Kursk deputies will reconsider the decision on closed meetings after criticism of the head of the region
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After widespread public outcry, the Kursk Regional Duma will reconsider its decision to hold meetings closed to journalists. The decision of the deputies was previously criticized by Governor Roman Starovoyt, who advised the parliamentarians to always be open. Regional Duma Speaker Yuri Amerev initially doubted that the head of the region really understood the situation, but later apologized to him and initiated a review of the amendments. The expert notes that the authorities were able to resolve the flaring conflict without escalation.
Chairman of the Kursk Regional Duma Yuri Amerev (United Russia) announced at an operational meeting in the regional government on October 9 that deputies were ready to review amendments to their regulations that allow holding closed meetings without journalists. “Given that this issue has caused a great resonance in the public, I am initiating a re-examination of this issue in the regional Duma,” Mr. Amerev promised.
As Kommersant previously reported, the new rules of the Duma, adopted at a meeting on September 28, provide for holding closed meetings without broadcasting their content, and also limits the ability of deputies and their assistants to speak out at committees and “government hours.” The majority of parliamentarians supported the amendments proposed by United Russia deputy Vyacheslav Khloponin. The communists voted against, promising to appeal these changes in court. The chairman of the regional Duma, Yuri Amerev, responded by saying that those who disagree are only concerned about the fact that few journalists are filming them.
However, on October 2, the amendments were criticized by the regional governor, secretary of the Kursk cell of United Russia, Roman Starovoyt. “I would recommend that the deputies reconsider this decision. It would also be great if the Kursk Duma had a feedback channel in one of the popular social networks or instant messengers,” the head of the region wrote in his Telegram channel. He cited the example of regional government accounts with open comments on all social networks.
Yuri Amerev unexpectedly sharply responded to the governor’s recommendation, doubting that the head of the region understood the issue and independently wrote a message in the Telegram channel. “He did not have the opportunity to physically familiarize himself with the documents: comments were sent on Monday, and the documents were transferred to the administration on Wednesday. I am sure that this was not done by the governor personally, but by those individuals who have access and the opportunity to make statements on his behalf,” Mr. Amerev said at a press conference on October 6. He expressed confidence that the governor would figure out how this happened.
At yesterday’s meeting, Mr. Amerev apologized for this statement. “Some media presented my words as doubt about the personal management of social networks by Roman Vladimirovich. This is misinterpreted. I know that you know in detail the entire situation in the region and comment on issues personally. I apologize that the question was misinterpreted,” the speaker of the regional Duma summed up at the end of the open meeting. Roman Starovoit approved the change in the position of the deputies, emphasizing that the Duma and the government work together and this can only be done openly. He added that he values every subscriber on his social networks, and also maintains his own pages and “cleanses bots.” According to Kommersant’s sources, before the meeting, the governor explained all this to the speaker of the Duma in a personal conversation.
Political scientist Vladimir Slatinov believes that Roman Starovoyt resolved the conflict situation politically flawlessly: “First, he needed to show that his requests to the deputies were being fulfilled, and he was the master of the situation. Secondly, it was necessary to receive an apology, since publicly questioning the governor’s control over his social networks is crossing red lines. Therefore, this really looks like an effective resolution of the incident without escalation.”
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