The imminent resignation attracted the attention of law enforcement officials. Investigators became interested in a criminal scheme to collect and cash out money coming from businesses under the guise of donations, which presumably goes to the head of the region, members of her family and immediate circle.

As Alexander Kalugin, editor-in-chief of the FlashNord news agency, told the Ekho Moskvy radio station, Kovtun’s actions are being checked for a criminal offense. The reason for the verification was a publication on a website called “Blogger-51”. The authors of the material claimed that Kovtun and her family could have earned hundreds of millions of rubles from the criminal scheme.

The criminal case against two former employees of the administration of the Murmansk region, Georgy Blagodelsky and Eduard Nikrashevsky, who have been in pretrial detention for two months, helped shed light on the shadow scheme in which the head of the region and members of her family may likely be involved.

As FlashNord notes, Blagodelsky’s wife, fearing that her husband would become a “switchman,” wrote an open appeal to the Chairman of the RF Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, and provided journalists with black accounting.

In the text of the appeal, she described that her husband, deputy head of the state regional budgetary institution "Department for Supporting the Activities of the Government of the Murmansk Region", understanding the illegality of the orders of his superiors, including Kovtun, had been keeping accounts since 2012.

In the Murmansk region, presumably, immediately after Kovtun came to power, a list of philanthropists was compiled, which included at least 40 “major financially strong commercial organizations” in the region. Enterprise managers received dozens of requests for financial assistance for various initiatives of the regional government, the implementation of which is impossible without donations.

However, in addition to various public and regional initiatives, benefactors’ money was also spent on paying for fishing trips, renting a helicopter for fishing trips, clothes and equipment for fishing trips, designers, beauty salons, celebrating the governor’s birthdays and many other personal needs of Kovtun.

Murmansk region can be headed by Yarovaya

Meanwhile, FlashNord, citing a source in the leadership of the United Russia faction in the State Duma and two other deputies of the lower house of the Russian parliament, writes that if Kovtun resigns, Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Irina Yarovaya could become the new head of the region.

The day before, September 25, the governor of the Murmansk region did not confirm her possible resignation. This was reported by TASS with reference to her press secretary Anna Bulatova. “The governor does not confirm her resignation; she is now on a planned working trip to Moscow, where she also took part in the work of the State Council on the Arctic,” Bulatova explained.

Earlier last week on my page in

Just recently, our country was shocked by the latest news: Marina Kovtun resigned. Allegedly, her actions are called criminal. Is it true? Or is it again beneficial for someone to spread such rumors that are far from the truth? You can find out more about this in this article. Everyone knows that in 2012 this courageous woman became the governor of the Murmansk region. Before her, this post was headed by Dmitry Vladimirovich Dmitrienko. What really happened?

Many people believe that politics is not a woman’s business. Representatives of the fair sex should stay at home and support the family hearth. And how can you manage to manage an entire region and at the same time not leave your family and children without full attention? When do women, burdened with important government affairs, finally have time to cook dinner?

Is it possible to remain beautiful and feminine, soft and tender with all this? After all, a female politician is always in the public eye; she also needs to find time to take care of her appearance. Her toilet must always be spotless. Her outfit is appropriate, elegant and clean. Her makeup is discreet, her hairstyle is carefully selected for this type of face... When it comes to dealing with government affairs, someone will say...

However, in recent years, as experience shows, five women have managed to occupy important government positions. Our Russian women manage everything.

Gone are the days when you just had to enter a hot hut and stop a galloping horse. Now the famous “Nekrasov’s” women must take the reins of government into their tender hands! And you can’t under any circumstances go wrong with this!

This couple was discovered by Valentina Matvienko. She was the first to become governor of St. Petersburg in 2003. And, as experience shows, it is very successful. Seven years later, Natalya Komarova took the reins of Khanty-Mansiysk. In 1212, Marina Kovtun came to the post of governor of Murmansk. The following year, Svetlana Orlova was appointed governor of the Vladimir region. In 1616, Natalya Zhdanova headed the post of Transbaikalia.

More and more actively, the weaker sex began to displace men in leading positions. Either women have become smarter, or emancipation is moving forward. But, in any case, no one has ever experienced any harm from this. And even vice versa. I would like to wish the heroic women success and talk specifically about the governor of Murmansk, Marina Kovtun, and highlight the latest news.

Biography of Marina Kovtun

Marina Vasilievna Kovtun - nee Kozlova - was born in Murmansk in 1962. She recently turned 55 years old (according to the latest news). Marina's father was a Hero of Socialist Labor. The girl grew up in Soviet times, when work, honesty and courage were held in high esteem. These qualities were perfectly embodied in the character of the future politician. She inherited hard work from her father.

Since childhood, Marina was an active pioneer, then a Komsomol member. At the age of eighteen she graduated from the Trade College in Penza. After that she studied at the Komsomol Higher School.

At the age of 22, Marina married Vasily Kovtun. She began a relationship with him while still studying at the technical school. For more than thirty years she has been the faithful wife of one husband! Marina takes excellent care of her family, is a gentle, loving wife, runs an excellent household and at the same time somehow manages to conduct government affairs. She is practical and homely. This woman always has order and cleanliness in her house, family members are well-fed and happy.

Marina shows the same practicality and homeliness when managing the region entrusted to her.

Work in Komsomol organizations

Marina Vasilievna showed her leadership qualities when she first started working at the regional committee of the Komsomol in the city of Murmansk. There they noticed her organizational skills and tireless energy and put the girl at the head of the Kola district Komsomol committee.

In December 1991, Marina was entrusted with the youth department of the Kola District Executive Committee. Thanks to her excellent leadership qualities, the woman quickly climbed the career ladder. In 1992 the district committee was abolished.

Then Marina began working at the tax office. She was entrusted with managing the taxation department for individuals.

Further career

In 1993, Marina was hired to work in the Murmansk administration. There she began working in the social protection department. Then she rose higher up the career ladder and began managing the affairs of the Administration.

But the active woman didn’t stop there either. In '94 she became deputy. Chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture and Tourism of the Murmansk Region.

In 2001 (already almost forty years old), Marina completed her studies at the North-West Academy of Civil Service, receiving a specialty in “state and municipal administration.”

In 2005, Marina Vasilievna moved to the capital. Because she was invited to work at the Federal Tourism Agency. The next year, she was entrusted with managing the tourism development department of the Murmansk region.

In 2009, Marina became deputy director of OJSC Kola MMC. In the 11th year, Kovtun became a deputy of the Murmansk Regional Duma of the 5th convocation. She represents the United Russia party.

On April 4, 2012, Dmitry Dmitrienko resigned of his own free will. In his place, Marina Kovtun was appointed acting governor by Decree of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On April 13, the latest news reported that she had been confirmed for this post.

In the 14th year after the elections, Marina Vasilievna was elected for a second term as governor of Murmansk. Her term in office expires in 2016.

Personal life

Marina Kovtun's husband, Vasily, is of Ukrainian nationality. That's why she often visits Ukraine. Fluent in Ukrainian. Their children also passed on this ability.

I must admit that her husband, a private entrepreneur, sometimes earns less than his wife. However, her fame often has a positive effect on his income.

In 1985, the family's first child was born. It was a daughter, whom the parents decided to also name Marina. Now the girl is studying in graduate school at one of the Moscow universities.

In 1994, the couple had a son, Alexander. He also receives higher education in Moscow.

Marina Vasilievna loves fishing and hockey.

Rumors of resignation

Most recently, the latest news revealed to the people about the upcoming resignation of Marina Kovtun. Everyone was alarmed, especially the residents of Murmansk. In recent years, they were quite satisfied with the management of Marina Vasilievna, respected and appreciated her as a leader. It is difficult to say where such rumors came from and who is spreading them. But, as it turned out, this is a lie.

A combative, self-confident woman commented on such news in this way: “all this is not true.”

Marina Vasilievna loves her job and will continue to work in the field entrusted to her. And Kovtun called such rumors “fake.” The question just arises: who benefits from spreading such rumors?!..

Practice shows that the more depressed and farther from Moscow the region is, the more the local governor can afford. A kind of carte blanche: since you are vegetating in exile in a remote territory, at least entertain yourself as you please.

Some regional leaders are truly losing their minds from the amount of power entrusted to them. So that there is an understanding: when a billion is stolen in Moscow, even this is not as noticeable as when ten million are stolen somewhere in a subsidized outback. With all this, in completely “empty” regions, governors manage to pay for such entertainment that experienced corrupt officials on a much larger scale may become envious.

Let's talk about Marina Vasilievna Kovtun. Member of the Supreme Council of United Russia, and for the past six years the governor of the Murmansk region. Of course, you immediately understood everything: Murmansk is not the brightest and most joyful place to live in Russia. Frankly speaking, the places are creepy and depressing; it’s not for nothing that director Zvyagintsev chose these lands to shoot his film “Leviathan” - about the killing Russian realities.

Experts unanimously admit that with the proper attitude and proper management, the resource-rich Murmansk region could realistically be transformed from a subsidized region into a donor region. Unfortunately, Kovtun and her associates decided that they were not interested.

First Vice

The first deputy governor has significant influence and literally the decisive vote in the region Alexey Tyukavin, which is called one of the “stop taps” of Murmansk development. It’s easy to guess that warm feelings with Marina Kovtun allow the “first vice” to influence the entire region. We won’t say how warm they are, but their friendship goes back to the nineties, when Kovtun supervised physical education in the Murmansk regional administration.

Later they worked together at Norilsk Nickel, loved to relax together in the Norwegian fjords, and after Nickel Kovtun started in politics, and did very well. Kovtun became the head of a not very prosperous region, which deserved a whole film about its Great Depression, almost by accident. The former head, Dmitry Dmitrienko, who, jokes aside, was simply tired of corruption scandals (in simple terms, tired of stealing), wanted a quiet life, and he left. Apart from Kovtun, no one was found for the post, and they were so strong that six years have passed, and Marina Kovtun “is still there.”

So her friend Alexey Tyukavin sat in the big chair and became the first deputy governor. Like a true gentleman, Tyukavin took upon himself all the behind-the-scenes games and political wars - we have already said that the more depressive and remote the area, the more you can afford, being in charge. It follows that there are many who want to have control, and the good old “jar of spiders” is formed.

The mayor of Murmansk became the force opposing the new gubernatorial cohort Alexey Weller and his team. The noble Alexei fought with him, while the governor spent her time pleasantly, wasting budgets on her travels, business trips in business classes and business hotels, in a word, not only took a well-deserved break from work that had barely begun (and, moreover, which fell on Tyukavin), but I also paid extra "Minchenko Consulting" for the image of the “Mother of the Arctic”.

Well, you know that in our country any female politician, especially a major one, is some kind of Mother. Natalya Komarova is also a Mother, and Valentina Matvienko is probably a “parent” in some way. The image of the Murmansk princess cost three million dollars, and in the end it didn’t work out (more on that later). Let us remind you that this is in the Murmansk region. Where there is no money, there are barely enough subsidies, and we have already seen what the territories look like, give or take, in the movies.

Second as always first

In Russian politics, the deputy is the main functionary against the backdrop of the first person, who is only engaged in “trading” with this person. So a whole region fell on Alexei Mikhailovich Tyukavin, and it fell not on merit and experience, but on the basis of warm “Norwegian” friendship. As expected in any “house of cards,” Tyukavin immediately took a non-public position and began moving pawns across the board from the shadows. What kind of political intriguer and chess player he is is not a very important question, but most likely a good one, because Kovtun is not only gubernatorial, but the embassy predicts another term for her. It is much more important how the region feels, and not its top.

And the region feels bad. However, the insolvency of the Murmansk top managers represented by the Kovtun-Tyukavin team is also evidenced by the fact that they were unable to create any clear image for the governor’s wife. The money was spent, but the region was left in a huge hole by all indicators. It’s a paradox, but for six years now the company has been led by a woman who is still looked at askance and is not too serious about her. It turned out that the small but strong core of the local elite was “frozen” and awaited sane leadership. The processes are stalled, the subsidized region is killing itself.

By the way, Mayor Weller went to the State Duma, apparently deciding that he couldn’t make porridge with the regional leaders. In the mayoral elections, Marina Kovtun, apparently to be on the safe side, messed up again, but already causing a rift with the local top brass of the FSB. Now let’s put it all together: there is no consolidation of the elites, no understanding with the security forces, no normal image, no financial indicators, but there is a vice who, by the sweat of his brow, “rules” the regions (is making attempts).

The only sober point of view on why Kovtun, despite failures on all fronts, retains her post, and why a new term as governor is predicted for her, remains the influence of Norilsk Nickel, which put her in the chair. In the end, the Murmansk region is almost a “mono-region”, and the conflict with the FSB could be resolved in two ways: either from the federal level, but why would the president and his entourage stand up for the “five-star governor”, ​​or “Nickel”.

But there is also an understanding that Marina Kovtun was hinted and made to understand that she is not eternal, and that her patrons will not be able to save her in any situation - the failed “Polar Mother” was expelled from the high council of the United Russia party. Immediately after this event, experts and political scientists expected her resignation, but it did not happen. What is even stranger is that, on top of everything else, the governor also failed to hold State Duma elections in the region for United Russia, showing not meager, but frankly poor results.

Timely betrayal, and the heating season for Alexey Tyukavin

Last spring, the vice-governor also gave up on his friend, who unexpectedly turned 180 degrees and began to move closer to former mayor Weller. Don’t think that with the latter’s departure to the State Duma, all Murmansk confrontations are a thing of the past, oh no.

Alexey Tyukavin spoke almost openly about the fact that he no longer bets on Kovtun. It is logical that Kovtun herself soon heard about this, and immediately rushed to report to the president that the mafia was overthrowing her, and that an orgy was taking place in the region. Vladimir Putin reacted ambiguously; rumors say that he took Marina Kovtun’s hysteria as a signal that it was time to save the region, and that the luxury governor might face resignation before the elections.

As for Tyukavin, he showed himself not to be the most far-sighted person when it comes to conducting business processes. Ex-governor Dmitrienko hastened to retreat because he was afraid of the discovery of a scheme involving the purchase of fuel oil during the heating season - there were such kickbacks that it was absolutely impossible not to notice the volume of corruption.

Such obscene scale of theft did not bother Tyukavin, and he decided to continue. It works like this: 500 thousand tons of fuel oil are purchased per year, the tender for government orders is a one-stop shop, the price is inflated after the fact, an advance payment is made, and eventually a courier arrives with huge bags of cash. Yes, such that sometimes several walks are required. So in a year you can earn half a billion rubles on clean heating for residents of Murmansk and neighboring villages.

Just in case, through his wife, Tyukavin usurped other key businesses in the city: a hotel, fishing, everything that could bring in money. All sorts of government contracts immediately flowed there.

The most perfect scheme in its self-interest came from "Russian Salmon". One of the most important enterprises, key to the region, was simply “killed” according to the primitive and tired “take out a loan and go bankrupt” scheme.

But we must pay tribute, Tyukavin did not waste time here. Why he? Because his wife had a hidden share in the company, which was inherited from the runaway governor Dmitrienko. Yes, in our regions even hidden shares in companies are passed on by inheritance.

And Deputy Governor Marina Kovtun was not trifling in the fact that Salmon collected as much as $50 million in loans. The loans were issued by two banks that will endure anything - Sberbank and Rosselkhozbank. They wanted to replace imports, but bad luck - the fish got sick in some mysterious epidemic and died out. Not all of it, of course, but in sufficient quantities for the company to be declared financially insolvent and come close to bankruptcy. Now she is just going bankrupt.

Once a thriving fishing industry

The auditors explicitly stated in their reports that it was not possible to count the fish in the cages, but attributed almost 2 billion rubles in losses. Not only did the company receive insurance, they were also thanked for disposing of the diseased fish. That fish that no one has ever seen. And the money floated across the Barents Sea, somewhere offshore. The banks did not see their loans back.

There should have been a harsh sentence for the Belykhs and the governor of the Murmansk region, Marina Kovtun. Just the day before it became known that she was already facing a confrontation with former vice-governor Igor Babenko, suspected of embezzlement of budget funds.

Second Vice

As it turned out, Marina Kovtun also had another thieving vice-governor named Igor Babenko. Through him, an entire “black accounting” was revealed, thriving in the Murmansk region under the luxury governor’s wife. In the 2014 elections, when she turned from acting to a full-fledged head of the region, the black treasury grew rich at the expense of businesses that handed over tens of millions of rubles for “roof.” Simply put, so that the imperious hand of Kovtun does not accidentally wipe them off the face of the Murmansk region.

The normative election fund, which is typical, was ultimately greatly exceeded, and the money - about half a billion rubles - disappeared. Meanwhile, it is already clear that Kovtun collects money not only for elections, but sometimes according to his mood, and spends it on pleasures like fishing. We have already observed one governor-fisherman - in his lands people disappear and entire cities become drunkards.

Marina Kovtun now gives interviews at hookah bars, makes excuses for government procurement and shrugs her shoulders when asked about simple human problems of her population. That is, no joke, 2018 began for Madame Governor with the fact that she had a pleasant time in a smoky establishment with a journalist interviewing her, and justified herself for buying a hairdryer for her country residence under a government contract for 9,300 rubles. In general, that's all. The interviewer was there, the conversation was pleasant, the hairdryer was generally attributed to Dmitrienko, although the household appliance was purchased when the ex-governor was already long retired.

No one talked to the journalist about why she declared almost a million rubles more than she should have received, or about how to generally live in the reality that her team created in the region. The conversation went in the vein of “and I’m alone in a white tailcoat.”

From above, from the federal center they are hinting at the extension of Kovtun, Babenko, sitting in a cage, is hinting at her imprisonment, and only the silent leviathan of Zvyagintsev is getting closer and closer, and will soon devour the Murmansk region without a trace.

The governor of the Murmansk region accused local security forces of “political orders and persecution” in order to force her to “leave her post”

The governor of the Murmansk region, Marina Kovtun, called an emergency briefing on Monday, at which she stated that she was under pressure from law enforcement agencies. She called it a “political order and harassment” with the goal of forcing her to “leave her post.” The governor does not intend to resign and promises to tell the president about what is happening.

According to Kommersant's information, Ms. Kovtun was summoned to the presidential administration (AP) at the height of the autumn rotation of heads, but she managed to retain her post. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called rumors about personnel changes, in particular, the possible resignation of St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko, “Russian folk entertainment.”

Marina Kovtun, at a briefing in the government of the Murmansk region, said that as the “head of the region” she experiences pressure from law enforcement agencies, which is expressed in massive requests, inspections, and intimidation actions. The governor is confident that law enforcement officers “leak” official documents to the media and then organize checks on them. “No one cares anymore that these facts are false and are not confirmed during ongoing checks,” noted Ms. Kovtun. “There are massive media attacks, the customers of which, as a rule, remain unpunished. For example, even now many are sure that my children received cushy jobs for certain tax preferences for large companies (blogger 51 wrote about this.- “Kommersant”). There is no such. There are no preferences or highly paid jobs in exchange for them, which was confirmed by the above checks.”

Governor of the Murmansk Region Marina Kovtun

Much of the governor's speech was devoted to the investigation of administration officials accused of corruption.

“I hope that the investigators will determine the severity and motives of each person involved,” Ms. Kovtun emphasized. “I would like to recall the president’s words that it has become our practice to raise information noise around so-called high-profile cases, and often law enforcement officials themselves are guilty of this. However, the fight against corruption is not a show; until the court’s decision, no one has the right to make verdicts on guilt or innocence.” The governor was referring to the deputy head of the staff of the Murmansk government, Eduard Nikrashevsky, the first deputy head of the state regional budgetary institution “Office for Ensuring the Activities of PMO” Georgy Blagodelsky, who have been in custody since July, as well as the recently detained former vice-governor, ex-deputy chief of staff of the regional government Igor Babenko. They are accused of embezzling budget funds, but under different articles of the Criminal Code. In particular, Igor Babenko was charged with fraud using his official position. On Friday he was detained for two months and, according to some sources, transported to Matrosskaya Tishina. The detention of Mr. Babenko and his subordinates was considered by a number of local media as a reason for the possible resignation of Marina Kovtun.

She herself associated “unprecedented pressure” from the media and law enforcement agencies with the “principled position” of the Murmansk government “on a number of issues, including the privatization of property in Murmansk, the affiliation of a number of commercial structures with municipal officials.”

Obviously, they won’t forgive me for bringing order to the fuel and energy market,” the governor said.

She called what was happening a political order and persecution in order to force her to leave her post. “However, this will not happen,” said Mrs. Kovtun, concluding the briefing. “The decision to change the governor is made only by the president. At the same time, I do not rule out increasing pressure on me, my loved ones and members of my team in the near future. But, as the head of the region, I cannot leave these actions without a reaction. “I will not sit idly by, I will certainly convey my position to the country’s top leadership and the leadership of law enforcement agencies.”

A Kommersant source in the regional government apparatus noted that none of the detainees admit guilt: “As for the governor, the information that has appeared has only an indirect relation to her, even if her subordinates are accused of something without a trial.”

The Investigative Committee (ICR) told Kommersant that they did not give any information to the media about the case of Murmansk officials. A Kommersant source noted that the arrest of Igor Babenko was reported by the press service of the Murmansk district court; a criminal case is being investigated against the former official. Mr. Babenko, among the leaders of the region, in 2016 participated in a meeting of the board of the investigative department for the Murmansk region of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, dedicated to summing up the results of the work. In turn, Murmansk security officials claim that they have “little to do with what is happening.”

“Behind the scenes, one of the culprits of the current campaign is the former head of Murmansk, State Duma deputy from United Russia Alexei Weller, who allegedly conspired with the regional security forces and their federal superiors,” Kommersant sources claim.

Mr. Weller, who had a tense relationship with the governor, led Murmansk until his election to the State Duma in 2016.

The deputy himself told Kommersant that “the head of the region is exaggerating, but no one is pursuing her and the government”: “A specific criminal case is being investigated against the deputy governor. Why get so excited, and even hint at the political masterminds of the case? Her words do not correspond to the situation in the region.” Mr. Weller suggested that “such statements from the governor are an unusual case and may be associated with an emotional breakdown.” “This doesn’t look good on Marina Kovtun. The highest official of the region should be responsible for stability, and not rock the situation,” he concluded.

Alexander Weller (right)

Political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov noted that this is “the third case when the governor talks about the persecution of his team.” “Aman Tuleyev (Kemerovo region) and Svetlana Orlova (Vladimir region) have already done this. In the case of Tuleyev, the statements yielded results, although such statements are not welcome,” he explained. The expert recalled that Marina Kovtun’s name appeared on the lists of retired regional heads, but she was not included in the wave of dismissals. “Her statements may indicate confidence in her position at least until March,” he argues.

In the report of political scientist Evgeniy Minchenko “State Council 2.0” (published at the end of September), Marina Kovtun was named among the governors with a “high risk of resignation.” In the Northwestern Federal District, this group included her and the head of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Igor Koshin, who was soon fired. According to Kommersant's information, Ms. Kovtun was called to the Administration at the height of the governor's resignations, but she managed to retain her post. Kommersant's source in the AP said that there are no complaints against her.

Kommersant's sources do not rule out that another wave of personnel rotations will follow at the beginning of the year. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called rumors about personnel changes, in particular, the possible resignation of St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko in 2018, “Russian folk entertainment.”

Ivan Sinergiev; Maxim Pilotov, Murmansk; Andrey Pertsev, Sofya Samokhina, Nikolay Sergeev