At the end of May, a member of the Novosibirsk City Council, a former candidate for mayor of the capital of Siberia, was detained and then sent to a pre-trial detention center. Igor Ukraintsev. He is accused of receiving a bribe in the amount of 3.5 million rubles (Part six of Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country)).

We will tell you about Igor Sergeevich himself, restore the chronology of events and suggest why a criminal case was opened against him. In addition, in this longread we will publish unpublished excerpts from a conversation with the people's representative.

Hu from Ukrainians?

Igor Ukraintsev was born on February 4, 1986 in Novosibirsk.

He graduated from the Novosibirsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering with a degree in Heat and Gas Supply and Ventilation and the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration with a degree in Municipal and Public Administration.
In 2011, he was elected as a deputy to the municipal council of deputies of the city of Leninsk-Kuznetsky. In 2013, he was elected to the Council of Deputies of Kuzbass in a single electoral district from the Liberal Democratic Party.

In 2017, he returned to Novosibirsk, left the LDPR and headed a public club group of companies “Strizhi”. In 2018, he created the “Green Squad” volunteer squad. In 2019, he became chairman of the Novosibirsk branch of the environmental party “Greens”. In 2020, he received the position of Director for Development of Social Projects of the Strizhi Group of Companies.

Since 2020, he has been an independent deputy of the Novosibirsk City Council in single-mandate electoral district No. 11. You can learn more about his life path from interviewtaken by journalist Babr.

Attempt to lead Novosibirsk

Direct elections for the mayor of Novosibirsk were canceled in April 2023. It was decided that the city manager should be selected by a special commission consisting of four people from the city council and four people from the governor.

At the end of 2023, a communist left the post of mayor Anatoly Lokotappointed acting Oleg Klemeshov.

The first stage of the competition for the post of mayor took place on April 4, 2024, where it was necessary to pass a test. Of the 17 candidates, two remained – Maxim Kudryavtsev and Igor Ukraintsev. To a question from journalist Babr “Why did you decide to participate in the competition?” The city council member responded:

“First of all, out of curiosity, because I have a lot of experience participating in direct elections. I won a lot, lost some campaigns, then won again. Voter trust is priceless. By and large, I have taken part in various election campaigns throughout my adult life. The Novosibirsk competition history is new. And for me too.”

In the second stage, which took place on April 16, it was necessary to present a city development program and pass an interview. Kudryavtsev, who was supported by the governor of the Novosibirsk region Andrey Travnikov, scored more points and became the head of the capital of Siberia. And Ukrainians… More on this below.

ukraintsev's case. babr's investigation with exclusive comments

CHBD (what happened next?)

Then the story developed quite sadly. On May 25, 2024, it became known that Igor Sergeevich decided to leave the post of chairman of the regional branch of the Green party. He explained it this way:

“I want to look at everything that is happening a little more broadly and so that one party does not narrow me in my actions”.

Five days later, May 30, Ukraintsev was detained.

On May 31, the Central District Court of Novosibirsk sent Igor Sergeevich to a pre-trial detention center until July 29. The prosecutor's office reported that from September 2022 to January 2023, the deputy, being an official, received money from the head of a construction company for lobbying the interests of his company in the city council. In total, the people's choice allegedly received 3.5 million rubles. The press release of the Investigative Committee, however, differs from the press release of the prosecutor's office in the following detail:

“A deputy of the Council of Deputies, under the threat of extortion in the form of dissemination in the media of information discrediting the honor and dignity of a resident of the region and the business reputation of a construction company, systematically received money in the amount of more than three million rubles as a bribe from the head of the construction company.”

The briber and applicant, as it turned out, was the owner of the Strizhi Group of Companies. Igor Belokobylsky.

1718276191 928 ukraintsev39s case babr39s investigation with exclusive comments

Immediately after the arrest of Igor Sergeevich, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly Ilya Polyakov, who also owned the Strizhi Group of Companies, stated that the case was initiated on the basis of a false denunciation. In 2022, he and Belokobylsky started the business. The ex-partners agreed that Swifts would continue to pay individual entrepreneur Ukraintsev (TIN 540697803345) for organizing public events until March 2023. Before the dissolution of the Group of Companies, Ukraintsev was there as the director for the development of social projects, as we have already said above.

That is, if you believe Polyakov, the money received by Ukraintsev from September 2022 to January 2023 is not a bribe, but payment for services. Igor Sergeevich produced printed materials for Swifts, hired animators and artists.

Polyakov also called the “false denunciation” against his comrade Ukraintsev revenge for criticizing the Strizhi Group of Companies, which dumped wastewater into Lake Zhemchuzhina of Siberia. The purpose of the denunciation, the deputy of the Legislative Assembly assures, is to prevent Igor Sergeevich from participating in the 2025 elections.

Pearl of Siberia

On the eve of the mayoral election, our journalist interviewed Igor Sergeevich (link above). It was not possible to publish the entire conversation then.

In particular, the interviewer asked Ukraintsev to talk about the situation with Lake Pearl of Siberia. Earlier, we note, a rally was held to protect a water body in the Zaeltsovsky district of Novosibirsk from the discharge of wastewater from the construction site of the Novella residential complex. The organizers of the meeting were Ukraintsev and his colleague on the City Council Ekaterina Shalimova
(both he and she are members of the “League of Efficiency” parliamentary association).
First, the mayoral candidate described the lake itself:

“Lake Pearl of Siberia is a favorite vacation spot for residents of the entire microdistrict, and more than 20 thousand people live there. This is a favorite vacation spot for townspeople in general, as one of the six baths is held there. The Ministry of Emergency Situations every year tells us: “Guys, you have the cleanest water here.” When the lake began to bloom, we introduced fish species that saved it from blooming, namely: grass carp and silver carp. Now they fish there – we don’t let them in with nets, of course. They practice kayaking there. Lots of ducks…”

The interviewee then moved on to the problem itself:

“A year ago, a company that is part of the Strizhi Group of Companies polluted one artificially created lake (meaning the lake of the Evolution residential complex – Babr). She poured dirty, clay-chemical slurry into it. A criminal case was initiated, and the head of the Investigative Committee took control of it Alexander Bastrykin. I won’t lie, I don’t know how the case ended (the case was closed on October 31, 2022 – Babr). And then this company somehow miraculously comes to an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the use of the Pearl of Siberia water body. That is, she was allowed to drain groundwater into the lake. The risk of the reservoir turning into a dirty puddle has risen to its full potential. Therefore, the protest there was and remains popular among the people. They are trying to accuse us of some kind of commercial disputes, but this is absolutely not true. Thanks to a serious popular process, the company has already revised the project, because initially they had so-called wellpoint filters, which only prevent the passage of stones, the solid fraction, and everything else flows. After our appeal, the company was forced, in response to the strict demands of the environmental prosecutor’s office and other “supervisors,” to install serious filter elements. But the developer still insists that the water will be drained into the Pearl of Siberia, although Ilya Leonidovich Polyakov offered the company free use of the stormwater treatment facilities that he owns. The only condition is that the water must be purified.”

Group of Companies “Strizhi” described Ukraintsev as follows:

“Previously, this developer was one of the most socially responsible. I also worked there when my friend and comrade Ilya Polyakov was one of the founders. We had a whole team there. Then “divorce and maiden name,” but the brand itself remained. I’ll say more: only the letters remain. Polyakov left, we all left – all those who made the Strizhi Group of Companies socially responsible. You can do a lot to create a name, but then you do some disgusting things a couple of times and your reputation is ruined. Reputation is a very fragile thing. The most valuable thing I have is my last name, I value it and will cherish it all my life.”

Was there a bribe?

Of course, we cannot answer this question unambiguously. On June 4, 2023, a video interview with Belokobylsky appeared in the VKontakte group “Novosibirsk 24/7”.

He immediately admitted, saying, yes, it was I who wrote a statement to the Investigative Committee against Igor Sergeevich in May. According to him, it was like this: when the Swifts Group of Companies was divided, Ukraintsev left along with Polyakov, but his, Belokobylsky’s, companies continued to pay the deputy until March 2023 “for the services that he, in his status, should provide to our company.” The interviewee then refers to this money as a “bribe.” Once firms stop paying, Ukrainians begin to criticize the Swifts Group of Companies.

But there is, in other words, the deputy had previously lobbied for the interests of the company for a bribe, and everyone was happy with everything. But after cutting up the business with Polyakov and Ukraintsev’s departure, Belokobylsky decided to get rid of his man on the city council… Something definitely doesn’t add up here.

Firstly, the press release from the prosecutor’s office states that the “bribes” fell into Ukraintsev’s accounts until January 2023, and Belokobylsky claims that until March of the same year.

Secondly, Ukraintsev may be an official (a member of the standing committees on urban management and on monitoring the execution by local governments and their officials of powers to resolve issues of local importance), but, of course, he has little power.

Thirdly, Igor Sergeevich is a deputy from single-mandate district No. 11, which includes the Zaeltsovsky district. He simply could not help but respond to the complaints of his voters who were worried about the purity of the Pearl of Siberia.

We think everything is much simpler than it seems. Probably, the Strizhi Group of Companies wanted to continue polluting water bodies, and Ukraintsev and his comrade-in-arms were greatly in the way. So Belokobylsky came up with the idea of bribes. He did not limit himself to one deputy – he wants to sue Shalimova as well.

“We have already filed civil claims against the defendants in this case for compensation for reputational costs, which we estimated at 10 million rubles,” – the head of the Swifts Group of Companies said in an interview.

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