Starting in the summer of 2022, Putin’s administration is luring professional officials with high salaries and promotions to go to work in the occupied territories that Russia has conquered in Ukraine. A number of people succumbed to the temptation and left, saying that they would then like a governor’s post in Russia. However, as the Russian server Meduza reports, after two years some of them discovered that the war is still not over and career advancement is not taking place. Therefore, they try to leave their posts at the first opportunity.
Moscow
18:09 May 3, 2024
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Sergej Tolmachev, deputy governor of the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region | Source: Profimedia
Putin’s people lured officials to the occupied territories both because there was a shortage of personnel and because they did not trust the locals. Because of this, they promised professional officials not only high salaries, rapid career growth, but also inclusion in Putin’s “personnel fund” from which he selects people for future promotions.
That is why many people heeded the call and went to the occupied territories. They saw it as a shift rather than a permanent position. Moreover, many of them thought in 2022 that the war would end quickly. After two years, however, it is clear that the end of the conflict is in sight. Many officials who are stuck in their posts are now trying to leave them at the first opportunity.
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One of the top officials who listened to the Kremlin’s call was Alexander Kostomarov. Previously, he worked as a deputy governor in several Russian regions. He left for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, saying that it would bring him a governorship somewhere in Russia.
In Donbas, he worked as the chief of staff of the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pušilin. He oversaw the “referendum” on joining the Russian Federation, later also the “elections” of deputies and the president. And he was successful, because the results turned out according to the Kremlin’s ideas.
On April 26, however, information appeared in the official Russian media that Pushilin had recalled him. But as one of Kostomar’s relatives told the Meduza server, the high-ranking official no longer wanted to stay in Donbass. What will happen next with him is not clear at the moment, because according to Meduza’s sources, there are no major changes in the positions of governors in Russia in the near future.
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And Kostomarov is not the only one. Sergej Tolmachev, the deputy governor of the occupied part of the Zaporozhye region, who is about to leave his post, is in a similar situation. Unlike Kostomarov, however, Tolmachev has no problem with the fact that he did not get a place in Russia, but that Chelyabinsk regional governor Irina Gechtova is to become the new governor of the Zaporozhye region.
Even in his case, there are no signs that the Kremlin is unhappy with him. Nevertheless, Putin’s people did not find a suitable place for him either. According to sources close to the Russian president, he should help assemble teams of strategists to work on regional elections, but he probably won’t be too enthusiastic about that.
However, there is still a lack of officials in the occupied territories, so the Kremlin’s efforts to motivate Russians to move to new positions continue. However, according to one of the officials, after the experiences of Kostomarov and Tolmačev, it is now more difficult.
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Tags: Russian officials fleeing occupied territories Ukraine iRADIO
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