Sevastopol Governor to leave office? Who may be his hypothetical successors?

Sources expect Dmitry Ovsyannikov to leave office

Apparently, a staffing and political coup is looming in Sevastopol. In the past, the main conflict had escalated between Sevastopol Governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov and ‘people’s Mayor’ Aleksei Chaly, a Deputy of the Municipal Legislative Assembly. Now the situation plays out in fresh colors: local sources claim, citing a decision to terminate Ovsyannikov allegedly made in Moscow, that his governorship is about to end soon and Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, will be appointed the Acting Governor of Sevastopol. The sources also mention Dmitry Sablin, a Deputy of the State Duma, in relation to that position. No official information on this matter is available yet. Allegedly, a report is to be presented to Vladimir Putin on March 6, 2018; based on that report, a decision has to be made whether to reappoint Sergei Aksenov for the second Governor’s term or not and what to do with Ovsyannikov. The CrimeRussia reviewed the situation in Sevastopol: What events had preceded the publications about the forthcoming change of leadership in the region? Who had ‘clipped the wings’ of the Sevastopol Governor? And what are the interests of Sergei Sobyanin in Sevastopol in anticipation of the Moscow City Duma elections?

Nobody prosecuted for the sale of the Sevastopol Marine Trade Port

It might seem that all personnel reshuffles in Sevastopol are results of behind-the-scenes political games. But taking the toxic situation in Crimea – known as one of the most corrupt regions of Russia – it is a fair assumption to say that any replacements in Simferopol and Sevastopol won't change nothing.

The CrimeRussia already wrote about a recent corruption scandal in Sevastopol: more than 1.2 thousand facilities of the Sevastopol Marine Trade Port State Unitary Enterprise were estimated ridiculously low, while assets of the enterprise worth over 26 million rubles ($395.5 thousand) have been unreasonably written off. This information was made public by Sergei Elizarov, Head of the Main Control Directorate of Sevastopol, who has reported results of the audit of the state unitary enterprise. It also became known that Governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov was involved in the criminal scheme: his goal was to amalgamate his business on the basis of Sevastopol enterprises deliberately driven to bankruptcy. In the last year, Ovsyannikov had continuously tried to force the Legislative Assembly to authorize the privatization of the Sevastopol Marine Trade Port and its sale, together with all marine terminals, to companies affiliated with him. The facts presented by Elizarov were expected to result in a criminal case. But this hasn’t happened: criminal proceedings were not commenced, while Ovsyannikov started putting pressure on the auditor calling his statements “a performance”. To be on the safe side, the Governor has replaced Sergei Emel’yanov, General Director of the Sevastopol Marine Trade Port State Unitary Enterprise, by Valery Sklyarov, ex-head of a Rostec structure. Concurrently, he continues actively looking for a reason to fire Elizarov.

Elizarov exposed the corruption of Ovsyannikov

However, a sword of Damocles is now hanging over the Governor’s head as well (Ovsyannikov has been elected the Governor of Sevastopol on September 18, 2017 and joined Edinaya Rossia (United Russia) Party on December 21, 2017). It can’t be ruled out that the rumors about his inevitable termination were caused by the ‘seizure’ of strategic Sevastopol Marine Trade Port State and other corruption ‘sins’, including the transfer of 2 billion rubles ($30.4 million) to collapsing OFK Bank. The funds were allocated for the construction of sewage facilities; as a result, the money disappeared without a trace, while the sewers were not built. ‘High patrons’ of the Sevastopol Governor on Staraya square in Moscow saved him from criminal prosecution – but still, the positions of Ovsyannikov have been significantly weakened.

No referendum 

Aleksei Chaly, a longtime adversary of Ovsyannikov, has further fueled the flame. “The critical issue for Sevastopol is the figure of its Governor... Too bad, he never creates nothing – only destroys everything. What the state TV shows has nothing to do with the reality,” – Chaly said.

Aleksei Chaly has been openly opposing Dmitry Ovsyannikov for a long time

He initiated a referendum to depose the current Governor. The initiative group consisting of more than 60 activists from various organizations submitted a respective application to the Sevastopol Election Commission. The following complaints were brought against the Governor: “Failures and embezzlements in the framework of the implementation of the Federal Targeted Program; unsatisfactory performance of job duties by the Governor; a harmful privatization bill; likely deliberate bankruptcy of infrastructural enterprises of Sevastopol; willful resistance to children’s sports development; disruption of the reconstruction of Matrossky boulevard, etc.”

Local activist Vasily Fedorov took charge of the initiative group

Is there any chance to hold such a referendum? No, not really. The federal authorities won’t permit this – because, otherwise, other regions may announce similar initiatives as well. It is much easier to replace an unpopular and marred by corruption Governor ‘from above’. 

Khusnullin to bring discipline to Sevastopol? 

Marat Khusnullin, a possible candidate for the Sevastopol Governor, is a native of Kazan. Khusnullin started his career as a laboratory assistant for maintenance of experimental devices at the Kazan State Finance and Economics Institute and advanced through ranks to the Minister of Construction, Architecture, and Public Housing and Utility Sector of the Republic of Tatarstan and Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction (since December 2010). The construction record of Khusnullin is truly impressive: he was in charge of the center for resolution of issues and construction of Moscow City International Business Center; he is a Co-chairman of the Council for Urban Development of the Moscow Railway Junction; he supervises construction policies in New Moscow; participates in the construction of the Moscow Subway, Moscow Central Circle, and a number of transport intersections; he has reconstructed Luzhniki Sports Complex and built Zaryadye Park, etc. In addition, Khusnullin had supervised plenty of infill construction projects in the Russian capital.  

Khusnullin supervises the construction sphere in the team of Mayor Sobyanin

Back in November 2016, the Russian Branch of Transparency International has charged Khusnullin of conflict of interest and breaches of the Federal Law On Combating Corruption while being a Tatarstan Minister. According to Transparency International, the official’s mother – UK citizen Roza Khusnullina – was the Director of Averdix company belonging to London-based Averdo Property Management Limited and Averdix Business Corp. offshore company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Averdix had allegedly purchased control blocks of shares in major construction and communal organizations of Tatarstan. Khusnullin denies all allegations claiming that his mother does not have British citizenship and his income and asset declarations are accurate.

Apparently, Khusnullin would bring to Sevastopol both his people and large-scale development plans. Concurrently, a massive redistribution of the development market is expected to begin in Moscow amid the forthcoming elections to the Moscow City Duma scheduled to September 8, 2019. In other words, the henchman of Sobyanin is going to bring discipline to the city and deal with problem-plagued supervisors of the construction sphere in Sevastopol.

Dmitry Ovsyannikov is a native of Omsk; he started his career in industrial and production companies of Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic. In this context, the figure of his former advisor Sergei Smirnov – appointed a Vice Governor of Sevastopol in January 2019 – is of utmost interest.

Sergei Smirnov is called “the right hand” of the Governor for construction

Prior to the relocation to Sevastopol, Smirnov was the Director of Udmurtia Capital Construction Directorate Limited Liability Company. It is known that this company, while undergoing liquidation, had signed contracts with customers, received advance payments, and then disappeared. Later, Udmurtia Capital Construction Directorate lost a number of legal battles with defrauded clients; its defense lawyer was Ekaterina Ryabova, the current Deputy Head of the Legal Department of the Sevastopol Government. 

According to Sevastopol sources, all the cash from disrupted construction projects funded in the framework of the Federal Targeted Program had flown via Smirnov. He is also believed to be an intermediary in the delivery of a kickback in the amount of 200 million rubles ($3 million) to Governor Ovsyannikov from German citizen Aleksander Pozharsky, General Director of Glassok Krym, who has later fled to Kiev, for the reconstruction of Victory Park (total project cost was 1.1 billion rubles ($16.7 million)), renovation of Laspi Children’s Camp (74 million rubles ($1.1 million)), etc.   

Political reboot of Dmitry Sablin 

The appearance of Khusnullin in the Crimean political setup, where all main players are outsiders, is detrimental for Ovsyannikov on the one hand – but, on the other hand, this may guarantee his ‘quiet’ resignation without arrest and prosecution. For some political reasons, retired colonel Dmitry Sablin, Deputy of the State Duma from Edinaya Rossia (United Russia) Party, has also been named among the possible successors to Ovsyannikov. Just recently, the native of Mariupol became the head of the Sevastopol branch of the ruling party. He is the First Deputy Chairman of Boevoe Bratstvo (Brothers in Arms) All-Russia Veteran Public Organization and actively promotes it in the region. According to local sources, Dmitry Sablin presents himself, with the support of Andrei Turchak, Secretary of the General Council of Edinaya Rossia Party, as some ‘third force’ in Sevastopol and its future Governor.

Dmitry Sablin is another candidate for the Sevastopol Governor

Dmitry Sablin reportedly uses his status of an external party's overseer of Sevastopol to solve commercial issues of Oleg Belaventsev, former Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Crimean and North Caucasus Federal Districts, and Boris Gromov, ex-Governor of the Moscow Region. Belaventsev, in turn, is trying to be included into the election list of Edinaya RossiaParty for the forthcoming elections to the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol or State Council of Crimea in fall 2019. 

In addition to the political agenda, Sablin also pursues his commercial interests. During the period of the Ukrainian rule, he has purchased a real property in Balaklava – and the Sevastopol Government chaired by Ovsyannikov is trying to seize it through court action as illegally acquired. 

“Crimean Governor Aksenov will assist colleague Ovsyannikov in his game against the Head of the Sevastopol Branch of Edinaya Rossia Party – Deputy Sablin. Sablin already states that he is ready to become the Sevastopol Governor – although he was appointed there to ensure the ‘right’ results at the parliamentary elections. Sevastopol and Crimea are the only chance of Andrei Turchak, Secretary of the General Council of Edinaya Rossia Party, to get a significant percentage of votes at the regional level... Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation responsible for Crimea, has visited the peninsula. Funding will be provided to Governor Ovsyannikov to finish all objects of the Federal Targeted Program whose completion deadlines were disrupted. The federal center decided not to publicize any negative information on the Federal Targeted Program until the fall,” – a Crimean Telegraph channel reports.

 

In any case, the media publications about the forthcoming replacement of Governor Ovsyannikov by Marat Khusnullin or Dmitry Sablin indicate that the Kremlin has taken the situation under control and is going to resolve it without arrests and criminal cases. It can’t be ruled out that the same fate awaits Sergei Aksenov, Head and Prime Minister of the Republic of Crimea. The reason is obvious: Crimea and Sevastopol are mentioned in the criminal news way too frequently, while the corruption in the region reaches a stratospheric level.

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