Once again, the Irkutsk mayor’s office showed an act of stunning negligence and outright indifference to the people of Irkutsk. And once again, with the easy help of a “talented” manager Ruslana Bolotova The regional capital was involved in a major construction scandal. This time the main character was the Angara embankment. Certainly a place that has long required showing at least some attention and care to it.
The fact that the center of Irkutsk looks more and more depressing every year has been said more than once, and not only by Babr’s editors. Collapsing roads, missing storm drains and the chaotic nature of the development, along with the destruction and collapse of wooden houses, which are often objects of the cultural or architectural heritage of the city and region, attracted the attention of the public, the media, and concerned citizens.
And in September 2024, it became known about a large-scale breakthrough in this matter – the repair of the Angara embankment. True, it became known not from the administration that took on the project, but from a blogger and journalist Pavel Stepanova. He published sad photos of the embankment in his Telegram channel, where part of the road surface was dismantled.
State of Gagarin Boulevard in September 2024Let’s repeat, in September. Exactly when the construction season in Siberia is inevitably coming to an end. And let us remind you once again that all events took place in deathly silence from the Irkutsk mayor’s office.
But such layouts in recent years are indeed a classic picture. Communicating with residents, showing them at least some, well, at least regular attention is not the job for the Irkutsk mayor’s office. At a minimum, because these residents do not get to choose the mayor. So why waste time on them?
They feel abandoned, and along with this, the city itself and its inhabitants feel abandoned. And they openly share their impressions about the work of the Irkutsk mayor and his team in the comments of Pavel Stepanov.
As a rule, it is the mayor who heads the city administration and manages all local officials and municipal enterprises, and also resolves so-called “issues of local importance” – from cleaning the city to building kindergartens.
It is worth noting that city residents usually elect mayors, and deputies hire city managers under contracts.
Well, as you know, the “mayor” of Irkutsk is not responsible for anything; any question or complaint is sent to the relevant department.”
“Puppet theater! Worst mayor in the history of the city!”
“Ruslan Lyudmilych Bolotov is a very weak official.”
The absurdity of the situation went even further when one of the blogger’s subscribers shared with him the official answer from the city administration to the question of what was happening with Gagarin Boulevard.
As it turned out, part of the embankment structure (parapet) turned out to be ownerless. That is, the city administration did not register ownership of the property right in its center. It’s a paradox, an absurdity and, frankly, a disgrace to the work of the mayor’s office. But let’s give credit not only to the current one, but also to the previous one.
After the scandal erupted, the administration finally published material on its channel about the ongoing renovations on the embankment. She condescended to the residents, so to speak.
