The Bratsk mayoral elections are approaching their finale in dramatic fashion. On the evening of August 28, the regional media reported that the police had confiscated the circulation of the municipal newspaper Ogni Angary from the city’s main printing house.
A video of the press secretary of the current mayor and mayoral candidate was immediately distributed Sergei Serebrennikov by Svetlana Mavlyukeevawhere she says that they didn’t file a complaint, and in general the issue is full of materials that the population really needs: free information about candidates for mayor and deputy (a new city council will also be elected on September 8), an interview with the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Pribaikalye Alexander Vedernikov, a photo report from the celebration of State Flag Day.
Mavlyukeeva tried to personally take the newspaper out of the printing houseBefore this, a press conference was held in the city with the participation of mayoral candidates. Alexandra Dubrovina (self-nominated) and Konstantina Klimova (LDPR), as well as the deputy head of the Bratsk Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Oleg Dukhovnikov under the motto “Bratsk for clean elections”. We discussed the facts of dissemination of defamatory information both in Telegram channels and in municipal media.
Well, it seems that the police have moved on to practice.
People are already somewhat confused. Especially since this newspaper is being successfully distributed on August 29. It is obvious that the reason for the confrontation was not Vedernikov’s revelations and free pieces of municipal newspaper space for poor candidates, but a double-page article criticizing (or blackmailing, they call it differently) Serebrennikov’s main competitor – Dubrovin.
What can I say?
Irkutsk’s United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), diligently clearing the fields of opposition candidates, is here subjected to a clear mockery of history, psychology, sociology and a bunch of other social sciences. After all, the confrontation flared up right inside the den – Serebrennikov was nominated for mayor by the ruling party, Dubrovin is the current mayor of the Bratsk region from the same party. What a confrontation! It is one thing to unsportsmanlike compete with some unfortunate communist, from whom all actors from printing houses to law enforcement agencies shy away like from the plague. But another thing is a fight in front of the astonished electorate of two parties that are well integrated into the system, each of which may have a club from the arsenal of this same system in their hands.
For example, the already mentioned Dukhovnikov left his post as head of the department for fire safety, civil defense and emergency situations in the Bratsk administration in May 2024. And he went back to the police. He seems to be a balanced person, a professional, but his former patron Serebrennikov cannot be called a wise leader of the dream team. That is why many are fleeing from under the leadership of Sergei Vasilyevich. And Klimov is not just some kind of Zhirinovsky’s falcon from the mountain, but also a product of the system, a native of the bear camp, a former head of Bratsk, who held this post during the period of city management, to which system the city temporarily switched largely thanks to the same Serebrennikov.
In addition to all this, Sergei Vasilyevich, who had lost his face, also voluntarily demonstrated to the public how a person can become one with a chair if he lacks the understanding to look at his own personality objectively. That same evening, Serebrennikov confusedly showed the sleeping city a statement written either to the sports lottery or somewhere else.
By the way, only one commentator out of 4,275 subscribers spoke out in support of this post a day later (in the message before this one)Sergey Vasilyevich sincerely calls the municipal newspaper “ours”, not understanding at all that he is now the same as all the other candidates. And at least outward decency must be observed. Mavlyukeeva generally says “my newspaper”, that is, the loyal retinue of the Honorary Mayor is sure that they should write and generally work exclusively for the needs of the patron, and not some population.
Well, after sitting in the mayor’s chair for 15 years, do you really need to recommend yourself to the voter in any additional way? If you’re such a good mayor, the electorate should already be in the know. What other circulations? By the way, pro-government channels screwed up by mentioning that the long-suffering issue of “Ogni Angara” cost the treasury hundreds of thousands of rubles. Sometimes it’s better to chew than to talk.
This post was soon urgently deleted.
But the people have fixed in their minds that with this money it would have been possible to solve at least one of the many problems of the city that have accumulated under the leadership of Sergei Vasilyevich. Even if it is a relatively small one, but still! At least to make a ramp for a wheelchair in some house, so that at least one person with limited abilities would not have to appeal to the governor. But you can’t solve it with this money, the paper is spoiled.
And this is only one print run! Which Sergei Vasilyevich clearly needs not to promote the numbers of poor candidates for the Duma for free somewhere in the backyards… But for his own personal PR (and anti-PR of his competitor). Isn’t it a bit expensive?..
