In early July, the old-new mayor of Minusinsk Dmitry Merkulov visited Khakassia on a working visit and met with the head of the republic Valentin Konovalov. Local and national media vigorously discussed the meeting, asking the question: why did Merkulov come to Konovalov?
The official website of the republic's government about the meeting states that Minusinsk and Khakassia are located at the intersection of the main transport corridors, trade routes and tourist routes of the South of Siberia. The subjects jointly solve important socio-economic issues, including within the framework of the large-scale federal project “Clean Air” of the national project “Ecology”.
Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai are united by good neighborly relations. Cooperation is carried out in trade and economic, scientific and educational and cultural spheres. This is especially true for Minusinsk.
It is curious that Dmitry Merkulov did not announce the meeting on his social networks. But Valentin Konovalov even showered him with compliments:
But what kind of “further interaction” is being discussed is not specified anywhere.
Regional Telegram channels started talking about the fact that the Minusinsk mayor decided to independently build relations with neighboring Khakassia. And also about the fact that such actions of the mayor, at the very least, do not fit into the norms of political subordination.
Also, “Zapad24” notes that everything that is happening already definitively indicates a complete failure of the personnel department. politicians in the region and the weakening position of Governor Mikhail Kotyukov. Management anarchy is coming to the region, this is especially evident at the level of local government bodies. During the two months of Merkulov's work, there was no visit by Mikhail Kotyukov to Minusinsk, nor was there a personal meeting with the setting of tasks, so the political vacuum was filled by Valentin Konovalov.
Be that as it may, sooner or later the agreements and further interaction between Khakassia and Minusinsk will become known. Time will tell what goal Dmitry Merkulov pursued: to visit his native Khakassia, to establish business relations with the governor of the republic or to attract the attention of the regional governor.