Chronicles of Vodokanal: Lobanov was shown the way out as having failed to cope with the "graduation project" of Kirov residents?

      Despite the fact that on Thursday, May 15, an interlocutor from the tax service reported on the received application, more precisely, form P-13014 (with a date of readiness on May 23), indicating "more than serious changes are being prepared" at Vodokanal:

      "These are either changes to the company's Charter or an increase in its authorized capital. Or, as the most likely — if you look at the "shared version" — then by 70-80 percent, the form assumes a change of the head of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise. Moreover, according to internal information, Roman Lobanov may not be planning to renegotiate a one-year employment contract. And in his place, as we were presented a little in advance, a "man from Zherdev" (deputy chairman of the regional government) "who was already planned to be employed in early 2024" may come.

      Permutations are bad luck

      A survey of City Duma deputies, who, as a rule, are trusted to make "formal decisions" — after all, the "party of power" will vote "as needed" with a majority of the buttons, showed that many have heard that "information has been coming from the region for two years about the alleged intention of the "main ones" to change the ownership of Vodokanal in in the form of its corporatization. But, as the people's deputies are sure, in accordance with the Charter and the Law, today's "privatization" of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise is impossible.

      "The city authorities did not mention a word or a letter about the statutory changes of Vodokanal, which they knew at least at the level of rumors. So, most likely, we are really talking about replacing the head. The opposition, represented in the Duma by a small and often infantile number, agrees with this, having allowed Lobanov to be dragged into office with a "big squeak" a year earlier, one of the deputies shares his opinion.

      The interlocutor, being completely confident, believes that it was not their "anti-Lobanov confrontation" a year ago that could have caused Roman Vyacheslavovich's current replacement with "another acceptable leader", but some kind of "planned schematics".

      For example, as a well—known assessor suggested, the current director of Vodokanal could not cope with the task assigned to him - to convince deputies to give permission to conclude a 30-year concession agreement with KKS. "Well, if he failed, then it is logical that a more "reputable" leader will be brought in to replace him, in terms of spiritual and other financial proximity to the regional bosses. He is more gifted with assertiveness, ambition and the ability to "competently convince," says the deputy.

      The interlocutor backed up his version with a quote Newsler.ru (March last year): "... negotiations probably took place between Alexander Sokolov and Viktor Vekselberg on the transfer of the Kirov water supply and sanitation networks to the concession,"

      which, by the way, was perceived by Vodokanal itself, at that time under the leadership of Dmitry Ukhin, as nothing more than "a bad joke," because "the deputies will make a wild scandal." But a couple of months later, after Ukhin was "ousted" in favor of Lobanov, they sadly commented: "Except Erokhin, no one cast a vote."

      Why does the city need money

      It should be recalled that Roman Lobanov, as CEO of KKS, has already managed, according to the concession agreement concluded with the municipality for 15 years, the entire city's water supply.

      In early 2019, Ilya Shulgin (then the head of the City Administration), responding to Denis Erokhin's arguments that the Municipal Unitary Enterprise Vodokanal was "able to cope with all tasks on its own, not giving billions of rubles to a private company, but bringing money to the budget, did not extend the lease agreement with Vekselberg's daughter. Despite the fact that the main reason for the "refusal" was called the "indomitable increase in tariffs" dictated by KKS contrary to the terms of the agreement.

      And although Lobanov insisted on prolonging the concession for another 30 years, arguing that two billion rubles had been invested in the repair of KKSom networks, he was refused. After all, according to the Federal Tax Service, in 2017 the income of the joint-stock company amounted to more than 1.7 billion rubles, and the net profit was almost 300 million, so the "investment figures" in the city network were not at all impressive, and the argument seemed very unconvincing.

      Two years later, when the "concession attempts" of KKS intensified again, the then head of government, Alexander Churin, proposed transferring the Kirov Municipal Unitary Enterprise to regional ownership in order to unite all regional Vodokanal. At the same time, Churin's idea was widely criticized, as the municipal municipal unitary enterprise became almost the only profitable and actively developing municipal enterprise. With the money of which (all payers — individuals and legal entities), according to then deputy of the Legislative Assembly Dmitry Russian, it would have been necessary to repair "long-collapsed district communications."

      However, today we can talk about the foresight of the former head of government, as large federal funding has been launched under the Clean Water program. Despite the fact that most of the funds are planned to be used for the construction and repair of rural water pipelines, whose wear often exceeds 90 percent.

      But Churin's resignation and the dismissal of Dmitry Ukhin, the former director of Vodokanal, who is probably the most active opponent of the new concession with KKS, left the company in the city. As well as Vekselberg's "appetizing interests".

      Roman Lobanov: our steam locomotive is flying back

      An interesting fact is that shortly before Roman Lobanov was appointed CEO of Vodokanal, he left his senior post at KKS and "swore to the deputies" that he had nothing to do with his alma mater. Although his work frankly proved the opposite: many contracts (including "direct" ones) for the construction and repair of networks were concluded with KKS. Despite the fact that the company does not have its own construction team and equipment.

      As the interlocutor from the "gray house" reasoned, probably someone smarter "at the top" correctly decided that Lobanov, in place of the director of Vodokanal, is a real locomotive that pulls the train in the other direction:

      "Today, the phrase "Vodokanal" is a concession-Lobanov" for most honest politicians is like a red rag for a bull... And the eye starts twitching when they "remember" the conclusion of a new concession agreement."

      As a ministerial source explained, "everyone was frankly shocked when they started moving Lobanov to Vodokanal:

      "Not only did I feel like a sheep, because many remembered that during the 15 years of the previous concession, of course, not all, but most of the most expensive municipal networks were quietly transferred to the ownership of KKS, without small, half a billion rubles. Vodokanal had been suing for its property for almost five years, and by the time Roman Vyacheslavovich was appointed director of the Municipal Unitary Enterprise (June 2024), the city was restored to order... 20 percent of communications."

      As the interlocutor emphasized, if you ask today if Kirovskaya Vekselbergovskaya daughter returned all the networks to the city by court decision, they will run away from you as from the plague. Vyacheslav Simakov can certainly give the answer, but probably only under torture.:

      "If you ask if there are Kirov residents, and these are deputies and politicians who behave like they don't remember their relatives at meetings, whether they agree to conclude a new concession, I am sure they will firmly say no... They have to pay for water for the price of gold. Indeed, back in 2019, when KKS was confident that the concession agreement would last, it announced a twofold increase in the tariff for 2020... I understand why you don't ask who is in favor of the concession in Kirov. The answer is obvious — all those who did not pay and are not going to pay... That's the correct political response."