Adygea fresh newspaper. Adygea: operation “successor” is in question. Professor on the farm

The recent decision of the Adygea parliament to cancel direct elections of the head of the republic could disrupt plans for the transfer of power from the current head of the region, Aslan Tkhakushinov, to his relative, the head of the government of Adygea, Murat Kumpilov.

In a number of parameters, Adygea looks significantly better than other republics of the North Caucasus, but this does not mean that the federal center has not accumulated inconvenient questions for its current rulers - primarily due to the high level of clanism in the region. Already at the end of this year, Adygea may be offered a new head, whose previous career was not connected with the republic.

The most successful "matryoshka"

Adygea is one of the Russian regions that rarely makes it onto the federal news agenda. This enclave republic with a population of only 451.5 thousand people lives in the shadow of its “big brother” - the Krasnodar Territory, of which it was part of the Soviet period as an autonomous region. But in the wake of the parade of regional sovereignties, Adygea managed to raise its status to an independent subject of the Russian Federation in 1990 and successfully defended it in the last decade, during the period of regional consolidation.

Unlike other “matryoshka” regions, Adygea is lucky with its geographical location. Adygea is separated from Krasnodar, the richest city in the south of Russia, only by the Kuban River, which in principle solves the problem of excess labor, which is chronic for other republics of the North Caucasus: many residents of Adygea simply go to work in the Krasnodar Territory. The officially registered unemployment rate in the republic at the end of last year was only 1.2%. In addition, Adygea is fundamentally different from other republics of the North Caucasus in the ethnic composition of the population. According to the latest all-Russian population census, in 2010, only 25.8% (109.7 thousand people) lived here of the Adyghe people (they belong to the Caucasian family of languages, their closest relatives are Circassians, Kabardians, Abazins and Abkhazians), and the Slavic population accounted for 65.3% (277.8 thousand people).

Meanwhile, the key positions in the elite of the republic - its head and chairman of the cabinet of ministers - currently belong to the Adyghe people. The indigenous nation also has a majority in the current convocation of parliament - 29 deputies out of 54, while Russians and Ukrainians account for only 22 seats, including the Speaker of the State Council Vladimir Narozhny. “Russian” posts at the moment are also the positions of the head of the administration of the head and government of Adygea, which he holds Vladislav Fedorov, and the head of the regional capital, the city of Maykop (since 2013 - Alexander Narolin).

The authorities of Adygea have repeatedly emphasized that the situation in the sphere of interethnic relations in the republic remains relatively stable, primarily due to the resources of the adult multiethnic population. “The adult, old-timer population of Adygea is the bearer of Russian identity and the guarantor of the preservation of interethnic peace in the republic,” stated the official analysis of interethnic relations based on the results of 2014. Certain problems arose among the population of the republic with the Kurds, who began to move en masse to Adygea after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but in comparison with other regions of the North Caucasus, the level of interethnic tension here is much lower, as well as the degree of extremist threat. There have never been any major terrorist attacks on the territory of Adygea. And thanks to the position of the enclave inside the Krasnodar Territory, Adygea in 2010, when the Southern Federal District was divided into two parts, turned out to be the only Caucasian republic remaining within the Southern Federal District.

The business climate in Adygea is also in noticeably better condition than in other republics of the North Caucasus. In the rating of investment attractiveness of Russian regions by the RAEX agency (Expert RA), Adygea is consistently ranked among the subjects of the federation with a moderate risk, while the rest of the Caucasian republics have either a high or extreme risk rank. True, the investment potential of Adygea in the same study was defined as insignificant, although a number of landmark projects were still able to be “landed” on the territory of the republic. First of all, this is a large shopping complex “Mega” of the transnational company IKEA, which was built not in Krasnodar, but in Adygea, on the opposite bank of the Kuban.

According to the leadership of the republic, since 2007, that is, since the first appointment of the current head of Adygea Aslana Tkhakushinova, the total investment in the regional economy amounted to approximately 140 billion rubles. At the same time, it was possible to significantly reduce budget subsidies. If under the previous leader of Adygea Khazret Recently it increased to 60%, for which he was criticized by the then presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District Dmitry Kozak, then at a press conference on the results of 2015 Aslan Tkhakushinov reported that subsidies had decreased to 38%, and the volume of own income from 2010 to 2015 increased from 5.373 to 9.895 billion rubles. In the latest version of the study of the quality of life in Russian regions of the RIA Rating agency, Adygea took 33rd place - this is significantly lower than the Krasnodar Territory, which is in fifth place, but also significantly higher than the closest other republic of the North Caucasus - North Ossetia (59th place).

Professor on the farm

Aslan Tkhakushinov headed Adygea at a time when a local power vacuum formed in the republic. His predecessor Khazret Sovmen, a major businessman who won direct presidential elections in Adygea in 2002 with almost 70% of votes in favor, was never able to create an effective governance system in the republic. The main sign of the period of Sovmen’s leadership was the ministerial leapfrog, which provoked the leadership of the Krasnodar Territory to say that it was high time for Adygea to join its “big brother.”

In the middle of the last decade, the process of liquidation of the “matryoshka” regions (like the Ust-Orda or Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrugs) was really in full swing, and Adygea could well have suffered the same fate. Adyghe public organizations and the president personally actively opposed this Sovmen, however, only a principled position on the issue of merging with the Krasnodar Territory was not enough for him to retain power. By the end of his term, he had difficult relations with the parliament of the republic and with the plenipotentiary Dmitry Kozak, and eventually even before the end of the term Khazret Sovmen found himself in a lame duck position. Speaking in parliament in April 2006, he announced that he was retiring early, and although this intention remained in words, the remaining months Sovmen He held his post purely nominally.

The main contenders for the post of the new head of Adygea at that time were the chairman of the parliament (State Council - Khase) of the republic and the head of the local branch of United Russia of the Maikop State Technological University, Doctor of Sociological Sciences Ruslan Khadzhibekov and Rector of Maikop State Technological University, Doctor of Sociological Sciences Aslan Tkhakushinov. The latter already tried to lead Adygea by standing as a candidate in the 2002 elections, but was able to get only 2.6% of the votes.

However, four years later, direct elections of heads of Russian regions had already been abolished, and popularity and recognition were by no means the main trump card for those wishing to lead a particular region. As a result, the Kremlin relied precisely on Tkhakushinova, who at that time seemed to be a neutral candidate capable of softening the conflictual political environment in the republic. Tkhakushinov distanced himself from Adyghe activists, although he immediately took a principled position regarding a possible unification with the Krasnodar Territory. A few weeks after his election as president of Adygea, he called this idea political speculation, and since then the issue has been closed. As for the second contender for the post of head of Adygea Ruslana Khadzhebiekova, then in 2007 he was delegated to the State Duma on the list of United Russia.

First term of office Aslana Tkhakushinova expired shortly after the State Duma elections in December 2011, which were followed by a series of protest rallies. In Adygea, United Russia then scored 61% - significantly higher than the national average (49.3%), which clearly contributed to maintaining the status quo. A week after the Duma elections for Aslana Tkhakushinova 45 out of 48 deputies of the State Council of Adygea voted, and in January 2012 he officially took office as head of the republic for the second time.

Meanwhile, it was already clear then that in the third term Tkhakushinov It is unlikely that he will qualify, given his age - 64 years old. At the same time, the candidacy of his potential successor, the head of the government of Adygea, was not particularly hidden. Murata Kumpilova who is the nephew of his wife Aslana Tkhakushinova. Kumpilov became prime minister of the republic in 2008 at the age of 35 and has held this post continuously since then. At the end of 2011, he was already included in the “short list” of three candidates for the head of the republic proposed to the State Council of Adygea by the then president Dmitry Medvedev(the third candidate was a senator from the executive branch Vyacheslav Shverikas).

At the “equator” of the second term Aslan Tkhakushinov made it clear that he would like his successor to be elected by popular vote.

In a number of regions, including the North Caucasus, heads are elected by parliaments. In Adygea, in two years, the head of the republic will be determined by the population.

he said at a press conference last January. The name of his successor Tkhakushinov, however, he did not name, but noted that a team has been formed in the republic that can delegate a worthy candidate.

Clan enclave

Meanwhile, more and more criticism began to arise against the current Adyghe authorities. Its main point is more than predictable for the North Caucasus region - a high level of clanism. High-ranking members of the “ruling family” include the brother of the head of the republic, a member of the parliament of Adygea and the head of the department at the Maikop Technological University Eduard Tkhakushinov; son of the head, prosecutor closest to Krasnodar, Takhtamukaysky district of Adygea Murat Tkhakushinov; son-in-law Aslana Tkhakushinova, Secretary of the Republican Security Council Hazer Cheech and other figures.

Again, according to the old Caucasian tradition, elite groups that lost the struggle for power acted as active fighters against corruption in Adygea. Back in early 2013, with an open letter about corruption in the republic to the president Vladimir Putin the regional public movement “For the Future of Adygea” appealed, in whose ranks there were many “formers”: the ex-head of the Teuchezhsky district Rashid Mugu, ex-head of government of Adygea Mukharbiy Tharkakhov, ex-head of Adygeisk Kim Mamiek, former Minister of Culture Kasei Khachegogu, as well as a former contender for the post of President of Adygea and at that time already a former State Duma deputy Ruslan Khadzhibiekov. In the 2011 elections, he was technically pushed away from the passing part of the United Russia list, which he headed Murat Kumpilov, and his subordinate, the Minister of Education of Adygea, was entrusted to represent the republic in the State Duma Raziet Natkho.

The “former” opposition tried to give a “rearguard battle” in April 2013, when Mukharbiy Tharkakhov tried to nominate his candidacy for the mayoral elections in Maykop, but was not registered by the election commission. Soon after this, the opposition website “Free Word of Adygea” and the blog Freedom-info.ru were closed, and the “Fresh Newspaper” founded by the movement “For the Future of Adygea” stopped publishing. Unlike a number of other neighboring republics of the North Caucasus (for example, Kabardino-Balkaria or Dagestan), it was not possible to initiate a large-scale anti-corruption campaign in Adygea.

Political ecology of the North Caucasus

However, the image of a region with a high clan-corruption component has firmly established itself in Adygea. The negative information background was also generated by the actions of law enforcement officers against journalists and civil activists. For example, to the late editor of “Free Speech of Adygea” Vasily Purdenko For critical publications about the leadership of the republic, they were charged with extremist Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inciting hatred or enmity).

But the most sensational episode in this series was the criminal case against the head of the Adyghe branch of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation Valeria Brinikha, who sharply criticized the activities of a large pig farm located in Adygea, owned by the family of a former senator from Karachay-Cherkessia Vyacheslav Dereva. For the Adygea authorities, this enterprise was one of the examples of successfully attracting investors, but Brinich argued for several years that the lack of control over manure disposal causes significant damage to the environment. After the publication of an article with the title “Silence of the Lambs,” a case was opened against the environmentalist under the same article. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which is currently being considered by the Maikop City Court.

Environmental aspects have also come to the fore in the situation surrounding other ambitious investment projects in Adygea, which, however, so far remain only on paper. In particular, environmental activists came out categorically against the construction of an oil refinery in the republic (this project was announced by a businessman Abukar Bekov close to the Ingush billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev). And the largest project in the tourism sector - the construction of a new ski resort on the territory of the Lagonaki plateau as part of the tourism cluster of the North Caucasus - was criticized by UNESCO. In 2012, this international organization promised to add Lagonaki to the list of “World Heritage in Danger” if construction of the resort continues. However, some time later the project died out on its own, since the Russian government simply did not have enough money to finance all the originally planned new resorts in the Caucasus. “Maybe the projects of the North Caucasus Federal District are getting something, but we and the Krasnodar Territory are not. Nothing is being done about the Lagonaki resort because there is no funding,” admitted Aslan Tkhakushinov in February of this year.

After the calculation for the tourist cluster mega-project did not materialize, Adygea tried to obtain funds for the construction of resorts within the framework of the Federal Target Program “Development of Domestic and Inbound Tourism in the Russian Federation (2011 - 2018)”, which included two projects of the republic - tourist parks “Dzhenet” and "Gate of Lagonaki". But here, too, not everything went smoothly - not so long ago, the republican authorities announced that the construction of the first of them would be canceled due to lack of funds. True, funding for the Lagonaki Gates project has not stopped - at the end of 2015, more than 437 million rubles were invested in it for gas and water supply facilities, and this year it is planned to use another 341.5 million rubles. At the rate Aslana Tkhakushinova, if you use all the possibilities of the federal target program, then every year 1 million tourists can visit Adygea, and with the current state of the infrastructure, the tourist flow is only 400 thousand people.

It is no coincidence that Adygea has found itself at the center of a number of scandalous stories with an environmental slant - it is in this republic that one of the most famous “green movements” in Russia, “Environmental Watch for the North Caucasus,” is registered, whose activists have more than once initiated anti-corruption investigations against influential officials. The most famous of them were scenes codenamed “palace Putin" and "dacha Tkachev"(the first of these objects is located in the Gelendzhik region, the second - not far from Tuapse). The open conflict with the authorities is over for the two leaders of Ecowatch - Suren Ghazaryan And Evgenia Vitishko- quite predictably: after the initiation of criminal cases against them, the first left Russia, and the second is currently serving a three-year prison sentence under Art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property”). The basis for this verdict were the inscriptions “Sanya is a thief” and “This is our forest” made by activists on the fence of the “dacha” Tkachev».

Sentence Ghazaryan And Vitishko became a serious contribution to the protest political capital of the key figure in Ecowatch - its coordinator Andrey Rudomakha, who has repeatedly tried to move from a purely public field to a political one. Several years ago, Rudomakha was the co-chairman of the Yabloko party branch in the Krasnodar Territory, but then left it along with his colleagues from Ekovakhta. More recently, the Ecowatch coordinator found himself under the fire of criticism from his associates. In the beginning of April Suren Ghazaryan announced his resignation from the ranks of Ecowatch “for reasons of personal hygiene,” explaining his decision by saying that denunciations were sent out on behalf of the organization that had nothing to do with environmental protection. Simultaneously a supporter of Ecowatch and a former member of Yabloko Alexander Safronov announced his resignation from the board of the regional branch of the Parnas party due to his refusal to condemn the actions Rudomakha.

Shadow of Tkachev

Judging by a number of political science studies, by the end of the second term at the head of Adygea Aslan Tkhakushinov came in not in the best shape. In the ranking of the effectiveness of regional heads of the Civil Society Development Foundation, the head of Adygea did not leave the group of middle peasants (in the latest version he received 54 points out of 100). And in the latest version of the political survival of Russian governors by the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation (November 2015), weaknesses include Tkhakushinov and the economic weakness of the region, corruption and the lack of lobbying leverage at the federal level were mentioned. True, Tkhakushinov, according to the authors of the study, had political stability in the region, the absence of bad news, and the passivity of competitors on his side. However, at the end of last year, one of the potential competitors, not associated with the current elite of the republic, was nevertheless identified.

Last November, when the last meeting took place Aslana Tkhakushinova With Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines the possibility of early resignation of the head of Adygea with the appointment of the former first vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory in his place was actively discussed Dzhambulata Khatuova. The latter had shortly before left his post in the Kuban administration after he became its new head Veniamin Kondratyev. Under ex-governor Alexandra Tkachev Khatuov had a reputation as his “right hand”, and Kondratiev clearly did not want to retain such a strong figure in his circle. For some time, the vice-governor was wooed to the post of the new head of the Krasnodar administration, but the position of mayor was retained by the current mayor Vladimir Evlanov, and soon after the victory Veniamina Kondratyeva in the elections last September Dzhambulat Khatuov resigned.

Several factors played in favor of his candidacy for Adygea. Firstly, Dzhambulat Khatuov- an ethnic Circassian, a representative of a people closely related to the Adyghe people. Secondly, he is in no way connected with the current elite of Adygea: his entire career took place in the Krasnodar Territory - first in the structures of consumer cooperation, and then in municipal positions, where his activity was appreciated Alexander Tkachev. At first Khatuov was elected mayor of the city of Armavir, then led Sochi for several months, and from there moved to the regional administration, where he oversaw the most difficult front of work - the construction of Olympic facilities. The latter determined the third “plus” - the presence of good connections at the federal level, coupled with the ability to work for results in difficult conditions (you can also remember what exactly Dzhambulat Khatuov in 2012, he was involved in the restoration of Krymsk, which was flooded). Wherein Khatuov possesses the necessary amount of brutality to lead a Caucasian republic.

However, the assumption of an imminent change Tkhakushinova on Khatuova were not confirmed. Contrary to rumors of early resignation, the head of Adygea successfully retained his post, and took over the former first deputy Alexander Tkachev already in his new status as Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. As Deputy Minister, Khatuov oversees six departments and Rosselkhoznadzor, as well as, according to established tradition, the most problematic areas. More recently, for example, it was he who was sent to Timiryazevka to negotiate the transfer of unique lands of the agricultural university for residential development.

Chance for the “Varangian”

It seemed that the threat had passed, and now nothing stood in the way Aslan Tkhaukshinov carry out operation "successor". However, on March 23, the parliament of the republic decided to cancel the direct elections of its head - contrary to the once publicly voiced intentions Tkhakushinova. As the reasons for this decision, the deputies cited the presence of corresponding practices in other republics of the North Caucasus (with the exception of Chechnya, which is in a special situation) and budget savings. But the true motives, obviously, lay in something completely different.

With the current convening of the parliament of the republic at Aslana Tkhakushinova There was never a complete understanding at all. The first conflict between them arose back in 2011, when deputies elected a well-known businessman in Adygea, head of the State Council Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex and Industry, as their representative in the Federation Council Nurbia Samogova.

But Aslan Tkhakushinov wanted to see another person in the senator’s chair - a 33-year-old Murata Hapsirokova, son of the assistant to the head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation Nazira Hapsirokova. The latter was then at the peak of his influence: at the beginning of 2011, Hapsirokov took an active part in the early removal of the then president of Karachay-Cherkessia (his native republic) Boris Ebzeev and appointing instead Rashida Temrezova. And even after death Hapsirokova-senior in October 2011 Aslan Tkhakushinov continued to insist on his son's candidacy, as a result of which Nurbiy Samogov resigned at his own request, and Murat Khapsirokov in February 2012 he was elected as a new senator.

Literally a few days after this, the Chairman of the State Council of Adygea died Fedor Fedorko, and the secretary of the local branch of United Russia became the acting speaker Mukhamed Ashev, who enjoyed great authority among deputies. But here too Aslan Tkhakushinov insisted on his candidate in the person of a deputy completely loyal to the executive branch Vladimir Narozhny(formally, this corresponded to considerations of maintaining ethnic balance in the top leadership of the republic). But deputies blocked the candidacy for several months Narozhny, and the confrontation between parliament and the head of the republic ended only after Mukhamed Ashev recused himself.

The term of office of the current parliament of Adygea expires this year, several months before the election of a new head of the republic. This meant that in order to implement the parliamentary scheme for electing the head Aslan Tkhakushinov it was still necessary to ensure a completely loyal new parliament. Given the complex relationships with deputies, the logical way out of the situation seemed to be direct elections of the head, which, moreover, by definition, would give the winner greater legitimacy. However, such a scenario did not rule out that in Adygea there would be a split in the electorate along ethnic lines if a passable candidate of a Russian politician was nominated for election (or at least such an attempt was made). From this point of view, the transition to a parliamentary scheme looks like a kind of insurance that the post of head of the republic will remain with the Adyghe people, but at the same time with a guarantee that the Adyghe populist will not win the elections.

At the same time, the personnel composition of the parliament may undergo serious changes, given the general attitude of United Russia towards personnel rotation, which in the last couple of years has led to a significant renewal of the deputy corps in the neighboring republics - Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria. The same scenario can be implemented in Adygea, where 20 deputies of the current convocation of the State Council remain in office for two terms or more, in addition, the number of seats in the new convocation will be reduced from 54 to 50. All this will make it possible to obtain a more manageable composition of the parliament, which without problems will vote for the right candidate, but the main question remains: who will nominate him - the republic itself or the federal center?

The “Varangian” is now still being named as a possible candidate Dzhambulata Khatuova, although an alternative scenario is also being discussed - a business trip to Adygea for someone from the security forces (following the example of a number of other republics of the North Caucasus - Kabardino-Balkaria and Ingushetia). Among the representatives of this group, the name of a 65-year-old retired army general is mentioned in the circle of possible applicants Aitecha Bizheva. His military career ended back in 2007 in the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for the United Air Defense System of the CIS member states, then Bizhev worked for some time as a representative of Adygea to the President of the Russian Federation, and then moved to the structures of the state corporation "Russian Technologies" and for the last three years has headed OJSC NPP ElTom. In 2006 Aitech Bizhev already appeared on the list of candidates for the post of President of Adygea. In addition, among the security forces who could potentially lead Adygea, the name of Major General of Police is mentioned Ruslana Kubova, who at one time headed the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is a completely non-public figure.

In Adygea, the opposition public movement “For the Future of Adygea” plans to hold a rally against corruption on April 18. Members of the movement say that in the republic the fight against corruption is not real, but imaginary, and that law enforcement agencies are targeting figures disliked by the authorities.

Persecution of the leader of the opposition movement

On April 2, the movement’s council issued an application to hold a rally “Fight against corruption in Adygea.” All 8 council members signed the application. On April 4, the application was submitted to the mayor's office, but was not accepted. Officials cited incorrect paperwork. The rally organizers plan to reapply.

“In our opinion, the republican authorities and law enforcement agencies act in tandem,” says movement council member Rashid Mugu.

“We have no real fight against corruption. Under the guise of fighting corruption, people are imprisoned who, in our opinion, did not commit illegal actions,” notes Mugu.

He cited several examples to support statements about government persecution of undesirable figures. “For example, when the leader of the movement “For the Future of Adygea” Mukharbiy Tkharkakhov began to sue for the fact that in May last year they illegally refused to register him as a candidate for mayor of Maykop, persecution began against him and his brothers Arambia and Amerbia. Mukharbiy Tkharkakhov was fired from the Adyghe State University, where he worked as a teacher. His brother, businessman Amerbiy Tharkakhov, was sentenced to 3 years for allegedly causing harm to a person’s health,” Mugu said, adding that the court decision in this case has been appealed.

Rashid Mugu said that under unknown pretexts a criminal case was opened against the former rector of MSTU Khazret Blyagoz and the university accountant Zarema Khadzhirokova for theft of funds. “We believe that the accusations against them are unfounded, and this is an order of the republican authorities, whose anger fell on the former management of the university,” emphasized Rashid Mugu.

In addition, he recalled the criminal cases initiated against the former head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Adygea, Murat Gunazhokov, and the head of Kuvaev LLC, Murat Kuvaev, accused of violations during the construction of a residential camp for employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. “We believe that this is also the elimination of unwanted people by the authorities. In addition, many heads of municipalities have recently been removed from their positions. We believe that we did this under false pretexts in order to appoint “our own people,” Mugu said.

The prosecutor's office considers the opposition's arguments groundless

Let us note that last year the movement “For the Future of Adygea”, which, in addition to the ex-head of the Teuchezhsky district Rashid Mugu and the ex-head of the government of Adygea Mukharbiya Tkharkakhov, includes the head of two convocations of the parliament of the Republic of Adygea Anatoly Ivanov, the former head of the State Council of Adygea and the former deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Ruslan Khadzhibiekov, ex-head of Adygeisk Kim Mamiek, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Kasei Khachegu and other figures sent an appeal to the President of Russia, outlining the facts of corruption in the republic.

There are many problems in the republic that will be discussed at the rally. These are extremely low wages, a long waiting list for kindergartens, a low level of medical care, and others.

The appeal speaks of “anti-state actions of clan-corrupt authorities under the patronage of the head of the republic” and “theft of local and federal budgets, power raiding of business objects.”

The answer came from the Adygea prosecutor's office, which stated that the facts stated by the authors of the appeal were not confirmed.

In the photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Adygea Aslan Tkhakushinov

“We believe that these facts have not even been verified,” says Rashid Mugu. - For example, 600 million rubles were allocated for the construction of the Ulyapsky Bridge, but the bridge and road are being destroyed. Who should be responsible for this? In Maykop for the construction of a water pipeline pipes previously used in the oil industry were laid, more than 2 billion rubles were allocated for this purpose. The pipes are becoming unusable,” he stated.

Also in the republic, according to him, there are many other problems - prohibitively low wages, a long waiting list for kindergartens, a low level of medical care and others. All this will be discussed at the upcoming meeting.

Statistics for the President

Meanwhile, at the end of January 2014, the head of Adygea Aslan Tkhakushinov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the stable socio-economic situation in the republic, multi-billion dollar investments in the region’s economy, the commissioning of more than 100 thousand square meters of housing, as well as solving the problem of waiting lists in kindergartens.

The statements of the head of Adygea surprised the residents of the republic; the statistics he cited were many times higher than those published by the state newspaper “Soviet Adygea”

Representatives of the opposition movement “For the Future of Adygea” called the data presented by Aslan Tkhakushinov at a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation unreliable. Thus, according to Natalya Namitokova, a member of the movement’s council and editor-in-chief of Svezhaya Gazeta, the statements of the head of Adygea surprised the residents of the republic; the statistical data he cited were many times higher than those published by the state newspaper Sovetskaya Adygea. She even pointed out that the authorities are preparing two types of data - “for external and internal use.”

Social activists were particularly outraged by Aslan Tkhakushinov’s statements about the salaries of doctors and teachers in the republic, which, according to him, reached 26 and 18 thousand rubles, respectively. According to the movement “For the Future of Adygea,” doctors in the republic receive an average of 7-8 thousand rubles monthly.

0 02.11.2015

Report to the participants of the 19th Russian Journalists Festival.

Dear colleagues, I represent the newspaper “Zakubanye”, the printed organ of the social movement “Union of Slavs of Adygea”. Our organization was created 25 years ago at a time of rampant sovereignization in the country and set as its task the protection of the rights of the Russian population in the so-called national republic. The expression “so-called” fully corresponds to the real state of affairs: in Adygea the titular population is 25%, 64% are Russians, and the remaining 11% are everyone else.

However, from the very beginning, the organization defended the rights of all citizens of Adygea, so on the pages of our newspaper you can find articles raising issues affecting all citizens, and articles in defense of individual residents of the republic, regardless of their nationality. In fact, the Union of Slavs is the only active human rights organization in Adygea.

There was a time when the media were considered one of the tools for monitoring the actions of officials. There was a time when publications about their “exploits” led to the arrival of high commissions, real checks and no less real organizational conclusions. The memory of those events is what makes older people turn to journalists for help. In contrast, young people are very skeptical about the capabilities of the media. Really, what can journalists influence? Let's look at this using the example of Adygea.

Just 5 years ago in the republic, in addition to budget and advertising publications, one could count about 10 independent publications owned by public organizations and parties. Today this field has been cleared almost completely, the “Free Word of Adygea” website has been closed, and “Svezhaya Gazeta” has stopped publishing. The latest newspaper of the public organization ROD SSA “Zakubanye” presents in this field a dinosaur that has significantly outlived its relatives.

What has so influenced the population of independent media in Adygea? The problem is that presenting an opinion independent of the official authorities is simply becoming unsafe for journalists. The editor of "Free Speech of Adygea", a member of the Writers' Union, Vasily Purdenko, is recognized as an extremist for posting an article on the website about the personnel policy of the leadership of Adygea. At first, the court, secretly from the editor, recognized the material as extremist, and then V. A. Purdenko was sentenced for extremism. After a year of ordeals in the courts, in which the journalist was forced to defend his good name, and the stress he experienced, the group II disabled person did not live very long.

The editor of Svezhaya Gazeta, a brilliant publicist Natalya Namitokova, was sentenced to a fine for publishing absolutely truthful information about the atrocities of the “new Russians.” The video recording from the recorder, which recorded the atrocities of the scoundrels, was recognized by the court as inadmissible evidence due to the fact that the police violated the procedure for confiscating the video recording. There was a fact, but the journalist who described it turned out to be a liar in the eyes of justice.

Now lawsuits and a criminal case have been initiated against the author of many publications in “Zakubanye”, the famous ecologist Valery Brinikh, the former director of two federal reserves (Daursky and Caucasian).

Perhaps you will say that the problems of our journalists and newspaper editors are due to the fact that they simply became victims of their legal incompetence and were unable to defend themselves in the courts. Yes, they did not have the means to hire a lawyer like Heinrich Padva. But no Padva is capable of influencing the decision of the Adyghe court if it is made “at the top.” And this is the most important problem that we have been talking about for many years - the bias of the law enforcement agencies and courts by the family in power in the republic. You can publish information on the pages of your newspaper about the son of the head of the republic, who, being the district prosecutor, quite often travels abroad under a different name, but his boss, the prosecutor of the republic, will not find it difficult to give explanations on this matter. You can publish eyewitness statements about how the materials of the road accident were falsified, the “hero” of which was a friend of the head of the republic, but you will not hear a clear reaction from the security forces. You can write about the STALKER company, organized by high-ranking officials to withdraw budget money through the tax office. But even in this case, the answer will be the silence of law enforcement officers.

The seizure of business (article by Sulieta Kusova), direct control of the courts by the leadership of the republic (case of Judge Osipova) and even the direct accusation of illegal actions of prosecutor M. Tkhakushinov, made by the chairman of the district court, remains unanswered.

All these are pebbles that fell into the quagmire of the law enforcement system of Adygea. In such cases, our officials prefer to remain thoughtfully silent, without even risking suing the authors of the publication for libel. And they crack down on journalists when they push them too hard, using other reasons, choosing a suitable article from the well-known “gentleman’s set”: demonstration of Nazi symbols, Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, extremism, Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, inciting hatred towards a certain social group - the authorities.

Well, if this set is not enough, then you can simply insult your opponents in the anonymous newspaper “NABAT”. It is known who is distributing it, but security officials have never been able to identify the publisher.

In this situation, independent media and journalists of Adygea have little choice: either curtail all activity, or contact the Kremlin, hoping for a miracle - the arrival of a competent commission that will understand not the peculiarities of Adyghe hospitality, but especially the management of the republic, in which local divisions of federal departments turned out to be members of the same “friendly family”.

Unfortunately, a miracle does not happen; answers to our appeals come from those about whom we complain. The answers are standard, like a prayer before a meal: “There is no reason to react!”

Perhaps there is another way to interest Moscow curators. Draw their attention to what is happening in Adygea through the central media. If only they, showing solidarity with their “younger brothers in the profession,” would take upon themselves the investigation of some cases in Adygea. For example, the case of Valery Brinich, who, while defending the interests of citizens, came into conflict not only with the leadership of the republic, but also with the famous pig farmer-senator V. Derev. In this matter, the unanimity of the security forces, supervisory agencies and the leadership of the republic was very clearly demonstrated.

But they say that in order to organize publication in a central publication, a lot of money is needed. In this matter, we cannot compete with the leadership of Adygea, who prudently included in the budget an expense item for creating a favorable image of the republic. Therefore, we can only rely on the solidarity of the journalist brothers. True, they must understand that it is not safe to give information about what is happening in Adygea.

Here, journalist Svetlana Bolotnikova gave information on the Greater Caucasus website about the interethnic conflict in the village of Beloye. The local court (Krasnogvardeisky district), again secretly from her and the site editor, recognized the journalist’s article as extremist. And she found out about this a year later, after reading the federal list of extremist literature on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It seems that the same fate now awaits the website “NEWSPAPER. RU". And yet, despite the difficulties, the solidarity of fellow journalists seems to us the most likely way out of the impasse into which the dialogue between the authorities and the public has reached in Adygea.

Against the backdrop of recent events in the Komi Republic, it would be very timely for the Russian journalistic community to pay attention to Adygea, not being satisfied with the image of the calmest republic, which the Tkhakushinov clan is so intensively shaping.

Maybe, through joint efforts, we will get answers to the questions: why, for example, in the Takhtamukai district, where the younger Tkhakushinov oversees the rule of law, is the bank of the Kuban River illegally built up? Why did Prime Minister Kumpilov get the nickname 50/50 among entrepreneurs?

Why most investment projects in the republic are carried out in violation of the law and contrary to the interests of the local population. Why are books, the author of which is the head of the republic, required to be bought by heads of municipalities at the expense of budget funds, supposedly for libraries? And why, finally, was the former rector of MSTU Blagoz Khazret, who was in custody in a pre-trial detention center, not allowed to see his relatives for 11 months, who came into conflict with the head of the republic? And much more.

Maykop, May 21 - AiF-Adygea. The Internet site “Free Word of Adygea” was on the verge of a sensational scandal.

As it turned out, the issue is not at all about “opposition” publications. “Fake” truth-seekers signed their speeches with the names of others - veterans, elderly and respected people.

Passion for water pipeline

It all started with the fact that Ivan Sergeevich Zhilin, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a long-time subscriber and reader of the newspaper “Arguments and Facts”, came to the editorial office of “AiF - Adygea”.

I don’t know how, but I found myself in the center of some kind of scam that I have nothing to do with! Help me figure it out,” he asked.

And he laid out a whole pile of documents on the table. For example, a letter dated April 3, 2013 from the Investigative Committee of Russia is a response to him, Zhilin, to some kind of slander: “Your appeal about the unlawful actions of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia M.K. Kumpilov, as well as on other issues, has been sent for consideration to the head of the investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Armenia... You will be notified about the results.” Signature: Head of the Department for Reception of Citizens and Consideration of Appeals of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Colonel of Justice Pelyushenko. The pile of papers contains similar answers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the prosecutor's office and even the FSB of Russia.

But I didn’t write any letters or complaints to anyone and didn’t ask anyone to look into anything. A year ago, before Victory Day, I asked you about veteran housing, but I came to the editorial office myself, and the answer to my question was published in AiF - Adygea. And here in one of the papers it is written that I applied to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia “on the issue of financing and reconstruction of the Maikop water pipeline,” to which I have nothing to do,” says the veteran.

At the same time, from the official document sent on April 11, 2013 from Moscow, it follows: I.S. Zhilin, living in Maykop at such and such an address, contacted the Main Investigation Department for the North Caucasus Federal District with a complaint ...

At first, I began to find these letters from high structures in my mailbox almost every day. Then they came to me from the Adygea prosecutor’s office and said that all appeals to Russian law enforcement agencies were signed with my name and address. I am 87 years old, I am a participant in the Great Patriotic War, why do I, an old man, need all this hassle? - says Zhilin.

According to employees of the republican prosecutor's office, there is no doubt that the veteran is telling the truth. But this became clear after law enforcement agencies checked the facts set out in the complaint. And they caught the “author” of false information, which in his appeal he demanded to be confirmed for certain. And they became interested in the personality of the “slanderer.”

But veteran Zhilin is not the only resident of Maykop on the list of “complainants” against the leaders of the republican government. All appeals written on various occasions were signed by elderly people, and those who sent them used up to a dozen names in this fraud, the RA Prosecutor’s Office told us.

"Anonymous people kill"

Having received several more names and addresses of such “those who filed statements” in confirmation of this answer, we decided to conduct our own fact check. But then the editors of AiF - Adygea received a written appeal from Maykop resident Viktor Lyamzin.

“Quite recently, the prosecutor’s office of the republic received a statement, allegedly on my behalf. To explain some of the arguments of “my” appeal, an employee of the prosecutor’s office came to my home and showed me this appeal. I was very surprised and upset. On my behalf, the appeal is addressed to the Director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Murov, and the First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Russia, Volodin, regarding the leaders and officials of the republic.”

I am an elderly man who recently underwent a serious operation. I’m practically not allowed to talk and it’s absolutely contraindicated to worry. But I am very upset by this anonymous letter. I think law enforcement agencies should find these people and bring them to justice under the law! – Viktor Lyamzin, who addressed us, said in a personal conversation.

According to him, he did not write any letters to government agencies.

Some scoundrel used my name. It’s cowardly and low to write slander and hide behind someone else’s name. Essentially, this is a lying anonymous letter that insulted and humiliated me,” says Lyamzin.

A similar opinion was expressed by another participant in the Great Patriotic War, Maikop resident Avim Oskarev, who also, by someone’s ill will, ended up “in trouble.” According to employees of the prosecutor's office, all these publications, published on behalf of elderly people who have nothing to do with them, contain either long-investigated and verified signals of violations, or completely false information.

As the owner (administrator) of the website “Free Word of Adygea” once explained to the prosecutor’s office, he took “catchy scandalous articles” from print media and posted them on his portal in order to attract the attention of site visitors.

Here is an innocent explanation, including a lie published in the name of some kind of popularity. How much is such a “free” word worth? For a veteran with a heart, with his attitude towards the printed word, which a priori has moral value, the lies of anonymous people can be costly.

OPINION

Where do anonymous letters come from and what is really happening, we asked for comment Prosecutor of the Republic of Adygea Vasily Poslovsky.

Indeed, recently the appeals of residents of the republic to federal government agencies have become more frequent. They often present subjective opinions on a number of issues that at one time arose in Adygea, which in one way or another affected the state of law in the republic. Appeals come from people of all ages and social status; they are either published on websites and in various media outlets in the region, or directly sent to federal authorities.

In a number of cases, when we call applicants to explain or clarify their arguments - the prosecutor has the right to do this on the basis of Article 22 of the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation” - these people explain that they have not submitted any appeals to any government agencies. This was the case in the cases with veterans Zhilin, Lyamzin, Oskarev and others that became known to the editors. This is what happened in the widespread statements in Adygea about the alleged lawlessness committed by law enforcement officers in relation to Zaur Meretukov, who is currently under investigation, Azamat Tlemiganov, who is wanted, and Baizet Dzybov. Moreover, these letters were sent in their personal names and in the names of their wives.

Let me give you a specific example. Zaur Meretukov told an employee of the republic's prosecutor's office that “he did not write this appeal and did not send it to the prosecutor’s office. The handwriting in this statement is not mine, nor is the signature underneath it, although it looks like mine. I don’t know who wrote this statement and for what purpose.” According to the same Meretukov’s explanation, “this complaint states that Tlemiganov and Meretukov allegedly have information about the murder of the head of the Krasnogvardeisky district of the Republic of Adygea, Murat Kudaev, committed in 2006, in which a number of high-ranking officials of Adygea were allegedly involved. I must state that I have nothing to do with the writing of this complaint.”

Meretukov, like many others, insists that he did not write anything, did not send anything, and did not ask anyone about it. But the same information on the murder of Kudaev also appeared in an appeal addressed to me in the press, which was signed by the director of AvtoGaz LLC, Asfar Chukho. However, Chukho himself, having arrived at the prosecutor’s office, explained that he obtained such information from the media and on the website “Free Word of Adygea.” Let me quote: “I don’t have specific information about the murder of the former head of the Krasnogvardeysky district Kudaev, I get all the information from the media. I am not familiar with Tlemiganov, Meretukov, or Dzybov. I don’t know what specific information they have about Kudaev’s murder.”

And one last thing. Another case: in early February 2013, the same website published an article “Blyagoz Strikes Back” on behalf of the former rector of the Maykop Technological University, Khazret Blyagoz. The article talked about the “reasons” for his resignation from the post of head of the university. However, the former rector, having appeared at the prosecutor’s office of the republic, explained: “I categorically declare that I have nothing to do with this article, I did not give any materials for publication, I did not ask anyone to publish anything.” However, they publish... Appeals for various reasons, to different authorities from different persons. In some cases - blasphemous. The authors of these letters do not take into account either the law or elementary morality.

Report at a conference of journalists in Dagomys, October 2015.

Dear Colleagues! I represent the newspaper “Zakubanye”, the printed organ of the social movement “Union of Slavs of Adygea”. Our organization was created 25 years ago at a time of rampant sovereignization in the country and set as its task the protection of the rights of the Russian population in the so-called national republic. The expression “so-called” fully corresponds to the real state of affairs: in Adygea the titular population is 25%, 64% are Russians, and the remaining 11% are everyone else.

However, from the very beginning, the organization defended the rights of all citizens of Adygea, so on the pages of our newspaper you can find articles raising issues relating to all citizens, and articles in defense of individual residents of the republic, regardless of their nationality. In fact, the Union of Slavs is the only active human rights organization in Adygea.

What has so influenced the population of independent media in Adygea? The problem is that presenting an opinion independent of the official authorities is simply becoming unsafe for journalists. The editor of “Free Speech of Adygea,” a member of the Writers’ Union, Vasily Purdenko, is recognized as an extremist for posting an article on the website about the personnel policy of the leadership of Adygea. At the beginning, the court, in secret from the editor, recognized the material as extremist, and then V.A. was sentenced to extremism. Purdenko. After a year of ordeals in the courts, in which the journalist was forced to defend his good name, and the stress he experienced, a group 2 disabled person did not live very long.

Perhaps you will say that the problems of our journalists and newspaper editors are due to the fact that they simply became victims of their legal incompetence and were unable to defend themselves in the courts. Yes, they did not have the means to hire a lawyer like Heinrich Padva. But no Padva is capable of influencing the decision of the Adyghe court if it is made “at the top.” And this is the most important problem that we have been talking about for many years - the bias of the law enforcement agencies and courts by the family in power in the republic. You can publish information on the pages of your newspaper about the son of the head of the republic, who, as a district prosecutor, quite often travels abroad under a different name, but his boss, the prosecutor of the republic, will not find it difficult to give explanations on this matter. You can publish eyewitness statements about how the materials of the road accident were falsified, the “hero” of which was a friend of the head of the republic, but you will not hear a clear reaction from the security forces. You can write about the STALKER company, organized by high-ranking officials to withdraw budget money through the tax office. But even in this case, the answer will be the silence of law enforcement officers.

The seizure of business (article by Sulieta Kusova), direct control of the courts by the leadership of the republic (case of Judge Osipova) and even the direct accusation of prosecutor M. Tkhakushinov of illegal actions made by the chairman of the district court remains unanswered.

Well, if this set is not enough, then you can simply insult your opponents in the anonymous newspaper “NABAT”. It is known who is distributing it, but security forces have never been able to identify its publisher.

Unfortunately, a miracle does not happen; answers to our appeals come from those about whom we complain. The answers are standard, like a prayer before a meal: “There is no reason to react!”

Here is a journalist, Svetlana Bolotnikova, who gave information on the Greater Caucasus website about the interethnic conflict in the village of Beloye. The local court (Krasnogvardeisky district), again in secret from her and the site editor, recognized the journalist’s article as extremist. And she found out about this a year later, after reading the federal list of extremist literature on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The same fate now awaits the website “NEWSPAPER. RU". Although, in our opinion, the newspaper was arrested on the day of the arrival of members of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, headed by M.A., in the republic. Fedotov that it contained materials about the unlawful actions of police officers, judges and administrations.

And yet, despite these difficulties, the solidarity of fellow journalists seems to us the most likely way out of the impasse into which the dialogue between the authorities and the public has reached in Adygea.

Maybe through joint efforts we will get answers to the questions: why, for example, in the Takhtamukai district, where the younger Tkhakushinov oversees the rule of law, the bank of the Kuban River is illegally built up. Why did Prime Minister Kumpilov get the nickname 50/50 among entrepreneurs?

Why most investment projects in the republic are carried out in violation of the law and contrary to the interests of the local population. Why are books, the author of which is the head of the republic, required to be purchased by heads of municipalities at the expense of budget funds, supposedly for libraries? And why, finally, was the former rector of MSTU Blagoz Khazret, who was in custody in a pre-trial detention center, not allowed to see his relatives for 11 months, who came into conflict with the head of the republic? And much more.

Thank you for attention.

A.G.Petin, p on instructions from the editors of the newspaper “Zakubanye”