Shantsev's resignation in a year. Why Nizhny Novgorod governor Valery Shantsev was fired

Governor Nizhny Novgorod region Valery Shantsev became one of the first governors "to take off", that Russian President Vladimir Putin became known on Tuesday, September 26. The reason could be Moscow's desire to continue the strategy of delegating young technocratic governors to the regions. However, it was not launched everywhere. According to the results of the elections, the record-breaking governor Yevgeny Savchenko, who has been head of the Belgorod Region since 1993, was re-elected for a new term. Remained in the governor's chair, despite a protracted illness, the 73-year-old head of Kuzbass Aman Tuleev. 70-year-old Shantsev, whose career path began in the CPSU, and then went through work in the team of Yuri Luzhkov, can be included in the same list of governors-aksakals. What allowed him to maintain political weight for so many years, having survived a change of associates and even an assassination attempt, the portal tells.

Seventies

On the possible resignation of Valery Shantsev from the post of governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Kommersant reported on September 20. A few days earlier, the same information appeared in RBC. According to media sources, Shantsev may leave his post in the near future. Among the reasons were the ongoing inter-elite conflicts, as well as the age of the governor - in June he turned 70 years old. The likely resignation, as noted, may occur as part of the next wave of gubernatorial rotations. The last of them came last winter, when leaders changed one by one, in particular in the Perm Territory, Buryatia, the Novgorod Region and Karelia. Following the results of a single voting day, which took place on September 10, the new appointees got rid of the prefix "acting", having confidently won the election. The trend towards renewal and rejuvenation of the leadership has justified itself, which means that it can again be taken into service.

Valery Shantsev denied rumors of his resignation, noting that he continues to work, and in an extremely busy schedule, scheduled until ten o'clock in the evening. The Kremlin also reacted to rumors about the resignation of the Nizhny Novgorod governor. press secretary Russian President Dmitry Peskov did not deny, but did not confirm this information either: “The media always write a lot, but you know that we never foreshadow personnel issues.” In the last wave of gubernatorial rotations, the heads of the Novgorod region and Karelia, Sergei Mitin and Alexander Khudilainen, also rejected all rumors, but soon resigned.

At the same time, the 67-year-old governor of the Belgorod region, Yevgeny Savchenko, was also put in a number of governors to be fired by the media. However, in the end, he not only stayed in the chair of the head of the region, retaining the status of a record-breaking governor (Savchenko has been the head of the region for almost 24 years, the second indicator belongs to the governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleev. - Note), but also won the election with the support of 69, 3% of voters.

Valery Shantsev led the Nizhny Novgorod region for 12 years, before that he went through a career path both through the CPSU and through the Moscow mayor's office under the leadership of Yuri Luzhkov.

Mode change is not a hindrance

Valery Shantsev, before joining the CPSU in 1971, traditionally worked as the secretary of the Komsomol organization - at the Salyut defense plant. He was engaged in party work in the capital until 1991 and by that time served as secretary of the Moscow city committee of the CPSU. During this time, he was elected, in particular, the chairman of the Perovsky District Council of People's Deputies. Many years later, already being the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, he will not leave this area without attention, having entered into "counters" with United Russia during the elections.

“I was not a “blind official”, I perfectly understood that the resource of the system was coming to an end,” Shantsev tells about his attitude to the regime change.

He clarifies that “he understood that reforms were overdue in the country. Unfortunately, it was also clear that the then authorities did not have the potential and technologies for such modernization.”

Then there was a pause in the official career of Valery Shantsev. Offers from businessmen (according to the governor, he was repeatedly offered to lead various commercial organizations), he rejected, but did not refuse the post of commercial director of the Dynamo hockey club. Shantsev returned to the authorities as prefect of the Southern Administrative District, and two years later participated in the elections in a pair with Yuri Luzhkov as a candidate for the post of his deputy. A few days before voting day, an assassination attempt was made on Shantsev, as a result of which, in addition to him, his assistant and a woman who happened to be near the site of the explosion were also injured. The life of the future governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region was in danger: he received almost 150 shrapnel wounds and a burn of 50% of his body. The power of the explosion was so great that the porch of the house where Shantsev lived was completely destroyed, in addition, dozens of window panes flew out.

Five years later, in an interview, he no doubt stated that the motive was political: “There were people to whom our bunch (with Luzhkov. - Note) ruined all plans. Ruined so much that they decided to eliminate. Then they told me, they say, if they wanted to, they would eliminate it. But judge for yourself: the explosive device, in addition to TNT (in the equivalent of 400 g), contained 200 bullets. Only by chance I got quite a bit and everything in the back. The case, however, was never solved. In addition to the political, a criminal version was put forward. According to unconfirmed reports, law enforcement agencies did not rule out that an Azerbaijani or Orekhovskaya criminal group could become the customer.; with the first, Shantsev allegedly had a conflict around the auto business during his work as prefect of the Southern District.

Luzhkov, in conjunction with Shantsev, eventually won the election, receiving the support of 89.64% of voters with a turnout of 67.7%.

The Vice Mayor, leading the socio-economic bloc, was one of the most influential officials in the Moscow government in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He himself said that he was not afraid to enter into a dispute with the then Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov, who then advocated the introduction of insurance medicine. During his tenure at the mayor's office, in addition to the unpopular measures of infill development, there were also tragedies. Valery Shantsev was at the forefront as a representative of the authorities during the hostage-taking by terrorists in Dubrovka. After visiting "Nord-Ost", as reported by the media, the deputy mayor was taken to the hospital due to overvoltage- after an emergency flight from Malaysia to Moscow, hard work at the headquarters to free the hostages. Subsequently, it was Shantsev who voiced the position of the mayor's office regarding the claims of the victims against the city authorities to receive compensation: the authorities did everything possible, they were not to blame for the consequences of the terrorist attack.

Conquer the capital

The vice-mayor was repeatedly mentioned as the future successor of Yury Luzhkov. There were also accusations against him of wanting to sit the boss, but Shantsev categorically rejected all such judgments. He spoke about attempts to quarrel with the mayor-economic manager, and when the media, in his own words, misunderstood his statement about the possible presidential ambitions of Yuri Luzhkov. To be more precise, about his chances in the hypothetical presidential elections. In the same interview, he criticized the government, in particular its then deputy chairmen Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov. Valery Shantsev then refused to comment on these statements in detail, emphasizing that he would always be devoted to Luzhkov.

If he had mayoral ambitions, they did not come true. In 2005, he became governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region. His candidacy was proposed to Vladimir Putin by the current first deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, and then the presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District. Kiriyenko called Shantsev's appointment a "gift for the region". However, this personnel decision was primarily seen not as concern for the subject, but as a desire to eliminate a strong contender for the post of Moscow mayor. The director of the Institute for Globalization Problems, Mikhail Delyagin, then noted that in the Nizhny Novgorod region then there were enough of their own, local strong politicians: “Now you can put anyone in the place of Shantsev.”

There were enough other versions: the appointment of Shantsev as governor was considered both as a desire to give him experience in managing the region before the appointment of the mayor, and as a consequence of his conflict with Luzhkov's wife Elena Baturina, who heads the list of Russia's richest women.

Even during Valery Shantsev's first term as governor, they talked about his appointment as mayor in Sochi in the pre-Olympic period, and in 2010 there was a real chance for him to return to Moscow - to the place of the former boss, who was dismissed with the wording "due to loss of confidence." The head of the Nizhny Novgorod region was listed among the candidates for the mayor's chair submitted for consideration by the president. He competed with Deputy Mayor Lyudmila Shvetsova, Igor Levitin, who headed the Ministry of Transport, and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin. Regarding the candidacy of Shantsev, once again there were diametrically opposed opinions: some said that he would, in fact, be a “little Luzhkov”, while others, on the contrary, that he was an example of a person who came into conflict with the dismissed mayor. For one reason or another, Shantsev did not become mayor, and in the same 2010 he was approved by the regional legislature for a second term.

The former vice-mayor of Moscow spoke evasively about the "Luzhkov" times, emphasizing that he could not reason objectively: “I honestly worked in this team for the benefit of the city. Of course, the era of Luzhkov fell on a difficult historical and economic period, there were mistakes, shortcomings, shortcomings. Everyone has it. But when I left the government of Moscow, the city was developing at a decent pace.” At the same time, Shantsev emphasized that, no matter what the talks were, "Moscow has changed." And the new mayor Sergei Sobyanin "powerfully took on the problems that were not resolved."

New challenges

In the power structures of the Nizhny Novgorod region, at the time Valery Shantsev came to power, there was discord. His predecessor, Gennady Khodyrev, unanimously refused to be nominated for a new term by the deputies of the regional legislature, the leadership of the Nizhny Novgorod branch also opposed his candidacy " United Russia". “Khodyrev managed the region inefficiently,” said the senator from the region, Dmitry Bednyakov.

Shantsev was a metropolitan "Varangian", but for 12 years at the helm of the subject he became related to him, as with Moscow: "I sincerely do everything in my power to make life here better and happier."

After the return of direct gubernatorial elections, Valery Shantsev himself volunteered to receive the prefix "acting" and take part in early voting. For a new gubernatorial term, the head of the region, who in the early 1990s stood at the origins of the post-Soviet Communist Party, ran for United Russia. By that time, the conflict that Valery Shantsev had with the ruling party had apparently been forgotten: during the elections to the Moscow City Duma in 2005, he defiantly supported the Rodina candidate in the Perovsky District (where he himself worked back in Soviet time). At the same time, he inserted a hairpin in the address of the EP candidate Vera Stepanenko, recalling that shortly before the campaign she was a member of Yabloko.

In the gubernatorial elections, the former deputy Luzhkov was supported by almost 87% of voters. Two years later, Shantsev headed the list of candidates from the party in power in the elections to the regional parliament: United Russia received about 43% of the vote. However, the gap from the Communist Party was small - they scored almost 30% of the vote. But there was no candidate from the Communists in the gubernatorial elections - he was denied registration, which was associated with the use of administrative resources, reminds the head of the "Political Expert Group" Konstantin Kalachev. The candidate from the Communist Party did not have a serious chance, but he was taken out of the election race.

Projecting this onto the current situation, we can say that Shantsev is not so sure of the firmness of his position and is "fearing something."

The main political conflict in the region went beyond inter-party disputes and centered around the confrontation between Valery Shantsev and the former head of Nizhny Novgorod, deputy chairman of the regional legislative assembly, Oleg Sorokin. One of its brightest episodes was the disruption of the election of the speaker of parliament after last year's elections: the deputies supporting Sorokin did not come to the first meeting, because of which there was no quorum. Those who disrupted the elections insisted on the need for a more open procedure for electing the chairman of the Legislative Assembly. Subsequently, they refused to listen to the governor's admonitions against tax cuts for companies that sponsor professional sports clubs. “The nature of this conflict is not unique and is rooted in the problem of delimitation of powers between regional authorities and local self-government. The catalyst for this conflict is the business interests of some of its participants,” explained political scientist Yevgeny Semyonov. In his opinion, the confrontation, because of which the federal center had to intervene in the situation, can stop only after certain personnel decisions.

Now the main construction projects in the city are concentrated around the facilities that will be used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. According to the authorities, about 70 billion rubles have already been spent on preparing for it. The main facilities are the airport (the new terminal was put into operation in 2016. - Note), the stadium and the Strelka metro station, for the construction of which the federal government allocated 6.2 billion rubles as part of co-financing. Metrostroy is fundamentally important in the long term for increasing transport accessibility in Everyday life cities. Valery Shantsev singled out the development of transport as the priorities of his work as governor. One of the key projects was the construction of the Southern Bypass of Nizhny Novgorod, the third stage of which was commissioned a year ago.

Socio-economic indicators in the Nizhny Novgorod Region are quite stable compared to other regions: last year, the region ranked sixth in terms of living standards in the Profile magazine rating compiled on the basis of Rosstat data.

The average salary in the region, according to Nizhegorodstat, is steadily growing - at the end of spring it was estimated at 31.5 thousand rubles (on average in Russia for the same month - about 39.3 thousand).

The development of the city, designed to improve the economy, has repeatedly led to scandals - due to the ambiguous situation with cultural heritage monuments, some of which were demolished. In particular, in 2011, the government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region removed from protection over 70 buildings and structures that were previously identified as objects of cultural heritage. Three years ago, the situation reached the federal level, after the writer Zakhar Prilepin, Boris Nemtsov, who led the Nizhny Novgorod region in the early 1990s, and Igor Kalyapin, chairman of the "Committee against Torture", signed an open letter of no confidence in Valery Shantsev. The reason was the decision of the authorities to demolish the house of local musician Alexander Krivavus, whose history is connected with Fyodor Chaliapin and Maxim Gorky. The governor has consistently rejected all accusations related to neglect of cultural heritage sites. As counterarguments, he cited the restoration of the Rukavishnikovs' estate, on which 600 million rubles were spent, and the restoration of the Zachatievsky tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin: “How can you then accuse me of disliking history, architecture, culture? I don't understand".

Leave can't stay

The Nizhny Novgorod region may not have brilliant economic indicators, but within the normal range, notes the head of the "Political Expert Group" Konstantin Kalachev. The conflict of elites has been taking place for a long time, but these elites are also very peculiar: "There are no visible reasons for Shantsev's resignation." At the same time, residents of the region have a request for the renewal of the leadership staff, however, the effectiveness of the change of personnel and their acceptance depends on the specific candidacy of the successor.

The media named several candidates of various colors, each of which somehow fits into the trend that has emerged in past waves of personnel rotations. Among them, in particular, the first deputy head of the apparatus of the federal government Maxim Akimov, former head of the Department of Culture of Moscow Sergey Kapkov and the first deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Gleb Nikitin, who was eventually chosen (last summer, Dmitry Ovsyannikov, who held a similar position, was appointed acting governor of Sevastopol. - Approx. site). Of the local politicians, only the vice-governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Yevgeny Lyulin, who was first elected to the regional legislature in 2002, was among the likely contenders.

According to Konstantin Kalachev, the decision to resign Valery Shantsev was to be made in accordance with the interests in the region of the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko. Shantsev's successor could be a man "whose political fate is in one way or another connected with Kiriyenko." Of the applicants named by the sources, this definition could include the first deputy general director of Rosatom, Kirill Komarov. After the transfer of Sergei Kiriyenko from the post of general director of the state corporation to the presidential administration in October 2016, Komarov was already named among the personnel who could join his team. Nikitin, apparently, could become a compromise figure.

In the latest ranking of the political survival of governors, compiled by the Petersburg Politics Foundation and the Minchenko Consulting communication holding, Valery Shantsev was given a "deuce". Among weaknesses experts highlighted "uncertainty around the strategies of the current and former heads of the embassy in relation to the region." According to Kalachev, the Nizhny Novgorod governor has "equal relations" with Plenipotentiary Mikhail Babich. This is confirmed by the fact that Babich’s people worked in Shantsev’s team: they are the Minister of Internal Regional and Municipal Policy of the region Roman Lyubarsky (in 2012–2016 he worked in the embassy of the Volga Federal District) and Deputy Governor Roman Antonov (in 2011–2012 he served as chief federal inspector for the Perm Territory, and in the next two years - assistant to the plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District).

Valery Shantsev managed to stay in power for decades due to the ability to “be friends with the right people”, and therefore have “solid political ground” under his feet, the head of the “Political Expert Group” believes.

Twelve years ago, Shantsev's candidacy for the post of governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region was introduced by Sergei Kiriyenko, thereby starting his gubernatorial path. Now, on the eve of the 2018 presidential campaign, he could finish it.

“It seems to be natural to change jobs. But how?"

The prognosis of the "package" resignation of the governors is coming true: on Tuesday, following Nikolai Merkushkin, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region Valery Shantsev lost his post, who was replaced by a forty-year-old native of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Gleb Nikitin. Shantsev promised in parting that he would worry about the Nizhny Novgorod region in a different capacity, but so far there have been no decisions on the employment of the 70-year-old politician. But he has already been awarded the order.

The Kremlin is obviously in a hurry: in December, the presidential campaign will begin in Russia, and no one will have time for personnel changes in the regions. Moreover, the appointed acting heads of regions by this moment should already have time to get in the know, and not everyone has experience in holding elections. For example, Gleb Nikitin, who was sent to replace Valery Shantsev, who is super-competent in such matters, does not have him at all.

After the institute (by the way, Nikitin has three higher educations in total), he worked for five years in the property committee of St. Petersburg, then moved to the Federal Property Management Agency, and since 2012 - to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. He was not involved in any scandals. But he is well acquainted with the details of mergers and acquisitions of oil and other state assets. In general, a real technocrat, far from public politics. Everything is like recent times loves the Kremlin.

It must be said that Valery Shantsev's entourage did not believe in the likelihood of his resignation until the last week, believing that the honored old-timer (he has been the head of the region since 2005, before that he was the right hand of the ex-mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov) will be given the opportunity to host the World Cup and leave honorably. It is no coincidence that some of Shantsev's close associates were on vacation at the time the news was announced.

And, although on the same day a presidential decree appeared on awarding the Nizhny Novgorod governor with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree, he could not sweeten the bitter pill. “It seems to be natural to change jobs. But how? ”, Shantsev wrote in frustrated feelings on his blog. But just recently, right after the celebration of the 70th anniversary, he published peppy posts that “still hoo” - he took up boxing again, continues to play tennis, got behind the wheel of a racing car. Did not help.

Political scientists unanimously admit that it was primarily his age that played against the Nizhny Novgorod governor. “There is a rejuvenation of the personnel bench. Back in the spring, we published a report stating that, in our opinion, the president's image is formed on the basis of the "experienced leader of a young team" principle. According to this forecast, everything is happening, ”says Yevgeny Minchenko, general director of the International Institute of Political Expertise.

Other components of the decision to resign were Shantsev’s conflicts with local elites (in particular, with the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod), difficult relations with the presidential envoy in the Privozhsky Federal District, Mikhail Babich, and the sins of law enforcement agencies (the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor were replaced in 2017).

Compared to other regions, where, according to sources from the Presidential Administration, there will be a change of power in the near future, Valery Shantsev leaves his successor not the worst legacy. Over 12 years, the income of the Nizhny Novgorod region increased by 4.1 times, the mortality rate decreased by 23%, the average salary exceeded 28 thousand rubles, in terms of the standard of living of the population, the region in 2016 ranked 6th in the Russian Federation.

But there are, of course, serious problems. In particular, in the rating of investment attractiveness, the Nizhny Novgorod region slipped from the 4th line to the 46th. And the sanctions that farmers in other subjects of the federation are so happy about have not had a positive effect: agriculture is stagnating.

The federal center is also particularly concerned about the high debt burden of the regional budget, which exceeds half of its revenues. However, Vladimir Putin has recently announced a decision that is nothing but a gift to the new appointees (and you can't name the entire governor's corps). According to the president, from January 1, 2018, a program will be launched to restructure the debts accumulated by the regions (and their total amount exceeds 2.3 trillion rubles) from the federal budget. At the same time, for the first two years, the program will work on the most favorable terms - on the eve of the presidential elections, it is fundamentally important for the Kremlin to relieve the burden on local budgets so that the regions can fulfill the “May decrees” in terms of raising the salaries of state employees, as well as engage in projects of great electoral significance - construction of schools, repair of roads, etc. Obviously, the new acting governors will be the direct beneficiaries of this decision. Gleb Nikitin has already stated that spending planning for 2018 is on the list of his immediate priorities.

Elena Egorova

“It seems to be natural to change jobs. But how?"

The forecast for a "package" resignation of governors comes true: on Tuesday, after Nikolai Merkushkin, who was replaced by a forty-year-old native of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Gleb Nikitin. Shantsev promised in parting that he would worry about the Nizhny Novgorod region in a different capacity, but so far there have been no decisions on the employment of the 70-year-old politician. But he has already been awarded the order.

Political scientists unanimously admit that it was primarily his age that played against the Nizhny Novgorod governor. “There is a rejuvenation of the personnel bench. Back in the spring, we published a report stating that, in our opinion, the president's image is formed on the basis of the "experienced leader of a young team" principle. According to this forecast, everything is happening,” says Yevgeny Minchenko, Director General of the International Institute of Political Expertise.

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As Kommersant expected, Valery Shantsev left the post of governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region. He wrote his resignation letter own will. A message about this was published on the official website of the President of the Russian Federation. Gleb Nikitin, now the former First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, has been appointed interim governor of the region. In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said yesterday (quoted by RIA Novosti) that the activities of the executive authorities of the regions are now being checked and several personnel decisions can be made.

Today, at a meeting of the legislative assembly, in response to a request from Kommersant to comment on rumors about the possible arrival of a new interim governor in the region, Valery Shantsev briefly said that "the decision is made by the president": "When he accepts, then we will find out everything." A few hours later, a message appeared on Valery Shantsev's page in LiveJournal under the heading "See you again!". “It seems to change jobs - naturally. But how? If you have become attached to the region, if you treat many projects like children, you put your soul into it, put it on the wing. And in agriculture, and in industry, and in medicine, and in education, and in road construction, and in other areas. And then you realize that the children, perhaps, have already grown up and can do a lot. And it's time to turn the page. The day is exciting, even very. After all, we've been together for 12 years. I will, as before, worry about my beloved Nizhny Novgorod region. But already in a new quality. Thank you! Always yours, Valery Shantsev,” the message says.

This morning it became known that on September 25, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on awarding Valery Shantsev with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree. The award was given "for a great contribution to the socio-economic development of the region and many years of conscientious work."

Valery Shantsev, who turned 70 this year, has been on the team of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov since the early 1990s. In 2005, he was sent from the post of vice-mayor of the capital to the Nizhny Novgorod region on the proposal of Vladimir Putin. In 2010, Yuri Luzhkov, at the initiative of President Dmitry Medvedev, was dismissed, but Valery Shantsev was re-nominated for governor the same year and retained his post in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In 2014, Valery Shantsev received 86.93% of voters in direct elections. The second term of Valery Shantsev was marked by numerous conflicts between the regional and city authorities.

Gleb Nikitin in 1999-2004 worked in various positions in the management of the state property Committee for the management of city property of St. Petersburg. In 2012, he was appointed Deputy and in 2013 First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade. Mr. Nikitin became the third native of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, who recently took the governor's chair. Recall that the current head of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov was also a deputy minister (2015-2016), and the head of the Kaliningrad region Anton Alikhanov from 2013 to 2016 worked in the Ministry of Industry and Trade as a deputy director, and then director of the department for state regulation of foreign trade activities of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In the survival rating of the governors of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, Mr. Shantsev received a score of 2 (see Kommersant on September 7), then experts predicted his imminent resignation. According to the head of the fund, Mikhail Vinogradov, Valery Shantsev had a successful first term, but in the second, noticeable problems appeared related to intra-elite conflicts. “Shantsev, as a person among the ten most recognizable governors, was a convenient target for rotation in order to demonstrate renewal and respond to the political crisis,” Mr. Vinogradov told Kommersant. the day before.- "b"), because then the federal resignation agenda can simply get bored. According to the expert, in the near future we should expect the resignations of the heads of the Nenets autonomous region(Igor Koshin) and Krasnoyarsk Territory(Victor Tolokonsky). Mr. Vinogradov connected the appointment of Gleb Nikitin with the interests of Rostec, taking into account the enterprises of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Alexandra Vikulova, Nizhny Novgorod; Ekaterina Grobman

Nizhny Novgorod region sees off Roman Antonov. Former Deputy Governor for domestic politics leaves for free swimming today, February 14, without waiting for the presidential election. And this is already a local trend, given that Maria Kholkina left a similar position at the municipal level. Perhaps this is a kind of signal that on March 18 the electoral process will be built on a fundamentally different qualitative level. On the other hand, Antonov's right-hand man, Roman Lyubarsky, was reappointed as a specialized minister, which may indicate that the retiree retains some influence. From a political point of view, Antonov's departure played into the hands of the head of the region: Nikitin's shares went up on the Exchange of Governors. The only question that remains intriguing is: where will the former "keeper of the governor's seal" be placed? There is a high probability that he will become an MP State Duma in the 129th district, from where Vladimir Panov recently moved to the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod.

Master of political intrigue Roman Antonov began to prepare a place for himself Valeria Shantsev, feeling the passing era. There was only one option - "export", to Moscow. But the first 100 days Gleb Nikitina they did not give him, and could not give him, the opportunity to go free swimming.

It was not only a matter of the obligation of a smooth transfer of power - it was necessary to do it in such a way as to serve the new boss and clear a path to the capital at the same time. Such a project was the change of power in the regional center, where he actually was. The "orphaned" constituency No. 129 is a platform completely cleared of the start of competitors. And it’s not just about the new mayor, there are no potential rivals at all: ex-deputy Denis Voronenkov emigrated and was killed, and the favorite of any election race is still under house arrest, and it is not known how this whole story will end for the leaders of the Social Revolutionaries.

Roman Antonov helped Vladimir Panov with great dedication

Therefore, from the new year, Roman Antonov began working with the heads of districts that are part of this large single-mandate constituency. It is not for nothing that his people were placed in the highest leadership positions, one way or another influencing the elections: this is the Prioksky district, where today a native of the OZS was appointed acting Mikhail Shatilov, and Soviet, and Nizhny Novgorod. His last case in the rank of deputy head of the region was the change of power in the Kstovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, where the former head of the Prioksky district was appointed head - formally by competition Vitaly Kovalev. The process of change of power in Kstovo Antonov personally controlled - not the place. And now, having his own people in the district, at the by-elections in September, he will be able to easily and painlessly "evacuate" from the Nizhny Novgorod region to Okhotny Ryad. Perhaps, for this, you will have to take a short “breather” in the chair of the vice-rector of some university - for a beautiful biography in the voting form. Well, he should not be elected unemployed?!

Gleb Nikitin, seeing off his deputy, noted that "it was our mutual decision, I wish him success in his future work." And in the political sense, he only benefited from this resignation, having received an increase in his ephemeral shares on the now fashionable "Exchange of Governors". Still, according to observers, Antonov was a public irritant, personifying the "party of war." However, a number of experts find and positive sides this uncompromising and assertiveness, which made it possible to restore order in the key municipalities of the region.

"With the appointment of the head of the administration Viktor Nesterov managed to achieve stabilization of the situation in Dzerzhinsk, where a balance of power arose between the main groups of influence, which, at the same time, was under certain control by the regional authorities. I clearly remember the moment when Antonov personally came to Dzerzhinsk to convince the deputies of the Duma to support the candidate from the region and to aim at the development of the city," recalled Alexander Egorov, director of the center for strategic initiatives of the Dzerzhinsky branch of the RANEPA. Duma, was in Kstovo.In 2017, the authority to manage the city was transferred to the district administration.Thus, the first steps were taken to correct the political situation.I believe that with the appointment Vitaly Kovalev the head of the administration has created all conditions for the development of this territory. The conflict in Diveevo, where until recently the head of local self-government and the head of the administration confronted each other, has been extinguished. As a result, both were dismissed, and the head of the district is a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Dmitry Dreyband".

Of course, Antonov played his role in the fight against Oleg Sorokin. It is not for nothing that journalists from the media resources of the ex-mayor still consider the outgoing deputy governor an official with a clearly negative political index.

Roman Antonov and Oleg Sorokin feuded with a smile

"Antonov also had a hand in it. This, of course, is a major achievement for both the new Nizhny Novgorod governor and the plenipotentiary Babich, and, of course, Roman Antonov. Now we see how putting things in order in the city has created all the conditions for the development of the regional center and joint work regional and city authorities, - adds a political observer Sergei Anisimo in. - Of course, many were annoyed by Antonov's work methods, rigidity and uncompromisingness in certain issues. We can argue for a long time whether these or those steps of Antonov in the political field were meaningful, appropriate or too harsh. But the work of the deputy governor for domestic policy, of the political bloc as a whole, is, frankly, not a job for the slicker. There is a clear focus on results, and the most diverse toolkit of political management is used to achieve it. Roman Antonov owns this instrumentation to a high degree professionally. Therefore, I am sure that he will not remain without work, and he will not remain specialized.

Continues to follow developments.

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