In 2009, when it became known about the appointment of SPS leader Nikita Belykh as governor of the Kirov region, they began to be indignant at internal political disputes in various public and party lobbies. They say, what’s going on here, a man walked around for several years with a poster saying “Putin’s gang is being brought to justice” and got the province for it,” voices were heard. Since career growth looks like this, everyone needs to get involved in the opposition, and not just any opposition, but precisely the most odious Kasparov’s Solidarity.
Fortunately, events in this province regularly made it onto the federal agenda for discussions. Vice-Governor for Social Affairs Maria Gaidar, advisor Alexei Navalny, then the Kirovles case: the “reserve of liberalism” never tired of reminding itself.
And the fact that Nikita’s older brother, at that time the prosecutor of the Perm region, Alexander Yuryevich Belykh, can be assumed to have provided some assistance or protection to his brother, the governor; from 2009 to 2015, he headed the prosecutor’s office of the Perm region. In June 2015, Alexander Belykh was appointed to the position of head of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District. And that’s when, in Navalny’s opened mail correspondence, they found letters from N. Belykh, where hewrote to him, now deal with the security forces yourself - one can assume that until this moment the Whites had some kind of opportunity to cover along the power line. But now he himself was under arrest, apparently as a result of an operation that had been prepared for a long time. Details of the arrest indicate that the governor was being “led.” And the brother, it seems, did not know or did not want to warn his brother to be careful and remove him from the territory of the region in advance promotion, depriving him of the opportunity to assist him.
A Navalny AND N Belykh during the Hunt.
The representative of the Investigative Committee emphasized that there is no political background in the case against Belykh, and guaranteed that the investigation will be comprehensive and objective. One of the companies mentioned in the Investigative Committee’s release, Novovyatsky Ski Combine, recently appeared in the media in connection with another criminal case. FSB investigators accuse an entrepreneur from Belarus, Albert Laritsky, of fictitiously lending to a company and stealing Sberbank loans. He is being tried under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“fraud on an especially large scale”). Laritsky was arrested in June 2015. Kommersant reports that he was a close friend of the governor of the Kirov region. Earlier, the ex-director of the Novovyatskiy Ski Plant, Vladimir Sysolyatin, and his deputy, Natalya Fukalova, were tried in Kirov. They are accused of illegally refunding VAT in the amount of 38 million rubles.
In December 2014, the Kirov court issued acquittals, but a year ago the cases were returned for further investigation, where they are still pending.
Sysolyatin, in an interview with Kommersant, claimed that Laritsky set him up and Fukalov, since all the money chains actually passed through Laritsky’s companies, and both ex-heads of the company were his “hired employees.” The punishment under the article that Nikita Belykh is charged with is from 8 to 15 years of imprisonment with a fine of 70 times the amount of the bribe, or a fine of 80 to 100 times the amount of the bribe with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
According to a law enforcement source cited by TASS, Belykh was detained during an operational experiment while receiving marked money: “100 euro bills marked with a special solution were handed over to Belykh under the control of operational officers as part of an operational experiment.” (June 24, 2016) In 2004, Belykh became the leader of the Union of Right Forces. The media claimed that Belykh took advantage of the connections of his deputy at the Perm Union of Right Forces, Sergei Shcherchkov.
Shcherchkov is one of the deputy general directors of Territorial Generating Company No. 9, which is part of the structure of RAO UES, headed by the shadow leader of the SPS Chubais. On December 17, 2007, Belykh at the SPS congress announced his resignation as head of the party’s federal political council, since he considers himself responsible for its defeat in the parliamentary elections. In his opinion, before the elections to the State Duma it was necessary to create a unified democratic party of Russia, but this was not done. In addition, Belykh said, he is guilty of “not including a number of worthy people in the lists of party candidates who could attract additional votes.”
On December 8, 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted Belykh's candidacy to the Legislative Assembly of the Kirov Region for consideration to vest it with the powers of governor. Belykh said that he accepted the offer of the head of state because he considered it possible to “realize himself in regional work.” He expressed hope of maintaining personal relations with his former comrades in the opposition, but some of them condemned him, suggesting that the post of governor was offered to Belykh as a reward “for abandoning the party” and helping to create the “Right Cause.” Belykh and his comrades in the democratic movement “Solidarity”, in the creation of which Belykh took an active part, were also convicted.
Even before the congress of democratic forces held in December 2008, at which the movement was founded, Belykh announced his withdrawal from Solidarity. He explained his decision by saying that the principles of the movement do not imply cooperation with the authorities, which, in turn, gave rise to accusing the Whites of apostasy. In 2009, the head of state visited Vyatka (the old name of Kirov). Governor Belykh prepared thoroughly for the arrival of Dmitry Medvedev. For example, along the president’s route, a railroad crossing was paved (to prevent the motorcade from shaking), and several sewer manholes were rolled into asphalt for the same purpose. A one-way street was turned into a two-way street, urgent road markings were applied (so that an overzealous traffic police officer would not decide to fine the head of state for driving into the oncoming lane), and residents of the streets along which Medvedev drove were required to wash their windows.
In March 2011, Nikita Belykh filed a lawsuit against the chairman of the board of directors of the Perm investment group Ermak, Nadezhda Agisheva, who on February 2, on the radio station Echo Perm, announced the governor’s involvement in the withdrawal of part of the assets of the Ermak company in 2008. Belykh demanded to refute the information discrediting him and to compensate 500 thousand rubles as compensation for moral damage. The Leninsky District Court of Perm decided to take into custody her husband, deputy of the regional legislative assembly Andrei Agishev (accused of illegal entrepreneurship), and Agisheva linked the criminal prosecution of her husband with the conflict of shareholders of the Ermak group, co-owned by the Agishev family.
During the court hearing, Nadezhda Agisheva’s representative stated that there was no interview at all, and the telephone conversation with the journalist was “confidential.” In April 2011, it became known that Nikita Belykh divorced his wife, who gave him three sons. He carefully concealed his divorce from his wife Belykh. The fact was revealed only during the filing of the income tax return. The new document did not contain data on the income of the wife of the head of the region, although by law they must be published. In last year's declaration, the spouse was mentioned. The declaration was submitted in accordance with the law,” said Belykh’s press secretary Boris Vesnin. At the same time, employees of the Kirov region administration reported that Nikita Belykh was courting his deputy, Maria Gaidar. Maria Gaidar’s own marriage broke up a long time ago. Although she officially divorced her husband in 2008.
The relationship with Nikita Belykh is not Gaidar’s first attempt to arrange her life by destroying someone else’s marriage. Maria is also credited with an affair with the famous blogger Alexei Navalny, who is also happily married, just as Nikita Belykh was married. And a number of bright love episodes. The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against the lawyer of the Moscow Bar Chamber, blogger Alexei Navalny on the grounds of a crime under Part 3 of Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (causing property damage by deception or abuse of trust in the absence of signs of theft).
According to the investigation, in 2009, Navalny, being an adviser to the governor of the Kirov region on a voluntary basis, committed a number of illegal actions, as a result of which the Kirov regional state unitary enterprise “Kirovles” suffered particularly large amounts of damage. Nikita Belykh in his blog called the accusations against Navalny groundless.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the public committee “For Openness of Justice” Denis Dvornikov noted that law enforcement agencies may have compelling reasons to initiate a criminal case against Navalny. “I don’t believe he’s guilty until the court verdict. But I admit that this is a very real scenario,” he said. In May 2011, the Historical Memory Foundation brought charges of plagiarism against Belykh. According to the results of research conducted by the foundation, allegedly in scientific articles by Belykh, published as part of the preparation of a candidate’s dissertation on the topic “Features of the formation and functioning of the camp economy in 1938-1953.” (based on materials from the Vyatlag NKVD-MVD of the USSR),” written under the guidance of Professor V.A. Berdinskikh at the Vyatka State University and defended at the Udmurt University in the summer of 2010, were borrowed from the Kirov local historian V.I. Veremyev without citing references.
In this regard, the foundation sent an appeal with demands to take action to the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. At the same time, no borrowings were found in the candidate's dissertation itself. On the same day, Belykh denied the accusations, saying that information based on the same sources was considered plagiarism. He also provided a statement from Veremyev, in which he confirms that there is no plagiarism. Belykh also indicated that he provided references to Veremyev’s works, but not in articles, but in a monograph.
Conflict with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Belykh's work as Governor of the Kirov Region received a negative assessment from the Kirov Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and personally from its first secretary Sergei Mamaev. In 2012, the communists organized a series of protest events against Belykh in the Kirov region, including the collection of signatures for his resignation. Claims were made against the Belykhs on a number of issues, such as allowing an armed conflict in the village of Demyanovo, carrying out health care reform in the region, due to which there was a reduction in the number of local hospitals, and a worsening situation in agriculture.
On November 21, 2012, Sergei Mamaev spoke at a meeting of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation about the problems of the socio-economic situation of the Kirov region, directly naming the Governor of the Kirov region as the main culprit in the crisis situation and demanding his resignation. In response to this speech, Nikita Belykh filed a lawsuit to protect his honor, dignity and business reputation, in which he demanded compensation for moral damage in the amount of 1 million rubles from Sergei Mamaev. On February 14, the court decided to recover 90 thousand rubles from Sergei Mamaev in favor of Nikita Belykh.
Of course, there was immediately talk on the Internet that “he was set up.” But from previous experience it is known that Belykh had previously been extremely careless in communications, meaning both the choice of contractors and the manner of doing business. Experts from all over the world write that managers of this rank generally do not deal with money themselves: there is always an intermediary or some kind of scheme, an offshore account, a friendly company, a nephew of some kind in the end. Nevertheless, over the past year they have already “taken” the third governor, who keeps money and valuables almost in a cache under his pillow, and this is precisely where the Belykh’s story fits quite organically in the series.
Nikita Belykh was detained while receiving only the third part of the bribe - a package with 150 thousand euros and a bottle of wine, which was given to the governor by Yuri Sudheimer, co-owner of the Novovyatsky Ski Combine (NLK), the first tranche - 200 thousand euros - Nikita Belykh received in 2014 from a former member of the board of directors of NLC Albert Laritsky, who is now in custody on charges of fraud with loans. The second tranche was in the amount of 50 thousand euros. In his testimony, co-owner of the forestry management company and the Novovyatsky ski plant, Yuri Zudheimer, indicates that Nikita Belykh asked for money for patronage. Belykh, when testifying, confirmed that he had taken the package.
The governor owns a plot of land with an area of 700 square meters. m, residential building of 344 sq. m, two apartments and 1/3 share of an apartment. One of the apartments is also used by three children of the head of the region. Nikita Belykh uses three plots of land, a residential building with an area of 133.6 square meters. m and an apartment of 51.5 sq. m. Nikita Yuryevich drives a 2011 Nissan Patrol.
The residence and its surroundings as of 2010.
In the Kirov region they are interested in: on what basis does Governor Nikita Belykh and members of his team live in the government residence Black Lake, affiliated as the residence of the governor, and how much does it cost the regional budget to maintain. During the trial, from the lips of Maria Gaidar, who testified in court and mentioned that many issues of governing the Kirov region were discussed there. We often communicated, had dinner together, since there was a common dining room, exchanged opinions, discussed current problems and issues. Some meetings also took place on Black Lake, said a former official of Governor Nikita Belykh.
Today, many in the Kirov region are interested in the issue concerning the functioning of the so-called state residence of the governor “Black Lake”. The fact is that in Russia, as is known, state residences are provided to two leaders of the country: the President and the Chairman of the Government, and the amounts of financial resources for their maintenance are approved by parliament. In the Kirov region, before the election of Nikolai Shaklein to the post of governor, there was no mention of the residence: http://abos.ru/?p=79672
Belykh could not tell the court his registered address. Governor of the Kirov region Nikita Belykh in the Basmanny court, answering questions from the judge, said that he was divorced and had three minor sons, but did not remember his registration address.
There was an economic facility intended for the temporary stay of government officials of the Russian Federation who came to the region on working visits. The costs of maintaining it at that time were minimal. And after major renovations (I know about this as the former head of the administration of the Sovetsky district), they planned to transform the facility into a branch of a hotel owned by the regional administration,” notes the deputy. These plans, however, were not destined to take place.
Niktita Belykh: “The state should not control parties”
“The facility, at the personal whim of Nikolai Shaklein, gradually began to turn into a place of residence for regional officials,” the deputy’s appeal further states. - Personally, for the governor’s family, a luxurious mansion was built next to a complex of palace-type buildings, a Finnish bathhouse (rumored to be with a swimming pool) and a helipad were erected nearby to go hunting from (this is also a popular version, which should be confirmed or rejected - no). About 100 million rubles were allegedly spent from the regional budget on the arrangement of the facility, which, at the instigation of Shaklein’s close circle, began to be called a “residence” (these figures were reported in some media reports). The number of service personnel increased sharply: from four to 25-30 people.
It was assumed that with the arrival of the new governor, the obvious abuses of his predecessor, associated with the misuse of huge budget funds, would cease. But, unfortunately, the vicious system of abuse of official position continues to operate and even gain momentum. At the same time, the governor violates not only the moral and ethical rules of a civil servant, causing irreparable damage to the authority of state power. Even worse: the governor and a number of his associates, who came from Moscow and Perm, did not consider it necessary to acquire service apartments. Many of them settled in the Black Lake. They began to live in the place of their new habitat widely, in a lordly manner, acquiring numerous servants. The object began to take on the appearance of a kind of noble nest, stylized to match the features of modern civilization: with gas heating, sewerage, hot water.”
Sergei Mamaev reported the illegal use of the Black Lake economic facility in the personal interests of the governor and his entourage to the Chamber of Control and Accounts of the Kirov Region, asking them to check a number of facts and provide information about financial costs. However, the answer Sergei Pavlinovich received from the chairman of the chamber, Yuri Laptev, did not satisfy him as a deputy of the Russian parliament:
Firstly, the certificate does not indicate the functional use of a number of objects included in the economic complex. For example, what is house No. 1 with an area of 133 square meters intended for? House No. 2 with an area of 51 square meters? a warm warehouse with an area of 316 square meters?
Secondly, the certificate does not explain why the regulations on the operation of the complex of buildings included in the Black Lake economic facility, as well as the costs of its maintenance, were not approved by a special resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the region.
Thirdly, the costs of ensuring the functioning of the facility are given only for 2011-13, while, according to our information, the main share of costs falls on the beginning of Nikita Belykh’s governorship - 2008-10. Fourthly, the certificate contains references to circumstances that do not exactly correspond with the actual facts. In particular, it is alleged that the President of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation were in “Black Lake” during official visits, although during Nikita Belykh’s almost five-year tenure as governor, the head of state and the head of government visited the Kirov region on one-day short visits: in the morning flew in and departed for Moscow in the evening.”
At the same time, in addition to “Black Lake”, Sergei Pavlinovich invites Sergei Petrovich to deal with another fact of bureaucratic wastefulness. “The regional administration pays some Kirov restaurants, which includes the elite Tsarskoe Selo, large bills for treating various guests arriving in the region,” the deputy writes, citing questions from voters. “And this is at a time when there is an excellent restaurant in a hotel owned by the regional administration.”
What response does Sergei Mamaev expect to receive to his message? Honest and effective - with the adoption of the necessary measures in case of detection of facts of inappropriate spending of budget funds. That is, he not only asks: “Are there legal grounds to consider the Black Lake economic complex the country residence of the governor of the Kirov region?”, but also proposes to “find out the costs of its maintenance, starting from 2008, including - indicating , do Nikita Belykh and Sergey Shcherchkov pay for their stay at the residence?”
In addition, deputy Mamaev hopes that the prosecutor’s audit will help us finally understand “what is the amount of profit received from the operation of a hotel and restaurant owned by the regional administration? In what areas are they used? and does the regional administration really pay bills coming from elite restaurants in the city of Kirov, and if so, what is their total amount over the past five years?” - notes the publication.
On the picture: Nikita Belykh's hut - modesty and asceticism
It is interesting that the question of Nikita Belykh’s residence in the Black Lake residence was raised earlier. So, in 2010, the governor of the Kirov region, responding to the “housing question,” said that he actually lives in the residence, but pays for it himself. Moreover, Socialist Revolutionary Sergei Mironov hastened to Belykh’s rescue. Being then the speaker of the Federation Council, Sergei Mikhailovich shared that, while in the Kirov region, “he actually lived in a residence - in a stone house, in a room similar to a 5-star hotel. And the governor lives in a small house on the lake.” Nikita Belykh emphasized his modesty against this background by publishing a photo of the house. However, according to the archives of the newspaper “Vyatsky Observer”, signed by Nikita Belykh, a decree of the government of the Kirov region was issued “On approval of the boundaries and regime of special protection of the natural monument of regional significance “Lake Chernoe near the village. Comintern". The “natural monument” now includes not only the territory of the government residence, but also the entire mirror of the Black Lake, as well as forests and hayfields around it. And the costs of ensuring the established regime of special protection of the natural monument will be carried out at the expense of the regional budget,” the publication noted.
However, there are enough questions for Nikita Belykh even without a “house”. It is enough to look at demanding a legal assessment of the published package of documents. One episode related to a gift from Vyatka-Bank, for example, others are obviously waiting for their turn, just as trials in already initiated cases involving Vyatka officials of various ranks are waiting for their turn.”
For ex-governor of the Kirov region Nikita Belykh, eight years in a maximum security colony is tantamount to a death sentence. This opinion was expressed by Belykh’s wife Ekaterina Reifert to Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Any sane person, any person who even superficially observes this process, understands that the accusation is not just far-fetched, they... I can’t even find a censored word for this... Because this is a blatant disgrace, in fact. And what the state prosecution requested was 10 years of strict regime, a hundred million fine, well, this is simply beyond the understanding of justice itself,” said Ekaterina.
Reifert said the defense will appeal the verdict:
Today, the judge of the Presnensky Court handed down a sentence: eight years with credit for staying in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center, which, unlike all other pre-trial detention centers, has devastating consequences for the psyche and physical condition. Taking this into account, it turns out to be six years and a fine of 48 million rubles. This is not a bad story at the moment, you can work with it. Naturally, we are going to appeal the verdict to the Moscow City Court. And then all the way to the Supreme Court.
She noted that the ex-governor’s health has been deteriorating recently.
Today we asked you to take breaks for IVs every two hours at the doctor’s request. And when the break was half an hour late today, Nikita Yuryevich began to literally lose consciousness. Eight years - or six with credit - is a death sentence for him. We are faced with a choice - either accept it and this is the death penalty, or fight,” she said on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda. - All the people who observed the process all understood that it was monstrous. Not only humanly, but also legally.
Let us recall that on February 1, Nikita Belykh was found guilty of receiving a bribe of 600 thousand euros in several tranches from businessman Yuri Sudheimer. The court acquitted him of one of several episodes. As a result, the ex-official was sentenced to 8 years in a maximum security colony and a 48 million fine.
The investigation and trial in the case lasted a year and a half. During this time, while already in a pre-trial detention center, Nikita Belykh managed to get married, and then get married in “Matrosskaya Tishina” with the poetess Ekaterina Reifert.
EXCLUSIVE! The first interview with Nikita Belykh's wife after the verdict."Eight years in prison is a death sentence for him." The first interview with Ekaterina Reifert, wife of Nikita Belykh, after the verdict. In the studio are Alexander Grishin, KP political commentator and Anton Araslanov.
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The court sentenced Nikita Belykh to eight years in prison for bribery
OPINIONS
Political scientist: it is in vain that Nikita Belykh’s defense refers to his health, because his health did not prevent him from taking bribes
Experts shared with Komsomolskaya Pravda their opinion on the decision of the Presnensky Court in Moscow to sentence the ex-governor of the Kirov region Nikita Belykh to eight years in prison. Thus, the director of the Center for Political Information, Alexey Mukhin, called this verdict “normal.” At the same time, he noted that it is in vain that the former official’s defenders refer to the painful condition of their client, because his health did not prevent him from taking bribes
Anatoly Kulikov: The Belykh verdict is a signal: stop robbing the country! And it’s time to figure out how bribe-takers and thieves get into power?
For a comment, I turned to the famous ex-minister of security forces, Army General Anatoly Kulikov.
Anatoly Sergeevich, your opinion on the verdict of Nikita Belykh.
From a legal point of view, there is absolutely no violation. That is, from the point of view of criminal procedural, criminal, judicial proceedings...
MEANWHILE
Belykh's wife Ekaterina: “Nikita and I have been communicating via telegraph all this time”
Congratulations, Ekaterina, be that as it may, marriage is always a joyful occasion. How was the ceremony?
To be honest, it’s difficult to call what was a ceremony. Everything took place in prison, in a visiting room. The situation is appropriate, as you understand. Several people from Lefortovo were present, plus employees of the registry office
REPORTAGE
Vladimir VORSOBIN
How the liberal governor Belykh turned into a “bribery taker”
Part 1
KP special correspondent Vladimir Vorsobin went to the Kirov region to personally find out what brought the former head of this region, romantic and democrat Nikita Belykh, to accusations of corruption
Nikita came to us as a liberal, and left as a “bribe-taker.”
Part 2
Belykh appeared in the Kirov region when its steady development under the previous governors had already led to the fact that there was nothing to steal here. Industry became impoverished, agriculture shrank, the region became depopulated, and, as Kirov investigators put it, “everyone rushed to cut the forest.”
QUESTION OF THE DAY
What do you think about Nikita Belykh's sentence?
Sergei Stepashin, ex-Prime Minister of the Russian Federation:
There should be no untouchables, and if you are caught, bear your responsibility, your burden.
Franz KLINTSEVICH, senator:
There wasn't much fanfare around this case. The sentence is harsh. Taking into account how it happened, I initially, when Belykh was arrested, said that the sentence could be 8-10 years.
Victor ALKSNIS, politician:
Mr. Belykh believed that, having become governor, he was a celestial being and could do whatever he wanted. And as a result he ended up in prison. A person who finds himself in power must behave like an ascetic, like a monk who has taken a vow of celibacy.
Sergey KARNAUKHOV, former deputy chairman of the government of the Kirov region:
I personally sympathize with Nikita Yuryevich and his loved ones - this is a great personal tragedy. Formally, legal liability came at the lower level. The sentence can be considered proportionate to the act committed.
Valery SAVKOV, peasant from Kirov:
The verdict is unfair. Everyone who knew Nikita Yuryevich for 7.5 years can safely say that he did not extort bribes, and often invested his own money. Nikita Yuryevich came to the Kirov region, left his soul, energy, health and money here. They imprisoned me. The only good thing about this verdict is that he was acquitted of extortion.
Igor MOLOTOV, writer:
Belykh received the governorship as a representative of the liberal opposition: “Take it, Nikita, make an island of freedom.” This is an excellent indicator of what liberal demagogues will do once they gain power. Instead of an island of freedom, Kirov residents received corruption and nepotism. I consider the verdict against Belykh correct and confirmed by the investigative authorities.
Dmitry PUCHKOV, translator, blogger:
This is true. It is a rare case that an official of such rank was caught, convicted and punished. And one question arises here - not much or little was given to Nikita Belykh, but why was given ONLY to Nikita Belykh. After all, there are still so many wonderful people in our positions who take money and live well.
Belykh Nikita Yurievich(born June 13, 1975, Perm, RSFSR, USSR) - Russian statesman, ex-governor of the Kirov region (2008-2016). On February 1, 2018, he was found guilty of taking a bribe and sentenced by the court to 8 years in prison in a maximum security colony and a fine of over 48 million rubles.In 1991 he graduated from the physics and mathematics school with a gold medal. After school, I immediately entered two faculties of Perm State University - economics and law, where I studied simultaneously. After the fourth year, he left the law faculty and focused on economics. In 1996, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Economics of Perm State University (specialty in Accounting and Auditing) and entered graduate school. Completed an internship in Oxford, UK. Candidate of Economic Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences.
In 1992-1993, Belykh worked as a journalist for the Perm State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company program "Prikamye Evening". In 1993, he founded and headed the investment company Fin-East.
In 1998, he was invited to the Perm Financial and Production Group (PFPG) to the position of vice president. At the same time he joined the board of the PFIG. Since June 2002, he worked as Deputy General Director, and since May 2003, as General Director of Parma Investment Banking Group LLC.
In 2001, Nikita Belykh was elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Region in a single-mandate district, worked as a deputy, and then as chairman of the committee on economic policy and taxes. In 2001 he joined the Union of Right Forces (before that he was a member of the New Force movement). He was elected deputy chairman of the Perm regional branch of the Union of Right Forces, then - chairman of the Perm regional branch of the Union of Right Forces. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Federal Political Council of the SPS party.
From March 2004 to May 2005 he worked as vice-governor of the Perm region. Oversaw the development of the regional economy, consumer market, small business, mortgages, venture business, as well as foreign economic relations and a number of other areas. In December 2006, he was elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory on the list of the Union of Right Forces party. He joined the Committee on Budget and Tax Policy and the Union of Right Forces faction.
On May 28, 2005, he was elected chairman of the Federal Political Council of the Union of Right Forces party. In the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in December 2007, he headed the SPS list. In September 2008, he resigned as chairman of the FPS SPS and left the party.
On December 8, 2008, Nikita Belykh was introduced by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, and on December 18, by the decision of the Legislative Assembly of the Kirov Region, he was vested with the powers of the governor of the Kirov Region. On January 14, 2014, due to the expiration of the term of office of the governor of the Kirov region, Nikita Belykh was appointed acting governor of the Kirov region by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the elections for governor of the Kirov region on September 14, 2014, he participated as a self-nominated candidate. According to the election results, Nikita Belykh was elected governor of the Kirov region. Took office on September 23, 2014.
On June 24, 2016, employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, in cooperation with FSB operatives, detained the Governor of the Kirov Region, Nikita Belykh, on suspicion of receiving a bribe of 400 thousand euros. On June 25, 2016, the Basmanny Court of Moscow arrested the Governor of the Kirov Region, Nikita Belykh, accused of bribery. Nikita Belykh did not admit his guilt. On July 28, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Nikita Belykh from the post of governor of the Kirov region due to the loss of confidence of the President of the Russian Federation.
On February 1, 2018, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow sentenced the former governor of the Kirov region Nikita Belykh to 8 years in a maximum security colony and a fine of 48.5 million rubles.
In November 2017, he married a poetess in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. From his first marriage, the Whites have three sons. The eldest son, Yuri, is studying in the UK, the youngest - twins Stepan and Alexander - live with their mother in Perm.
Belykh’s verdict fits into the context of the presidential campaign; the authorities can emphasize that they are actively fighting corruption among high-ranking officials, says political scientist Alexander Ivakhnik. According to him, it is unlikely that Putin will talk specifically about Belykh or Ulyukaev during the campaign, but these verdicts will be implied. “There is an expectation that this verdict will benefit candidate Putin; it is no coincidence that the trial has been accelerated and the decision is being made today, when the campaign is entering an active phase. This court decision fits into the idea that the president punishes officials who steal,” explains Ivakhnik.
Political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov, on the contrary, does not yet see any signs of using the verdicts against Belykh and Ulyukaev in the interests of the presidential campaign. He notes that the topic of the verdict is almost absent from the agenda. “Belykh, although a recognizable figure, is generally perceived by society neutrally, not like Vasilyeva. Therefore, this is more likely an element of self-presentation of law enforcement officers before the formation of the future government, rather than the formation of an election agenda,” the political scientist concludes.
Political scientist Alexander Kynev does not think that Belykh’s sentence can be used in the campaign, since his arrest is a long story. In addition, the case is too controversial to give the authorities obvious advantages; many consider it unfair. Belykh is not “an allergen or an odious figure,” the expert says. At the same time, Kynev notes that the coincidence of the end of the trial and the beginning of the election campaign did not allow one to expect a lenient sentence.
Who is Nikita Belykh
Nikita Belykh was born in Perm on June 13, 1975. In 1996 he graduated from Perm State University with a degree in Accounting and Audit. Candidate of Economic and Historical Sciences.
In the early 1990s, he worked as a journalist at the Perm State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, was engaged in entrepreneurial activities, including establishing the investment company Fin-East, and served on the boards of directors and supervisory boards of several Perm companies. In 1998, Sergei Kiriyenko joined the New Force movement. In 2001, he headed the regional branch of the Union of Right Forces party and became a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Region. In 2004, he moved to the government of the Perm region, and was soon appointed vice-governor. In May 2005, Belykh was elected chairman of the Union of Right Forces. In September 2008, he resigned as leader and left the party. He explained his decision by his reluctance to participate in the “Kremlin project.” “I don’t believe in democratic modernization of the country from above. And I don’t think that the state should govern parties. And then... I just can’t get over myself,” Belykh wrote in his blog.
In December 2008, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Belykh governor of the Kirov region. In 2014, he was elected governor of the Kirov region for a second term. On June 24, 2016, the governor was detained while accepting a bribe, and on July 28, he was removed from office “due to loss of trust” by President Vladimir Putin.
Three White Bribes
The investigation charged Belykh with three bribes. From 2012 to 2016, Belykh received one bribe of $200 thousand from businessman Albert Laritsky and two bribes in the same amount from businessman Yuri Sudgaimer, the state prosecution alleged. The money was intended for the patronage of the Novovyat Forestry Company (NLK) and the Forestry Management Company (UK Leskhoz), whose owners at different times were Laritsky and Sudgaimer.
Laritsky was a friend of Belykh, and the governor had been patronizing him since at least 2010, the state prosecution alleged, he helped the businessman obtain investment contracts with the region and good forest plots. Also, Belykh, through the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Rosleskhoz, sought to include the investment projects of NLK and Leskhoz in the list of priorities and thus helped them receive state support; As a result, Laritsky’s companies received large tracts of land for long-term preferential lease without an auction.
In 2013, German citizen Yuri Sudheimer (Südheimer) became the owner of NLK and Management Company "Leskhoz" - Laritsky gave the enterprises as compensation for debts. Belykh received €200 thousand from Sudgeimer twice, according to the state prosecution. The governor requested the first bribe on March 5, 2014, when he talked with Sudheimer in his office. Soon he collected the necessary money and personally handed it over to the Whites. Two years later, the governor again demanded the same amount. The first part of it, €50 thousand, was handed over by the businessman’s nephew Eric Südheimer in an envelope to the head of the governor’s secretariat, Tatyana Katankina. Sudheimer had to give the remaining €150 thousand to the governor personally at a meeting on June 24, 2016.
By that time, the businessman had written a statement to the FSB about extorting a bribe; this happened after a conversation with one of the senior FSB officers, whose name Sudheimer did not name in court. According to the testimony of Novaya Gazeta special correspondent Andrei Sukhotin, interrogated in court, this was, at that time, the head of the 6th service of the FSB Internal Security Directorate.
On June 24, 2016, Nikita Belykh was detained in a restaurant at the Lotte Plaza business center. The banknotes, the package with which Sudheimer handed him, turned out to be treated with a special compound, which remained on the governor’s fingers: according to Sudheimer, the governor was convinced that there was indeed money inside. Belykh at the restaurant table, on which stacks of banknotes are laid out, were published on the ICR website.
The operation to detain Belykh was led by a man known as the organizer of the arrest of ex-Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev, governors Vyacheslav Gaizer and Alexander Khoroshavin, businessman Dmitry Mikhalchenko, and General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Denis Sugrobov. Feoktistov during the trial of Belykh.
During the trial, more than 20 prosecution witnesses testified in court. During the debate, prosecutors referred not only to their testimony, but also to audio recordings of conversations between Belykh and Sudgeimer: in 2016, the businessman, according to him, on his own initiative decided to record them on a dictaphone.
In one of the recordings, the governor and an entrepreneur discuss donations for city needs that are needed for the elections. Belykh tells Sudheimer the amount - “two hundred” - and offers to transfer the money to the account of the local branch of the Russian Military Historical Society. Businessman offers to pay in cash; Belykh agrees, indicating that he will then credit the money to the account. Subsequently, they discuss the collection and transfer of “documents” over the phone.
Belykh called the request for money, recorded on Sudheimer’s tape recorder, not extortion of a bribe, but a collection of extra-budgetary funding for the needs of the city. And according to him, he counted the holiday package that Belykh accepted from Sudgeimer’s hands a few minutes before his arrest. That evening, the ex-governor was sure until the last moment that the FSB officers had come to detain Sudheimer, and not him, he admitted in court.
"Trivial provocation"
Belykh in court called his persecution the result of a “banal provocation of law enforcement agencies,” in which Sudheimer was also involved. The ex-governor explained the testimony of businessmen against him by pressure: for example, Laritsky was convicted of fraud, while Sudgaimer bought his way out of prosecution, Belykh believes.
Part of the trial in Belykh’s case, due to his health, took place on-site in the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center, where he is being held under arrest. During the year and a half in custody, the ex-governor’s health has deteriorated significantly: he suffers from diabetes, the exacerbation of which has affected the functioning of the heart, brain and joints. Lately Belykh has been walking with a cane; Twice an ambulance was called to court because of high blood pressure.
Deadlines for the Governor
Heads of regions received the longest prison term among those convicted in Russia ex-head of the Tula region Vyacheslav Dudka. In 2013, he was found guilty of accepting a bribe of 40 million rubles. for the provision of lease of land for the construction of a hypermarket. As a result, Dudka spent nine and a half years in prison, where he is still serving his sentence today.
The sentence with the second longest term was handed down back in the 1990s. In November 1996 Head of the Vologda Region Nikolay Podgornov on charges of bribery, embezzlement, abuse of official position. In 1998, he was acquitted on 19 of 20 counts and sentenced to a year of suspended prison, but a year later the Supreme Court sentenced Podgornov to seven years in prison. The ex-head of the region did not stay in the colony for long anyway and was released in 2000, having been granted an amnesty.
To four years in prison in November 2015 ex-governor of the Bryansk region Nikolai Denin. The court found Denin guilty of allocating 21.8 million rubles from the budget. for the needs of a poultry farm controlled by his family.
In 2004, he received three years in prison ex-governor of the Smolensk region Alexander Prokhorov. He was accused of exceeding his official powers in a case of misappropriation of funds during the reconstruction of one of the highways. The court found Prokhorov guilty, and the former governor was immediately released from custody as part of an amnesty in honor of the anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Several more heads of Russian regions were sentenced to suspended prison terms. The last such decision was made by the court in October 2017 regarding ex-governor of the Novosibirsk region Vasily Yurchenko— for abuse of power he was sentenced to three years probation.
“It is assumed that Nikita Belykh will serve his sentence with a “registration” - in the Kirov region, despite the fact that he asked to serve his sentence closer to Moscow, where his wife lives and works. However, most likely, the FSIN will not give him such an opportunity ", said the human rights activist.
At the same time, she noted that according to the law, the FSIN will notify Belykh’s relatives and defenders about his whereabouts after he arrives in the colony.
A little earlier, the executive secretary of the Moscow Public Monitoring Committee, Ivan Melnikov, reported that Belykh was sent from the pre-trial detention center to a colony today. But he did not say where exactly. Before being sent, Belykh’s health was assessed by a pre-trial detention center doctor.
By the way, Deputy Head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Valery Maksimenko previously admitted that Belykh and ex-Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev, theoretically, could end up in the same maximum security colony. But in practice, as the official admitted, too much must coincide for this to happen.
It is interesting that a whole intrigue began around the choice of “place of stay behind bars”, and one of the potential options was considered the penal colony in the Sverdlovsk region, where Leonid Brezhnev’s son-in-law Yuri Churbanov was imprisoned. There were rumors that Belykh would be sent to serve his sentence in general regime colony No. 13 in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region. Although all the colonies in the Kirov region are located not in cities, but in the outback. But many members of the Public Council of the FSIN, regarding the place where the ex-governor’s sentence will be served, stated that he would definitely not be sent either to the Sverdlovsk region, or to Mordovia, or to Kolyma.
Let us remind you that the law allows you to serve your sentence at the location of the court. There are no colonies in the capital. There is one maximum security colony in the region; according to the Federal Penitentiary Service, there are no free places in it. In the Kirov region, over 10 thousand people are serving sentences. And among the penal colonies there are as many as six with a strict regime. Half of them have a reputation as “red zones”, where the administration holds power, not criminals.
The convicted former governor was charged with two counts of corruption. According to the Investigative Committee, in 2011-2012, Belykh received 200 thousand euros from businessman Albert Laritsky for “helping” to coordinate his companies’ applications for preferential lease of forest plots. A year later, according to investigators, the new owner of the same companies, Yuri Sudgaimer, repeated the “gift” of his predecessor and presented the governor with 400 thousand euros in 2014.
It must be said that the court acquitted him on the first episode, but found him guilty on the second. In addition to the eight-year prison term, the court imposed a fine of 48.2 million rubles on Belykh. The ex-governor was also disqualified from holding positions in the civil service for three years.
