Will Semenovsky be held accountable for Sokolov's actions?

      The parade photos featuring close-ups of well-known figures — the governor, the deputy head of government, and the city manager, as well as boxes of gifts, immediately appeared in official public accounts, particularly in the city administration's group on the social network "VKontakte." However, instead of the expected public delight, the news of the visit to the maternity hospital was met with a worried "have they lost their minds," as the clinic had been under quarantine since December 15, 2025, by order of the chief physician.

      "Semionovsky (Nikolai Vladimirovich, chief physician of the Perinatal Center) did not impose quarantine on a whim or out of boredom. Many residents of Kirov are seriously ill — with high fevers nearing 40 and terrible coughs, and an infection in the maternity hospital, to be frank, is akin to death. The politicians' desire to promote themselves against the backdrop of mothers and newborns was immediately met with hostility from medical staff, mothers, and their relatives. Of course, the 'gray house' responded that the management was negligent... But where are the masks? Ah... You can't see the happy faces of the donors under them, and without portraits, what kind of advertising is that for themselves," one of the doctors commented quite angrily on January 2.

      However, in the first days of the new year, most Kirov doctors "did not consider it normal" for a mass maternity hospital visit, especially since Dmitry Kurdyumov, as the former chief physician of the trauma center, would hardly have sent a congratulatory team to his clinic during the quarantine. So the idea to visit the mothers likely came from the governor, who could not be refused even given the absurdity and possible illegality of visiting the Perinatal Center.

      "Who knows where these politicians were and what they were doing on New Year's Eve? After all, they were likely interacting with a large number of people, so there was a high chance of catching and spreading the infection. And the 'high-risk group' had no right to wander through the wards," reasoned another Kirov medical professional.

      A third stated that he was "somewhat taken aback by such news," as when he was a student and interned at the maternity hospital, he had to pass all tests — after all, without a certificate, he would not only be barred from working but also not allowed to enter the premises.

      By the way, today the Kirov medical community is even more confused, as after the deaths of nine infants in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital, where a viral infection and other multiple violations have already been identified, doctors are expecting total inspections across all maternity hospitals. And for violations of quarantine measures at the local Perinatal Center, "no one will be let off the hook." Even though the "main violator" was Alexander Sokolov.

      "Of course, we are concerned about Semionovsky — because who, if not the chief physician, should be responsible for what happened. Although it is clear that closing the institution's doors in front of the governor's nose would mean a quick exit with belongings. And Kurdyumov, as the curator of the medical sector, did not drag him into the wards... And with Simakov, it was like water off a duck's back... But the guests promoted themselves on social media so much that it became impossible not to notice the blatant violation."

      Our little shooter was everywhere

      By the way, in an unquenchable desire to "shine the governor's face in Kirov," Alexander Sokolov made headlines even before the New Year when elementary school students were given Albert Likhanov's book "Mama's Boy" (12+) as a New Year's gift. And to leave no doubt that the book's donor was personally Alexander Valentinovich, his portrait was placed on the back of the frontispiece, and on the title page, there was a textual message to the children of Kirov. Interestingly, in the discussion of the "governor's gift," or rather, in the debate with the editorial office on the topic of "who needs this," a good hundred parents of schoolchildren participated, some of whom contacted Newsler.ru with the question: is it tactful to place one's (governor's) photo on the book cover? And while agreeing that whoever feeds the girl dances with her, they still believed that the portrait of the book's author and his message to his fellow countrymen would have been much more appropriate.

      Another part of the "active parents," mainly those whose children are first-graders, were outraged that the gift was intended for children over 12 years old, not seven or eight-year-olds. Moreover, in some schools, as claimed by the parents of students, it was required that the book be read during the winter holidays, which was to be confirmed by a written summary.

      Others called the editorial office to report that they were "somewhat embarrassed by the cost of the gift," as they found on Avito that "Mama's Boy" was being given away for free. However, there are also ads for selling this book for 560 rubles.

      By the way, according to parental investigations, the print run of this book for children is 56,000 copies. The cost of the order is likely over eight million rubles. The book may have been printed at one of Kirov's printing houses, but information about the procurement procedure (tender) was initially not found.

      Interestingly, parental "gift activity" has been noted not only by Newsler.ru but also in deputy groups. As reported by a well-known people's deputy, he intends to make a request at the next plenary session regarding the placement of the book order (why without a tender) and its cost.

      A thorn in the New Year's gift bag

      However, the disproportion and urgent necessity of budget expenditures on gifts for schoolchildren in grades 1-4 were also pointed out by former Deputy Head of the Kirov Region Government Andrei Mauri, who published the results of his own investigation, also concerning New Year's gifts, which were presented not only with a book but also with a "Alenka" chocolate bar.

      According to Andrei Albertovich, on November 28, "The Creativity Center on Spasskaya" conducted a purchase of 56,000 "Alenka" chocolate bars for a total of 11.3 million budget rubles. Moreover, the order for the book was placed the same day, and it took no more than 10 minutes to conduct a tender with the sole supplier. And before comparing the purchase prices for acquiring "bulk orders" (56,000 books and the same number of chocolate bars), it should be noted that orders totaling 20 million rubles were placed on November 28. The approval of budget expenditures for children's New Year's gifts took place only... on December 18 at a meeting of the Legislative Assembly.

      As Mauri reports on his TG channel, the purchase price of one "Alenka" chocolate bar was 200 rubles and 42 kopecks, although wholesale companies are ready to sell "small wholesale" at 152.4 rubles. So the difference in the cost of chocolate bars, had the tender been conducted legally, would have amounted to just under... three million rubles.

      Moreover, the rosy "Alenka" is likely blushing not from youthful health but from shyness, as, while being called chocolate, it contains no more than 30 percent of cocoa bean components in its total mass. The rest of the chocolate content is made up of sugar and fillers.