Maxim Kudryavtsev became the first “competitive” head of Novosibirsk

On Tuesday, Vice-Governor Maxim Kudryavtsev became the first mayor of Novosibirsk, elected following a competition, who was supported by both United Russia (UR) and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation at the city council session. From Mr. Kudryavtsev’s speech it followed that the city authorities were awaiting administrative reform in order to improve management efficiency. The full composition of his team will apparently become known in two to three months, and the new head of the city plans to begin work by cleaning Novosibirsk.

The session of the City Council on April 16 considered the only issue – the election of the mayor of Novosibirsk. Let us remind you that communist Anatoly Lokot left this post ahead of schedule in January 2024 – after the regional legislative assembly canceled the direct elections of the head of the city and replaced them with a competitive procedure. As a result of the competition held on April 4, two candidates were put to the vote of deputies: vice-governor Maxim Kudryavtsev and independent deputy of the city council Igor Ukraintsev.

However, the result of the vote was known in advance: last week the United Russia faction, which includes 33 of 49 deputies, announced its support for Mr. Kudryavtsev.

“He has all the competencies to lead Novosibirsk and bring it to a new level of development,” said then the head of the regional executive committee of United Russia, Yulia Shvets. The Communist Party faction (seven deputies) also decided to vote for the vice-governor. “We saw an experienced manager. A person who understands what he is saying and delves deeply into all issues of urban management. We believe that he will be able to effectively fulfill the duties of mayor,” Anton Tyrtyshny, vice speaker of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, explained the party’s position at the session.

As a result, 40 of the 45 deputies present voted for Maxim Kudryavtsev, three (independents from the informal association “League of Efficiency”) supported Igor Ukraintsev, two more ballots were spoiled. Mr. Kudryavtsev thanked the deputies for their trust, and Mr. Ukraintsev later concluded in his Telegram channel that “apparently, now a manager is needed at the head of the city,” and “the time for dreamers and romantics has not come yet.”

Outlining his program to the deputies, Maxim Kudryavtsev called the main problem of the city’s development “the lack of a client-oriented approach.” “The interests of citizens are not always given priority. The mayor’s task is to make the city administration more people-oriented,” he said, promising to begin changing the “approaches and mentality” of officials. Administrative reform, as follows from the speech, will involve optimizing the structure of the mayor’s office. Mr. Kudryavtsev, in particular, spoke about the desire to reduce ineffective departments, introduce a project approach, increase employee salaries and subordinate the control and audit department directly to the mayor, since “these should be the eyes and ears” of the city head.

But we should not expect a continuation of the process of uniting districts into districts, begun by Mayor Vladimir Gorodetsky in 2013 and not developed under Anatoly Lokot (2014–2024).

“In my opinion, there is no point in further consolidating district administrations: our districts are too large in area and population,” explained Maxim Kudryavtsev. At the same time, the scope of powers of district heads must correspond to the resources provided for their execution.

The new mayor spoke cautiously about the formation of his team, noting that the vast majority of the current city hall employees are “quite capable, effective people.” Answering Kommersant’s question later about the timing of personnel selection, he explained: “The practice of previous work shows that it takes two to three months to fully form a team, but some decisions may be made almost immediately.”

In the meantime, the mayor plans to start cleaning up. “The primary task is to organize a cleaning system for Novosibirsk. During the preparation for this speech, I met with many deputies, we sat and figured out how many units of equipment there were in a given area, and asked each other questions: “How many should there be? How many brigades in vests should go out every morning?” If we, together with the City Council commissions, can organize this work, then residents will see changes almost immediately,” Mr. Kudryavtsev assured, promising to carry out the cleaning by May 9.

Governor Travnikov expressed confidence that the new mayor “has all the necessary knowledge and professional competencies.” His inauguration is scheduled for April 26.

The efficiency of city management can hardly be improved if “we simply continue what has developed recently,” says former Novosibirsk governor Viktor Tolokonsky, who served as mayor of Novosibirsk in 1993–2000: “Much needs to be updated in approaches to maintaining the city. We need to overcome the perception of Novosibirsk as a city with broken roads, dirt and dust, an uncomfortable city, in the shortest possible time, literally in two to three months.” At the same time, in his opinion, it is necessary to update the understanding of the city’s development strategy so that its residents and guests “see and share the picture of the future.”

Valery Lavsky, Novosibirsk