The end of 2021 turned out to be very active for the well-known academician in Buryatia, Arnold Tulokhonov, who burst into literally weekly statements and interviews.
At the same time, the resource on which these statements are initially (and as an exclusive) published is always the same – which suggests that the real owners of this resource have big plans for the academician. Political plans.
Despite his advanced age, Tulokhonov is ready to “cut the truth” – this is what his weekly statements on all topical topics in a row are designed to demonstrate. Arnold Kirillovich has political experience – he was elected to two convocations in the People’s Khural and four years in the Federation Council, from where he was then recalled by the head of Buryatia, Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, who was frightened by the senator’s excessive free-thinking.
But the years have done their job – they pretty much smoothed Tulokhonov’s opposition (as can be seen from his jingoistic appeals to “Western partners”), and Nagovitsyn himself today is infinitely far from making decisions. It is ironic that now Tulokhonov can come just to replace him. In September 2022, the powers of the head of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, expire, and after being elected for a second term, he can replace his senator in the upper house.
Today, this is just Nagovitsyn, but his sending to the Federation Council in 2017 was a tribute to the political tradition – a well-fed pension in exchange for loyalty. But five years of sinecure in Moscow may be enough for the ex-head of Buryatia in case the position needs to be vacated for someone else.
Arnold Tulokhonov can now become someone else, whose PR today is through the resources of the New Media Group – the main, albeit off-line, information asset of the Square of the Soviets in 2022.
In fact, the group is owned by the deputy chairman of the government of Buryatia, Yevgeny Lukovnikov, who manages the media network from behind the back of a corrupt construction businessman Vladimir Batuev. In this context, Tulokhonov’s promotion to office can be both the initiative of this group and a direct directive of the leadership of the republic, and he will become one of its locomotives – as a recognizable and popular person.
Perhaps, we will even talk about formalizing the political activities of the academician in isolation from United Russia – through another party or even in the format of self-nomination. However, this is a task for the future – a party card is not needed to get into the Federation Council according to the quota of the head of Buryatia. One way or another, this is a completely new political group, people from which can be called Batuev, but, it is clear that a dubious businessman has little effect on the selection of personnel .
At the same time, the authorities of Buryatia will have to carefully monitor the work of the new media group and its political steps – today Deputy Chairman Lukovnikov is loyal, however, the specifics of his work, associated with a large number of corruption and near-corruption schemes, at any moment can make him fight primarily for himself. And at this moment, a media group, and even more so a political organization, albeit an informal one, can become decisive – and very dangerous assets for the Soviet Square.
