They call the regime on themselves – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

The authorities of the Russian regions are mastering the new legal regimes established by the presidential decree of October 19. So, in the Crimea and the Rostov region, the introduction of rules for entering the territory of the region was allowed, in the Belgorod region, the governor suggested that some enterprises could go to a remote mode of operation, and in the Kursk region they reported on the formation of a mobilization reserve to ensure territorial defense. In regions more distant from the combat zone, they announced the strengthening of the protection of critical objects. In the meantime, the governors at the EISI round table discussed their powers under the new regimes of government, as well as reported on how they coped with various excesses associated with partial mobilization.

“Luhansk region has been living under martial law for eight years”

The heads of the four new subjects of the federation, where, in accordance with the decree of Vladimir Putin, the martial law regime began to operate from midnight on October 20 – these are the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions – continued to explain to the population on Thursday that for them “virtually nothing changes” (see “Kommersant” dated October 20I). “The only thing is, our instructions (now.— “b”) will be mandatory,” said Deputy Governor of the Kherson region Kirill Stremousov. The regional administration has already left Kherson and continues to work from the left bank of the Dnieper (the regional center is entirely located on the right). The relocation, however, will not affect social payments to the population: they will be kept, Mr. Stremousov assured. Recall, now the residents of Kherson and nearby municipalities are being evacuated across the Dnieper. Entry into the territory of the subject to civilians is prohibited.

“The Luhansk region has been living under martial law for eight years. There will be no innovations and consequences for the civilian population, as presented by the enemy media, ”said the acting head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, in fact repeating the words of his colleague from the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said the night before. By the evening of October 20, Mr. Pushilin himself, as well as the acting governor of the Zaporozhye region, Evgeny Balitsky, did not make any new statements.

“If you want, more attention to every transport”

On the other hand, the “filling” of the “medium level of readiness” regime, which affected the “old” border regions – the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov regions, Kuban, Crimea and Sevastopol, is slowly beginning to emerge. So, the head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said on Thursday that changing the rules for entering and leaving the peninsula is possible, but it will depend “on the situation” – if it is “expedient to save the life and health of people and speed up some decisions.”

Mr. Aksyonov promised to introduce a restriction, if necessary, “in one minute.”

The governor of the Rostov region, Vasily Golubev, also did not rule out that on the border with the DPR “there could be either an increase or adjustment” of the access regime: “If you want, more attention to each transport,” he told reporters. However, following the results of the first meetings of the operational headquarters, neither Sergei Aksenov nor Vasily Golubev made any decisions.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that at the first meeting on Friday, the operational headquarters will discuss the transition of some enterprises to remote mode. Finally, the governor of the Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, spoke about “the formation of a mobilization reserve to ensure territorial defense.” Recall, if in the new subjects it is imperative to form a territorial defense, then in the regions of the Central Federal District and the Southern Federal District (here a high-alert mode has been introduced), the heads received the authority to carry out its “individual events”. The territorial defense system is regulated by the federal law “On Defense”, however, any information about it, including the procedure for preparation, support, deployment, etc., is classified as an official secret. “Personnel is being recruited, with whom a contract is concluded, as with a military man,” Roman Starovoit explained on Thursday. “But people are at their jobs, living in their apartments. At the designated time, at the designated signal, they will have to arrive at the assembly point to create territorial defense. This work has been going on for more than a month now, and almost half of the staff has been formed.” At what pace the creation of the territorial defense is being carried out in the other “front-line” regions, they could not quickly clarify there.

The heads of most Russian regions, where the most lenient regime, the “basic level of readiness,” is in place, reported one after another on Thursday about the creation of operational headquarters and the strengthening of the protection of critical facilities, and also once again reminded residents that nothing has changed for them yet. “We are returning to the regime of management and coordination, as in covid times,” the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, found the simplest analogy.

“Different regions have different opportunities”

At a round table organized by the Expert Institute for Social Research, where the governors of several regions discussed on Thursday the topic of mobilization and their new powers, covid times were also mentioned. Political scientist Alexander Asafov told the heads of regions that in practical terms, the system introduced by decrees on October 19 is aimed at providing old and developing new mechanisms for interdepartmental interaction, as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic. The governors were grateful: “Thank you to the president for legitimizing our previous activities,” said the governor of the Kirov region, Alexander Sokolov. – The composition of the mobilization commission, which I head, includes all law enforcement agencies. Now I have set up headquarters. According to Mr. Sokolov, the protection of a number of important objects has only been strengthened in his region so far; there are no changes for the life of citizens.

The participants of the round table spoke most of all about the measures of social support for the mobilized and their families.

Mobilization turned out to be difficult both for society and for officials, said the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev: “It was both a shock for people and a novelty for the authorities.” Mr. Nikolaev held meetings with the wives and mothers of the mobilized – but not with those who went to protests: they, the head of Yakutia said, often have nothing to do with military personnel. He urged colleagues to be “proactive” and lamented that military units do not always confirm the presence of military personnel, which makes it difficult to provide them with lump sum payments.

The topic of payments to the families of the mobilized, it seems, turned out to be one of the most acute. “Different regions have different opportunities, and this raises questions from the mobilized: why did they pay in the neighboring one, but we don’t?” – shared the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region Gleb Nikitin. According to him, instead of a lump-sum payment in his region, small monthly subsidies are provided for the families of the mobilized: 10 thousand rubles each. for each child and another 10 thousand rubles. in case of wife’s pregnancy. Employers in the region are recommended to keep their salaries mobilized. And the head of the Kostroma region, Sergei Sitnikov, called for the rehabilitation of servicemen returning from the NVO: “We had a lot of problems after the return of the Afghans,” he recalled.

Mr. Sitnikov and Aisen Nikolaev disagreed on whether the governors can talk about the completion of mobilization.

“We expect the last sortie (mobilized.— “b”) we will have the day after tomorrow, on Saturday,” said the head of Yakutia. “In my opinion, the heads of regions should not make such statements,” Mr. Sitnikov said. “The main task of mobilization is to complete the complement of those formations that are already doing combat work, and to create territorial defense regiments in new territories … There are no waves (mobilization.— “b”), there is a permanent job.

Political scientist Vladimir Shemyakin (did not participate in the round table) notes that the presidential decree entrusts governors with powers on a wide range of issues, but since the regions differ from each other, not all processes in them will go “smoothly” everywhere, and they will have to be coordinated by the presidential administration: “ I believe, in the main AP will tell the governors. Successful initiatives will be welcomed, and mistakes will be corrected.”

Andrey Vinokurov, Andrey Ashes, corset “Kommersant”