Former Communist Party activist became Deputy Governor of the Bryansk Region for Internal Political Affairs

A new vice-governor has been appointed in the Bryansk region, overseeing internal policy. This position was vacant for six months after the arrest of the former deputy head of the region, Tatyana Kuleshova, on charges of taking a bribe. Her successor was Vitaly Svintsov, who began his career in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, then moved to United Russia, and then headed the regional department of internal policy. The expert does not see anything surprising in such a political evolution, noting that most Bryansk functionaries began working in the team of the former communist governor.

On October 12, the government of the Bryansk region announced the appointment of Vitaly Svintsov to the post of acting deputy governor in charge of internal policy. This position remained vacant for six months, after the dismissal in April 2022 of Tatyana Kuleshova, who had worked in this position for two years. The official was taken into custody on charges of receiving a bribe (Part 6 of Article 290 of the Criminal Code, up to 15 years in prison) for the supply of laptops as part of the national project “Education”. Ms. Kuleshova’s predecessor, Alexander Korobko, oversaw domestic policy in the Bryansk region for more than six years, since 2014, and now holds a similar post in the Ulyanovsk region.

Vitaly Svintsov is 47 years old, he was born in Bryansk, after graduating from the local pedagogical university in 1998, he worked for eight years in educational organizations in the region. In 2005–2016, Mr. Svintsov worked on the executive committee of the Bryansk regional branch of United Russia, including as its head, after which he moved to the regional department of internal policy, and in 2022 he headed it. After Vitaly Svintsov was promoted to the level of deputy governor, his deputy Andrei Kazorin replaced him as head of the department.

Local media, in connection with the new appointment, recalled that Vitaly Svintsov began his career in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation as an activist of its youth wing and supported the communist governor Yuri Lodkin, who headed the Bryansk region in 1996–2004. In particular, Mr. Svintsov is mentioned as the organizer of very scandalous actions against the United Russia candidate Nikolai Denin in the 2004 gubernatorial elections (then the communist Lodkin was eventually removed from the elections by the Supreme Court a few hours before the start of voting, and United Russia Denin won the second tour and after that he led the Bryansk region for ten years). However, the first secretary of the Bryansk regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Andrei Arkhitsky, admitted to Kommersant that he learned about Mr. Svintsov’s work in the structures of the Communist Party only from the media. He also expressed the opinion that the “official leapfrog” in the team of the current governor Alexander Bogomaz does not contribute to improving the situation in the economic sphere and in the organizational work of the regional government.

Nevertheless, Kommersant’s interlocutor in the Bryansk region authorities characterizes Vitaly Svintsov as an experienced and competent person: “He understands the agenda well, has proven himself to be a good performer, and will not shrug his shoulders. The most important thing is that he is a statesman and is not affiliated with anyone.”

Political scientist Vladimir Slatinov recalls that many of today’s Bryansk functionaries began their careers under Governor Yuri Lodkin: “He was a charismatic head of the region, knew how to form a team and select effective personnel. In this sense, it is not surprising that the new vice-governor started on his team, and then successfully remained under other governors.” At the same time, the expert notes an important feature of the Bryansk region in comparison with many other constituent entities of the Russian Federation: “The border region continues to be led by local governor Alexander Bogomaz, who is not one of the new wave of governors. In other regions where technocratic governors had previously established themselves, the story of deputies for internal policy is a story of a choice between a local and a “Varangian.” Bogomaz relies on his own personnel, which he considers promising regardless of where they started. And, at least for now, no “political commissar” is assigned to him.”

Sergey Tolmachev, Voronezh