On July 29, an extraordinary session of deputies was held in the Achinsk district, at which only one issue was considered – the early termination of the powers of the head of the municipality Petra Khokhlova.
Let us recall that for the third year now the power in the Achinsk region has been in limbo. The reason for this was the large-scale may fires 2022the consequences of which many heads of municipalities, including Pyotr Khokhlov, are still experiencing.
According to the investigative bodies, Khokhlov committed negligence in the performance of his official duties. A criminal case on negligence was opened based on the materials of the prosecutor's office's inspection of compliance with fire safety legislation.
In October 2023, at the request of investigators, Pyotr Khokhlov was removed from office. As of July 2024, the verdict in the case of the May 2022 fires against Pyotr Khokhlov has not yet been rendered. However, during this time, the removed head acquired another criminal prosecution – Khokhlov was accused of bribery. According to the investigation, between August 2020 and January 2021, Pyotr Khokhlov received a large bribe from a certain Nikolai Fomenko in the form of a property service.
In 2024, the Achinsk District Council of Deputies began to raise the issue of Khokhlov's resignation from the post of head of the district. However, according to the current legislation, when initiating issues of early resignation of the head of the municipality, the opinion of the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai is required. And then a surprise awaited the local deputies – Mikhail Kotyukov did not support the initiative of the district parliamentarians, prudently believing that it was first necessary to wait for the court’s decision.
But, apparently, the opinion of the head of the region did not cool the ardor of the local opposition, because on July 29, the deputies gathered for an extraordinary session to “remove” Pyotr Khokhlov into retirement.
According to the Zapad 24 news agency, the idea of the forced resignation of the head of the Achinsk district is being promoted behind the scenes by the chairman of the district council, Sergei Kuronen, “torpedoing it through some weak-willed and selfish elected representatives.”
The district is currently headed by an acting governor. Yaroslav Dolgirev and, although there are no serious problems under his management and emergency situations bypass the territory, no one considers Dolgirev a strong figure capable of getting rid of the prefix “acting” and becoming a full-fledged head of the region. That is why Sergei Kuronen wants at all costs to install a head of the territory under his control and to strengthen his influence in the region. To do this, Kuronen, first of all, needs to finally get rid of the temporarily suspended head Pyotr Khokhlov.
Be that as it may, the uprising against Pyotr Khokhlov failed. The consent of ⅔ of the parliamentarians was required to “remove” Khokhlov, but only 15 out of 21 people showed up. An almost unanimous result was needed – 14 votes for resignation. Despite the fact that the vote was secret and the ill-wishers of the head of the district could remain anonymous, the results were not in favor of the conspirators. After counting the ballots, it turned out that out of the 15 elected representatives present, only 11 were “for”, and four were “against”. Pyotr Yakovlevich Khokhlov remains the head of the district.