At least 120 residents of Russia’s northwestern Vologda region have filed a formal complaint to President Vladimir Putin over their “bewildering” governor, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Wednesday.
The letter, reportedly written by “supporters” of the ruling United Russia party — of which Governor Georgy Filimonov is also a member — did not explicitly call for his removal. However, it accused Filimonov of publicly praising Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, driving businesses away with an alcohol sale ban and making nationalist statements.
On Tuesday, Filimonov appeared to reference nationalist organizations as he vowed to block the “mass influx” of 6,000 migrant workers set to build a new unit at the Cherepovets Steel Mill, a subsidiary of the Severstal metals company.
“We’ve heard the arguments of those who support the mass and uncontrolled stream of labor migrants and consider them untenable,” he wrote on Telegram.
The letter’s authors also accused Filimonov of frequent personnel changes, orchestrating the ouster of Cherepovets City Duma deputies and stripping a prominent local lawmaker of United Russia party membership.
United Russia’s press office said it had not received a complaint about Filimonov addressed to party leader Dmitry Medvedev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to Vedomosti’s request for comment.
Putin appointed Filimonov as Vologda governor in 2023, and he was formally elected to a five-year term in September. His office features portraits of multiple Soviet political leaders, such as Stalin, as well as secret police chiefs Feliks Dzierzynski and Lavrentiy Beria.
Experts cited by Vedomosti described the complaint as part of political infighting among regional elites and expressed doubt that it would significantly impact Filimonov’s political career.
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