The former governor of the Lipetsk region, Gennady Kuptsov, remains the only person in the history of modern Russia to win a trial against the president of the country. In 1994, this victory did not allow him to regain the governorship. Now he is ready to help the dismissed head of Chuvashia, Mikhail Ignatiev, try to win the trial against Vladimir Putin.
One of the main characters of the past week in Russia was the elected governor of Chuvashia Mikhail Ignatiev, which in January 2020 was dismissed by Vladimir Putin from his post “in connection with the loss of confidence.” May 26, it became known that Ignatiev filed a lawsuit to the president in the Supreme Court demanding to cancel this decision. He became the third head of the region in the history of modern Russia, who decided to take such a step, and the first to sue Putin: Ignatiev’s predecessors along the way filed lawsuits against Boris Yeltsin. In 1993, the decree of Yeltsin on his removal from office unsuccessfully tried to challenge the governor of the Bryansk region, Yuri Lodkin. And a year earlier, in 1992, the lawsuit against Yeltsin was filed and won by the governor of the Lipetsk region, dismissed by him, Gennady Kuptsov.
Prior to being appointed governor, Kuptsov was a deputy of the Lipetsk Regional Council of People’s Deputies and coordinator of the Democratic Russia movement. In 1991, he personally demanded that the then leadership of the Lipetsk region, who supported the putsch of the State Emergency Committee, comply with the decrees of Boris Yeltsin. In October of the 91st, Yeltsin appointed Kuptsov as the head of the administration of the Lipetsk Region, but in December of the 92nd he was relieved of his duties by presidential decree after a series of conflicts with the regional parliament and the administration of Lipetsk.
–
–Boris Yeltsin during the putsch of the State Emergency Committee, August 20, 1991
–
Kuptsov’s lawsuit, in which he disputed this decree, went to court only in 1993 and ended in mini-sensation in September 1994: he was the first Russian citizen to win a lawsuit against the country’s president. At the same time, Kuptsov could not regain the governor’s post: at that time the first gubernatorial elections had already taken place in the Lipetsk Region, as a result of which Mikhail Narolin became the head of the region.
Since then, Gennady Kuptsov has sued officials of various levels more than ten times (all these claims were rejected or not accepted for consideration), and also unsuccessfully tried to to collect 227 billion rubles from OJSC Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, which, according to him, used Kuptsov’s invented “device to protect liquid metal from interaction with the environment” without paying him the proper royalties.
In 2012, Gennady Kuptsov supported members of the For Fair Elections movement, by inviting they should hold their own “March of Millions” in Lipetsk in June – an action of the same name took place a month earlier on Bolotnaya Square, ended in clashes between demonstrators and the police, and led to the “Bolotnaya Delo”.
–
–Clashes between police and protesters on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow on May 6, 2012
–
Now the only Russian who has won a court against the president lives the life of an ordinary retired pensioner of 15,000 rubles. Gennady Kuptsov knows about the story of Mikhail Ignatiev removed from office by Putin, empathizes with him and is even ready to become a public defender of the former leader of Chuvashia in court, despite Ignatiev’s statements about the need “wet the journalists” and the scene with the “training” of the keys to the new fire engine of an employee of the Chuvash Ministry of Emergencies. According to many political scientists, these episodes, which became the reason for indignation and ridicule against Ignatiev, played a key role in his dismissal.
In a conversation with Radio Liberty, Gennady Kuptsov says that even such behavior cannot be an excuse for removing the popularly elected head of the region, and accuses Vladimir Putin of “seizing power” in the country.
– When we, the governors, were appointed by Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, there was a provision approved by him on imposing disciplinary sanctions on the heads of regions. This provision clearly and clearly spelled out what the head of the region can be fired for – for violating laws, the Constitution, corruption, and so on. But the most important thing is that before the penalty was imposed, the president had to accept the governor, listen to his explanations and then make a decision. When Yeltsin’s decree appeared on December 23, 1992, there were no complaints against me; there were no grounds for dismissal. I filed a lawsuit, but the court refused to accept my lawsuit, citing the fact that the labor relationship between the governor and the president is not the subject of legal proceedings. Finally, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Court protested the decisions of the lower courts, indicating that I have the right to appeal my dismissal, and the Moscow City Court accepted the lawsuit.
After Yeltsin’s decree, I wrote him a letter in which he said that there were no legal grounds for this. The President’s State Legal Administration even prepared a certificate stating that “there are no grounds for release of Kuptsov in accordance with the provision on disciplinary sanctions, so the decree is subject to cancellation.” A draft decree on my reinstatement was even attached to the certificate. However, the “Kremlin punks”, as I call it, in the person of then-head of the presidential administration Yury Petrov and assistant Boris Nikolaevich Viktor Ilyushin did not allow this document to lie on Yeltsin’s table. At one of the sessions of the Moscow City Court, I filed a request for a meeting with the president to discuss the issue of my dismissal with him. I said: “If Boris Nikolaevich personally tells me that I do not like him as a governor, then I am ready to write a statement of my own free will.” Shortly before the Yeltsin’s decree on my dismissal, I met with him, reported on the results of his activities, and he told me that he would represent me for the state award, so there was no reason to dismiss me. As a result, the court, on the basis of a certificate from the legal department, granted my claim, decided to reinstate me and pay me 12 million rubles of salary for forced absenteeism.
The court decided to reinstate me and pay me 12 million rubles
–
–
When the court decided in my favor, someone should have reported to Yeltsin about this. The head of his administration was Sergey Filatov. I told him: “Listen, let Boris Nikolaevich!” He replied that if he allowed me, then Yeltsin would tear his head off. As a result, they told me that it was impossible to reinstate me, because elections had already passed in the region. At the same time, when the regional council decided to call these elections, it said: “Call a vote in connection with the removal of Kuptsov.” Thus, if the grounds for calling the elections were found to be unlawful by the court, I still had to be reinstated. But then the backstage games began, I eventually dropped all this and decided: well, him, to do all this. Then the public organization “Union of Russian Governors” was still created, the purpose of which was to protect the governors from any illegal actions on the part of the presidential administration. It was headed by Anatoly Tyazhlov. He also called the administration about the decree on my suspension, but he was told not to contact me. I believe that Boris Nikolaevich did not sign the decree on my release at all, because there was no reason, this decree was simply fabricated.
–
–Sergey Filatov and Boris Yeltsin
–
– What do you think about the dismissal of Mikhail Ignatiev and his lawsuit in court against Putin?
– I prepared an appeal to Mikhail Ignatiev with a proposal to stand up for him. The fact that Putin was relieved of his post is the most complete arbitrariness and lawlessness. Playing with keys is not a violation of the law or even a violation of any moral principles. It’s just a joke.
– And the words about the need to “wet the journalists”?
– When I became the head of the Lipetsk region, the whole press was communist. They grabbed me on every occasion, launched information that I was a drunkard, something else. They tried to fine-tune it, as if I had hit a man in a car, well, my driver managed to slow down. What Ignatiev said about the press, I honestly don’t know, I only know about the story with the keys. But even such statements cannot be a reason for dismissal. You can just say: “Listen, well, you can’t.” For this, there is a president. It is necessary to dismiss if a person does not cope with his work, violates laws, the Constitution. And most importantly: Ignatiev was hired by the voters of Chuvashia, the only source of power. Under the Constitution, the president has no right at all to interfere in the appointment or dismissal of governors. This is the right of the regional council, for example. And the fact that laws have been passed that allow the president to do so are a violation of the Constitution. This is nothing but a seizure of power from the people, from its only source in Russia.
– Your Lipetsk region has also recently been in the spotlight because of its governor Igor Artamonov: first he compared people with ticks, then a record appeared on the Internet on which he requires from his deputy, artificially change the statistics associated with the coronavirus. What do you think of it? This is not a reason for removal from office?
– Firstly, I believe that Artamonov’s predecessor Oleg Korolev, chosen by the people, betrayed him, voluntarily having resigned and going to the Federation Council, where he was sent by Artamonov. Incidentally, I appealed this decision. If he removed the powers that the people gave him, then he is no one. But Artamonov, people like him, are recommended by Putin to governors throughout Russia. He is a protege of the president, no one will touch him, and therefore he feels impunity and begins to be rude. Apparently, Ignatiev did not have such a “roof”, so he flew off.
–
–Igor Artamonov
–
– How have relations between authorities and regions changed over the 30 years that have passed since your lawsuit with the president?
– Then there were democratic principles. The president was supposed to receive me. In the same way, Putin had to accept Ignatiev and listen to him. Finally, one had to ask the EMERCOM employee himself: did Ignatiev offend him with his actions? We must invite this person to the court and ask about it. If offended – sue him! And what happened over these 30 years is Putin’s seizure of power personally. No one had the right to extend Putin’s presidential term from 4 to 6 years. No one had the right to extend the term of the State Duma from 4 to 5 years. This right belongs only to the people, and the people did not make such amendments to the Constitution. No one had the right to interfere in the formation of local authorities. The Constitution clearly states that the Federation Council is composed of representatives of the executive and legislative branches of the regions. Such representatives can only be people elected by the people. Under Yeltsin, members of the Federation Council were governors elected by the people and chairmen of legislative assemblies elected by the people. Today, it is not clear who. Further: no one has the right to carry out elections to the State Duma by party lists. Only in single-member districts. The people should know each specific deputy whom he hires. And voting on party lists is the same seizure of power.
– How do you feel about constitutional reform and the upcoming vote on constitutional amendments?
– Very negatively. I have already prepared an out-of-court appeal of this law. It says that 50% of the votes plus 1 vote are enough to make amendments. Imagine: Putin, Volodin, Matvienko and 10 other people come to the vote, they vote for the adoption of the changes, and the rest do not vote at all. And what, it will mean that changes are accepted 100% of voices? I believe that 50% plus 1 vote should be from the total number of voters. And the word “zeroing” is generally criminal. How can one be “nullified” if Putin has already been elected to his post six times?
– How will the litigation between Ignatiev and Putin end?
In Russia there is no judicial system that would meet the requirements of the Constitution
–
–
– I think the court will not satisfy this lawsuit. In Russia today there is no judicial system that works and meets the requirements of the Constitution. In 1976, I was an assistant professor of ferrous metallurgy at the Lipetsk Polytechnic Institute and made an invention. It began to be used all over the world, including at the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant. I demanded royalties, but in court they told me that the plant did not introduce my invention, but its two patents. I went through dozens of courts, from the district to the chairman of the Supreme Court, and everywhere they refused me, although their patents were completely copied from mine. I am sure that the court will refuse Ignatiev. Of course, I would like to take part in it as a public defender, but I don’t know whether I will be able to do this or not, he is now said to have been infected with the coronavirus and seriously ill.
– How do you live in retirement? Is politics over?
– Do you know my age? In September, I will be 80 years old. But I officially sent to the State Duma, the Federation Council, the president, the chairman of the government, the program I developed for the development of the Russian state. First of all, it is necessary to convince Putin to resign. His further stay in power, from my point of view, is unacceptable.
––
–
