Press Release, 05.03.2018

On March 3, 2018, at about 22:00, unidentified persons broke with stones two windows in the bedroom of the house of Svetlana Vasilkova, deputy of the Assembly of Deputies of the Pustoshkinsky District from the Yabloko party.

She was in another room at the time of the attack and was not injured.

Svetlana Vasilkova was twice elected deputy of the district Assembly from Yabloko, and she also ran for the post of district head.

The police were summoned to the scene of the crime, Svetlana Vasilkova wrote a statement to the police asking to initiate a criminal case.

Photo: The stone that broke the window

Photo: Broken window

This is the second attack on Svetlana Vasilkova’s house. The previous one occurred on the night of August 4, 2017. Then the windows in the bedroom were also broken.

Despite the applications of Svetlana Vasilkova to the local police station and the appeal of Lev Shlosberg, Chairman of the Pskov Yabloko and deputy of the Pskov Oblast Assembly, to Yuri Instrankin, head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Pskov region, demanding that the guilty persons be identified, the police failed to find the attackers.

Svetlana Vasilkova and Lev Shlosberg associate both the attacks with the professional activities of deputy Vasilkova, who is known for her independent position and constant monitoring of the activities of the district administration.

In particular, on February 21, Svetlana Vasilkova made a detailed co-report on the quality of the work of the District Control and Accounting Department, which, according to the deputy, covered numerous financial violations in the work of the district administration and its subordinate organizations. This report was made at the session of the Assembly of Deputies of the Pustoshkinsky District.

Speaking at the session, Svetlana Vasilkova drew attention to the facts that the chairman of the Control and Accounting Department gave unreliable information to the Assembly of Deputies and the District Public Prosecutor’s Office,  lack of published information on 25 out of the 26 officially conducted audits, and stated that “facts related to the provision of unreliable information by the Chairman of the Control and Accounting Department would be sent to the Accounts Chamber of the Pskov Region and the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation with the request for assistance, and also sent to the District Public Prosecutor’s Office for taking measures of the Public Prosecutor’s response.”

Svetlana Vasilkova suggested that the deputies “should not take into consideration the contradictory information, reject the consideration of the Control and Accounting Department report before submitting written explanations to the Chairman, development of the Standards on information requirements and supplementing information on the official website on the events held, during the next “parliamentary hour” hear the explanations of the Chairman of the Control and Accounting Department and consider the issue of personnel reshuffle in the body accountable to the Assembly of Deputies”.

The Assembly “took into account” the report of the Control and Accounting Department by a majority of votes, as the district administration proposed.

Speech by Svetlana Vasilkova caused great irritation of the district administration and the head of the Control and Accounting Department.

Lev Shlosberg, deputy of the Pskov Oblast Assembly, believes that “there is a direct connection between criticism of Svetlana Vasilkova in the municipal parliament and another night attack on her house.”

Lev Schlossberg is certain that, “feeling complete impunity after the attack in August 2017, the criminals again decided to act with their previously tried methods, and tried to intimidate Svetlana Vasilkova.”

Shlosberg believes that the same criminal forces stand behind both the attacks and they are interested in the lack of parliamentary and public control over the activities of the district administration.

Lev Shlosberg sent an urgent appeal to Yuri Instrankin, head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Pskov region, with a demand to take under his personal control the case of the police inaction in investigation of the attack on Svetlana Vasilkova’s house both in August 2017 and March 3, 2018.