For many years now, the inhabitants of Primorsky Krai have been watching how the mayors of their choice find themselves at the center of criminal scandals. The mayors of Vladivostok are not at all squeamish about exceeding their official powers and creating “bureaucratic lawlessness” for the sake of their own selfish interests. This applies to Viktor Cherepkov, and Yuri Kopylov, and Vladimir Nikolaev. The last mayor of Primorye, Igor Pushkarev, was no exception. Why do all mayors of the above region ultimately choose the criminal path? Political scientists attribute this to a conflict of interest between the mayor and the governor. The most pressing issues have been and remain the division of land and budgetary relations. Nevertheless, from the material point of view, the heads of the city of Vladivostok have always been all right. Still, in 2009, Pushkarev’s financial profit by independent experts was estimated at 5.1 billion rubles. But after 6 years, the official income of the official amounted to only 1,158,340.57 rubles.
How did Igor Pushkarev come to power and become the head of a large region rich in minerals and fish? Let's consider this question in more detail.
Curriculum Vitae
Igor Pushkarev is a native of the settlement of New Olov, which is located in the Chernyshevsky district of the Chita region. He was born on November 17, 1974. Having received a certificate of maturity, the young man went to storm the university in Vladivostok. There he became a student at the local institute of international relations. Despite the fact that already from the first year Igor Pushkarev began to work actively in various commercial structures, this did not prevent him from obtaining a diploma in international economics. He even received the degree of candidate of law.
Labor activity
But material interest was still more important for a young man than scientific research. In the first half of the 90s, Igor Pushkarev got a job as a sales manager for a large company, Busan, which was engaged in the supply of instant noodles and cakes to Russia.
After some time, a "mysterious" murder of the founder of the above structure occurred. Having worked there a little more, the future mayor of Vladivostok creates his own structure.
Start of business
In 1997, Igor Pushkarev, whose biography is interesting for many, opens his own business. The young man creates the Park Group company and becomes its direct manager. A few years later, his brainchild became a monopolist in the regional building materials market. Enterprises producing cement, crushed stone and other materials for the erection of buildings and structures have become controlled by Park Group.
In 1998, Igor Sergeyevich Pushkarev “became at the helm” of the Pervomaisk Shipyard, and at the beginning of the 2000s he headed the largest enterprise, Spasskcement.
Political career
Success in business inspired the "international economist", he decided to try his hand at politics.
At first he became a parliamentarian in the Spassky City Duma. Then in 2001, Pushkarev was elected to the deputies and vice-speakers of the regional parliament. And then he was entrusted with another high and responsible post.
Town governor
In the spring of 2008, Igor Sergeyevich Pushkarev, as a result of an active election campaign, becomes the head of the city of Vladivostok. The businessman secured 57% of the vote, which meant that a second round would not be needed: despite the low turnout (23%), the victory was secured.
After Pushkarev took the seat of the mayor, he said that he did not plan to make personnel changes in the bureaucracy.
“Four years later, Vladivostok will turn into a garden city, this will be facilitated by the APEC summit,” the mayor proudly declared. In turn, the local electoral commission officially announced that the elections had taken place: their winner should soon step down as deputy and formally appear before the townspeople in a new status. And so it happened.
"Success" in a new post
What did Igor Pushkarev, whose family consists of a wife and three sons, do useful for Vladivostok? In fairness, it should be noted that the businessman was generous with promises.
He did not hesitate to say that he would “give” to the city fifty new kindergartens that the residents of Vladivostok had never seen. The mayor also assured citizens that by the APEC summit in the capital of Primorye there will appear modern Hayat hotels, which have not yet been completed. But Igor Pushkarev began to actively reform the city transport system. In Vladivostok, the number of trams was immediately reduced, and in the center of the capital of Primorye a bizarre one-way “transport” aorta formed , which further complicated the movement along the streets. The new roadbed is another project of the mayor. And although it was nevertheless laid (in violation of the deadlines), but the quality left much to be desired. What Igor Sergeyevich really pleased about was his selfish interests. The cement plants under their control during the preparation for the Asia-Pacific economic cooperation received huge profits. No wonder Pushkarev takes one of the places of honor in the Forbes lists. The wife of the mayor, by the way, is also a fairly wealthy woman. She owns expensive real estate and a car.
Arrest
The Russian public was shocked when it learned that the mayor of Vladivostok, Igor Pushkarev, was accused of abuse of office and commercial bribery. Journalists began relishing this topic back in early summer.
However, one hundred percent confidence that the mayor of Vladivostok Igor Pushkarev was involved in something illegal, the sharks of the pen did not have. Therefore, only a few newspaper men dared to give any comments about the businessman’s involvement in the crimes. Only in the evening of June 1, the federal media authoritatively reported that the investigators arrested Igor Pushkarev. After the detectives searched his office, his house and analyzed the situation in commercial companies owned by the mayor’s relatives, it was decided to choose a preventive measure against him in the form of detention. The culprit was immediately transferred to Moscow.
Reason for detention
Why did Pushkarev find himself at the center of a criminal scandal? Investigators were able to establish that, being in a responsible position, Igor Sergeyevich through tenders created ideal conditions for commercial structures controlled by him, namely: they became the only suppliers of building materials for the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Vladivostok Roads”.
Moreover, they sold concrete and asphalt at a higher price than their competitors.
In addition, Pushkarev used the “administrative resource” to be able to influence other organizations involved in road works. In particular, Vodokanal and KGUP Primvodokanal could not begin repair work involving the opening of the roadbed until their contractors signed documents on cooperation with MUPV Roads of Vladivostok. The latter was to pave the track after completion of repair work. Employees of the antimonopoly department convicted the official of fraud with state orders, and the arrest of Igor Pushkarev became a "matter of technology."