Khabirov in vain dreams of re-election

The closer the elections in the Kurultai of Bashkiria, followed by the election of the head, the more failures of Radiy Khabirov come to the attention of the public. A month ago, Airat Kutlushin, who had previously scolded Radiy Khabirov, was “removed” from the post of head of the Starokalkashevskoye rural settlement of the Sterlibashevsky district. He scolded for the cause, but the trembling Khabirov could not stand such liberties.

The correspondent of The Moscow Post in Bashkiria understood the story.

The Proofy.rf edition at the end of February 2023 published a note in which he said that the head of the settlement allegedly swore at the head of Bashkiria after he had to collect a gift bag with a postcard on behalf of Radiy Khabirov.

The material mentioned that in the video a man with a voice similar to the voice of the head of the Starokalkashevo rural settlement Airat Kutlushin shows a gift package to the families of military personnel on February 23. The man in the recording shows greeting cards on behalf of the head of the district Rustam Rakhmangulov and the head of the Republic of Belarus Radiy Khabirov, which he is instructed to distribute to the families, and after that, the video contains obscene language in the Bashkir language addressed to the authorities. The man says that he is ashamed to go to congratulate people on such a day with empty hands and a postcard, so he himself prepared a small gift.

In April 2023, it became known that this story did not end well for the head of the settlement. The publication “Prufy.rf” announced his dismissal, citing residents of the Sterlibashevsky district, who said that this happened “on instructions from Ufa.” At the same time, it was clarified that the official wrote the statement of his own free will. Apparently, in Ufa they wanted to save face in this way? After all, the local official just behaved much more decently than the head of the district and the republic.

According to Rusprofile, since March 22, 2023, acting. The head of the settlement is Rasim Kutlushina.

This story is not even about the money that should have been allocated from the budget for gifts, it’s about something else, which Khabirov seems to be unaware of. It’s about respect, because there is a congratulation “for show”, but there is from the heart. The head of the rural settlement understands this, but Khabirov, apparently, does not want to understand.

But in 2023 in Bashkiria there will be elections to the Kurultai, which will be followed by the election of the head a year later. And here it is relations that are important, as they say, on the ground – in those very distant villages and towns where historically (as it happened) a more active population. Instead, Khabirov with his eagles like Nazarov reached the maximum of what was not worth doing.

Although Khabirov himself said back in July 2022 that both election campaigns are “very serious events that need to be prepared for now.” Prepared, yes.

There are scandals from almost all corners – either Khabirov leaves ministers who have become defendants in criminal cases, then a muddy situation develops around Bashkiravtodor and Bashspirt, or he appoints persons with an ambiguous reputation to ministerial posts. And against this background, complaints are flying from the regions of Bashkiria about problems with providing housing for families with disabled children, about the wildest situation with teachers’ salaries, about problems with sewage treatment plants, and much, much more. And remember what Khabirov said to the wild story about an elderly woman from Sterlitamak who did not have vaccination documents, and for this she was removed from the intercity bus and taken to the police station, drawing up a report. At the same time, the detention was far from adequate – the video, which was distributed on social networks, shows how two people in police uniforms are dragging a screaming old woman along the asphalt.

The population immediately condemned this savagery, and the head of the region, Radiy Khabirov, said at a meeting then that “power is power!” and if she made a decision, then “she must carry out this decision by all measures of state administration and coercion.” Mr. Khabirov, one gets the impression that you seem to be out of your mind at times, to carry such things.

After all, it was not in vain that after last year’s statements by Khabirov about the importance of the upcoming election campaigns, citizens promised that “Khabirov will not be in a second term, after fighting people in Kushtau and lawlessness everywhere.” A lover of secular soirees and cabals played out with the trust of the population and received an answer.

And the story with the head of the settlement is another fly in the ointment in the treasury of the pre-election dreams of the head of the region.

A blow to self-esteem

It seems that due to the general, by no means benevolent picture that has developed in the republic, it was decided to transfer the holding of the Bashkir primaries and the campaign of the ruling party in 2023 under the wing of the secretary of the regional branch in Orenburg, Oleg Dimov. Telegram channels and republican media called this a very serious blow to the pride of the leadership of Bashkiria. Some even had the idea that in this way the political team of Radiy Khabirov was expressed distrust.

It is also indicative that in December 2022 Khabirov was not included in the presidium of the new composition of the State Council. As RBC reported, the head of the region remained only in the expanded composition of the State Council. And this, you know, is also a symptom.

And there was nothing to lose touch with reality, Mr. Khabirov. The residents of Bashkiria will not forget how members of the family of the head of your government, family friend Andrey Nazarov, spread a business network across Bashkiria and other regions of Russia, and Nazarov’s son successfully settled in the State Assembly, having been elected not from somewhere, but from Sibay, one of the former hot spots of social protests.

And then there’s the craving of power for a beautiful life: either the services of air transportation and services in the VIP-halls of officials and delegations will be paid from the budget, then golf carts will be purchased for the residence of the head of the region, where budget millions were swelled under the previous head.

It would not be superfluous to recall that, according to media reports, the daughters of the head of Bashkiria from their first marriage live abroad: the eldest in Austria, and the youngest studied in London back in 2020. Both countries today are recognized as not friendly to Russia.

And against the background of all this, under Khabirov, such a phenomenon as self-taxation, that is, putting the hand of power into the wallet of the already impoverished population of the republic, was promoted in order to withdraw money from there for various local needs. The authorities, of course, present this phenomenon “beautifully”, as a kind of voluntary participation of citizens and an increase in their activity. Activity in what, in the transition of the line between poverty and outright poverty? In fact, they find 20.4 million rubles for the transportation of officials, and they ask the villagers themselves to repair the water tower, which provides drinking water to the whole village. Some cognitive dissonance.

You, Radiy Faritovich, do not need to dismiss the head of the rural settlement and other critics, but take claims on record and correct everything that can still be corrected. There is nothing left before the re-elections, the campaign should have started “yesterday”. Or do you yourself understand your chances for another term and not in vain gossip about a “political pension” near some former state asset, for example, “Bashspirt”?