"Run, Igor, run." Bratsk residents collected five thousand signatures calling for the mayor's resignation and attempted to deliver them to Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev.
Today the governor Igor Kobzev walked through the streets Bratsk together with the current mayor Sergei Serebrennikov, who has another election in three weeks: he is running for his fifth term.
During this walk, a journalist and social activist approached the officials. Elena Kutergina, who also attempted to participate in the elections but was rejected. She suggested that the regional head take a more neutral stance in the mayoral race and not use his position as a proxy for one of the candidates.
In addition, Kutergina asked The governor was asked to review a complaint signed by five thousand residents demanding the resignation of Mayor Serebrennikov. Kobzev didn't even touch the papers and advised him to submit them "in the prescribed manner."
Serebrennikov himself called the activist’s actions a “PR stunt,” and the head of the regional government Konstantin Zaitsev proposed to transfer the signatures to the city council deputies.
After this, the officials walked away quickly.
"Run, Igor, run" — one of the residents commented on these shots.
It is clarified that Governor Kobzev later returned to Elena Kutergina and spoke with her.
The Bratsk mayoral election will be held on September 8. Sergei Serebrennikov, a former FSB officer, is running He is running for the post of mayor for the fifth time, representing United Russia under the slogan “reliable, proven, one of our own.”
However, not everyone is happy about this.
— You only need to visit Bratsk to understand why it’s time to change the mayor, — she explained NotMoscow one of the city's residents. — Crumbling roads and driveways, dilapidated fountains, and a near-total absence of public spaces and parks where people could spend time. It doesn't feel like anyone's taking care of the city at all.
She also drew attention to the large number of dilapidated housing in Bratsk and reminded a story about a local blogger who tried to bring this to the mayor's attention, but the mayor took offense and filed a complaint against him.