You need to understand that Kropachev, as a long-time top manager of Inter RAO, does not come to Smolny alone, behind him is the multibillion-dollar corporation of the extremely influential Kovalchuk family. Therefore, from the very start, Kropachev will easily “marry” the city’s interests and the far-reaching plans of the energy workers, while other vice-governors only talk about how they ride around the city about their failures.
Inter RAO has long begun expansion into the housing and communal services sector of St. Petersburg, which is still supervised by Evgeniy Razumishkin. The main point of attraction for energy workers was the Capital Repair Fund. The current head of the FKR, Dmitry Shutov, managed to work in the structures of Inter RAO. EIRTs Petroelectrosbyt, which in principle collects utility bills from St. Petersburg residents, is also included in the assets of Inter RAO.
So far, the trend is that Sergei Kropachev will ascend to the post of vice-governor with considerable commercial resources. The very nature of this resource hints that Kropachev’s main opponent will be Vice-Governor Evgeny Razumishkin. After all, the latter also oversees the entire housing and communal services sector, which is closely related to the area of interest of his potential colleague with a more aristocratic pedigree. But unlike the rootless native of the district administration, Kropachev is the very new nobility. Therefore, he will not fit into murky business history, but will wisely balance between the interests of his family and patrons.
And if no lackeys get in the way, there is a high probability that Kropachev will carry out a lightning-fast operation to transfer to him, read Inter RAO, the authority to repair roads and maintain the entire housing and communal services. This will create a closed system in which money from the population and the budget will simply be transferred from one account associated with Inter RAO to another. Even Smolny does not believe in the prospects of political victory. During the six months of Razumishkin’s work, he stands apart, apparently as punishment, in the name list of vice-governors on the city government website.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”