Vladimir Putin visits the Krasnoyarsk region

Vladimir Putin’s arrival in the Krasnoyarsk region can be considered governor Alexander Lebed’s accomplishment. General Lebed was talking about it in the beginning of the year, after his meeting with the Russian president. However, Vladimir Putin’s visit to the region was very unlikely to happen, taking into consideration the attitude of the presidential administration to the governor of the Krasnoyarsk region.

President Putin has not found time to go to the Krasnoyarsk region for more than two years, whereas he has been to some of other regions more than once - in the republics of Tatarstan or Bashkortostan. Analysts decided that the Kremlin does not like Lebed.

The arrival of the head of the state dissipated all the doubts, it is also possible that the doubts would grow further on, though. The Krasnoyarsk region will hold the gubernatorial elections next year, and the governor of the region is absolutely not ready for them.

Alexander Lebed quarreled with his Taimyr colleague, Alexander Khloponin, having accused him of separatism; he also quarreled with the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk region. As a result, the region does not have the budget, and the deputies do not allow the regional administration to hand 44.2% of shares of Krasnoyarsk Coal Company (which belongs to the region) over to the company Trust-Invest for $35 million. The shares are to be handed over for the period of five years to the trust management. The Legislative Assembly cuts the arguments of Lebed's team, trying to get rid of the biggest part of the salary debt, to purchase fuel, medicines and solve a great deal of other problems.

What is the point of Vladimir Putin’s visit to the region? If he came for trying to reconcile the two governors, then why did he visit the Norilsk Nickel factory, which is an apple of discord between the Krasnoyarsk and Taimyr regions?

RIA Novosti informed that the Taimyr governor Alexander Khloponin was not against uniting Taimyr, Evenkiya (an autonomous territory of the Krasnoyarsk region), and the Krasnoyarsk region in one single unit of the Federation. Khloponin said that when Putin was visiting Oktyabrsky pit. Speaking about the issue of managing the territories, Khloponin said that the problem was in the constitutional field. “I stand for this scheme: Norilsk into Taimyr, Taimyr into the Krasnoyarsk region,” – said he. The governor of Taimyr said that that the last thing he wanted was loading the president with the issues of the mutual relations between Taimyr and the Krasnoyarsk regions. Khloponin marked that the president had arrived for seeing the labor conditions of the Far North and the development results.

Dmitry Chirkin PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov