Merkushkin Nikolay Ivanovich resignation. Unforgettable. Nikolai Merkushkin left, leaving the Samara region defenseless against the CIA and the State Department

A senior Kremlin source stated that "Merkushkin was told to pack." At the end of next week, Nikolai Ivanovich must leave his post. Mr. Merkushkin is a rare personality in Russian politics who has begun to displease everyone: from residents of the region, oppositionists and corruption fighters to the Presidential Administration and Vladimir Putin personally. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking about Merkushkin's resignation, said that the Kremlin "traditionally does not announce" personnel decisions. Apparently, Nikolai Ivanovich is really being “leaked”. Resignation inevitable? It should be noted that in February of this year, beneficiary pensioners and representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party took to the streets of Samara with a rally, and Merkushkin was able to unite the disliked parties, to put it mildly. The governor canceled unlimited travel due to the fact that "the money that goes to pay for transport to beneficiaries (500-600 million rubles) is stolen." Maybe it was necessary to dismiss those who kidnap, and not cancel the benefits!? This was preceded by an unprecedentedly impudent attitude of Nikolai Ivanovich towards the population. For example, when asked by the workers of AvtoVAZ, “when the authorities of the region will pay off their wage arrears (for 2 years)”, the politician said that “never” if the interlocutor “continues the dialogue in this tone.” The most interesting thing is that Merkushkin did not stop being indignant at this and said that the workers should address the US Ambassador John Tefft with the same question! They steal from Merkushkin really “immeasurably”. So, in 2015, the "Corporation for the Development of the Samara Region", owned by the authorities and received from 2.2 to 3.2 billion rubles of budget money for the construction of a poultry farm, did not build anything. Where the money is is also unknown. Federal money is also gone. Recall that Samara is one of the cities where the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held. Merkushkin's administration received 10 billion rubles for the stadium. Having spent everything, Merkushkin at the end of 2016 asked for another 11 billion rubles! As a result, Merkushkin was given 8.2 billion rubles. So what? The stadium has not been built, Merkushkin's administration is replacing the arena materials with cheaper ones! We also note that the FAS initiated "trials against Merkushkin, his officials and Gazprom's employees as part of suspicions of violations in the gas transportation market in the region." “Despite the presence in the Samara region of at least two gas distribution organizations (“SVGK” and “Gazprom gas distribution Samara”), such an adjustment to the scheme was adopted without coordination with SVGK. The Antimonopoly Service also revealed that the company had comments on this scheme, which were brought to the attention of the Ministry of Energy and Housing and Public Utilities of the Samara Region, but were not taken into account, ”the website of the Antimonopoly Service reports. Rumors that the Presidential Administration is dissatisfied with Merkushkin appeared long ago. Nikolai Ivanovich even tried to “rub” Putin about allegedly bad products that are imported from other regions and from abroad. Experts say that the politician wanted to get subsidies for production in Samara for his relatives, whom he actively imports into the region. But Merkushkin failed to deceive President… Instead of subsidies, Merkushkin received a scolding. How Merkushkin attaches relatives Recall that Merkushkin headed the Samara region in 2012. Prior to that, from 1995 to 2012, Nikolai Ivanovich headed Mordovia. What is the situation in the republic? Almost the entire business is controlled by the relatives of Nikolai Ivanovich! But the worst thing is that, having come to Samara, Merkushkin began to transport his related business with him. Merkushkin found a strange reason. The governor said that “Samara companies are throwing people away”, and “entrepreneurs should follow the example of Mordovia”! For example, in 2015, "Mordovcement, which is considered affiliated with the head of the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin, moves closer to the indifferent governor." In the Kuibyshevsky district of Samara, a company close to Mordovcement PJSC (affiliated with Merkushkin’s relatives) “won” a tender for the construction of a residential microdistrict (425,000 sq.m.). By the way, Merkushkin's Mordovcement is already working as a supplier in the construction of a stadium for the 2018 FIFA World Cup!!! That's how it is! So, the governor asked for 11 billion rubles, including for the business of his relatives? To transfer the business, changes were made that supposedly could hide the company's affiliation with the governor. So, in 2014, Mordovcement came under the control of Chevre Investments Limited. In the business circles of Mordovia, they say that the offshore is owned by the Merkushkins. The "example of Mordovia" is actually the monopolization of business by Merkushkin's relatives. We will list only some of the companies that are controlled by relatives of Nikolai Ivanovich: Saransky Cannery OJSC, Masloprodukt LLC, Aktiv Bank OJSC, Cement LLC, Saranskstroyzakazchik Design and Construction Holding Company OJSC and many others . In addition to controlling numerous companies, Merkushkin also became famous for raiding! The case of Lambir farmers is widely known in the republic, “who did not want to submit to the raider seizure of their lands, which were encroached upon by the structures of the Saransky Cannery OJSC, owned by Alexander Merkushkin, the son of the now former head of Mordovia. At the same time, all administrative and law enforcement agencies were on the side of the raiders. For example, a tractor that sowed spring crops was arrested ... as part of the Antiterror operation. Those who opposed the interests of the Merkushkin clan were charged, as the press writes, with custom-made criminal cases. One of the farmers was given a suspended sentence of two and a half years.” Returning to the resignation of Merkushkin, it must be said that the decision to remove Nikolai Ivanovich was also influenced by the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, who was in conflict with the politician. “It was Chemezov who brought him (Merkushkin) in due time. But after a while, conflicts began, because Chemezov wanted to be danced to his tune, and Merkushkin was an old school man who did not do this, ”said an informed source. If Merkushkin had been an effective governor, probably, the conflict with Chemezov would not have become a “limit point” for the Presidential Administration. But the frank rudeness of Nikolai Ivanovich towards the workers of the region, the relocation of a related business and the failure in the socio-economic sphere are the things that can undoubtedly influence the decision of Samara residents in the 2018 presidential elections. So the impending resignation of Merkushkin is, first of all, a political move. One way or another, Nikolai Ivanovich is living out his last weeks in his post.

In the last week, one of the most relevant and frequently discussed news in the Samara region and Mordovia was the resignation of Nikolai Merkushkin from the post of governor of region-63. At the same time, President Putin appointed the 66-year-old native of Novye Verhiss as his special representative at the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples. Moreover, the position was created specifically for the ex-governor Merkushkin. Commentators on this news are traditionally divided into two camps. Some ironically call the new entry in his work book a respectable reference to retirement or a manifestation of the Kremlin's hardware humor. Others categorically disagree and see this position as a great opportunity for realizing the potential of the former head of Mordovia and the Samara region on the basis of the national question. Has the era of the political heavyweight Merkushkin ended, or will he add another meaningful chapter to his biography?

Resignation

Nikolay Merkushkin became the first governor in a series of "retired" by President Putin over the past ten days. Moreover, in this list of those leaving of their own free will, he was accompanied by another heavyweight of the 1990s - the head of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Valery Shantsev. Now, nationwide, only two Yeltsin-era governors remain in power - Kemerovo's Aman Tuleev and Belgorod's Yevgeny Savchenko. Moreover, the latter was even re-elected for a new gubernatorial term the day before. In 2014, a couple of years after being transferred to the Samara region, Nikolai Merkushkin also went through this procedure of nationwide “initiation”. To do this, he resigned ahead of schedule and won the election with a result of 91%, which commentators immediately dubbed "Mordovian". Then the Samara governor explained that being elected and appointed are, as they say in Odessa, two big differences. But it was after these elections that the confrontation between the current government and a number of business structures, politicians and part of the population intensified in the region. “Merkushkin's career is divided into two stages - a successful Mordovian and an unsuccessful Samara, - considers Mikhail Vinogradov, President of the Petersburg Politics Foundation. “Becoming the head of Mordovia in the mid-1990s, he stabilized the difficult situation there and achieved some economic success.” However, according to the political scientist, the ex-governor's main mistake was in trying to transfer the Mordovian experience to the Samara region, as well as in actively lobbying the interests of Mordovian business in certain industries. Gradually, this led to an increase in irritation among the population and the elite. “In recent years, Merkushkin has turned into a caricature figure,” Vinogradov shares his observations. - But still, let's pay tribute - he was not like that at the start. And Mordovia under his leadership cannot be called a caricature either. Although later they got tired of him in the republic and, in the wake of rumors from Samara, they were terribly afraid that he would suddenly be returned back ... It was not clear-sighted to refer to the experience of Saransk in Samara. But in Mordovia, he really changed a lot for the better ... ”Despite the fact that the dismissal of the Samara governor was predicted many times, the federal government until recently turned a blind eye to the claims accumulating against Nikolai Merkushkin. And the resignation, according to Mikhail Vinogradov, took place precisely at the moment when the country's leadership had matured a "package of decisions" on the early replacement of governors.

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Nikolai Merkushkin has been appointed Special Representative of the President for Cooperation with the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples

“It seems to me that Merkushkin simply had too many conflicts and problems, he did not work well with the Samara elites, - says political scientist Sergei Markov. - They are specific, strong. This politician was successful when he ruled a weak region, but could not cope with a larger one ... "

“When Nikolai Merkushkin arrived in May 2012 for the inauguration of Vladimir Volkov already in the status of the governor of the Samara region, I told him: “I did not understand your departure. I don’t know whether to congratulate or sympathize ... " - recalls the events of five years ago, businessman and public figure Shamil Bikmaev, since 1998, he worked as an adviser to Nikolai Merkushkin for several years. - Now you can sympathize with the fact that he did not go the way he should have. Naturally, neither I nor anyone else is happy about this. Because he has already entered the history of the republic as a huge personality. I am sure that the time will come, and a monument will be erected to Nikolai Ivanovich in Mordovia. But for the sake of objectivity, it must be said that he was let down by his characteristic feudal style of government. And how did the feudal lords act? They “cut off” the head not of the one who did something wrong, but of the messenger who brought bad news. I was his adviser for a long time. And I remember well: when someone expressed critical thoughts to him, he perceived it very painfully. And gradually Merkushkin pushed such people aside, surrounding himself with sycophants and sycophants. In small Mordovia, where everyone knows each other, such a feudal style of work gave its results. But I thought that, having moved to Samara, Nikolai Merkushkin would change this method of management to one more suitable for such a large region. If he had listened to those people who were critical of the work, prompted, etc., everything would have turned out differently. But he, apparently, again surrounded himself with sycophants, and this ruined him! Another weakness of Nikolai Merkushkin Shamil Bikmaev believes that he was sometimes late in making decisions. “At first, he turned the region, traditionally in the “red belt” with high support for the communists, into an area that votes for United Russia. After that, he had to say: "The Moor has done his job - the Moor can leave," and return to Mordovia. But no longer the Head of the Republic, but the Chairman of the State Assembly. Putin would approve! I agree that it is not easy to take such a step. Wasn't it hard for the president of Tatarstan Shaimiev to become an adviser to his former subordinate Minnikhanov? But he went for it! No one can ever be the first person from birth to death! You have to be able to leave in time…” At the same time, Shaiml Bikmaev doubts that Nikolai Merkushkin will admit this mistake. “Of course, a long stay in power cannot but affect a person's personality,” the entrepreneur agrees. - But I think he will draw the right conclusions from his experience in Samara. Although it is impossible without errors. Only a round loafer does not allow them! And there is no need to make a tragedy out of what happened - neither to him nor his family. And spiteful critics should not be so happy. Better to be objective. Yes, he is a feudal lord in the style of work. But now, probably, he realizes that this does not always give a result. Moreover, the age is still such when you can stay in the ranks. So I wish him at least ten years of active life for Russia, for the Finno-Ugric peoples.”

Congress

Incidentally, Nikolai Merkushkin himself considers his new appointment to the post of Special Representative of the President of Russia for Cooperation with the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples to be an exceptionally important state mission. “My transfer to this site is an important topic for the President,” he assured at a briefing immediately after his resignation. - Active work is going on against us on the world stage, not all countries of the Finno-Ugric world are on our side. The Finno-Ugric peoples are oppressed.” The ex-governor also told reporters that his experience and connections were needed to resolve the difficult situation in the Finno-Ugric world. Although in Samara, many tend to be ironic about the new place of work of the former governor. “This, of course, looks like a frank mocking move, - Sergey Leibgrad, editor-in-chief of the Zasekin news agency, is convinced. - A man with giant projectors, who built the Gagarin Centers here, was catching up with China. And suddenly he is “thrown” to the Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples! It looks like a political caricature, hardware satire.” In some ways, the first and only president in the history of Mordovia agrees with him. “Special Representative of the President for Interaction with the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples is not a position, but just a table and a chair so that you can land, - Vasily Guslyannikov is convinced. - Compared to the chair of the governor - nothing. I remember a year ago I was walking around Moscow and listening to the radio. And there was already information that the Kremlin had signed a decree on the resignation of the Samara governor. And after that, you see, another year has passed. Nikolai Ivanovich has such a property - to hold on very tightly ... Apparently, he has good connections, which began to work in the early 1990s, when he received the chair of the State Property Fund. When the CPSU was falling apart, party leaders in many regions "spud" this position and took the helm of the process of dividing property. What to say?! One can only envy how Nikolai Ivanovich managed to rob Moscow all these years! It's no secret that Mordovia now has the most credit debt per capita. Probably, this was done in the hope that the loans would be forgiven if they saw that there was nothing to take from the region. Although we should be glad for the inhabitants of the republic and, first of all, Saransk. A lot of things have been rebuilt with this money…” At the same time, Vasily Guslyannikov has no doubts: the era of the political heavyweight Merkushkin is over. “Everything comes to an end,” he admits. - Although for some reason I thought that the scenario when Medvedev changed places with Putin could be repeated in Mordovia. But after the election of Volkov as the Head of the Republic, the situation turned in such a way that the place was taken. Although Nikolai Merkushkin is an active person. And he's only 66 years old. Much depends on how events will develop in Samara. After all, Azarov, I think, harbored a grudge that he was once “removed”. Maybe that's why he started an audit of all budget expenditures made under Merkushkin. And there may be different options. Although Nikolai Ivanovich, you see, knows how to find an approach to the first persons of the state ... "

Head of the "Political Expert Group" Konstantin Kalachev believes that the new appointment for Nikolai Merkushkin is still better than seeing off his retirement. Although the position is not the most honorable. “As the former most authoritative Head of Mordovia, he will be there in his place, will participate in work on this issue with Hungary and Finland,” says the political scientist. - It is clear that the road will be mastered by the walking one. Maybe he will prove himself in this field so that we gasp. Although the suit is still too small for Merkushkin's scale ... But Shamil Bikmaev is convinced that the status of the President's special representative is exactly the field of activity thanks to which the former Samara governor will go down in the history of the country. “Out of 85 Russian regions, we have those where 500 thousand people live, and there are where 5 million or more,” says Shamil Bikmaev. - I think that in the future consolidation of subjects will begin. There are two reasons for this: to improve manageability and return the territorial division of Russia to the format that existed before 1917. And this means that there will be a liquidation of the national republics and their inclusion in the provinces. Just for this role, Nikolai Merkushkin is suitable! It is clear that in March 2018, Vladimir Putin will be re-elected President. And, I think that during his next term, some national republics will already be abolished. Most likely, the process will begin with the Finno-Ugric regions. Nikolai Ivanovich just has to work with these peoples so that they do not resist. So this is not Merkushkin's retirement at all! This is an appointment with the prospect of his acumen and authority in the Finno-Ugric world. I would like to wish him good luck in his new career. As always, he will succeed!”

15:44 — REGNUM Political news stirred up the Samara region. First, the FSB arrested the “personal governor’s sociologist” Nikolai Yavkin, who is suspected of embezzling 9.5 million rubles from the budget for allegedly conducting a poll. The second - the head of the region Nikolai Merkushkin called on the carpet by the head of the presidential administration Sergei Kirienko, after which the main news came from Moscow - sources in the Kremlin told RBC that Merkushkin would be removed next week.

Merkushkin himself keeps silent and does not give any comments. Head of his press office Ilya Chernyshev gave an indistinct explanation that the governor's work schedule is very tight and scheduled for several weeks in advance: he has events planned for the coming weekend as well. Like, everything is regular, in working mode.

Political scientists, speaking about the fact that the topic of Merkushkin's resignation has been repeatedly discussed, confirm that the socio-economic and political situation in the region has heated up to the limit. Powerful expansion into the region of "Mordovian business", conflicts with large financial groups, including Rostec, may prompt the Kremlin to resolve the issue of "liquidating the irritant" in the Samara region on the eve of the presidential elections, although there are still negative and neutrally benevolent signals from the federal center was balanced by the positions of 66-year-old Nikolai Merkushkin.

Rumors are grounded

Member of the Samara Provincial Duma Mikhail Matveev emphasizes that rumors about the resignation of Governor Merkushkin appear with enviable regularity, but so far they have never been confirmed, although they indicate that the possibility of his resignation is really being considered.

“I would not associate this solely with the presence of some ill-wishers making artificial stuffing, but with the objective socio-economic situation of the Samara region, which has deteriorated significantly during Merkushkin’s governorship,” he said. - The state debt of the region has doubled, exceeding 70 billion rubles, and its build-up continues. Dozens of enterprises in agriculture and industry were closed. Due to the actions of the regional government to sharply reduce the level of social support for pensioners, the ratings of the authorities and Merkushkin personally have fallen catastrophically.”

Founder of the Russian Association of Political Consultants Oleg Molchanov also draws attention to the economic background. According to him, a new wave of talk about the removal of Merkushkin has risen due to serious violations in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, big problems with the implementation of the May presidential decrees, a fall in industrial production, and so on.

“The fact that the governor, when considering the state of affairs in the region, says figures that do not correspond to reality, did not add confidence. Also, the excessive help of business from Mordovia, which began to control most of the economic spheres of the Samara region, ”he believes.

Analyst at the Agency for Political and Economic Communications Mikhail Neizhmakov believes that the next wave of rumors about the resignation of Merkushkin is connected not with new serious scandals, but with long-standing ideas about the precarious position of this governor. Many expect a massive autumn rotation in the gubernatorial corps, which is why they assume that the heads of regions, whose departure has been talked about for a long time, will be the first to be hit. Meanwhile, changes in the governor's corps this autumn are, of course, possible. But the federal center, in fact, has no sharp reasons to force events and make such decisions without fail in the fall.

Shaky positions of Merkushkin

“The high probability of gubernatorial resignations right now is explained by the Kremlin’s desire to strengthen the rear on the eve of the presidential elections. During the presidential campaign, the federal agenda interrupts the regional one much more than during the parliamentary race. Under the current conditions, protest voting in the presidential elections may be connected, first of all, with the old pockets of such sentiments, which it will be extremely difficult for even a very capable governor to “extinguish”. That is, the replacement of the governor in such a situation will have very little effect on the results of the presidential race in the region,” Neizhmakov commented.

Nikolai Merkushkin over the past few months has received both negative and neutral-benevolent signals from the federal center. Everyone remembers, for example, two messages about problems in the Samara region at once on the Direct Line with Vladimir Putin in June 2017. But earlier, on May 23, a meeting of the Samara governor with Dmitry Medvedev, their communication took place in a neutral and benevolent manner. That is, the replacement of the Samara governor cannot be ruled out, but when it happens is not so obvious, the expert noted.

Attempts to solve the problem of the split of authorities within the subjects of the Federation, as, for example, in the Samara region, have been reduced to sending external players there, which are expected to be independent of internal clan alignments and internal inter-clan struggle, the editor-in-chief notes IA REGNUM. Even the very successful head of Mordovia Merkushkin, once in the Samara region, turned into a public operator of internal conflicts, scandals and discord.

Confrontation with the Samara elite

According to political strategist Grigory Kazankov, there is a contradiction between the principles of governance, to which Governor Nikolai Merkushkin is committed, and the level of socio-economic and political development of the Samara region.

“The administration of the Samara governor does not comply with the laws by which the region lives,” he clarified. - And, of course, Merkushkin is in conflict, in conflict with large financial groups, and with local businesses, and with active passionate citizens. The Samara region does not understand Merkushkin, and Merkushkin does not understand the region. The story of the resignation of the governor is difficult to predict. The gubernatorial elections are far away, so Samara residents themselves will not be able to re-elect him, everything is in the hands of the federal government.”

Governor Merkushkin quarreled with local elites and the opposition, deputy Matveev explains. The conflict is based on three factors. One of them is economic. With the advent of Merkushkin, there was a global redistribution of the region's market in favor of the "Mordovian business": instead of Samara cement, it began to be used everywhere from Mordovcement. Store shelves were filled with agricultural products from Mordovia (eggs, chickens, sausages, cheese). Companies associated with Mordovia began to receive the largest contracts in the field of construction and repair. At the same time, almost all poultry farms were closed in the Samara region, many of which, for example, Obsharovskaya, were of a backbone character for their regions.

“Often conflicts occur not only because of the powerful expansion of the “Mordovian business” in the region, pushing local players aside, but sometimes literally “from scratch” due to the personality of the governor and his uncompromising leadership style,” he emphasizes.

Conflict with Rostec

Matveev draws attention to the fact that political scientists often mention a certain conflict between Merkushkin and the head of Rostec Chemezov, but there is no objective evidence of its existence or any actions on the part of Rostec. At the same time, Governor Merkushkin himself can be suspected of such actions.

“In particular, it is known that according to the testimony of Dmitry Begun, a black political strategist who worked for the Samara White House for a long time (a criminal case of bloggers), representatives of Rostec were present in the list of figures denigrated at the direction of the head of the region, and the content of most of the governor’s public speeches in the first years of his stay the authorities had endless criticism of the state of affairs in the region under the predecessor - the governor Vladimir Artyakov(representative of Rostec). The state of affairs at AvtoVAZ and its subsidiaries (Rostec is the main shareholder of the Togliatti automobile plant) did not receive practical support from the Merkushkin team. Suffice it to recall that the promising Lada Vesta model developed under Vladimir Artyakov by Togliatti engineers under Merkushkin was transferred to Izhevsk for assembly, and with it the region lost about 200 million rubles a year in taxes and employment for thousands of AvtoVAZ workers. , said Matthew.

Merkushkin, who resigned as head of the 63rd region, was appointed special representative of the Russian president for interaction with the World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples.

Nikolai Merkushkin has served as Governor of the Samara Region since 2012. Then political experts associated this appointment with the World Cup, part of the matches of which in 2018 should be held in Samara, local media reported. The city needed renovation and extensive infrastructure restoration, as well as a new stadium.

Now the acting head of the 63rd region has been appointed a senator of the Federation Council from the Samara region.

Since 2014, Azarov has represented the region, and since 2010 he has been the mayor of Samara.

The adviser to the director of the Russian Guard congratulated all residents of the Samara region on his new appointment on Twitter.

“Dmitry Azarov is the best candidate that could be. With his arrival, the slogan of his election campaign for mayor acquires special relevance: order in the head - order in the region. I already see in advance how crowds of officials line up and tell how long they have been waiting for him and tormented before,” Khinshtein said.

Several more resignations and appointments may take place this week.

In addition to the head of the Samara region, three more governors will be replaced, an informed source close to the Kremlin told Gazeta.Ru.

Other sources also spoke of an upcoming series of resignations.

Last week, the media reported on several resignations at once. So, the governors of the Nizhny Novgorod, Samara regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory were predicted to leave. This is connected with their visits to Moscow. There has been no official confirmation of the information about the resignation of these heads of regions.

The source of Gazeta.Ru named the first deputy minister of industry, senator Dmitry Azarov, deputy, deputy minister of industry as candidates for these posts. Azarov's candidacy was confirmed today. According to the source, these candidates may be considered for more than one region. There is also an expanded list of candidates to replace their predecessors.

All appointed heads of regions will work with the prefix “acting” until the elections in March 2018, after which they will run on a general basis.

Moreover, almost all of the outgoing heads of regions and territories have conflicts either with local elites or with city authorities, while having very high ratings, according to the recent survival rating of governors of the Petersburg Politics Foundation and Minchenko Consulting.

In the specific case of Merkushkin, there is no need to talk about a high level of trust - he often caused dissatisfaction among the residents of the Samara region with his ambiguous statements and actions.

At the beginning of 2017, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia opened a case against the governor of the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin, a group of individuals, as well as the housing and communal services of the region.

“Russia has established that since 2010 an agreement has been implemented between these persons aimed at transferring large gas consumers from SVGK to gas distribution networks,” the FAS said at the time.

After numerous scandals, the Kremlin decided to "remove" Samara Governor Nikolai Merkushkin.