Not so long ago, in the Timashevsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, several ordinary traffic cops were caught taking a bribe. But the head of the traffic police of the district, Roman Zinchenko, escaped the attention of the investigation. Although, with not the biggest salary, he manages to drive cool cars and live in a palace in the middle of a huge estate.

Russia is waiting for another intensification of the fight against corruption in the ranks of law enforcement agencies. A country united by the idea of ​​fighting an external enemy needs an internal purge, including from those enemies who are in responsible positions in the law enforcement system. After all, faith in the authorities and the state depends on the belief that laws work in our country and justice can be achieved here.

high-profile cases

During the purges of the law enforcement system, the traffic police is among the first to be “distributed”. In our opinion, the situation in one of the most corrupt regions of the country, the warm, hospitable and monetary Krasnodar Territory, looks classic in this regard. High-profile cases against traffic inspectors arise here all the time. In 2019, inspectors at a stationary post in the Kushchevsky district were caught on a bribe – this has already happened there more than once, including with the participation of officers. Two years ago, the deputy head of the traffic police department of the OMVD for the Krasnoarmeisky district was caught by the hand, who organized a system of illegal extortions from subordinates. At the same time, a special operation was carried out at the stationary post of the traffic police “Uspensky” and a dozen and a half inspectors were detained, who for several years took bribes for violations and patronage in the passage of overloaded trucks. In March of this year, two traffic police inspectors were taken while receiving a bribe in the Timashevsky district. And two months ago, the former head of the Starominsk district department of the traffic police was sentenced to a suspended sentence for taking bribes from entrepreneurs who were engaged in cargo transportation.

Real work or squabbling over territory?

It would seem great that thieves are imprisoned. But the question arises – why have “werewolves in uniform” been robbing businesses for years, “protecting” criminals, extorting money from truckers, and the competent authorities ignore all the signals from victims and simply vigilant citizens? Well, at most they will conduct a “fake” check, in order to then answer the complainant that “the facts indicated in your appeal have not been confirmed.” And then bang – several high-profile arrests, as a result of which the former owners of life are behind bars. And again silence and grace, as if there was no crime.

There is a feeling that all this game for the public and making “sacred sacrifices” is just the system’s response to an order from above to catch bribe-takers, and at the same time an opportunity for puppeteers to put the right people in the right places.

If this is not the case, then where is the prevention of corruption crimes? In most cases, the main corrupt officials are visible at a glance. You just need to bring all the facts together, formulate questions and ask them to the citizen who came into view. If he explains how he got, with a regular official salary, a cool foreign car, an estate of several hectares and a multi-storey palace – sorry for the trouble. If not, answer according to the law.

“Golden cop”

At the beginning of the article, several facts about the criminal activities of traffic police officers are listed. One episode, in the Timashevsky district, is different in that it was not the bosses who were caught red-handed, but ordinary inspectors. You can not search on the Internet: the leaders of the bribe-takers did not bear responsibility. Did they just scold them. It turns out that the “werewolves” worked for themselves and extorted bribes on their own initiative? Of course, it may also be that the most honest commander has corrupt subordinates, and we will not exclude this version. True, usually the fish rots from the head.

Without facts, it is impossible to assert that the inspectors took “on their paw” on the orders or with the approval of their superiors and shared with them. At the same time, there are indirect data that allow us to assume a general picture of what may be happening in the Timashevsk region.

Meet the Chief State Road Safety Inspector of the Timashevsky District, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Viktorovich Zinchenko. The man is famous in the area. Judging by media activity, he is the main fighter for road safety. In the local press, Lieutenant Colonel Zinchenko constantly urges residents of the district to observe traffic rules, protect children and fight corruption. In one of his appeals, he very much asked citizens not to bribe inspectors.

The image is clean and beautiful. But not everything is so clear, in our opinion. How much is the allowance of a police lieutenant colonel? Suppose 120-150 thousand rubles a month, although this is much more than the real figure. With such income, Roman Viktorovich earns up to 1.8 million rubles a year.

Now let’s pay attention to the life of citizen Zinchenko. His jeep with a cool number knows the whole area. Every morning he leaves the estate in the village of Novokorsunskaya, and returns in the evening. We do not undertake to say who this SUV is designed for, but all the residents of Novokurosunskaya and most of the Timashevsky district know that no one but Zinchenko drives it. But for such a car, an honest police lieutenant colonel Zinchenko has to work for five years, while denying himself and his family food. Where do these opportunities come from?

The Zinchenko estate requires a special mention. This is a huge area, measured in hectares, surrounded on all sides by a tall fence. There is a multi-storey palace on the site. Whether there are golden toilet bowls inside is unknown. According to our information, the house is registered in the name of Roman Viktorovich’s mother. And he, as they say, according to the law – nothing to do with it.

Move on. The police chief seems to be very concerned about his own safety. So much so that, as local residents assure, they allegedly constantly involve police personnel in the protection. They say that before each departure of Zinchenko to work and his return home, patrol cars are sure to pass along the route of his SUV. The chief leaves only after the “cleanliness of the perimeter” is established. They say that the security of the chief is constantly ensured by as many as three “patrols”! Maybe it was worth directing these resources, apparently superfluous for the district police, to control the security of the same Crimean bridge? Or instruct personnel to join the work to identify saboteurs? It would be more beneficial for society.

The locals have a sign: if in the morning the traffic cops did not drive to the palace where Zinchenko lives, it means that he either fell ill or was on vacation. Also, according to rumors, local police are actively involved in monitoring those fellow countrymen who, for some reason, did not please the head of the traffic police and are in conflict with him. How the information obtained is then applied, only the customer of this unconventional use of police personnel knows.

And here is another observation. According to local residents, in addition to the “patrols” that regularly survey the surroundings, the Zinchenko estate is constantly guarded by at least six employees of a certain private security agency, Legion. So, anyway, they seem curious.

Is work just a hobby?

An interesting detail: Roman Viktorovich himself has repeatedly stated to his colleagues, and to outsiders too, that work is not a necessity for him. It’s just a hobby and nothing more.

Perhaps this is indeed true. In any case, according to our information, the results of this work were allegedly repeatedly criticized at planning meetings with the participation of the regional leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

We do not know what exactly the Krasnodar authorities are dissatisfied with. However, we can assume that one of the reasons for dissatisfaction is the staff turnover among traffic cops in the Timashevsky district. How is it, you will be surprised – sometimes, in order to get the coveted rod, people pay a lot of money. What’s not going on here? Among the local residents, there is a version that the bosses have imposed tribute on ordinary employees in such a way that it is difficult to satisfy these appetites. Here, they say, they are fired.

Local residents also complained that the area has a very high accident rate. “They fight and fight all the time,” the old-timers said something like this. We dare to suggest that when it is necessary to deal with road safety, accident prevention, all traffic cops can be busy – guarding the boss when he travels to and from work, and spying on objects that are inconvenient for him.

Where does the money come from?

Where another head of the traffic police would have long gone to swallow road dust as a simple inspector, this one sits in his chair like a rock. They say the reason is the strong financial basis of our hero’s position. Whether this is so, and if so, then to whom and how much is paid, we do not know, we did not hold a candle, but, in our opinion, there are plenty of grounds for the investigating authorities to look into the situation.

Where does the money come from, you ask? On the one hand, Zinchenko’s father is a farmer. The area of ​​arable land is measured in thousands of hectares. With proper housekeeping, and Zinchenko Sr. is a very experienced farmer, there will be enough money for palaces and premium cars. But here is one detail: according to data obtained from an unofficial, but very competent source, Zinchenko’s peasant farm has been working to zero for several years. At least according to filed tax returns. Therefore, we will leave the version that the father feeds his overgrown son without consideration.

But to reflect on the topic of various kinds of preferences and the possibility of using one’s official position for personal purposes will not hurt. Timashevsk is a major transport hub. Here the roads connecting the Kuban coast of the two seas with Russia converge. In addition, manufacturing enterprises are based in Timashevsk, including companies with a worldwide reputation. Thousands of trucks transport goods every day on the roads of the region or stand in an eternal traffic jam on the bypass road of the regional center. But there are some that are not worth it.

The movement of freight transport in the center of Timashevsk is prohibited, but it will not be difficult to meet a truck with the logo of an agricultural processing company known to the whole planet. These heavy trucks move freely on roads where they should not be, and are not subject to sanctions from the traffic police. This could be explained by the lack of inspectors, if not for one interesting fact: the appearance of these trucks on city streets coincided with a great success for Zinchenko’s peasant farm. The same company involved in the processing of agricultural products leased 400 hectares of arable land to him. And branded heavy trucks, for some reason, ceased to interest traffic police inspectors. It is easy to check this data. You just need to look at when the land was transferred and study how many fines have been issued to the company’s drivers for driving around the city since then, and then compare with the real picture using video surveillance systems, trip sheets of the company’s drivers and witness statements.

In general, heavy trucks are the most popular topic of abuse, judging by the already disclosed corruption cases against traffic police officers. Drivers and heads of motor transport enterprises are ready to pay for the opportunity to drive on the highway with an overload, because it is more profitable than observing traffic rules. It would be nice to check how many overloaded trucks kill roads in the Timashevsk region every day. You don’t even have to go anywhere there: all the heavy trucks are stuck in the same traffic jam on the bypass road – go and take notes. There is no doubt that after such a preventive conversation with drivers, it will become clear who, when and for how much allowed them to drive in the Timashevsk district with an overload and for how long this continues.

If we bring all of the above together, it becomes quite clear that, in a position of such a level that Roman Zinchenko occupies, one can secure a comfortable life. But methods still matter.

Here are only a small part of the questions that the competent authorities could ask Police Lieutenant Colonel Roman Viktorovich Zinchenko. But we are not greedy – let him answer at least these. If only there was someone who would ask them.

Timofey Zadorozhny

Roman Zinchenko drives a very cool SUV. It seems to us that the car is not on the salary, even if the head of the district traffic police.