Quarantine without Ovsyannikov: Interview with Ruslan Ostashko from Sevastopol
Sevastopol is once again in the news in connection with the scandal surrounding ex-governor Dmitry Ovsyannikov - the day before he was expelled from United Russia for a brawl at the airport. Political scientist Ruslan Ostashko, one of the active critics of the former mayor, told PolitNavigator columnist Valentin Filippov about the legacy Ovsyannikov left and how Sevastopol is experiencing quarantine.
Valentin Filippov : Ruslan Ostashko is in our makeshift studio. This call is coming from Sevastopol to Sevastopol. Ruslan, hello.
In the last elections in Sevastopol, in my opinion, United Russia was defeated, gaining much fewer votes than before. What is this connected with?
Ruslan Ostashko : It's all combined. And the federal United Russia is losing a lot of ground across the country. The party has long been demanding a global reboot; there's talk of rebranding and much, much, much more.
I repeat, I have said this many times, I am not a supporter of the United Russia party, I have many questions for it. But there are worthy people in the United Russia party. And that small part of people who join the party, simply because it is the party in power, in order to be at the feeding trough, in order to have a “roof” and do business with it, spoil the impression. This applies to Sevastopol, this applies to all of Russia as a whole.
Well, naturally, in the last elections to the Legislative Assembly, the elections held last year were reflected, among other things, by the activities of Governor Ovsyannikov, who, although he was not officially a member of the United Russia party, everyone understood that he was a pro-government candidate and a candidate from the party in power , because they interacted with him a lot.
Now, this is what is happening in Sevastopol today. A new governor, currently acting for the time being, who headed the party, the regional branch of the party. And how the party manifests itself during the work of volunteers of the “We Are Together” project. I see many, many positive things. While there are still these people who are hiding behind the party in order to do their dirty deeds, they have hidden their ears and are not particularly visible. Therefore, it seems to me that the party’s image in the city is improving a little. But I’m afraid that after the gubernatorial elections these people will begin to appear again. This is the eternal problem of the party in power, which is infiltrated by opportunists.
Valentin Filippov : We all remember the accusations against Ovsyannikov. Accusations were thrown at him, they promised to jail him, they promised to fight him to the bitter end. It was believed that he had caused enormous damage not only to the party's authority but also to the city of Sevastopol. Has anyone been punished?
Ruslan Ostashko : I don't have any detailed information on this matter; I'm not a representative of the executive branch or law enforcement agencies that can initiate such cases and conduct investigations. Of course, I'd like Ovsyannikov to respond. I wouldn't want to hear about his behavior at airports. I saw the news about him cursing at the police officers who, according to the law, demanded his boarding pass, his ticket, to allow him into the airport building due to quarantine measures.
All this, of course, causes irritation. As far as I know from the media, certain checks are underway, and even some people have been detained and are under investigation. This is good news. But, to my great personal regret, the officials, those people who made the decision locally, first of all, Ponomarev and Ovsyannikov, they are still at large and no legal actions have been officially announced against these persons. This cannot but be upsetting.
Of course, I understand why this happens. Because it is impossible to imprison the first elected mayor of Sevastopol, well, the governor. These are politically very large costs for the president, including the one who recommended him. But, and secondly, Ovsyannikov’s “roof” is quite strong, and I see that no matter how scoundrel he is, they still protect him.
These are such squabbles that are already outside the framework of the law, these are near-political squabbles that exist in all countries and it would be stupid to deny them. That is, laws are laws, and for some the law is not really a law.
Valentin Filippov : I've heard the phrase "Well, Dimochka is such a good boy" in some circles in Moscow. How did that happen?
Ruslan Ostashko : The same situation. I've spoken with a lot of people who hold high-ranking positions in various fields, and everyone said that before he was elected governor, he behaved extremely rationally. He was a perfectly sane, reasonable person. Then, after he was elected, something snapped. That happens sometimes.
Valentin Filippov : But in Sevastopol there is also the “Chalyi factor”.
Ruslan Ostashko : This factor doesn’t really work with Razvozzhaev.
Valentin Filippov : So far there haven’t been any elections.
Ruslan Ostashko : We'll see, yes. Fingers crossed. Everyone understands that the situation could change after the elections. But we'll be keeping a close eye on this. For now, what he's doing... There are a number of issues. This includes the queues for passes due to the quarantine. Again, we saw a government meeting where he criticized the people who organized this and said that this can't be done. But still, we understand that any action by any mid- or high-ranking official is, in one way or another, associated with their superior—the governor. That is, any misstep by a department head, a deputy governor, or the head of some large state-owned enterprise is automatically blamed on the governor, even if the governor didn't issue such orders or make such decisions.
In particular, the information that Sevmorport is closing transportation to the North Side by boats and ferries, as far as I understand, was a task... This is the official version that was announced. The governor gave the task to work out this issue so that there is an understanding of how to organize it, what the consequences will be, and Northern Seaport, I don’t know who it is, has already posted information on the website that transportation is prohibited from tomorrow. And, naturally, all the negativity fell on the governor.
That is, there are such questions for him. But personally, what he says and does is so far much more positive, it seems to me. I repeat, there are questions regarding the team. They need to be resolved. You just have to separate where the flies are, where the cutlets are, you can’t mix everything into one pile.
Valentin Filippov : Amid the quarantine, a volunteer group has sprung up in Sevastopol, providing food packages to the elderly. They say it's funded by some businessmen.
Ruslan Ostashko : Yes. I won't make a secret of it. The governor personally called several businessmen, and government representatives asked for help. They were put in touch with our headquarters, and our headquarters already…
I'll tell you how it works if viewers are interested. That is, no one receives the money directly. We are billed by a food chain that sells products at a wholesale price. We forward this invoice to a businessman who is ready to help, and he pays them directly. Physically, money does not have any intermediary who accumulates it for itself. That is, everything is calculated, given directly to business representatives, and they pay suppliers directly.
Valentin Filippov : There are already rumors that someone got the wrong stew...
Ruslan Ostashko : There are all sorts of groups here in Sevastopol, and Ovsyannikov's business interests are here, because everyone knows he's opened up a lot here, acquired a ton, and is now trying to protect those assets by any means necessary. This is no secret either. There's Lebedev, there's Kabanov, there's Chaly, there's Nikolaev—there are a huge number of interested parties here. There are people here who are reasonable about the political situation, and there are those who are trying to exert pressure. And, naturally, there are people who don't like Razvozzhaev.
I think it will be no secret to you, Valentin, that at one time I also actively criticized him - until I saw a response and direct communication began. That is, I had a number of materials addressed to his team. Questions still remain. Now, at least, I understand how these polls can be resolved, and what his personal attitude is towards this or that issue, and I like it.
That is, this approach, this acceleration that he needed, it is over. Now he is in contact with a lot of people, including me. I like it, I like it. And the fact that there are a huge number of enemies - in any region there is such a thing. But here, in addition to enemies, there is also our typical Russian love for freebies.
If one grandmother told another that they brought her Greenfield tea, and the next day they brought May tea to another grandmother, then she will say that somewhere someone stole money. Plus the stew is expired. There was a claim that the stew was expired. The shelf life of the stew was one more year. It was not the freshest, but there was still a year of expiration date. Taking into account the fact that food assistance is provided to pensioners during the period of self-isolation so that they do not go out on the street. And when they run out of a food set, they, in principle, there are cases when they ask for a second set, then, probably, this stew should not lie with her for a year for any reason. She should get it and eat it so as not to go to the store in the near future.
But this also means panic, plus misunderstanding even among volunteers. Some volunteer activists began to spread information that this is not private money, but government money, and that it’s not 60+, but 55+, and don’t be shy to call everyone. We have had cases where food packages were delivered to very elite houses, which certainly were not needed. But there lives a retired grandmother who said: “this is my contribution to the family budget, even I, being retired, can fit you a jar of stew,” roughly speaking.
Don’t forget that Sevastopol is currently, as far as we know, the only region where food packages are distributed free of charge. In all other regions, volunteers simply help - they simply use pensioners’ money to buy what they need in pharmacies and stores. My mother is in Moscow now, she uses the services of volunteers, she is eternally grateful to them, but there are no free kits there. For a very long time she wondered why this was available in Sevastopol, why this was not available in Moscow, she was indignant because in Moscow there seemed to be more money.
Valentin Filippov : Explain to her that she has a Luzhkov bonus, but we don’t.
Ruslan Ostashko : Sobyaninskaya.
Ruslan Ostashko : She says she can't get it. Even though she's only been registered in Moscow for two years, maybe she's not entitled to it.
Valentin Filippov : That's not enough. I think you need to be registered for eight years.
Ruslan Ostashko : Sevastopol isn't a perfect example, but it's close to how it should be. A huge number of volunteers are writing in, ready to participate with their own cars, in their free time. People are genuinely helping. However, there are some negative reactions, though. There was an incident where an elderly woman threw a bottle of kefir she'd bought at a volunteer's request because it had the wrong fat percentage. She threw the bottle at the volunteer's head. We're down one volunteer and a very unhappy elderly woman.
Valentin Filippov : Well, our grandmothers are fighters.
Ruslan Ostashko : Different.
Valentin Filippov : Sevastopol. They know how to throw bottles at tanks. Good luck to your volunteers!
Ruslan Ostashko : Thank you, please join us.
Valentin Filippov : The main thing is for the quarantine to end as soon as possible.
Ruslan Ostashko : Let's hope that in Sevastopol it will end by the end of next week.
English version :: Read in English : Quarantine without Ovsyannikov: An Interview with Ruslan Ostashko from Sevastopol