Changes? Are we waiting for changes?

      Some of those interviewed even go so far as to quote Alexander Valentinovich, who likely said something along the lines of: "I'm tired of him." So October 31 is reportedly being called Simakov's last working day in his post as city manager.

      Dmitry Pechenkin may take his place; he was approved as the first deputy to the current head of the city administration as early as April 2023. Notably, during the "appointment" procedure the Duma members did not speak of Dmitry Alexandrovich's incompetence or unpreparedness and were more than unanimous in the vote.

      "Then and now I can say one thing: Pechenkin is much smarter than his immediate boss, and he definitely wasn't hired 'from an ad.' Although under the current political credo 'the king is played by the retinue,' his future role and significance for the city are hard to predict. Yes, I voted 'for' on the assumption that Pechenkin is by no means a pig in a poke... But that doesn't mean he'll be able to avoid the role of a puppet in key municipal matters," shared one of the city Duma deputies.

      Another elected official was quite skeptical that Simakov will be "removed," since Vyacheslav Nikolaevich allegedly asked to resign himself but was refused:

      "I can only admit that in October the city administration may indeed reshuffle its main municipal personnel, but this is not a crude dismissal of a 'toxic official' but a political move. I believe Simakov is unlikely to be left out of politics... Yes, as a man very knowledgeable in, to put it mildly, the 'nuances' of the city's financially intensive activities, it would be dangerous to leave him 'unsupervised.' And that means he is not facing a career fall or a 'complete mess,' but rather growth within ministerial ranks. For example, as deputy minister of energy and housing and communal services of the region."

      Note that currently the acting minister of energy and housing and communal services of the Kirov Region is Alexey Zhuravlyov, appointed to this post on July 21 of this year.

      Earlier, even before Klimentsky left the post of regional housing and communal services minister, certain sources in the regional government reported that Klimentsky's possible successor would be Maksim Gornostayev, whom the new head of the regional government, Mikhail Sandalov, would "seat" in the ministerial chair as "his man."

      Today, in the "Gray House" they explain: Maksim Gornostayev, a candidacy which has probably not been cleared with the security services, is being trained for the ministerial post by specialists who are actively filling his "baggage of necessary knowledge." Since Maksim Nikolaevich's career path was for the most part connected with security work in private companies, where he held various positions (from the dossier): "He has no education or work experience in the field of energy and housing and utilities. At the same time the minister's post requires a high qualification. The competence of the minister of energy and housing and utilities includes issues of operation, modernization and reconstruction of housing and energy facilities, implementation of state gasification programs, the capital repair fund, heating and water supply."

      Interlocutors from the "Gray House" say they have "heard" that Vyacheslav Simakov will get the post of deputy minister of energy and housing and communal services. They even discuss the potential success of the Gornostayev–Simakov tandem. By the way, a source from the Ministry reported that Klimentsky refused the allegedly offered position of director of CHP‑1 and said he is moving to work in Krasnodar Krai.

      The most interesting version of "Vyacheslav Simakov's departure from his post" was the supposition of a group of city Duma deputies who said that Simakov had allegedly submitted an application to take part in the special military operation. And today the "particularly worrying topics" for discussion are the question of whether volunteer Simakov will be called up or not—given the need for his presence at work. And, even more troubling, why he decided to go.

      "This is pure enthusiasm, which, in principle, is characteristic of his patriotic nature. Or the authorities have hassled him so much that it's better to stay away from their interest," shared a source from the deputies' corps.