Dismissal of the head of the Department of Construction and Architecture of the Novosibirsk City Hall Alexey Kondratyev came as a surprise to construction market players.
Rumor has it that at one time the former head of the city Anatoly Lokot had high hopes for him. And now Elokt is no longer in power, and there is a possibility that the dismissal of the “protégé” was not entirely voluntary. Kondratyev, who worked for 10 years as the head of the department, was simply hired and asked to leave his position.
Significant, but not particularly
Alexey Kondratyev was undoubtedly an important figure in the mayor’s office, since he headed one of the areas that is fundamental to municipal self-government. Perhaps the former head of the department of construction and architecture was a professional, but clearly not suitable for the current realities. It’s not even a matter of experience or any managerial characteristics of the ex-head himself, it’s a matter of a change of power.
New mayor of Novosibirsk Maxim Kudryavtsev actively renews the city team. The peak of dismissals and appointments occurred just at the beginning of Kudryavtsev’s reign, and this is by no means a coincidence. Many even said that the administration was literally being cleared of communists and those associated with Anatoly Loktem. All vacant positions were given to government representatives. It’s no secret that Kudryavtsev is a protégé of the governor of the Novosibirsk region Andrey Travnikov.
Of course, there were positive changes under Kondratieff. But it cannot be said that this is only his merit, because the Novosibirsk market itself gravitated towards large-scale development.
Implementing spot projects became more difficult due to the economic factor: block development is more attractive than spot development. And so it turned out that there was much less infill development than there was before.
More significant than they think
But not everyone has such an objective opinion about the merits of Alexei Kondratiev. Some believe that his achievements have been greatly underestimated. For example, Andrey Kuznetsov (director of the information and analytical agency “Business Life Center”) believes that it was thanks to Kondratiev that the first integrated territorial development (CTD) projects began.
Also, the director of the information and analytical agency “Business Life Center” believes that Alexey Kondratyev stayed away from politics. But it is worth remembering a point that we have already voiced earlier. Lokot and Kondratyev were on good terms, and almost immediately after the first left, the second was asked to leave as well. Coincidence? Unlikely.
No fatal consequences
Undoubtedly, over the 10 years of working as the head of the department, Alexey Kondratiev, even if he did not have experience, acquired it. By 2024, he was one of the few professional employees. But not so important that his dismissal would have any fatal consequences. There are no officials in Novosibirsk whose departure would greatly change something in a negative direction. It’s still possible to go positive, but that’s not what we’re talking about now.
But Kondratiev managed to firmly form social and political connections in 10 years. It is clear that new treaties and agreements will be formed. But initially negative dynamics can still be observed. Officials don’t like being contradicted. This means they don’t like it when someone they don’t like is in power. Most likely, the reorganization of the city’s political elite influenced the departure of Kondratiev, who is a representative of the past political party.
Someone suggests that Alexey Valerievich left on his own. A professional “with this level of knowledge and experience could be offered a job in a private company with a higher salary than in the mayor’s office.” Others believe that Kondratiev could simply be burnt out from work. But the majority does not rule out that a change in the mayor’s team is to blame.
Now in Novosibirsk they have already appointed a new head of the department of construction and architecture of the Novosibirsk City Hall – Evgenia Ulitko. It is reported that he will also serve as deputy mayor. But read more about all this in the next article. Babr will continue to monitor developments.
