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Tomsk’s mayor resigns due to disputes with regional authorities

Nikolai Nikolaichuk is against turning Tomsk, a scientific and educational centre, into a centre of raw materials’ companies
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

TOMSK, July 22 (Itar-Tass) - Tomsk’s Mayor Nikolai Nikolaichuk announced to the city Duma on Monday that he resigns. His application is dated July 12, 2013.

The deputies agreed with the decision and appointed pre-term mayoral elections for October 13, 2013. Meanwhile, the city will be managed by First Deputy Mayor Evgeny Parshuto.

Speaking at the Duma, Nikolaichuk remarked positively upon the city management and implementation of major investment projects, saying Tomsk has been keeping the fourth place in rating of Russian cities in terms of favourable business conditions.

“However, right now Tomsk is facing a major question - how it will develop in future. Many residents have felt a tension between municipal and regional authorities. The situation has not developed into a conflict as yet, but it already affects decisions on key issues” he said.

The new regional authorities have changed dramatically the trend, and Nikolaichuk does not agree with it.

“Eighteen months ago, the Tomsk regional authorities have changed the trend - and the decision affects the city. I do not share the idea of turning Tomsk from a scientific and educational centre into a centre of raw materials’ companies. If I continue working as a mayor it would positively cause a conflict. The city should not suffer from a situation like this. The only correct decision for me is to resign” Nikolaichuk said.

The deputies, who supported the resignation, however could not agree with the reasons the former mayor presented. Alexander Deyev, for example, told the legislators about the scandals in the city, which were about purchases of flats for orphans, about hundreds millions of roubles “which the budget paid to nobody knows who”, about the municipal debt, which, the deputy claimed, grew over the management by Nikolaichuk from 640 million roubles to two billion and 680 million roubles. He also added he had filed “certain materials on the work of the Mayor’s Office to law enforcement authorities.”