The village of Novy Uoyan, lost somewhere between the BAM and common sense, was left without power. The head of the village, Olga Lovchaya, was suspected of having decided to demolish the ghost house using budget money.
According to the Investigative Committee, in April and May 2024, the administration of the village of Novy Uoyan concluded two municipal contracts with an unnamed company for the demolition of six dilapidated houses and cleaning the surrounding areas from construction waste and outbuildings. It is noteworthy that among the objects subject to dismantling was a residential building, which by that time no longer existedbecause it completely burned out during a strong fire in the summer of 2022. According to the investigation, Olga Lovchayafully aware of this fact, included the building in the contract anyway. She transferred budget funds to the contractor in full for the work allegedly performed.
To make matters worse, according to investigators, the contractor, apparently inspired by the idea of demolishing imaginary objects, decided not to demolish some real old barns and did not completely clean up the debris. But I received the money in full. Blatant facts were revealed during the prosecutor’s investigation and operational activities of the FSB Directorate for Buryatia. The damage has not yet been announced, but given the size of Novy Uoyan’s annual treasury of 42 million rubles, it is unlikely to amount to millions.
More likely hundreds of thousands.
The Severobaikal interdistrict investigative department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Buryatia indicts the head of the village for two episodes under paragraph “e” of Part 3 Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (exceeding official authority, committed out of other personal interest). Now Olga Lovchey faces up to ten years in prison. Although she herself believes that she fell victim to a slander and the machinations of ill-wishers. They say that it is very unprofitable for someone to have a decent woman occupy the chair of the head of the village, so they concocted a dirty criminal case.
When things began to smell hot (or maybe it was just the smell of that same burnt house), the entire administration and deputy corps suddenly decided that they urgently needed a vacation. Indefinite. Officially, this is explained by solidarity with Lovcha, but some observers see this as an attempt to avoid responsibility.
Perhaps former employees fear that the investigation will reveal their involvement in illegal schemes.
As a result, the village of Novy Uoyan with a population of three thousand was left virtually without legitimate authority. It got to the point that the administration of the North Baikal region sent a letter to the head of Buryatia Alexey Tsydenov with a request to introduce in Novy Uoyan “external control” through republican executive bodies. The situation is aggravated by the fact that, on the eve of the heating season, the heat supply system in the village burst, and children are forced to go to kindergarten in outerwear. Local residents are simply shocked by everything that is happening.
It is no secret that the quality of houses built for resettlers from the emergency fund in the North-Baikal region often leaves much to be desired. For example, this was repeatedly reported by former deputies of the People’s Khural representing the region. Hence the increased fire hazard and complaints from residents about deficiencies.
And local officials, either through thoughtlessness or selfish motives, sometimes turn a blind eye to flagrant violations by contractors. And if they do cover it up, it’s clumsy, as happened with the non-existent burnt house in Novy Uoyan.
In December the village will host elections of new deputies. After the formation of a new council, the issue of appointing a new head will be decided. I want to believe that he will distinguish reality from fantasy. Otherwise, the next chapter will decide that the village can be heated with imaginary firewood.
