Political death in Pechenga
In less than two months, the Russian municipality of Pechenga, located on the border to Norway and Finland, has lost two mayors under tragic circumstances. The municipality is now likely to abolish direct mayoral elections and instead adopt a system of appointed “town managers”.
As previously reported, independent candidate Nadezhda Shelkovnikova in April this year won mayoral elections in the municipality with a crushing 73,3 percent victory ahead of the rival candidate. The victory was by many seen as a clear sign of protest against the power of the United Russia party, as well as the PechengaNikel plant, both of whose candidates failed to match the independent candidate.
The political career of Shelkovnikova was not to last long however. In June, she died and passed on the post as mayor to her deputy Valentin Tchizhevsky. The death reason of Shelkovnikova is not known to the public, but locals believe she might have had cancer.
However, also the career of Tchizhevsky was short-lasting. Under tragic circumstances, he died in a car accident in early August. Reportedly, the mayor had consumed major amounts of alcohol ahead of the accident.
The political situation in the municipality is further complicated by the fact that Tchizhevsky before his death dismissed all his deputies. Consequently, there are no leaders left in the administration and paying of local salaries and expenditures have been put on hold. The situation in the region is now deadlocked following the political vacuum, a local inhabitant says to BarentsObserver.
The April election of Shelkovnikova might have been the last mayoral elections in the Pechenga municipality. The municipal council is now preparing a legislative amendment which will result in the abolishment of direct mayoral elections and introduce a system of appointed “town managers”, the website Aktiv Nikel informs.
