Argumenty.ru, Valentina Karelova, 02.06.2015

Mayor of Petrozavodsk [the capital of the Republic of Karelia] Galina Shirshina doesn’t rule out that during the session of the City Council, which will take place on 3 June, deputies can go beyond giving low estimation to her work. Nevertheless, she is not going to rest on oars and is ready for any outcome.

– One of the main issues at the session of Petrozavodsk City Council will be your report on the the work of the city Administration in 2014. It is well-known that the current majority of the deputies is in opposition to you and most likely your report won’t be accepted. Are you ready for this?

– Life in Karelia is such that one has to be ready for anything. But it doesn’t mean that I will sit quietly in the corner and keep silent. We do not rule out that deputies will give low estimation to my work at the next session on 3 June. Recently we have discussed it at the meeting [of my staff]. Moreover, I do not rule out that they may make a tricky move, the way it was in Novgorod, and demand my resignation. But we have a clear vision what we are going to do if they take this unlawful decision.

– On the other hand, you can definitely rely on YABLOKO activists in Karelia.

– We have a clear agreement with YABLOKO activists. They are the team who did everything to elect a different [not from the ruling party] mayor of the city. During my nearly two yours in office these people did not create a single situation which made me feel ashamed. I can proudly say that YABLOKO activists are the political force in the city and the Republic I can rely on and who can show me the right direction. Let us say they are the magic source of movement. We can criticize each other, argue, we are not afraid to speak about the mistakes. If something is not clear or we are dissatisfied with something, we discuss it. We have democratic and business relations.

– However, this does not refer to Governor of the Republic of Karelia Alexander Khudilaynen.

– I try to differentiate economic and political issues and distance myself from any accusations set froth against Alexander Khudilaynen such as, for example, being non-effective manager. I can not estimate him as a manager because I do not know the situation. I can only say that wrong decisions concerning the city of Petrozavodsk have being made. I note that it is the capital of the Republic. For example, functioning of the Road Fund of the Republic when Petrozavodsk problems are concerned is not clear to me.

– The roads of Petrozavodsk really leave much to be desired.

– It seems that it is a purely economic issue. What is more, 51 percent of the registered car owners of the Republic are residents of Petrozavodsk. It means that all of them pay the transport tax filling the Road Fund of the Republic. However, this year the fund did not give our city a single rouble. This is a unique situation. That is why roads are a complicated issue, it is true. I do not understand how one can speak of investment development in the Republic when there are such roads in the capital city. And yes, there is also a Municipal Road Rund, I can provide a full report on every rouble spent from it. For example, our road cleaning and holes patching contractor is an enterprise of the Republic. I can not negotiate with the contractors because they do not fulfill the contractual provisions, therefore I address the founder and the state committee, through no reaction to these appeals follows. I consider it as a lack of understanding of the importance of these things for effective work, including the governor.

The forum of active citizens and non-profit organisations The Community has just finished its work in Petrozavodsk. How can you assess its work?

– We pay much attention to the work with public organisations. We have an open online expert council, a virtual reception office of the Petrazavodsk Administration. We also hold open public hearings and open city briefings. Recently we have conducted a forum of public organisations and its work led to our decision to create a single centre for them. Petrozavodsk is a unique city in my opinion, active people live here and they want their opinion to be heard.

– When opening The Community forum, Alexander Bryechalov stated that the NGOs of the North-West received only 170 million roubles of presidential grants, about 5 million of this money was given to Karelia. He said the main reason behind such low allotment of money was the failure of the activists to correctly fulfill the applications for the grants. 

– That is why we decided to create a single centre for public organisations where the conditions for legal and bookkeeping services and involvement and search of additional resources will be provided. There are 1,200 NGOs in our Republic, 860 of them are registered in Petrozavodsk. In addition, only 300 of them really work, about 70 cooperate with the city Administration. The project of the single centre for public organisations is ready. I think it will be of great support to public activists of the city. I once again repeat, we have municipal facilities, we have little left to do, we have to find the means to bring the project to life. I think we will do it this year.