, a BMW and a Lexus. The average salary in the Tambov region, according to Tambovstat, is 14.5 thousand rubles. Agree, against this background, talking about the personal modesty of a “servant of the people” is somehow awkward. But it becomes even more awkward when you find out that the legislator, basking in luxury, resorts to unworthy tricks in order not to pay due taxes to the state treasury. From year to year, the first deputy chairman of the legislative assembly paid pennies for owning a shack with an area of 37.6 square meters in Novaya Lyada. While in fact there was a luxurious house with an area of more than three hundred square meters. The truth-seekers turned everywhere: to the regional governor, to the regional prosecutor’s office, and to Moscow. They say, what an example a government official sets! The answers were always evasive, florid, vague. Only after another persistent letter from the Federal Investigation Agency, the acting chairman of the regional Duma, V. Karev, admitted: yes, Popov paid the wrong taxes. But how elegantly he admitted it! From the text of the letter it turned out: well, just think, Popov indicated the wrong figure, but now he has corrected the mistake - he has provided updated information. And not a word about the official’s responsibility for deceiving the state, or about whether he should return what was not paid. Let me remind you: the answer was signed by the same Karev who so highly appreciated the merits of the St. Petersburg authority, widely known in criminal circles.
Just like in the legislative assembly, law enforcement agencies are “sorting out” Popov’s use of the forest plot in the Stolovskoye forestry. Capital buildings were erected there in violation of the law. Obtaining information about their presence from the registration authorities is the same as obtaining information about a secret object of national importance. There are photographs of buildings, but no documentary evidence.
The English-style castle, which I already mentioned, was built exactly under a high-voltage power line. It is clear that no government agency could authorize construction in such a place. But Popov built it! And it never occurred to any of the numerous supervisory authorities to ask: why, exactly? The responses of officials, who are openly irritated by citizens’ attacks on the veteran regional lawmaker, are touching. The power line, they write, should be moved to another location. Of course, what to do with it, with this power line, if the designers many years ago could not foresee that a nice place would attract a respected person! It turned out that Popov also began building a shopping center in Tambov without permission. But this did not in any way affect the construction of the complex.
It is very appropriate here to mention the comfortable conditions in which the governor’s son does his business. People in Tambov gossip about this at every turn. The indignation of citizens spills over into all sorts of appeals to the country's leadership. The leader of the LDPR, Zhirinovsky, also tried to reach out to then President Medvedev. “In the region for a long time,” says a letter from a State Duma deputy, “a vicious practice has developed... of family business, in which Governor O. Betin’s reliable assistant is his son, deputy chairman of the Tambov City Duma, entrepreneur and part-time curator of the regional housing and communal services as the owner of the largest construction holding LLC Tambov Investment Company and holding company Tambovkapitalproekt.
In Soviet times there was a funny joke. A Chukchi returns from Moscow. He’s riding the train home, looking out the window, and there’s a poster on the fence: “Everything in the name of man! Everything is for the good of man!” The Chukchi smiles slyly: “The Chukchi was in Moscow. The Chukchi saw this man!”
This is exactly how I imagine the formula by which the well-being of a limited circle of people in the Tambov region has been cobbled together over the past 15 years.
Depressed region
People will object to me and cite official statistics as an example. They say that people’s wages are growing, and the environment is better than their neighbors’, and houses are being built at a rapid pace! That's probably true. The region cannot help but build, not plow, and not sew. But is this the merit of the numerous bureaucratic class? Exactly the same as in relation to grass, which grows on its own, experts say, posting their thoughts on the ceremonial reports on the Internet. Yuri Korchagin in the article “Tambov Economy, Elite, Development Prospects” disavows the victorious reports with just one figure: the depreciation of fixed assets in the Tambov region in 2008 was almost 55 percent, which significantly exceeded the Russian average. Over the past four years, the situation has gotten even worse. So, an increase in output using outdated equipment and outdated technologies only means an increase in the number of uncompetitive and low-quality products, which no one needs in a market economy.
“A developed business, investments in fixed assets are the resource that generates income,” Doctor of Economic Sciences Professor N. Kulikov reflected on the economics of the region in one of his numerous publications. “It needs to be stimulated and directed to promising sectors, so that in a few years a new economic picture of the region can be created. But there is no such business in the Tambov region. And hence the problems with employment, and with GRP, and with the regional budget.”
The author is ironic about the somewhat excessive pride of the regional administration regarding the fact that in 2009 the financial and economic crisis hit many regions of the Central Black Earth Region, but did not affect the Tambov region. “But could the economic crisis affect the economy... of a region if it is not represented by its economy on the market?” – the author asks and laments: “You can’t even find two goods or products with the brand “made in Tambov” in stores in Russian regions.” The professor notes that the Tambov region is still a deeply subsidized region. The share of own income in all consolidated budget income is only 56 percent.
In this regard, one cannot help but mention another pride of the local authorities: in the Tambov region, the average standard of living of the population is not bad by Russian standards. But it developed, as Korchagin claims, solely due to increased gratuitous budget subsidies and a significant sector of the shadow economy, amounting to about 40 percent of the gross regional product.
The shadow economy is a special topic. Experts say that in the Tambov region it has firmly occupied a niche in trade. It is there that people from criminal structures, who feel so comfortable on the banks of the Tsna, do the lion's share of their business.
The desire of economic outsiders to appear better than they really are is natural and understandable. Sometimes it makes me smile. Economic observer Artyom Alexandrov gives the following example in one of his publications. The summer of 2010 was extremely dry in the region. The mercury rose to 40 degrees for two months. The summer of 2011 turned out to be milder. The regional leadership immediately took advantage of this and presented the increase in agricultural production over 10 months as a great labor victory. Of course: compared to the previous dry year – an increase of 140 percent!
But there are more serious things. Professor Kulikov suspects that in the region they are engaged in postscripts. In particular, they account for the presence of a population of cattle in the population that actually does not exist.
The same doubts are expressed by the former head of the administration of the Leninsky district of Tambov, Eduard Nemtsov, the same one who at one time tried to restore order in the market and was almost killed. In one of his addresses to the country's leadership, he notes: as of January 1, 2010, only in households in the Uvarovsky district, according to official statistics, there were 2,231 cows. In fact, there are only 966 of them. Nemtsov is convinced that the same problem exists in statistical reports on capital construction. In his opinion, based on expert assessments, almost half, and sometimes more, of what the region reports has not actually been built! The issue is so serious that a number of deputies of the regional Duma proposed creating a commission to check how reality corresponds to statistical reports. However, my colleagues rejected this proposal. And deputies are forced to turn to Moscow again and again to organize an inspection, since it is not possible to do this at the local level. Moscow, as usual, sends complaints to Tambov. I think it’s not difficult to guess what answers truth-seekers receive.
Control shots
Competent people with whom I had a chance to talk in Tambov are convinced: the principles of economic development of the region that have been formed over the past 15 years, and which cannot be called successful, were formed under the influence of processes in which the local criminal world took an active part. This distorted not only the economy. This radically deformed the psychology of people in power. Especially those who were obliged to fight crime and protect the rights of citizens.
At one time, Tambov residents were shocked by the news: Deputy Popov had a new assistant. He turned out to be the former head of the Organized Crime Control Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the Tambov Region, Nikolai Uryupin. People began to ask questions: is there a connection between such an appointment and the extremely poor investigation of a number of high-profile murders conducted by law enforcement agencies? For example, why did they try to write off the murder of the chairman of the Tambov Regional Society of Hunters and Fishermen, Mamontov, as an accident? Why have the murders of the head of the Tambov police department Dzhuraev and the deputy head of the Tambov region police department Biryukov not been solved? And why, after arresting Novopavlovsky’s killer, was it not possible to find out who hired him? Did businessman Petrov really hang himself in his cell when, during a search, they found incriminating evidence on influential officials? And why were the witness in the Petrov case and the FSB officer involved in his story killed?
In this light, the appeal of the Tambov City Duma, sent to the leadership of the country and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation even when Novopavlovsky was alive - in August 1997, is perceived in a completely different way.
“It is quite possible,” the appeal says, “that local government is actually faced with a large, structured, well-armed, motorized, equipped with modern means of communication, disciplined and daring criminal group with extensive connections in the criminal world, and with corrupt government officials both in the region and in the Center; that there is a real threat to the life of the mayor of Tambov and the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Tambov region V.N. Koval.”
Six months later, the first mayor of Tambov died suddenly. Supposedly from hepatitis. But knowing how the bandits and those who “protected” them in uniform hated Valery Koval, Tambov residents do not believe in the official version of death. Now, having the sad example of the poisoning of Litvinenko in London, the city is increasingly talking about the murder of the mayor.
During all the events described here, Betin ruled the area. History is silent about whether the governor tried to resist the legal chaos that was gaining strength in the region entrusted to him. How did, say, Mayor Koval, deputy Novopavlovsky, head of the district Nemtsov or deputy head of the regional police department Biryukov do it. Each of them suffered in the unequal struggle. But the governor does not seem to see what is really happening in the region entrusted to him.
While studying the biography and activities of administrator Betin, I came across an interesting document from nine years ago. This is a legal opinion prepared by the Russian Academy of Legal Sciences regarding a transaction completed by the head of the Tambov region. A conclusion was given at the request of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Central Federal District. In 2000, the governor purchased 53 UAZ ambulances for the regional healthcare system. He did this in some strange way and paid 3.5 million rubles more for the cars than they were worth. Out of thoughtlessness, a doctor of economic sciences did this or there was some kind of selfish interest in this - today one can only guess: law enforcement officers did not get to the bottom of the truth. The old document gave me the key to understanding why nothing threatens Governor Betin in this criminal world.
Apparently, Oleg Ivanovich can have a lot of claims. As, indeed, for any leader. But, perhaps, the main, most serious thing is that under him, a climate was formed in the region in which not a single person could feel safe.
It is enough to read the report on the human rights situation in the region, compiled by the Public Human Rights Center of the Tambov Region, to advise children to bypass the police and the prosecutor's office, and to behave as quietly as possible, below the grass. Although, as can be seen from the report, this rule does not apply in the region: anyone who happens to be, as they say, in the wrong place at the wrong time can end up in the law enforcement meat grinder.
A very recent example. Letters have been sent to the country's leadership from Tambov, in which people once again call on the authorities to protect them from arbitrariness. Two months ago, in the village of Krasnosvobodnoye, 16 kilometers from Tambov, during the day, two criminal groups, “Popovsky” and “Kriushinsky,” staged a showdown using firearms. One member of the group was killed and two were wounded. Luckily, no civilians were harmed. The authors of the appeals fear that influential figures will again cover for their own.
Today, the Tambov region resembles a garden in which the gardener mixed up something, and therefore the flora feels most comfortable here, which, according to all the laws of gardening, must be weeded. It obscures the sun, takes away moisture, and simply spoils the lives of those around us with its aggressiveness.
Since we are talking about a very spicy story, I will not name the names of the people involved in it - they are well known in Tambov. A certain businessman, who distributes legal documents in the region and therefore has close connections in law enforcement agencies, successfully bullies those who, as it seems to him, stand in his way. At his request, criminal cases are initiated, and people, going crazy because they are accused of offenses that they did not commit, are forced to prove their innocence for years. The wife of this businessman, by the way, a lady with a pedagogical education, threw out a number that is still being discussed in Tambov. The office where she worked was repairing the sewer system and temporarily closing the restroom. All employees survived this inconvenience without any problems. And only the wife of an influential man amazed everyone: she declared that she would not tolerate such treatment, and poured a puddle in the corridor.
This story has become a symbolic story. This is exactly how the class, nurtured in Tambov over the past 10–15 years, strengthened financially and acquired influential connections, acts towards the entire society.
Betin's supporters argue that there are no political figures in the region who could compete with the current governor in the upcoming elections. And this is another serious reproach to the head of the administration. In an atmosphere of fear, general depression, and the inability to defend their legal rights, potential politicians prefer to keep a low profile. Moreover, the past elections demonstrated the futility of arguing with those who have money and administrative resources.
One of the photographs that illustrates this article shows Betin and Popov. The photo seems to symbolize the unity of the executive and legislative powers. They are confident. They are fine.
One intelligent interlocutor with whom we spoke in Tambov noted: Betin is the best fit for the position of governor at the current stage of the country’s development. My other interlocutors found a lot of shortcomings in him. Interestingly, both sides are right. The paradox can be explained simply: the listed disadvantages are the advantages on which the administrative vertical in the country today rests.
Another scandal occurred in the Tambov region after a resident of the region wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin and criticized the management methods of Governor Oleg Betin. Against this backdrop, anti-corruption fighters became interested in the connection between the head of the Tambov region and his son’s business, opposition circles told The Moscow Post correspondent.
Letter from a dissatisfied Tambov resident
Recently, residents of Russian regions, driven to despair by the actions of the authorities, are increasingly turning to the President of Russia for help. Tambov resident Eduard Nemtsov, known in the region for his intransigence towards corruption, was no exception and also sent a letter to Vladimir Putin.
An advance of 43 million rubles was received for the construction of Raduzhny, then certificates for work performed for 8 million rubles were immediately paid, and only a few months later the advance was “set off.”
But where did the money come from? It turns out that in addition to the fact that the funds were already guaranteed to be pledged by the government of the Tambov region for 2013, Oleg Betin additionally attracted credit funds from Sberbank.
That is, the governor of the Tambov region actually drove the region into further debt in order not only to carry out construction work in Raduzhny, but also to ensure decent payment for the state order of Tambov Investment Company LLC.
Vyacheslav Betin, son of the governor
Rich brat
By the way, the son of the head of the region, Vyacheslav Betin, is not only the general director of Tambov Investment Company LLC, but also a co-owner of a number of enterprises.
After all, the heir to the governor of the Tambov region owns shares in DSK-Tambov (production of concrete and cement products), Real LLC (advertising activities), Tambovkapitalproekt LLC (commercial consulting), Tambov Poultry Farm LLC, Tambov Construction LLC company", TOOIR "Lebyazhye" (society of hunters and fishermen), LLC TTK (production of concrete products for use in construction), LLC "Arsenal" (wholesale trade of food products).
The diagram of the assets of the son of Governor Betin was taken from the site “olegbetin.net”
In general, it turns out that the governor is not just a son, but a real oligarch.
Is the Betin family breaking the law?
In 2014 alone, the Tambov Investment Company won tenders in its region totaling 1 billion 364 million rubles, and the Tambov Construction Company won contracts totaling 1 billion 051 million rubles.
By the way, by participating in tenders, Oleg Betin’s son violates current legislation. The thing is that since the beginning of 2014, stricter amendments have been made to the law “On the Contract System”, which actually prohibited relatives of officials from participating in public procurement of these authorities.
According to experts, companies controlled by Vyacheslav Betin did not have the right to participate in concluding government contracts with government agencies of the Tambov region. And, if this is so, then the investigative authorities should check the version that Governor Oleg Betin is illegally helping the development of his son’s business.
Is money from the budget flowing to Cyprus?
That is, money from the budget of the Tambov region goes to Cyprus. It is obvious that investigators simply need to check the governor’s connection with his son’s business. After all, illegal government procurement is a very serious crime.
"Beggar" budget
And against the background of how the business of the governor’s son literally flourished in the region, the budget deficit of the Tambov region in 2015 exceeded 2 billion rubles.
By the way, the region is actively borrowing and continues to borrow money. After all, the upper limit of the state internal debt of the Tambov region will be: as of January 1, 2016 - 12,730,420.2 thousand rubles; as of January 1, 2017, 7713166420.2 thousand rubles; as of January 1, 2018 - 13,241,820.2 thousand rubles.
It seems that the Tambov region needs a new governor, since it is essentially a crime to “pour” budget money into the commercial structures of one’s relatives. Moreover, when this happens against the backdrop of a gigantic deficit and multi-billion dollar debts in the region.
Appendix: government orders received by Tambov Investment Company LLC
Information about government orders for Tambov Investment Company LLC was taken from the website “b2bsky.ru”