The original of this material
© “7×7”07/21/2023, Photo: mnshvetcov, mosi.ru, marpravda.ruIllustrations: via “7×7”
In 2015, the last elections were held in Mari El for Leonid Markelova, head of the republic, who held this post for 16 years. During this time, he acquired many associates, among whom was the deputy of the “United Russia” and the rector of the flagship university of the Republic of MarSU Mikhail Shvetsov. In the election year, Mikhail was seen in the center of Yoshkar-Ola at a rally of Markelov’s supporters. There he made a call to vote for the permanent head of the republic in order to prevent the “orange revolution”, which was allegedly prepared by the opposition parties. One of the banners of the protesters read: “Together with Markelov we move on.”
A few years later, Markelov was arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe in the amount of several hundred million rubles. Despite this, Shvetsov was re-elected for a five-year rector’s term and even managed to become an ally as the acting head of the republic. Alexandra Evstifeeva, and the new head Yuri Zaitsev. The University Transparency Lab and 7×7 tell how Mikhail Shvetsov and his family use the flagship university to their advantage.
Leontyeva also manages a business specializing in renting out premises, the Araneus company, the Association of Universities of the RME and Nitsa, which is engaged in advertising and consulting in the field of computer technology. All these companies were founded by Mikhail and his father Nikolai or companies related to them.
Igor Zagainov began to work at the university, taking the post of rector of the MOSI instead of Shvetsov. The Mari project of anonymous journalists “Public Committee for Combating Corruption of the RME”, which has been investigating corruption in the region for years, arguedthat Zagainov, as a former employee of the Russian Accreditation Agency, could help MOSI obtain state accreditation.
MOSI lost accreditation in 2018. After that, rector Igor Zagainov issued an appeal, in which he stated that the situation had been settled. This is so – on the website of the university you can find certificate on state registration, which has been extended until March 2026. Some teachers of MarSU are undergoing professional retraining at MOSI.
While the post of Minister of Education of the Republic was held by Galina Shvetsova, in 2013-2014 MOSI won two public procurements of the Ministry of Education for a total of 21.3 million rubles. The description of one of them says “provision of services for the formation of a database”and in the other “Improving the qualifications of teachers in teaching the Russian language”.
A few years ago, the Mari association “Public Committee for the Fight against Corruption” became interested in the situation related to the construction of a new dormitory at MarSU. Investigators believed that the winner of the tender in the amount of 252 million rubles. the Leman company is associated with Galina Shvetsova. It was not possible to prove this, but it is known that the purchase for construction work was carried out through a single supplier.
Leman was established in 2010 with an authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles. Construction is not the main activity of the company. The statutory documents list various areas: from the sale of alcohol, perfumery and tobacco to the rental of cars and non-residential premises. According to the SPARK system, the company almost did not participate in other government tenders. Mostly Leman projects connected with construction works for MarSU. Except for one thing – the repair of cells in the Detention Facility 1 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Mari El. As in the case of the procurement for the construction of a hostel, the procedure was carried out through the procedure of a single supplier.
What is a conflict of interest
Lawyer Grigory Mashanov explained that a conflict of interest creates a contradiction between personal and official:
“It can manifest itself in a variety of forms both in the teacher and in administrative staff, to which, in fact, the rector also belongs. A conflict of interest encourages making decisions not on the basis of professionalism, quality, price, and the like, but on acquaintance. Although people, of course, may think that they are doing it the way it is more reliable, especially when it comes to public procurement.
If we take into account the situation with the retraining of MarSU teachers at the private university MOSI, which, in fact, is part of the Shvetsov family, then there are signs of a conflict of interest, since the rector is either a member of the public procurement commission or appoints its members – it depends on the university . The rector can benefit from this. However, in order to understand whether the rector is abusing his powers, it is necessary to find out how the choice of a university for teachers to receive additional professional education was justified.
A conflict of interest is not a crime in itself. I have not heard that it was a crime somewhere, because people can find themselves in this situation for various motives and reasons. But if a person consciously orders people to be sent for retraining to his private university simply because it is his university, then this is quite an abuse of power with a mercenary motive, and this is already a criminal offence.”
Shvetsov as an employer
Employees speak differently about the rector’s work of Mikhail Shvetsov. Former teacher of MarSU Sergey Malanov, who was fired in 2016, said that most of the teachers left due to layoffs or because of resentment:
“Someone got fewer hours, someone had their salary cut, someone found a more comfortable place to work, and of those actively fired, probably only me. Reasons for leaving [сейчас] all the same: the humiliating position of the teacher, the Academic Council consists of I don’t understand who. I don’t know how to characterize it. The number of free professors was reduced, there were very few of them left, they were all intimidated.
In March 2019, Malanov released open letterasking to remove Shvetsov from the new elections of the rector, since he allegedly became the rector under the patronage of the former head of the republic Leonid Igorevich Markelov and the former Minister of Education and Science Galina Nikolaevna Shvetsova.
There is also an alternative opinion. A teacher from MarSU, who wished to remain anonymous, believes that under Mikhail Shvetsov, the university “moved up one line in the ranking”, that is, it got into the Priority 2030 rating, in which are included the main universities of almost every region of Russia. She agrees with Shvetsov’s desire to constantly develop and change old principles, but she does not like the fact that teachers with experience began to leave the university.
Another anonymous teacher shared that when Russian universities began to reduce teaching time and had to fire teachers, Shvetsov could dismiss those who did not suit him. Under Shvetsov, the teacher claims, contacts with leading scientific institutions in the region appeared. However, MarSU has little to offer them:
— The situation at the university was tense for a long time. This is due to the unstable position, dependence on the opinion of the authorities. The salary is determined first by the position, and then by incentive payments. The situation at the university with young teachers is getting worse every year, because novice teachers have a ridiculous salary. The teachers are leaving. Mainly because of salaries, instability, teaching load.