The wind of change blew in Tomsk. Vladimir Mazur is working as acting governor. A new broom sweeps in a new way. On a grand scale. In close-knit ranks, the purge is in full swing. In order to sit in their own chairs and prove their loyalty to the current government, deputies work hard, covering their activities in their own telegram channels.

The head of the Tomsk region Alexander Tereshchenko does not lag behind other officials. Under Zhvachkin, Mr. Tereshchenko managed to turn around sharply. With the help of connections and access to the feeder, he turned his affairs with impunity. Now, in the hope of continuing the “work of life”, the mister official is trying to establish relations with the acting. Governor Mazur.

What are we talking about?

On June 25, 2022, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Dmitry Demeshin held a meeting with regional officials in Tomsk. Where he announced the results of the audit of their activities. It turned out that the cash execution of national projects in the region is about 20%. Some residents of Tomsk are not paid salaries (the debt exceeds 50 million rubles), the rights of 400 equity holders have been violated, about 14 thousand beneficiaries are not provided with housing, and much more.

According to Acting Governor Vladimir Mazur, the reason for this is the crisis in the construction industry. Maybe it is so. Or maybe the reason lies elsewhere. In 2021, the region’s public debt amounted to 38.8 billion rubles (67% of the budget revenues of the Tomsk region). This is one of the heaviest debt burdens in Russia. Where the money went is an interesting question. The last governor Sergey Zhvachkin, who hastily left his post ahead of schedule “of his own free will”, could have answered it.

It is not surprising that Mr. Tereshchenko, whose affairs the former governor was clearly aware of, with the liveliest enthusiasm on his face, dug up holes for future seedlings, went to the laying of a stone for a future monument to fellow countrymen, met with Tomsk residents about the Late Road, even to rural competitions in Asino traveled. And all this was necessarily covered in his channel on the Telegram social network.

Actually, as required by the acting. Governor Vladimir Mazur You see, Mazur will appreciate the zeal of a subordinate, relations will improve and things can be continued. How did Zhvachkin bequeathed in his farewell speech? “And everything will go on, as it goes today.”
But despite the demonstrative activity in social networks, unfortunately, residents who apply with constant questions do not receive answers to them. Yes, and solutions to sore problems are not reflected.

The school that lays the “golden eggs”

Let’s start with the “Integration” school in the village of Zonal Station, where the head of the Tomsk region, Alexander Tereshchenko, together with the head of the Education Department of the Administration of the Tomsk region, Yulia Dubovitskaya, launched a whole network of money laundering. According to the most conservative estimates, the educational institution annually loses about 770 million rubles.

Money is debited from the account of “Integration” under a variety of plausible pretexts. For example, to pay employees (allegedly the school did not have money, they requested it from the budget), for heating and lighting (for some reason, the prices for energy supply increased three times, again there was no money and they requested it from the budget). At the same time, part of the funds does not reach the addressee, but settles in the pockets of officials.

In 2021, 51.21 million rubles did not reach the educational institution – approximately 42% of the promised money. Surprisingly, it is a fact that for several years now the Department of Education of the Administration of the Tomsk District has not been giving the money due to children. At the same time, the municipality itself not only does not bear the cost of educating students, but also retains part of the subsidies in its favor.

In addition, according to rumors, not only Dubovitskaya, but also Tereshchenko himself took an active part in embezzling money. According to one of the schemes, the official withdrew funds through the utilities of educational institutions (not only the Integration school suffered) to the accounts of his controlled organizations through his mother-in-law Lydia Knyagnitskaya.

Why wasn’t the store closed? Dubovitskaya more than once publicly flaunted friendly relations not only with Tereshchenko, but also with the head of the regional department of education, Grabtsevich. And also with the acting head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Tomsk region Misko, regional prosecutor Viktor Rusakov. It is unlikely that Zhvachkin did not know about their joint affairs, since the parents of the students of the “Integration” school wrote letters to him more than once.

Elite settlement under the prosecutor’s roof

By the way, another no less scandalous episode of money laundering is connected with Tereshchenko. Gasification of the village of Kolarovo in the Zapovedny microdistrict. There were repeated publications and appeals to the local prosecutor’s office on the theft of budget funds for the infrastructure of a private commercial village. According to the Department of Finance of the Tomsk region, about 76 million rubles were spent.

However, the local prosecutor’s office did not want to respond to the appeals. The journalists were sent replies, once again covering up the activities of the head of the Tomsk region, in the past, a deputy of the Regional Duma of the Tomsk region of two convocations, Alexander Tereshchenko.

Curiously, in this case, the fact of incomplete expenditure of budgetary funds was eventually established. And according to the response of the prosecutor’s office, “everything was mothballed and sent to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Tomsk region under article 158 of the Criminal Code (“Theft”).” The question is, what was stolen? Gas pipeline valve or budget money? So far, the applicant has not received a response.

Rusakov’s response to an appeal about the village of Koralovo

In this whole story, the regional prosecutor Viktor Rusakov also played an important role. It was to him in the summer of 2021 that journalists wrote an appeal in which they talked about the “charitable” gasification at the expense of budget funds. As evidence, they attached photographs of land plots with gas communications, satellite images of google maps, a public cadastral chamber, extracts from the USRN. Rusakov was asked to deal with the situation and bring those responsible to justice.

However, instead they received a reply.

From the prosecutor’s response:
Gasification was carried out within the framework of the program “Social development of the village until 2013”, the long-term program “Social development of the village of the Tomsk region until 2014”, the long-term target program “Development of gas supply and gasification of the Tomsk region for 2013-2015”, and do not trust the official documents submitted by the executive authority and other structures, the prosecutor’s office of the Tomsk region has no grounds.

This is not the first time Rusakov has closed his chapter on corruption. At one time, he also did not “notice” the connection between Tereshchenko’s mother-in-law and companies providing utility services to educational institutions (including Integration). Yes, and the gasification of residential buildings in the village of Koralovo Knyagnitskaya, obviously, was also successful, despite the absence of these same buildings. No one found out what result the state received in the end, and the perpetrators were not punished.

By the way, Dmitry Demeshin, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia, has also become interested in the implementation of the gasification program in the Tomsk Region.

Tereshchenko strikes while the iron is hot. It manifests itself in events related to the election of a new governor. At the same time, without forgetting to take into account the interests of TDSK JSC. It was at his suggestion that the Tomsk District Duma adopted a regulation to amend the master plan in March 2021 for the construction of the South Gate-2 with violations that are now being challenged in the courts.

Which is not surprising: Tereshchenko and Shteper (the head of TDSK) have a common business – the Pchelka cooperative (OGRN: 1047000291271, 7017107178) and Arkhar LLC (OGRN: 1097017002697, TIN: 7017233221). In both organizations, Mrs. Knyagnitskaya is the founder and the average number of employees is 0 people, and there are no financial statistics since 2014. But there is a permit for the extraction of hunting resources. Let’s not forget that the ex-governor Zhvachkin also loves “hunting and fishing” and “his lakes and land …”.

Alexander Tereshchenko

It is unlikely that Tereshchenko and the company did all these things without the knowledge of the ex-governor Zhvachkin. How else to explain the fact that despite the obvious corruption revealed during the inspection by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the competent authorities were not interested in them? This means that with the change of the “head”, it will be necessary to establish communication so that access to the “sawing” is not blocked. Or something good was not kicked out of a warm place at all.
So the official has to go with his chest to the barricades (into the forest with a shovel). I wonder if Tereshchenko will be able to negotiate with Mazur?