Five governors received federal positions at once

Four Ministers and an Assistant

A massive exodus of regional heads to the government and presidential administration could lead to a redistribution of spheres of influence at two levels at once – both local and national.

Anton Alikhanov and Manturov's team

Anton Alikhanov

Anton Alikhanov worked in the Ministry of Industry and Trade under the leadership of Denis Manturov in 2013–2015. Then he was sent to the government of the Kaliningrad region. In 2016, immediately after turning 30 (this is the age limit established by regional law), Alikhanov became acting. governor. And now he is returning to Moscow to head the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Thus, Alikhanov will continue to work under the patronage of his former boss and patron Denis Manturov, who, as Deputy Prime Minister, will oversee the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, it is not a fact that Alikhanov’s career leverage is limited to Denis Manturov. It was noted that the official’s father had known the former Deputy Prime Minister for a long time Igor Shuvalov and ex-plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District Mikhail Babich. And the grandfather of Anton Alikhanov’s wife, Mogeli Khubutiais the president of the Sklifosovsky Research Institute and, according to rumors, being a cardiovascular surgeon, sometimes receives very influential patients.

Now the Kaliningrad region will be looked after by someone who previously worked as Denis Manturov’s deputy in the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Thus, the same management clan retained control over the region.

Dmitry Demeshin set his sights on the Far East

Dmitry Demeshin

When he flew to Moscow to take the reins at the Ministry of Sports , left his first deputy on the farm Alexandra Nikitina, locals believed that he would remain in the governor’s chair at least until the September elections. However, the capital decided otherwise, and Dmitry Demeshin was sent to Khabarovsk to act as governor. New acting governor made a career in the prosecutor's office and by 2019 had risen to the position of deputy prosecutor general, where he oversaw the fight against corruption and the military-industrial complex. The presidential administration has not yet disclosed the logic of his appointment to Khabarovsk: either Mikhail Degtyarev’s team will now be purged, or it is planned to take a closer look at the region’s strategic assets and their owners. The Prosecutor General's Office is already actively investigating the fishing industry in the Far East, but there is also shipbuilding, logging, mining, etc. Be that as it may, local asset owners are already tense. The fact is that on the Internet you can find a lot of publications about Demeshin’s past exploits, and not of a complimentary nature. They are talking about the takeover of enterprises and luxurious life.

Roman Starovoit: away from pigs and the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Roman Starovoit

Roman Starovoit began his official career in the team Valentina Matvienko, when she was the governor of St. Petersburg. However, he moved to Moscow even before the end of his boss’s governor’s term. Since 2010, Starovoit worked in the government apparatus, and then headed Avtodor, also managing to serve as Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) for several days. The logic of Roman Starovoit’s appointment as governor of the Kursk region in 2018 was clear: he himself is a Kurdish resident. But the results of the governorship of Roman Starovoit are difficult estimate definitely. The region's population decreased by 5.4%, the birth rate decreased by 22.8%, while crime increased (from 733 per 100 thousand people in 2018 to 1212 in 2023). The largest private investor was the Miratorg group, but the company did not find mutual understanding with Starovoit. By the time of his arrival, the construction of a pig-breeding cluster worth 160 billion rubles had just begun, but then the project was frozen, and some of the pig farms were moved to the neighboring Oryol region.

But Miratorg’s direct competitor in pork production is the company Agropromkomplektatsiya. Sergei Novikov – I felt quite comfortable with Roman Starovoyt. Last year, construction began on its new meat processing plant worth 4.3 billion rubles. Recently, the Kursk region bordering Ukraine can hardly be called a calm place. So moving from Kursk to Moscow to work as the Federal Minister of Transport for Roman Starovoyt is an undoubted leap upward.

Sergei Tsivilev: lobbyist for coal magnates

Sergey Tsivilev

Tsivilev leaves his post as head of the Kemerovo region and will now head the federal Ministry of Energy. About the fact that he has headed the department since 2020 Nikolay Shulginov – the first candidate for departure from the government, Our Version warned back in March.

But then no one spoke about Sergei Tsivilev as his potential replacement. Although he has both formal and informal connections with the energy sector. It is known that at least three groups of lobbyists are vying for influence in the ministry. Nikolay Shulginov represented the “electricians”. The Oilers are used to resolving issues with his deputy Pavel Sorokin or directly with the Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Until now, the “coal miners” have not had such a powerful lobbyist. This is despite the fact that coal mining in Russia (*aggressor country) is traditionally controlled by regulars on the Forbes list, including Andrey Melnichenko, Roman Abramovich etc. Now the interests of the coal industry can be represented at the ministerial level. After all, the family of Sergei Tsivilev (his brother and wife) controlled the Kolmar coal mining company for many years. It must be said that now information about the beneficiaries of the business is classified, but Valery Tsivilev still remains the general director.

In the State Council, Sergei Tsivilev chaired the energy commission. After his election as governor in 2018, his share in the Kolmar company passed to his wife Anna Tsivileva. This made her the richest governor's wife. In Kuzbass public pages there were rumors about Anna Tsivileva’s untold wealth – yachts and foreign real estate.

After the appointment of Sergei Tsivilev, the former first deputy head of the region received the status of acting governor Ilya Seredyuk. He was the governor's deputy Amana Tuleyeva and managed to work on various levels of regional government. Thus, continuity of power was preserved in Kuzbass.

Alexey Dyumin: left in tears

The head of the Tula region, Alexey Dyumin, also left the governor’s post (pictured above). Previously, Dyumin served as a security guard for the president and once saved him from a bear, which he later talked about in an interview. Dyumin has led the Tula region since 2016. And almost from the first day of his appointment, rumors began to spread: the young manager would allegedly soon be taken back to Moscow. There is a version that they were distributed by the PR people of the Tula governor. As a result, rumor predicted that Dyumin would be appointed either to the post of Minister of Defense, or as Chief of the General Staff, or even to the position of successor to the head of state! However, the rumors were not true – Dyumin did not lead the resource department; instead, he received the post of assistant to the president. Now he does not control financial flows and does not make personnel decisions. What exactly Alexey Dyumin will do in the presidential administration is not entirely clear, but the name of his new position sounds very respectable.

The results of Alexey Dyumin’s work in the region are as follows: the population of the Tula region decreased by 2.7%, the birth rate decreased by 1.6 times, crime increased from 874 per 100 thousand people in 2015 to 1085 in 2023. The former mayor of Tula remains in charge of the Tula region with the rank of acting Dmitry Milyaev. It is noteworthy that the AP did not give the post of governor to the head of the regional government, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev (Dyumin brought him with him from Moscow). The bet is made specifically on Tula resident Dmitry Milyaev.