Did they "take Vladimir Klimentovsky by advertisement"?

      Yes, the website of the recruitment company "Hunter" has a number of vacant positions in demand by the Governor's Office and the Chita departments. Among them are the Deputy Minister of Housing and Utilities, Energy, Digitalization, and Communications of the Zabaykalsky Krai (for energy); a deputy for economic development, as well as the deputy head of the Department of State Property and Land Relations (on legal issues). However, it should be noted that the salaries of "second ministerial and departmental officials" do not exceed the monthly salary of a cashier at a Kirov supermarket — starting from 60,000 rubles.

      "When I learned that Klementovsky was dealing with the 'Clean Water' program in Zabaykalsky Krai, I wanted to hug him and cry. Because finally, the region got rid of the minister under whom the reports on the start and end of the heating seasons had nothing to do with reality. And as for the responsibility for the collapse of the federal 'Clean Water' program — I would entirely attribute it to his 'ability to work only with his mouth,'" assessed the local ministerial activities of Vladimir Klementovsky by a source from the "gray house."

      He explained that the former minister mainly saw the implementation of the federal project "Clean Water" in the restoration of the Kumena-Kirov water pipeline (where more than three billion rubles had previously been invested), the construction remnants of which over the past decade have either been "privatized" by the local population or have become completely unusable. Moreover, in Kumeny, as has been repeatedly mentioned, there were no reserves of sufficient water to supply the regional center. This was proven by official hydrological studies conducted back in the late 90s at the request of then-mayor Vasily Kiselev: "We dug shafts — the water in the village even disappeared from the wells."

      Klementovsky left, having left a significant financial mess.

      Recall that the official appointment of Klementovsky as Minister of Energy and Housing and Utilities was announced by Governor Alexander Sokolov in January 2023 (Klementovsky resigned in July 2025). This was actively reacted to by the deputies of the City Duma, who staged a demarche at the meeting under the slogan "Klementovsky not as a minister, but in jail."

      Thus, in his speech, full of sarcasm and open mockery, deputy Denis Erokhin called the "new minister" possibly involved in the probable embezzlement of budget millions. Reminding the deputy assembly about the development of the Road Transport Network Project, the production of which was handled by a "Ryazan company," attracted to work by then-mayor Ilya Shulgin in 2018.

      Recall, Ilya Shulgin is likely a relative of Governor Igor Vasilyev or his wife, who from April 2017 to November 2017 was acting deputy head of the regional government, as well as Minister of Industry and Energy. Since November 2017, he worked as the head of the Kirov administration. On January 29, 2020, he was removed from office "at his own request." On February 27, 2023, he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for "abuse of official powers."

      However, when the deputies mocked the "Ryazan Project," where "pictures from the internet" were used as photographs, and the traffic police specialists were "dumbfounded" by the ideas of "three-lane traffic" (in Kirov's two-lane), where the outer lanes were allocated for public transport, it was Klementovsky who signed the acceptance document on December 30, allowing the developer to receive 15 million budget rubles from the city hall. After which, or rather, in connection with which, Vladimir Alexandrovich moved to work in the Regional Administration, heading the Ministry instead of Shulgin.

      By the way, the head of the city KSP, Elena Merzlyakova, confirmed that the Project, whose readiness for use was confirmed by Klementovsky's signature from December 2019, has not been in demand to this day. So the question of the "senseless expenditure of 15 million budget rubles" remains relevant today. However, none of the city managers — neither Shulgin himself nor his successors — Dmitry Osipov and Vyacheslav Simakov — have approached the Investigative Committee with a statement about causing "significant damage" to the city.

      Neither to steal nor to guard

      In April 2024, having settled into the ministerial chair, Vladimir Klementovsky spoke about his "personal achievement" — the acquisition of a "mobile boiler" or, as it was called in the media — "boiler on wheels." And the energy workers dubbed it the "golden heating unit," running on diesel fuel, which cost the regional budget 10.5 million rubles.

      Standardly reporting a 100% readiness of the region for the heating season, the Minister of Housing and Utilities never mentioned the freezing Zaton (the left bank part of Kotel'nich), as solving the Zaton problem — by that time, for three winters, the temperature in the apartments had consistently held at 10-12 degrees "above zero" — was planned with the participation of the mobile boiler.

      Although, judging by the pre-sale characteristics of the unit, its maximum power was one and a half megawatts, which would be enough for the simultaneous heating (as long as there was diesel fuel) of only one five-story building with three entrances. So, with the "widespread lack of heat" still in 12 Zaton houses, even dreaming of maintaining a normal temperature was not possible.

      And given that the maximum number of Kirov houses are not equipped with a system for connecting to an external heat source, the use of the "thermal mobile," even in the event of a critical drop in temperature in residential premises, was never reported.

      By the way, instead of buying a "boiler on wheels," which was openly discussed in the Ministry, it would have been better to purchase two coal boilers — one main and one backup, which would have cost the budget twice as cheap as the useless diesel mechanism. And for the installation of the boiler equipment, which would save the village from freezing, it would take no more than two to three months. And the boilers themselves, with a service life of 10 years, could be dismantled and installed elsewhere instead of the old, leaky ones if a gas boiler was ever launched in Zaton.

      Interestingly, the positively thinking bureaucratic class still found "positive moments" in the activities of the head of the Ministry, basing their reasoning on Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest."

      Thus, the local population of Kotel'nich — the very "poor who are cunning in imagination," desperately sought ways to warm up in their apartments when neither fur coats nor felt boots helped. Some "cooked stoves-burzhuyki," figuring out how to fit a chimney out the window. And some took to making heaters, like the inhabitants of dugouts and tents in the SVO: a shell, fuel in it, and a wick — plenty of heat, just a lot of smoke...

      However, today in the "gray house," they are not at all sad about Klementovsky's departure and are even glad about his employment in the Zabaykalsky Krai, where winters are much harsher and longer than in Kirov. Because "to Thee, God, what is unworthy for us."