Press Release, 2.02.2024

Photo: Magistrate of the Court District No. 3 of Oktyabrsky District of Izhevsk, Alyona Dresvyannikova / Photo by Iya Boronina

The Minister of Culture of Udmurtia, Vladimir Solovyov, was fined for violating the procedure for considering the appeal of the Chair of the Yabloko branch in Udmurtia, Iya Boronina. The leader of the regional department asked the minister to provide the information necessary to prepare amendments to the draft law on the budget of the Republic. The magistrate of the Oktyabrsky District of Izhevsk fined the minister of 5,000 roubles on 1 February.

The representative of the Minister of Culture of Udmurtia asked the court to reduce punishment to a “warning.” The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not object.

Iya Boronina expressed her objections, citing the fact that the minister had not yet taken any action to restore the violated right: the documents requested by Boronina were never received. In addition, according to the head of the regional branch of the party, the offence negatively affects all residents of Udmurtia, since the Boronina’s request also concerned estimates for the renovation of the Tchaikovsky Museum – the estate of composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky in Votkinsk. The museum is in poor condition due to a leaking roof, but it is a cultural heritage site of federal significance and plays a key role in the development of tourism in the region. The estimate was necessary for Boronina to prepare amendments to the budget in order to allocate funds for repairs.

According to employees of the Ministry of Finance of Udmurtia, the application for these funds was not sent by the Ministry of Culture of Udmurtia to Finance Ministry for the first reading of the draft budget of the Republic. That is, it was not sent either to the relevant department or to the regional parliament for the preparation of amendments. If this information is confirmed, the question arises whether the Minister of Culture is suitable for his post. Boronina is also preparing a corresponding request regarding this part.

It should be noted that as part of the preparation of the draft law on the budget of Udmurtia for 2024, the planning period 2025/2026, the Chair of the Udmurtian Yabloko Iya Boronina developed and sent 18 amendments, five of which totalling 1.5 billion roubles were approved. Two amendments regarding culture (renovation of the Tchaikovsky Museum and a new ballet production at the Tchaikovsky Theatre) were rejected by the head of Udmurtia Alexander Brechalov.

“The court ruling has a very important function – to remind any official that it is not the population that is his backup dancers, but on the contrary, he receives his salary from taxes paid from the pockets of this very population. Citizens should take note: if an official did not respond on time (within 30 days), did not respond to the point (a runaround reply, lack of specifics and requested documents), then citizens can apply to the Public Prosecutor’s Office with reference to the provisions of Federal Law No 59,” Iya Boronina commented.

In addition to an administrative fine for the minister, there will be Public Prosecutor’s inspection in the Ministry of Culture of Udmurtia. Based on the results of Iya Boronina’s appeal to the supervisory agency, the Votkinsk Interdistrict Public Prosecutor and the Oktyabrsky District Public Prosecutor (in Izhevsk) were instructed to conduct an inspection of the maintenance of cultural objects and misuse of budget funds.