The Rise and Fall of Former Vologda Mayor Evgeny Shulepov

A bankrupt Soviet enterprise, state property inherited by the family, millions in income, corruption scandals, beaten oppositionists, and taxpayers are offered to eat nettles. “Chronicles.Media” tells about the former mayor of Vologda Evgeniya Shulepovaarrested on charges of bribery.

In the fall of 2024, the Vologda Region will elect a governor. For the first time in 13 years, local residents will see a new face in this post, as the former governor Oleg Kuvshinnikov resigned. The first publication of the Chronicles about the authorities of the 35th region was story about the head of the regional parliament, a millionaire Andrey LutsenkoThis text is about the deputy of the regional legislative assembly, former mayor of Vologda and former State Duma deputy Evgeny Shulepov.

Having bankrupted two enterprises – to mayor

Was born Evgeny Shulepov in 1958 in the Vologda village of Kroplevo. Studied to be an engineer at the Vologda Polytechnic Institute. Served in the army. His first profession was assistant foreman at the production association of the Vologda Optical and Mechanical Plant. In 1993, Shulepov went into business and created the industrial group Ruspromservis. Its main asset was a network of gas stations. In 2003, the court admittedthat the group, having reached an agreement with Lukoil, inflated prices.

In 2003, Shulepov became a deputy of the regional legislative assembly of the Vologda region from United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism), and in 2005, he became the chairman of the board of directors of the Vologda Machine-Tool Plant, which had existed since 1934. The enterprise went bankrupt. His property, wrote “Novaya Gazeta”, for pennies was transferred to a new legal entity – OOO “Vologda Machine Tool Plant”, where Shulepov also headed the board of directors. The remains of the Soviet enterprise were sold at market prices, after which this OOO also went bankrupt. Later, former deputy of the regional parliament Yevgeny Domozhirov tried to unravel the details of this deal. As a result, policy three times attacked unknown. The police were unable to investigate these cases.

Shulepov ran for the post of head of Vologda in 2008. More popular candidates were removed from the elections at that time, wrote “Novaya Gazeta”, and the deputy became mayor. That election campaign was called almost the dirtiest in the history of the 35th region, and the winner was a little-known businessman.

Shulepov, according to the law, could no longer engage in business, so he transferred it to relatives.

A big and friendly family

“Evgeny Borisovich has a large and friendly family,” it is said on Shulepov's official website. And all entrepreneurs, we will add.

The business took off as soon as the head of the family became the mayor of Vologda. In 2008-2016, when Shulepov was in charge of the city, local authorities sold off hundreds of real estate properties. A considerable part of them ended up in the ownership of the mayor's family. Here are just a few examples that Chronicles.Media managed to find.

So, wife Shulepova Irina headed the remains of the company “Ruspromservis” created by her husband. Later, together with her daughters, she managed a number of other companies. Today, Shulepova manages real estate enterprises: OOO “Severinvest” and OOO “Vologda Instrumental Plant”.

These organizations own, for example, the buildings and structures left over from the bankrupt Vologda Machine Tool Plant. They are located in Vologda on leased state land with the right of redemption on Zalineynaya Street.

Extract from Rosreestr

Severinvest also owns a building at 1 Pushkinskaya St., Vologda. Many companies associated with the Shulepov family are located there.

Extract from Rosreestr

The Vologda Instrument Plant also owns non-residential premises at 26b Zalineynaya Street – before privatization, the municipal institution of additional education, the Center for Creativity, was located here.

Extract from Rosreestr

A number of companies were also inherited by Shulepov's children. Thus, since 2020, the sole owner of the Severlestrast company is Ulyana ShulepovaThe organization owns real estate on the same Zalineynaya Street in Vologda.

Extract from Rosreestr

Also, several years ago, the company acquired a plot of land on the Svoboda embankment in the city of Sokol in the Vologda region. In 2023, this land was sold to a local furniture factory.

Evgeny Shulepov Jr. in 2017 became the main owner of the company “Lotus”. Since 2015, it has owned non-residential premises at the address Vologda, Pushkinskaya St., 18. Before privatization, the city Center for Assistance to the Development of Entrepreneurship and Tourism was located there.

Extract from Rosreestr

Shulepov Jr. was also the sole owner of the Prestige company from 2018 to 2022. It owned a 340 sq. m. property in the Izumrud shopping center on Mira Street, 42, which was privatized in 2012. This property was sold as soon as Shulepov Jr. became the owner of Prestige.

In addition, Shulepov Jr. has owned the company TekhStroy since 2017. After privatization in 2012, it owned a former bathhouse and the land underneath it on Kanifolnaya Street in Vologda. In 2018, this property was resold.

A modest Vologda worker

Shulepov,turned out to be the richest deputy of the region. In 2021, he earned more than 52 million rubles. For understanding, the median per capita annual income of a resident of the Vologda Oblast in 2022 was 352,200 rubles*.

It is characteristic that Shulepov did not receive a salary in the Vologda parliament in 2021 and did not head any business. It is only known that he earned money for less than nine months in the State Duma that year, and he was also transferred a pension. But this amount is not even close to 52 million rubles.

As befits such a person, he has policy and various vehicles. In 2021, he and his wife had, for example: a Canadian Sea-Doo Challenger 180 boat, a Lexus LX570, a Buran SB-640MDVE 11-70 snowmobile, and a BMW X4.

Of course, the Shulepovs have dachas. About some of them told “Fund for the Fight against corruption» almost ten years ago. The dacha in the village of Kalinino in the Verkhovazhsky district of the region from that investigations has not belonged to Shulepov for a long time, but the dacha in Chernyshovo in the Ust-Kubinsky district has grown with buildings. On the bank of the Kubena River, the Shulepovs have five plots of land. On them there are six buildings, including a two-story residential building with an area of ​​232 square meters. For the convenience of the deputy, the dacha located directly opposite the residence of the governor of the Vologda region, which is located across the river.

The Shulepovs' dacha on the banks of the Kubena River

In the city, Shulepov and his wife live in a three-apartment building on Predtechenskaya Street in the central part of Vologda. The apartment, with an area of ​​almost 500 square meters, is currently owned by the deputy's wife. She received the property under a marriage contract in 2017. To put this into perspective, on average, there are 33.1 square meters of living space per resident of the 35th region*.

Three-apartment house of the Shulepovs in Vologda

The Shulepovs also have curious neighbors. For example, the family of the former chairman of the board of the Vologzhanin bank lives in the neighboring apartment. Valeria VorontsovaHe died in 2013. The Vologda administration, which was headed by Shulepov, published then condolences to the widow – NAtalya VorontsovaShe was introduced as a former employee of the city's urban development department.

In 2014, Shulepov awarded neighbor with the badge “For valiant work for the benefit of Vologda” as a veteran of local government bodies.

After the death of her husband, Vorontsov spent many years entered to the board of directors of the Vologzhanin bank. Her biographical information as a member of the board of directors stated saidthat Vorontsova worked in the city administration as a specialist in the Administration Affairs Department. Her responsibilities included “participation in assisting precinct election commissions in preparing polling station centers for election campaigns.” Vorontsova worked in this position for three months in 2014, but managed to become a “veteran” of local government.

Hotel, Riot and Basketball

The Shulepovs' eldest daughter is 43 years old. Svetlana. At various times, she was active in family companies. In recent years, she has not officially participated in any Russian business, but on her VKontakte page advertised your own eco-hotel “Wings”located in Abkhazia. Other family members, including Svetlana's younger sister, also took part in the advertising campaign. ElenaAt the recent trial on the selection of a preventive measure for Shulepov saidthat a few days before this he buried Svetlana, after which her son remained dependent on him.

Eco-hotel of Shulepovs in Abkhazia

Another daughter of the deputy, the already mentioned Elena, is 36 years old. Apparently, Elena's ex-husband (they lived with him on Vorkutinskaya Street) Andrey Nikolaev once upon a time was in charge municipal enterprise Vologda city market. It was sold during Shulepov's rule. And today Nikolaev is listed sole shareholder of OJSC “Wholesale Base “North-West”. The company owns the land under the market. This is the former City Clothing Market. It was also sold under Shulepov.

In 2019, all of Vologda started talking about Elena. Residents were protesting against the authorities' plan to concrete the green embankments of the Vologda River. Elena unexpectedly joined this fight.

“Personally, I, Elena Evgenievna Nikolaeva, challenge [губернатору области] To Kuvshinnikov Oleg Alexandrovich, [мэру] Voropanov Sergey Aleksandrovich and, forgive me, dad, Shulepov Evgeny Borisovich.” She wrote that “in general, out of politicians“, while “this fucking policy “It didn't affect me personally.” “I didn't choose such concrete crap! And I didn't choose the mayor and the governor either… These millions of rubles, which settled as bribes in the pockets of officials of various levels, rolled up in concrete, were actually taken from our pockets. From our taxes. And it was we who paid for the construction of a concrete canal on the site of the Vologda River!” wrote she, calling for people to come out to the rally. A few hours later, she deleted post with the words: “Fighting is a dead end. Let's look for solutions so that everyone wins. Yes, I'm talking about the embankment again. I showed great disrespect with my statements and I admit it. I realize and accept the consequences.”

After this, Elena kept a low profile and concentrated on working at her sister’s Abkhazian hotel.

The Shulepovs' middle daughter Ulyana has connected her life with sports. She is 40 years old. Back in the early 2000s, she played for the Vologda-Chevakata basketball team. Evgeny Shulepov headed it when he was a regional deputy in 2002-2008. When he became mayor of Vologda, Ulyana was honored in 2014 participate in the city relay of the Olympic torch.

Today Ulyana works a basketball coach at the municipal sports school of the Olympic reserve. Since 2020, Shulepova has owned the company “Severlestrast”. Although, according to the counterparty verification service “Kontur.Fokus” for 2023, only one person works there, the company's net profit amounted to 4.2 million rubles.

Furry and Fishing

The youngest of Shulepov's children is 30-year-old Evgeny. As already mentioned, he owns the companies “Lotus” and “TekhStroy”. They own real estate privatized during the time when Shulepov Sr. was in charge of Vologda.

Evgeny also has his own business. For example, the company “Vel-Vel Studio”. Its main activity is the development of computer software. The younger Shulepov is one of four equal founders (each with 25%). The company publicly operated under the brand Well-Well Studio and developed computer games. For example, Furry Roads for smartphones in the style of the furry subculture. The game is no longer available in either the AppStore or Google Play, and the shares of all four co-founders of the company are pledged to Shulepov Sr.

Furry Roads game page from Shulepov Jr.

Shulepov Jr.'s Twitch Page

However, in June 2024, an angry message appeared on Shulepov Sr.’s VKontakte page. message that the acting governor of the Vologda region, Georgy Filimonov, is either mocking the deputy, or the acting governor’s subordinates have set him up.

Screenshot from Shulepov Sr.'s VKontakte page

The issue was about a photograph of Shulepov's son in Vologda during the celebration of Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) Day. The photo appeared in the Telegram channel Reverse side of the medal, and then the image reposted to Filimonov's channel. Reverse side of the medal, according to the Telegram channel “Siren”is run by a former security official.

In that photo, Shulepov Jr. is leaning on a cane and showing the shaka surfer gesture, which for some reason Russian mercenaries have adopted. On the young man's chest are three medals, one of them is the Black (trench) cross of the Wagner PMC. It is based on the Nazi Iron Cross. This PMC award can easily be purchased online.

Shulepov Jr. with awards from PMC Wagner

Censorship

Shulepov's tenure as head of Vologda began and continued with scandals. The first was an accusation of unfair elections, then the new mayor began censoring state media, wrote “Novaya Gazeta”. The publication “Nasha Vologda” also appeared, which was called the mouthpiece of the administration, and print shops of independent newspapers sometimes confiscated copies of critical publications about the mayor.
In 2016, Shulepov was elected to the State Duma. In the spring of that year, an unknown person twice shot towards the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Minuta Istiny” Oleg Kunitsyn. The editors linked the attack to the fact that they had repeatedly criticized Shulepov's work.

Utility fraud

In 2011, the team of the then regional parliament deputy Evgeny Domozhirov published a whole series of investigations about the “City Settlement Center”. The founder and owner of this company was the assistant of one of the deputies of the Vologda City Duma from “United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism)”. The second co-founder was a certain Yuri Trunichev. As Domozhirov wrote, Trunichev was the brother-in-law of Shulepov's deputy and head of the Department of Municipal Economy Alexei Osokin.

Corruption in the housing and utilities sector of Vologda. Source: Evgeny Domozhirov

Local Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service admitted violation of the actions of the City Settlement Center and the Department of Urban Economy. The defendants, having earned more than 19 million rubles, got off fines of 50 thousand rubles for illegal entrepreneurship. This became possible due to “full admission of guilt and repentance for the act, the commission of a crime due to a coincidence.”

Family GLONASS

In 2011, the city administration published Resolution “On the creation of a single information center on the territory of the municipality” for monitoring transport using GLONASS. Only one company applied for the competition – OOO “Central Dispatch Service”, created a month and a half before. The contract was signed with it.

Local activists and journalists quickly found out that the company was connected to Shulepov's daughter Elena. As a result, the services of this organization cost taxpayers three thousand rubles per vehicle, while the previous contractor was paid 800 rubles.

What's surprising is that after the competition all these works continued the previous contractor would perform the work for the same price, and the difference of 2,200 rubles would end up in the accounts of the intermediary, the Central Dispatch Service.

All-Russian glory

In 2012, Shulepov signed a decree according to which Vologda had the highest fee in the country for storing cars in a car impound. The tariffs were tens of times higher than even in the center of the Northwestern Federal District – St. Petersburg. This caused major protests in the city. The conflict situation was reported in “Novaya Gazeta”and on the TV channel “NTV”.

Local residents even published a satirical song about Shulepov on YouTube to the tune of Eminem's song Stan.

Local Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service admitted violation. The entrepreneur who made money on this was ordered to transfer this income (7.8 million rubles) to the federal budget. True, through the Arbitration Court of the Vologda Region, this decision was partially cancelled.

The Shulepovs will take care of themselves and your families

In 2013, Yevgeny Shulepov was preparing for the next elections. A few months before them, his wife Irina, together with their daughters Svetlana and Elena, created a non-profit organization, the Family Center “Family Academy”.

The city administration transferred the historic two-story mansion of the 19th century — the former home of the merchant Skvortsov — to the Center at 23 Blagoveshchenskaya Street. By the end of 2013, the city authorities had paid more than 7 million rubles for the renovation of the mansion. But the lease agreement, as journalists wroteconcluded not with the Shulepovs' NGO, but with a certain “Family Academy Center”. However, it was the Shulepovs' organization that provided paid services in this center.

The Academy existed for a couple of years, and after Shulepov left the post of head of Vologda, the city authorities decided sell the historic mansion of the family center.

“Our goal is a new pool”

In the same 2013, preparing for the elections, Shulepov decided to repair the city swimming pool “Dynamo”, but the contractor said that he was significantly underpaid for the work. The deputy of the regional parliament of those years, Yevgeny Domozhirov, published an audio recording in which the following dialogue takes place between the alleged lawyer of the company, Erik Prokhorov, and Shulepov:

In response to a question from Novaya Gazeta, a member of the Vologda City Council Andrey Ishin answered So:

Eat nettles

In 2015, after the annexation of Crimea, the dollar exchange rate jumped and at a meeting of the city anti-crisis headquarters, Shulepov offered Russians eat nettles.

Then, of course, followed a statement from the press service that these words were taken out of context.

Arrest of the deputy

In 2021, Shulepov's former deputy for city administration, Alexei Osokina, and a number of his colleagues convicted in the case of multimillion-dollar thefts during road construction. The same Osokin, who was mentioned in anti-corruption investigations by politician Yevgeny Domozhirov.

Shulepov himself, who was then still a State Duma deputy, named the verdict as a “circus”, writing on his VKontakte page that the case was “fabricated” and that “the court turned into a ‘trial’.” Coincidence or not, Shulepov did not run for reelection to the State Duma after this, although he was declared in the United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) primaries. However, he still received a mandate, albeit from the Vologda Oblast parliament.

In 2023 became known about a new criminal case against Osokina for abuse of office. The issue was the construction of residential buildings in Uzky Lane in Vologda. They were going to resettle people from dilapidated housing there. Vologda politician Domozhirov told about this story back in 2017. Domozhirov published documents stating that these houses were allegedly built in eight days, but in fact nothing was built then. According to the investigation, the city budget suffered more than 37.6 million rubles. This case has been going on for several months is being considered in the Vologda City Court.

Arrest of a deputy

On May 13, 2024, Shulepov's house was searched. He himself wrotewhat he is accused of: “First. From 2008 to 2016, he allegedly exceeded his official powers by failing to recognize dilapidated and emergency buildings as unfit for habitation. Second. In 2015, he allegedly received a bribe of 450 thousand rubles from ZAO Stroytranservis so that their company would install a playground in the courtyard of a residential apartment building. Both reasons are ridiculous and absurd. But the case is fabricated, there will be an investigation. And the goal of this event is simple – to remove competitors from the political field.”

Now a deputy located in a pre-trial detention facility.

At the end of May, he sent a message through his lawyers that at 66 years old he was ready to volunteer to fight in Ukraine. In addition, policy two ranks: major and Cossack colonel. As his team writes, Shulepov and his son even invented a drone that has no equal in the world. “A brilliant mind,” is written on Shulepov's VKontakte page.

Screenshot from Shulepov Sr.'s VKontakte page

Instead of leaving the detention center for the front, Shulepov left United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) in June. This is a common practice to deflect negativity from the party. Usually, representatives of United Russia (*country sponsor of terrorism) claim that such and such a person was never a member of their party, or left the day before the security forces visited, or like Shulepov. He said: “Until I am freed from all charges, I have no moral right to be a member of the party or a deputy.”

Screenshot from Shulepov Sr.'s VKontakte page

It seems his political career has come to an end. Looking back, we see millions in income, dubious deals and accusations of corruptionDuring his time in the State Duma, Shulepov either voted “for” (71.9%), or “abstained” (27.3%). He supported increase retirement age, censorship in the Internet, law on educational activitieswhich the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences opposed, branding mass media And of people labels of foreign agents, VAT increase And Law against the Anti-Corruption Foundationwhich banned people involved in “extremist organizations” from running.

Page policy on VKontakte turned into a group for his defense. In particular, there written: “Shulepov never sought luxury, did not consider himself to be part of the elite, and led a modest lifestyle.”