The minister dismissed a couple of days ago from the administration of the Astrakhan region was detained in Moscow. This is not the first official from the entourage of the head of the region, who is suspected of corruption. Alexander Zhilkin himself will be next?

The resignations of governors that stirred up the political life of the country in February, both those that have already taken place (the heads of Buryatia, the Perm Territory, the Novgorod and Ryazan regions, and Karelia), as well as those “planned” by political scientists and the media, encourage us to look at the positions of the head of the Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin. In our region last year and at the beginning of this year, a number of negative socio-political events took place, but they were balanced by positive information. Against the background of the all-Russian situation, we have a fairly stable situation, and so far, according to experts, the federal center has no reason to make cardinal personnel decisions.

Resilience scale

The political stability of the governor largely depends on the situation in the region entrusted to him. If “there is not a single strike at our factory” and you don’t particularly ask Moscow for money, then the head of the subject can feel relatively calm. If there are some “movements” in the region, then it all depends on how much they can shake the situation and what the leadership of the territory is doing to return events to a calm course. In this regard, the rating of the political stability of the regions of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, which is compiled monthly and has been written about several times, the last one in December last year, is not without interest.

Recall that the specialists of the "Petersburg Politics" evaluate the stability of the regions on a 10-point scale (maximum - 10 points, minimum - 1). According to the degree of stability, the subjects of the Russian Federation are divided into 5 conditional groups: regions with maximum stability (over 8 points); with high resistance (7.0-7.9 points); with medium resistance (6.0-6.9 points); with reduced stability (5.0-5.9 points); with weak resistance (below 5.0 points).

The Astrakhan region demonstrated a certain stability for almost the entire 2016, being in the lower part of the group of regions with medium stability (6.0-6.9 points) and balancing in the range of 6.0-6.2 points. However, following the results of December, having lost 0.2 points, we, with a score of 5.9 points, found ourselves in the group of regions with reduced stability. St. Petersburg political scientists called the events around the adoption of the “Social Code”, corruption scandals (convictions against ex-senator Gennady Gorbunov and former deputy minister of housing and communal services Mikhail Gaivoronsky) and a fire in the cinema “October ".

In January 2017, we did not seem to observe any out of the ordinary negative events, but at the end of the month, the authors of the rating deprived the region of another 0.2 points. The specialists of Petersburg Politics considered the conflict around the Red Barricades shipbuilding plant, which lost the claim of LLC Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft for 613 million rubles in arbitration, along with reports from employees of the enterprise that equipment was being cut for scrap metal, a sentence to a fine, to be the main negative factors 950 thousand rubles for taking a bribe to former Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the region Yuri Tuzhilkin, as well as the destruction of the entire population of 600 thousand chickens at the Kharabalinskaya poultry farm due to bird flu. In addition, the region was blamed for the 275th place of Astrakhan in the rating of the quality of life of the 300 largest cities in Russia according to the Domofond portal.

Towards the elections

Most likely, the drop in the January rating of the political stability of the Astrakhan region was influenced not so much by the presence of negative events, but by the absence of a noticeable positive in the socio-economic life of the region. The authors of the study were able to scrape together only two good news: the opening of the children's department of the regional infectious diseases hospital after a major overhaul and the refutation by the leadership of the same Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft of rumors about plans to re-register the company in Kalmykia.

A drop in the regions' stability rating (we hope it's temporary) can hardly be seen as a threat to the position of the region's governor, Alexander Zhilkin, even in the context of the resignations of the heads of other regions that are now in progress. Firstly, as noted by the central media, a difficult situation has developed in them, requiring the administration of the President of Russia to make prompt decisions. Secondly, the governors, whose powers expire in 2017, leave ahead of schedule. A. Zhilkin's term of office ends in September 2019. Thirdly, from the point of view of the preparation of the 2018 presidential elections, the administration of Vladimir Putin still has no reason to believe that the Astrakhan region will show the “wrong” results in the voting, despite the low percentage of United Russia in the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in September last years: after all, presidential and Duma elections are two big differences.

Therefore, presumably, if nothing extraordinary happens, then in March 2018 we will meet with the former head of the region. Moreover, at the end of this year it is worthy to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the formation of the Astrakhan province.
“Evaluated quite evenly”
The above is confirmed by another study - the “National Rating of Governors”, conducted by the Center for Information Communications “Rating” following the results of 2016. The authors of the study divided all heads of regions into three groups. The first group included 25 most “strong” governors. Alexander Zhilkin was in the second group ("middling") of 35 chapters, he was awarded the overall 56th place. Here is how experts assessed its activities in 2016:

“During 2016, the experts of the National Rating, as a rule, assessed the work of Alexander Zhilkin (Astrakhan Region) quite evenly. Positive emotions of the experts evoked individual reports from the economic field... Of course, the joint with Vladimir Putin and the head of the

"Lukoil" Vagit Alekperov launching an oil field on the sea shelf. Most of all, experts were surprised that the corruption scandals that shook and continue to shake the Astrakhan region still did not seem to affect the position of Alexander Zhilkin and the attitude of the federal center towards him.”

In the political and social field, it is pointed out further, the experts did not find much positive: “According to many experts, the uncharacteristically long tenure for this category of officials begins to play against the governor. In addition, negative trends of a general nature attracted attention: a decrease in salaries in the public sector, job cuts, a trend towards the abolition of social benefits in all categories, a worsening budget situation, and so on. Thus, the claims mainly touched upon the all-Russian problems”.

More privately, the governor was criticized by experts for the lack of a coherent strategy and the inability to defend the interests of the region. Alexander Zhilkin was accused of the lack of a constructive dialogue with the city administrations, of the inability to achieve unity of the local elites. But these accusations, in our opinion, if they had any basis, then in the distant past, but not in 2016.

Of course, the situation in the region was stirred up by discussions around the so-called “Social Code”. But the statement of Alexander Zhilkin, who promised that no category of those in need would be deprived of benefits, cooled passions.

“By and large, the positive and negative information coming from the Astrakhan region, taking into account the all-Russian realities, balanced the position of Alexander Zhilkin,” the authors of the rating write further. “The result of the National Rating, which was quite optimistic for him, was determined by the fact that in many regions things were going worse than his.”

The care center has enough
Summing up all of the above, we can assume that so far neither the political situation in the Astrakhan region and the information coming “upstairs” about the state of affairs in the region, nor the nature of the relationship between the leadership of the region and the federal center indicate the need for the presidential administration to make a decision on personnel changes in the near future. Moreover, the center of concerns already has enough - this year the powers of 10 heads of regions expire, the rotation has already begun, and we still need to look for suitable candidates to replace the outgoing ones, because the presidential campaign is ahead. That's why big number reshuffles in the regional elites are unlikely to be beneficial to the Kremlin and governors will be changed in a planned manner or in an emergency, if it is already impossible to leave a person in office.
However, political paths are inscrutable, and at any moment the situation can change. Both for the better and for the worse.

Who resigned in February Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, Buryatia Viktor Basargin, Perm Territory Sergey Mitin, Novgorod Region Oleg Kovalev, Ryazan Region Alexander Khudilainen, Karelia

Former governor of the Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin, who retired from the post he held since August 2004, held a press conference at the Government House of the region. During the event, he commented on a number of issues of interest to residents and experts.

Alexander Zhilkin told what he did not have time to do in 14 years of his reign

The ex-head of the region said that he assesses the work of the government of the Astrakhan region over the years that he headed the region, "generally good." At the same time, he is grateful to the "whole team", which includes the heads of municipalities, who, according to Alexander Zhilkin, constantly bore risks and pressure.

“People rightly demand good roads, hospitals, schools and so on. And you sit, and you have five kopecks, - recalls the ex-governor. – We immediately decided that we were simultaneously developing projects that would give a good economic effect in a few years and that we were taking loans to create social infrastructure. I was criticized a lot for the same opera and ballet theater, they say, why didn’t I distribute money. It's not our money, it's borrowed resources. It was hard when the debt went beyond 100% of the budget. But we were able to stop it. Since last year already, at the same time, we have fulfilled all projects and decrees. Surplus since this year. This does not mean that there is a lot of money, it means that we are reaching financial stability.”

Alexander Zhilkin also recalled that in 2004 regional agriculture produced about 465 thousand tons of products, and this year it will reach 2 million tons.

At the same time, the ex-head complained that it was not possible to solve all the issues during his work, but for objective reasons. As an example, he noted the problem of dilapidated housing, "which has accumulated for hundreds of years."

“Not everything depends on the person, there is still not enough resource. There were moments when I tormented myself, got angry that there were not enough resources or there was an opportunity like a crisis. This is very disappointing, because people are waiting, hoping, demanding,” said Alexander Zhilkin.

He emphasized that he worked "at the maximum speed" and now he can afford to "proudly walk around his native Astrakhan on foot."

Wishes to the new governor of the Astrakhan region Sergey Morozov

The new head of the region will be presented tomorrow. Alexander Zhilkin said that he was “ready to help in everything,” because it is not only in the interests of the Astrakhan people, but also “in a decent, officer-like way.”

“Tomorrow we will meet, talk, talk about all the problems, about all the programs, economic projects. Our special moments are multinationality and what I am especially proud of is the relations with the Caspian states built at a very good level. It seems to me that no region has international relations at this level. It is important to preserve and develop this,” Alexander Zhilkin said, noting that he would like Sergey Morozov “to fall in love with the Astrakhans and become an Astrakhan”.

“Any actions should correspond with the foundations, culture and mentality of those people with whom and for whom you are doing some projects,” Alexander Zhilkin emphasized.

He also recalled that he leaves the region in the status of a subject, confidently looking to the future. Among the key issues that the new head of the region will have to deal with, according to Zhilkin, is the development of transport: it is necessary to build a new bridge across the Volga.

According to the current legislation, with the resignation of the governor, labor contracts for the entire cabinet of ministers of the region ended. They continue to work in the status and. O. According to FederalPress, the new head of the region, Sergei Morozov, has already made inquiries about all members of the government, whom he will meet tomorrow.

New place of work

Alexander Zhilkin did not name a specific new place of work, but said that he was tired of responsible work. He explained that he "would like to get some rest" and clarified that he "had never seen my work book before." At the same time, he noted that he had experience and "an understanding of the issues, and he would not want to rest for a long time."

Alexander Zhilkin also answered a direct question about whether this will be work related to foreign policy activities for Caspian cooperation. According to FederalPress sources, this could be the post of a senator in the Federation Council.

“I won’t tell you anyway, because I just don’t know. There are proposals, they are discussed, worked out,” the ex-head of the region specified. He also explained that he made the decision to leave after consultations with the country's leadership earlier this week. Alexander Zhilkin spoke about the decision made long ago - he will not be nominated for a fourth term.

“Three terms are very difficult in the regime of constant control, responsibility, sometimes expectation of trouble, this even leads, I would say, to the wear and tear of your capabilities. It was important to leave right now so that the new person has a period to show himself for the elections, to see the region, I think that he will succeed,” summed up Alexander Zhilkin.

28/ 01.2016 | 13:39 Astrakhan time. | RIA Astrakhan-Online20196

The results of the ratings of the effectiveness of Russian governors were summed up by experts from the Civil Society Development Fund (ForGO), and in the 12th final rating for 2015, the governor of the Astrakhan region, Alexander Zhilkin, lost another six points and took 82 out of 85 positions in the rating.

The final efficiency rating of governors is based on the generalized results of four rating issues that were released last year and does not take into account high-profile events in the regions of the Russian Federation that occurred in late 2015-early 2016.

Recall that in mid-October 2015, the tenth rating of the effectiveness of governors was released, and, according to the decision of the fund's experts, . The reason for the downgrading of the governor's rating was the use of the col-factor (a reduction factor that was applied to senior officials of regions where, during election campaigns at the level of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, interference of the executive power in the activities of political parties was recorded). Also, the head of the region was suspected of corruption in the sale of a stake in the Astrakhan Oil and Gas Company.

It is worth noting that the Astrakhan governor somewhat improved his results and was able to leave the last place, despite the fact that he lost 6 points. However, he is still considered an underdog in the ranking of governors' effectiveness.

Someone will definitely say that all these ratings are another lie and the Astrakhan governor cannot take the last places, but even the Medialogy company, which ranks governors by the number of mentions in the media, lowers the position of Governor Zhilkin.

If we compare the positions of the Astrakhan governor with the positions of the heads of the regions of the Southern Federal District, then Alexander Zhilkin occupies the last places among the governors of the Southern Federal District.

Rating of the effectiveness of the governors of the Southern Federal District for 2015.

Rating of governors for 2015 according to the "media index" from Medialogy

“I have a traditional question for the defenders of the old-timer of the governor. Is this really the most worthy leader of the region? Is the land of Astrakhan really so poor with effective leaders?” Elena Grebenyuk, an expert of the All-Russian Public Movement “For Human Rights”, asks questions.

At the end of 2015, Astrakhan residents were waiting for the arrest of Zhilkin

The past year has not been the best in the career of Astrakhan Oblast Governor Alexander Zhilkin, since he had to govern the region not only under the conditions of the global economic crisis, but also with rumors spreading about the imminent resignation of the head of the region.

The spread of rumors about the resignation of the governor of the Astrakhan region began systematically from the end of August last year, and, according to Yandex, the peak of interest came at the beginning of the third decade of November 2015, when Governor Alexander Zhilkin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Astrakhan governor, fearing resignation, began a "cleansing" of personnel. What will pseudo-reforms lead to?

Alexander Alexandrovich decided to finally prove himself a formidable boss. It took him thirteen years to do this. Zhilkin decided to fire the head of his government, Konstantin Markelov.

"I confirm the information about the dismissal of the head of the regional government, Konstantin Markelov, from today," the spokesman said.

Political analysts say that Zhilkin decided not to wait for the security forces, who have recently been actively arresting the people of the Astrakhan governor.

"Everything goes according to plan"

Recall that last summer they already managed to condemn the former Minister of Social Development and Labor of the Astrakhan Region, Ekaterina Lukyanenko. She collected "tribute" for "March 8" and other holidays from all members of the board of directors of institutions subordinate to the regional Ministry of Social Development. The "rate" was - 20 thousand rubles.

It turned out that in the end the amount is very worthy of 360-380 thousand rubles for each holiday.

The ex-minister put forward a demand to one of her subordinates “to collect money from the heads of institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Social Development and Labor in the amount of 700 thousand rubles for general patronage in the form of bonuses and non-disciplinary liability.”

It should be noted that the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fishing Industry of the Astrakhan region, Yuri Tuzhilkin, was also convicted, found guilty of bribery.

In the summer of 2015, the prosecutor's office of the Astrakhan region approved "the indictment in the case of the former Minister of Agriculture of the region, Ivan Nesterenko."

The fact is that Mr. Nesterenko, who is considered an active supporter of Zhilkin, is accused of "improper performance of official duties" (negligence, article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which caused major damage.

The security forces established that in 2012, Minister Nesterenko, “provided the poultry farm JSC Astrakhan Product with a state subsidy in the amount of more than 108 million rubles.” The most important thing is that Nesterenko was aware that the controlling stake in the company was put up for sale for 13.64 million rubles. If 51% is worth 12.64 million rubles, then 100 shares are clearly not worth more than 30 million rubles. So the subsidy immediately raised questions.

It seemed that Zhilkin would be removed in 2013, when his main ally, Astrakhan Mayor Mikhail Stolyarov, was arrested. Representatives of the Astrakhan opposition say that "Stolyarov and Zhilkin were on the same team." Oppositionists claim that the mayor of Astrakhan could even share “kickbacks” with the governor.

And Valery Khomyakov, general director of the National Strategy Council, said in general that "Stolyarov's candidacy was actually imposed by the governor of the Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin."

Shaking from corruption scandals and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Astrakhan region. In 2015, law enforcement agencies began to “comb” the housing and communal services sector. For example, “in September 2015, a criminal case under article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Taking a bribe) was initiated against the former First Deputy Minister of Housing and Public Utilities Svetlana Arkharova.”

You can talk a lot about who Zhilkin is, but it’s enough just to mention that he “came to power thanks to the support of the local authoritative businessman Alikber Pashayev, who financially supported the company in 2004 and 2012.” Pashayev, as an adviser to the Astrakhan governor, illegally built up Astrakhan. “... Zhilkin's connections with ethnic structures and criminal elements are confirmed by the business activity of his friends! For example, journalists actively wrote about how the ex-deputy of the State Duma of the Astrakhan region, and now the adviser to the Astrakhan governor, Alikber Aleskerovich Pashaev, is illegally building up Astrakhan.

In general, under Zhilkin, the level of corruption was constantly growing. And interestingly, there were often officials who were considered to come from the “clan” of Zhilkin.

But active investigations began after the head of the Federal Security Service for the region was replaced in the Astrakhan region in 2014. Since then, Yuri Seryshev has been leading the Chekists. In the same year, Oleg Agarkov was appointed head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Astrakhan Region.

It was after this that Zhilkin "dismissed even his closest associates, including the ex-head of the regional Ministry of Property, Nina Popova, and the former Minister of Health of the Astrakhan Region, Viktor Chalov."

Visiting the governor?

But the security forces can also “enter” Zhilkin’s office. For example, to verify information according to which the governor owns a stake in Astrakhan Distillery OJSC (colloquially, ALVIZ).

There is talk of Alexander Alexandrovich's involvement in "a raider attack on the business of a well-known entrepreneur Gennady Smirnov (Smirnov brand), who built his own distillery near Astrakhan." Alexander Vasiliev wrote about the situation back in 2008.

"Portrait of the Governor"

Zhilkin brought the region over his "damn dozen" years of government to 23 billion rubles of public debt. By the way, when Alexander Alexandrovich headed the region in 2004, the debt was 773 million rubles!

In parallel with this, Zhilkin is trying to save money on the most disadvantaged segments of the population. In 2015, it turned out that “more than 70 thousand beneficiaries in the region want to deprive social benefits for 2 years.” Among them are “family members of the dead or dead combatants”!

It should be noted that in the rating of the effectiveness of governors of the Civil Society Development Fund, Zhilkin is constantly “at the bottom”, taking either 82nd or 83rd place. Against the backdrop of almost massive resignations of governors, the next one will most likely be Zhilkin, who brought the Astrakhan region to a crisis during the years of his rule. And "ostentatious" resignations are unlikely to help ...