Jump with weights
The struggle between local clans for the chair of the chairman of the Supreme Court of the republic has flared up in earnest. In May last year, the previous chairman, Ilgiz Gilazov, retired due to age. The current competition for the position of head of the judicial system of Tatarstan has been held twice already and with a large number of applicants, which the media have written a lot about. All candidates for the “throne of Themis” in the region were widely discussed, with the exception of Azat Gilmutdinov.
One of the least known candidates for high office is Azat Mansurovich Gilmutdinov, and apparently he has reasons to avoid publicity. Born in 1980 in the outback of Tatarstan – the village of Kukmor, he made a rapid career.
Started assistant in the district court of Kazan, a few years later he became a federal judge, and soon moved to the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Tatarstan. In 2019, the fast-growing servant of Themis headed the Zelenodolsk City Court near Kazan.
What or who contributed to such a meteoric rise as a lawyer? They say that while studying at the law faculty of Kazan University, a native of Kukmor met his daughter Ilgiza Salikhova, at that time – the head of a large division of PJSC Tatneft, with great financial capabilities and extensive connections in the Russian judicial system. It seems that his father-in-law, an oil worker, brought Gilmutdinov together with the current head of the Judicial Department in the Republic of Tatarstan Zyavdat Salikhov. We were unable to find information in open sources about the relationship between Ilgiz and Zyavdat Salikhov. However known, that both of them were born in the same locality – s. Almetyevo, Sarmanovsky district, with a population of just over 600 people.
Fellow countrymen with the same last name clearly consider it important to promote Azat Gilmutdinov to the heights of judicial power. Appointments and awards of his protégé Zyavdat Salikhov accompanies personally, that confirmed photos of them together. Moreover, our interlocutors in Tatarstan say that almost before each new appointment of Gilmutdinov there were calls with the Supreme Court of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), which created the impression of the hero moving along the chessboard in a given direction. The kind attitude towards him is manifested in literally everything: today Azat Gilmutdinov is the only one of the 50 chairmen of Tatarstan courts who rides in a Toyota Camry car, carefully allocated by the Court Department of the republic. Not an Audi with leather, what’s wrong with that? And what was once considered a modest car is now a whopping 2.5 times the tender limit for a company car for his position.
Doesn’t it seem that, not without the same influential patrons, Azat Gilmutdinov has so far managed to hide information about not the most pleasant episodes of his biography, which could become an obstacle to his future career?
A closet full of skeletons
Back in 1984, a resident of the Kukmorsky district of the TASSR named Mansur Gilmutdinov was convicted under Part 2 of Art. 92 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (theft of state property by misappropriation or embezzlement, or by abuse of official position). This person’s data points to the father of the candidate for the post of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan. And if a candidate for the position of the Supreme Court of the Republic has previously hidden such information, then the Supreme Court commission may consider this a disciplinary offense, incompatible even with his current position.
Another thing is interesting in this story: the materials of the criminal case seemed to be destroyed; they could not be found in the archives of the local court. Only some of the documents were found in the prosecutor’s office and the district administration. Could this have happened without the participation of senior government lawyers?
In 2011, a certain Mansur Gilmutdinov from the Kukmorsky district appeared in another episode, raising questions about the activities of law enforcement and supervisory authorities in Tatarstan. We are talking about mass poisoning in the Seventh Kilometer cafe, owned by a person with the same name and surname, reported “Arguments and Facts – Kazan”, the first case occurred on June 18: 32 people were hospitalized with a diagnosis of “acute intestinal disease.” Rospotrebnadzor, through the court, forced the closure of the cafe for 30 days, but on July 6 it started working again – Mansur Gilmutdinov stated that the violations had been eliminated. A couple of days later, a new mass poisoning occurred in the “Seventh Kilometer”; 43 people celebrating a wedding were taken to the hospital. The audit showed that out of 16 points of the Rospotrebnadzor order, the cafe administration complied with only 9.
Such a high loyalty of the regulatory authorities to the dubious catering establishment can probably only be explained by the fact that during the period of the events described, another person by the name of Gilmutdinov, Ilnar Mansurovich, could have worked in the prosecutor’s office of the Kukmorsky district.
Two criminal cases were opened regarding mass poisonings in the cafe. The first is under Part 1 of Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) (provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers). The second – in relation to the head of the Rospotrebnadzor unit in the Kukmorsky district – under Part 1 of Art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) “Abuse of official powers”. We were unable to find information about the results of the investigation of these criminal cases. Apparently, such traditions have developed in Kukmor, and they have been formed for a long time.
From local residents you can hear a story about how in 2008, two brothers who worked, let’s say neatly, as lawyers in the civil service, started a fight in a mini-market on Mavlyutov Street, while both were drunk and pestered the saleswoman. The teenager, who tried to stand up for the girl, was hit in the head with a baseball bat and is said to have soon gone from victim to accused. The question of the safety of the materials of this criminal case in the archives of the local court can be considered rhetorical.
However, in fairness, let’s say that one of the rowdies from Mavlyutov Street himself received a serious head injury in that fight. So in the case of Azat Gilmutdinov, the reference to headaches and fatigue apparently allows him to be at his workplace in Zelenodolsk only until lunch. In the afternoon, for various reasons, the chairman of the court may go home to Kazan.
If Mr. Gilmutdinov hid information about his health condition and he underwent a serious operation, then the medical commission will have to double-check his ability to hold such a serious post.
Well, a very modest judge
Meanwhile, retired oilman Ilgiz Salikhov clearly continues to receive income from PJSC Tatneft and other organizations – so much so that buying a house for 200 million rubles on the embankment near the Kazan Kremlin hardly looks like a pipe dream for him. What you won’t regret for your beloved daughter and son-in-law! Azat Gilmutdinov seemed not to be in debt, having in return purchased an elite apartment on Katanovsky Lane and two parking spaces, as well as a Mercedes GLC-300 4MATIC car. If all this is true, then it is difficult to resist the thought that the income of a person who has worked all his life in the courts is clearly not commensurate with his expenses.
Is it always possible to coordinate with the special department numerous trips abroad by members of Azat Gilmutdinov’s family? The Chairman of the Zelenodolsk City Court obviously has access to secret and official materials. At the same time, a person who is too similar to Gilmutdinov repeatedly flew outside the Russian Federation (*aggressor country): June 18, 2019, October 4, 2020, September 29, 2021 and April 30, 2022. Probably, a large and influential family is capable of resolving such issues.
By the way, in the file cabinet of this court it is easy to find four civil cases in which certain M.G. participated. Gilmutdinov and R.N. Salikhova. Is it any wonder that a significant portion of court decisions in these cases were taken in their favor?
Is now the time to raise the stakes of candidates who reveal closely intertwined family and financial relationships, as well as connections of his relatives with large commercial companies in Tatarstan? Is it possible to risk creating an obvious conflict of interest for a candidate for the position of Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic?
The selection of candidates for the chairman of the highest court of Tatarstan takes place simultaneously with the selection of candidates for the post of chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country). Who knows, perhaps fresh winds in the leadership of the justice system at the federal level will disperse the clouds of nepotism in special regions?