New head of the "Ural Rublyovka" takes office

24.09.2013 — Analysis

Both the regional authorities and people pin high hopes on him

The electoral battles are over – the Sverdlovsk municipality heads newly elected on September 8, 2013 and reelected for the next term proceed with work. It should be noted that the campaign resulted in quite an impressive rotation of the elite – nearly reaching 40%. In the meantime, the party affiliation of most of the mayors remained unchanged – they are either members of the United Russia or had its support during the election. The campaign results showed that the ruling party "won" 30 municipalities out of 34, which held mayoral elections. Therefore, despite the resounding defeat in Ekaterinburg, a number of experts assess the achievements of the United Russia as excellent, summarizing the results of the municipal campaigns.

"Within my recollection, it is the first overwhelming victory of the United Russia in the region," Konstantin Ustilovsky, a political analyst, shared his impressions of the recent campaign with RusBusinessNews. "It should be pointed out that party appointees also won in the so called challenging municipalities – where the competition heat raised the temperature above the average regional level. Members of the United Russia became mayors in Krasnoturinsk, Kachkanar, Polevskoy, and Sysert Region. By the way, the latter region was noted for abundant "mud" in the agitation campaign. Mainly, it was slung at Alexander Karamyshev, the winning candidate, the owner of the local sausage factory."

It should be noted that within the last weeks of the campaign the law-enforcement authorities and regional election committee received reports about violations in Sysert almost every day. The police found and seized agitation leaflets from delivery people; they were circulated in thousands and contained information damaging the reputation of Karamyshev. A few days before the election, the police took in custody 25 citizens of China, who intended to participate in a provocative act aimed to poison residents’ minds against the member of the United Russia.

According to one of the versions, the "smear campaign" targeting Alexander Karamyshev was masterminded by Maxim Serebrennikov, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly, who made his third attempt to take the office of "Ural Rublyovka" mayor by storm. Nevertheless, the newly elected head of the city harbors no grudge against the alleged offender – he made it clear during the inauguration.

"I am interested in cooperation with the deputies representing our territory. (At the moment, Serebrennikov is representing interests of the Sysert Region in the parliament – the editor’s note) I suggest that we should turn our back on the election and everything that happened during the campaign. For the record, I am ready to work with Serebrennikov," Karamyshev said.

The same constructive position is outlined in the program of the newly elected mayor of Sysert. Among the top-priority objectives, Karamyshev pointed out landscaping and amenities, building of daycare centers and schools, building and overhaul of roads, resettling people from ramshackle and hazardous residential buildings, solving the garbage problem, allotment of land for people entitled to benefits.

"Within the last 20 years only one residential building has been commissioned, but in the near future it is planned to build and commission more than 15 new houses. Secondly, over five years we must build four daycare centers: in Sysert, Bolshoi Istok, Bobrovka and Patrushy. In addition, roads need a major overhaul. The objectives will be accomplished through participation in regional programs. Another critical problem is removal of garbage from the private housing areas. Services must be provided and residents must pay for them," the mayor shared his plans.

Very few people doubt that the new city head will implement his plans. The confidence of local residents was demonstrated by the number of those who came to congratulate the new mayor during his inauguration (in the hall of the city administration building all the seats were occupied) and by the support from the regional authorities. For example, one of the guests at the ceremony was Alexey Orlov, the deputy chairperson of the Sverdlovsk government. In his speech the Vice Prime Minister emphasized the fact that Sysert is one of the growth points of the region and pointed out that the region is now in reliable hands.

"The important task of the city administration is unconditional fulfillment of decrees of the Russian President. It includes elimination of the waiting lists of those who need daycare centers for their children, increased wages of public-sector employees, improved quality of housing and utility services. By 2020, the Sverdlovsk Region must have 700 thousand new high-performance jobs. Sysert’s contribution is 9,000 new jobs. I see it as the most important task of the head of the urban district and I hope that Alexander Gennadievich, being a person who has business experience, knows and understands needs of companies, will be able to handle it," the Vice Prime Minister said.

Alexey Orlov also recommended Karamyshev to continue the tactics of maximum presence in regional target programs, which was started by the previous head of the city.

"We have planned to build new centers of education, sports, healthcare and road facilities for the amount reaching nearly 700 million rubles. The projects include building of a school in the Novy residential district. The unfinished buildings that were abandoned in the Soviet period are being completed and fitted out. Whether the construction will be completed by the end of the current year depends on the daily supervision by the city administration. These project also include the daycare center in the Novy residential district, multipurpose sports ground in Bolshoi Istok settlement; modular gas and diesel boiler-houses in Patrushy and Borodulino villages; rural health posts in Novo-Ipatievo village and Sedelnikovo station; bridge crossing across the Sysert River," the Vice Prime Minister outlined the primary areas of attention of the new mayor.

In their speeches, representatives of local enterprises recollected the previous achievements of Alexander Karamyshev and promised their support in his endeavors in the new office. The speech of Lyudmila Dyldina, the director of one of the farms in Oktyabrsky settlement, was very emotional and sincere. It should be mentioned that Karamyshev’s sausage factory is located in Oktyabrsky settlement; therefore, local residents have the first-hand experience of the importance of socially responsible business.

"We got used long ago that no issue, especially of social nature, is solved without participation of Karamyshev. If there is no money for repair work in the daycare center – he will do it by using his own resources; if there are problems with heating – he will buy boilers to solve the problem; if there is a hockey team – he will "equip" it and launch into sports life. In other words, the residents of our settlement have their own "national hero," the representative of the agrarians praised the new mayor.

It will take quite a long time to see if the entrepreneur will be equal to the expectations of "older associates" and voters. "First of all, the head of the city should organize a collective executive body consisting of the local duma and regional authorities and a good administrative team. They, everything will work out well," Konstantin Ustilovsky stated. In the opinion of experts, Karamyshev will need some time to get adapted – the business and municipal administration are very different from each other.

Alexandra GAZIZOVA, Alexander REBEKO