Bikalyuk "pulled off" the public hearings on the draft budget.

      Today's public hearings were the least like public hearings. At the very beginning it seemed that the authorities had decided to use them to talk about their own successful achievements. They launched into a speech about a new socio-economic forecast for the Kirov region (which, actually, isn't that new), detailing how well the region will live in the coming years. Or relatively well. Only after that did the discussion move on to the budget project itself.

      After the report by Finance Minister Larisa Makoveeva, which we have written about repeatedly today, it was time for questions. And there were a few amusing moments here as well.

      Chairman of the Government Mikhail Sandalov noted that first the written questions from local residents had to be read out. Considering that more than a million people live in the region, many of whom are unhappy with the roads, infrastructure and other problems, we assumed there would be quite a few submissions. However, there were... only two.

      The content of the questions was also surprising — at first glance, too “convenient” for the authorities. For example, one resident of the region asked about mobile coverage in a village in the Orlovsky district. Where, it turned out, surprisingly, they already plan to install a base station in the near future. The second, a resident of Kstinino, asked whether there would be enough money to finish the tunnel in Novovyatsk and when it would happen (despite the fact that the authorities trumpet this tunnel from every corner 24/7, and this information has been published repeatedly by all the media). By the way, regarding the tunnel officials answered that the money exists, and they might finish it as late as the summer of 2027.

      They then invited anyone in the hall to speak. There were not that many people present, and only a couple of people dared to speak — mostly representatives of Kirov organizations. They asked about new air routes, major repairs of educational institutions and payments to athletes. Again — exactly the kind of questions to which the officials had no difficulty responding.

      Criticism and discontent were voiced today by only one person — regional assembly deputy Albert Bikaluk, who also decided to drop in. He asked several questions at once. The first concerned industrial parks — the deputy expressed doubt about the necessity of a 90-million ruble investment in a new industrial park given that the old ones, according to his information, are in decline. The authorities replied that the new industrial park is private, being built with private funds, but it will house large regional companies, and the authorities cannot refuse them support. As for the old industrial parks, officials promised to go there with Bikaluk and see them personally.

      The deputy's second question was about 150 million rubles for the “Social Architecture” project. He expressed the opinion that it is not necessary to spend such money now, in a difficult time for the region and the country. The government replied that it is essential, because the training of personnel will depend on this project.

      Bikaluk also protested that the Kirov region has a huge public debt, there is no money for indexation of payments to labor veterans and for improving school meals, yet the authorities still want to buy a representation in Moscow and carry out a number of other smaller, but equally unimportant in his opinion, expenditures. However, the deputy's impassioned speech did not convince the officials to give up purchasing property in the capital. Or their other plans.