Press Release, 20.02.2023

Photo: Sofya Pugachyova and Nikolai Barkhatov

The corresponding draft resolution was submitted to the regional Assembly of Deputies on 20 February by Sofya Pugachyova, head of the Novorzhevsky district, and Nikolai Barkhatov, a deputy of the Assembly from Yabloko.

This is an alternative draft for the draft decision on consent to the transformation of all municipalities that make up the district and creation of one municipal district submitted to the session of the Assembly (which is scheduled for 21 February) by its Chair Lyubov Trifonova.

Sofya Pugachyoa and Nikolai Barkhatov propose to call a referendum “proceeding from the need to take into account the opinions of citizens living in the Novorzhevsky district, which is possible only if citizens exercise their right to participate in a local referendum on an issue relating to the interests, rights and freedoms of all residents of the Novorzhevsky district”.

The Yabloko draft proposed to hold a referendum on a single voting day on 10 September. This will spare the costs and ensure the required turnout.

“I closely followed the discussion on social networks of the proposed reform, I received many messages about the inadmissibility of liquidating the settlements. I think that it is impossible to understand the consequences of the liquidation of settlements in such a short time, many residents of the district simply did not learn about it in time, and many could not come to public hearings. The project requires detailed study and discussion, and concerns every inhabitant of the district. Therefore, I consider holding a referendum a prerequisite for taking into account the opinions of all residents of the district,” Sofya Pugachyova, head of the district, commented on the initiative.

“Until 23 January, the moment the initiative was submitted to the Assembly by the head of the Novorzhevskaya volost, Tatyana Yevdokimova, no one in the Novorzhevsky district knew or thought about the proposed reform of local self-government. Neither the deputies of the Assembly, nor the residents knew anything about it. The process of scheduling the hearings took place in a very short term, and everything was scheduled by extraordinary sessions.

I know from my conversations with residents, that the awareness of the population about the reform proposed by the authorities is extremely low. The number of people who came to the hearings was less than 2% of the population of the district. Many of them learn only now about the hearings that have already taken place. I consider such large-scale transformations impossible without taking into account the interests of all residents, and the best form for this can only be a referendum,” Nikolai Barkhatov said.