the internal political process, the struggle of regional and local elites for the ability to make socially important decisions, access to power and financial resources. The inconsistency and instability of a particular system of regional power continues to depend to a large extent on the local political situation; the regional constitutional process is not completed and will develop mainly depending on the specific constellation of endogenous factors of political reality.

4. OFFICE OF THE Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Southern Federal District

The Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a federal district is an official representing the President of the Russian Federation, who ensures the implementation of the constitutional powers of the head of state within the relevant federal district, and contributes to increasing the efficiency of the federal government bodies and improving the system of control over the implementation of their decisions.

The institution of the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal district was introduced by the Decree of the President, where

the main tasks to be solved by the plenipotentiary in the course of his activities were identified. These include: the organization in the corresponding federal district of work on the implementation by public authorities of the main directions of domestic and foreign policy of the state, determined by the President of the Russian Federation; organization of control over the execution in the federal district of decisions of federal bodies of state power; ensuring the implementation of the personnel policy of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal district; submission to the President of the Russian Federation of regular reports on ensuring national security in the federal district, as well as on

the political and economic situation in the federal district, making relevant proposals to the President of the Russian Federation.

In its activities, the institute of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Southern Federal District uses the tactics of finding a compromise. This tactic is implemented in three directions, corresponding to the area of ​​common interests of the subjects of the Southern Federal District.

Shared use of the resources of the constituent entities of the Southern Federal District contributes to the reduction of interethnic tension in the economic sphere. It is necessary to reach a compromise on this issue, which will contribute to the development of economic ties between different territories of the subjects of the federation. The efficient use of federal property, mineral resources and biological resources is a priority area of ​​regional economic policy. Labor employment is another indicator of a decrease in interethnic tension in the economic sphere of the subjects of the Southern Federal District. The problem remains the low standard of living of the population living in the territory of the Okrug. The executive authorities of the territories have not ensured the repayment of arrears in wages, child benefits and other social payments. The solution to this problem is possible in the case of the development of industrial and agro-industrial complexes in the region, contributing to the creation of new jobs and regular payment of wages.

Thus, the indicators of a decrease in interethnic tension in the economic sphere are the shared use of the resources of the constituent entities of the Southern Federal District and an increase in the employment of the population.

The activities of the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Southern Federal District in this area are implemented by reaching a compromise on the shared use of federal property, mineral resources and biological resources of the constituent entities of the district, as well as organizing loans and funds from regional budgets for the development of industrial and agro-industrial complexes in the region, which contributes to the creation of new jobs and

regular payment of wages. The prospects for these activities in the economic sphere are determined in the federal target program "South of Russia" until 2005, the main task of which is to ensure a single federal economic, market and financial space in the district. It includes 584 projects worth 110 billion rubles: of which only 10 billion are from the federal budget, the rest is from local and investment.

The next area of ​​activity of the institute of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Southern Federal District, contributing to the reduction of interethnic tensions in the social sphere, is the solution of the problem of settling refugees and internally displaced persons. In terms of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons who arrived in the last decade, the Southern Federal District has turned out to be the undisputed leader in the Russian Federation. The consequences of such a massive and poorly regulated migration were the highest competition in the labor market, sharply increased pressure on the social sphere, inevitable inter-ethnic clashes of a domestic nature. In these conditions, the activities of the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Southern Federal District are aimed at organizing conditions in accordance with social federal programs and providing additional resources from the regional budget. The study of the existing problems, the accumulated information base made it possible to formulate proposals to the federal government bodies. Information and analytical materials on the problems of internally displaced persons from the Chechen Republic have been sent to the Government of the Russian Federation. The study of the organization of the work of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation within the Southern Federal District to ensure social protection of families of servicemen who died or were injured in the line of duty made it possible to formulate measures to eliminate the shortcomings of this work.

Thus, in the social sphere, the functioning of the institution of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Southern Federal District is associated with solving the problem of settling refugees and internally displaced persons.

Reducing interethnic tension is implemented by this structure by studying the organization of the work of state authorities of the subjects of the Southern Federal District to ensure social protection of this category of the population. In accordance with the federal target program "South of Russia", the strategic directions for solving this problem will be the settlement of internally displaced persons from the Chechen Republic; construction of settlements, housing, schools, infrastructure development in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania; development of the infrastructure of the mountainous zone in the Republic of Dagestan.

The third area of ​​activity of the institute of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Southern Federal District, contributing to the reduction of interethnic tensions in the political sphere, is the coordination of actions of territorial authorities. Interaction of the office of the plenipotentiary representative with the heads of territorial bodies of federal ministries and departments in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia is carried out during working meetings with an established system of mutual exchange of information that allows coordinating common actions. The deputies of the plenipotentiary took a direct part in the selection of personnel for the heads of the territorial bodies of the federal

organs in the Chechen Republic. Together with the Provisional Administration of the Chechen Republic, the Regulation on the certification of civil servants in the Chechen Republic has been developed and is being implemented. It was possible to intensify such interaction due to the work of the Collegium of territorial bodies of federal executive bodies, the Council of Elders, the Consultative Council and the Council on Cossack Problems under the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District. Using all the variety of forms of organizational work in the executive power system - coordination of activities, interaction, coordination, joint development, organizational management of the office of the plenipotentiary representative ensured the implementation of specific measures to strengthen the executive vertical, the formation of proactive and responsible state structures.

The press service of the presidential plenipotentiary in the Southern Federal District hastened to refute rumors about the imminent change of the district capital, and the plenipotentiary himself. However, it has already happened more than once: after the refutation of political gossip, their embodiment follows. Well, the expert community, meanwhile, is arguing how successfully and effectively Vladimir Ustinov worked, if rumors about his resignation are spreading so rapidly.

Southern Federal District as a cover operation?

The most discussed political news of recent days was the “move” of the presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District from Rostov-on-Don to Krasnodar. More precisely, not the “move” itself, but rumors about such a personnel reshuffle. For the first time, several Rostov media outlets reported this with reference to an unnamed source in the office of the plenipotentiary on Monday morning, then the news was picked up at the federal level.

Insiders reported the details of the upcoming reform: the capital of the federal district will not only move to Krasnodar, but also the plenipotentiary himself will be replaced - the place of the current Vladimir Ustinov will take Alexander Tkachev, which is now headed by the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.

Among other things, Krymsky, the youngest and smallest in the country, can allegedly be annexed to the Southern District (it will be recalled that it is headed by Oleg Belaventsev). In this regard, the transfer of the capital of the Southern Federal District seems quite logical, since from there it is also easier to manage overseas territories, as well as oversee the largest investment project of the decade - the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait worth 230 billion rubles.

The press service of Vladimir Ustinov has already denied rumors about a possible change of the plenipotentiary and the transfer of the district capital to Krasnodar.

“Such rumors appear every six months. What they just did not do with us! Last year, for example, the presidential office in the Southern Federal District was "merged" with the Volga Federal District. Apparently, someone has become bored again, ”the journalists quote from a press service employee, again unnamed. Which again leads to suspicion: what if it's just a "cover operation".

Hardware games love silence

The Southern Federal District appeared on the map in 2000, and few people remember that it was originally supposed to be called the North Caucasian District. In full accordance with this name, the first plenipotentiary was the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, staff general Victor Kazantsev, four years later this chair was swiftly occupied by the former governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Yakovlev, and then - Dmitry Kozak, which is perhaps the most memorable among the plenipotentiaries.

Kozak is not a military man, but among journalists he received the nickname “Governor-General, since he was a staunch supporter of the“ vertical of power ”. It was he who proposed to create a rating system for evaluating governors (later it was adopted by the Ministry of Regional Development, which the former plenipotentiary envoy headed in September 2007). Kozak also demanded to link the political freedom of governors with the level of subsidies and the current economic success of his region. They were afraid of the strong-willed plenipotentiary, but sometimes they went against him - the Caucasus after all ...

In January 2007, thanks to him, he actually squeezed out the head of Adygea, a gold miner, one of the richest people in the South of Russia. Khazret Sovmena... Sovmen was opposed to the unification of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory, which Dmitry Kozak insisted on - however, as you know, it never happened.

The post of governor-general in the fall of 2007 was taken by a personnel intelligence officer Grigory Rapota, but he did not work in office for long, becoming the president's plenipotentiary in the Volga Federal District. Well, the "southerner" turned out to be the former Prosecutor General and the former Minister of Justice Vladimir Ustinov. For Ustinov, of course, it was more comfortable to work not in Rostov-on-Don, but in Krasnodar, since he himself, for those who have forgotten, comes from the Kuban.

Perhaps this is precisely why Ustinov's low public activity is connected: he appears mostly at protocol events, communicates with the press very rarely, and does not shine with bright initiatives. Perhaps the most recent - the plenipotentiary is inspecting the construction of the Rostov-Arena stadium, which is being built on the left bank of the Don for the 2018 World Cup.

The king is made by the retinue

This political aphorism is known to everyone. Including in the southern plenipotentiary: all four of Ustinov's deputies are long-livers in the apparatus (by the way, after the creation of the Southern Federal District, the plenipotentiary had seven deputies, among whom one personally controlled Chechnya, and another - the rest of the North Caucasus).

Alexander Akulchev holds this position for almost seven years (and was previously assistant to the plenipotentiary in the Southern Federal District), Leonid Belyak- six years, and Vladimir Gurba- five. The only newcomer to the team is Anton Kalinin, appointed deputy plenipotentiary in August last year. By the way, he is in the past an employee of the prosecutor's office, and Kalinin replaced in the post of deputy plenipotentiary Alexandra Murzina, who, in turn, was the head of the affairs department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia.

A native of the prosecutor's office and Leonid Belyak, who worked as the prosecutor of the Volgograd region, and then as an adviser to the prosecutor general for the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District. Recall that then the Deputy Prosecutor General for these two territories was Ivan Sydoruk, which in the middle of the "2000s" had a tough conflict with Vladimir Ustinov - the reason was the check of the illegal distribution of land in the Moscow region.

So today, as you can see, in many respects Ustinov remains a hostage of the hardware games of the past. Many people from the team of the current plenipotentiary now occupy high posts in regional authorities. Let's say a former deputy plenipotentiary Vladimir Zhukov appointed Deputy Chairman of the Control and Accounts Chamber of the Rostov Region, another deputy Nikolay Fedoryak- Senator from the government of the Khanty-Mansiysk District (KhMAO), Valery Shnyakin- a senator from the government of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Suleiman Vagapov- Deputy General Director of the North Caucasus Resorts Corporation ...

And this is only a small part of eminent people from the inner circle of Ustinov, who remains the longest-lived plenipotentiary in Russia - he has been in office for the ninth year. With such a large number of hardware connections, Ustinov is undoubtedly unshakable. The reason for his resignation can only be some kind of obvious failure - but so far the Kremlin is apparently completely satisfied with the absence of noticeable conflicts in the district entrusted to him. And the successful implementation of megaprojects: for example, on the eve of the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Vladimir Ustinov became an honorary citizen of the resort city. Well, before the world championship, it seems, he will also become an honorary citizen of Rostov and Volgograd.

On Thursday, July 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a number of the largest personnel reshuffles in recent years, and also decided to unite the Southern and Crimean federal districts.

In order to increase the efficiency of the federal government bodies, I decide: to transform the Southern Federal District and the Crimean Federal District into the Southern Federal District, to appoint Vladimir Ustinov as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District, says the Decree of the Head of State on the unification of the Southern Federal District.

Thus, now the list of regions included in the Southern District has expanded to two constituent entities of the Russian Federation, it now includes: Adygea, Kalmykia, Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Rostov Regions, as well as the federal city of Sevastopol.

Crimea and Sevastopol, we recall, became part of the Russian Federation following a referendum in March 2014: then reunification with Russia was supported by 96.77 percent of the inhabitants of the peninsula (more than 1.2 million people). The US and EU countries did not recognize the results of the referendum, imposing sanctions against the new region of Russia.

Now the former presidential envoy to Crimea, Oleg Belaventsev, was transferred by another decree to a similar position in the North Caucasus Federal District, and his predecessor in the Caucasus, Sergei Melikov, was appointed first deputy director of the Russian National Guard.

Meanwhile, the question of the location of the main residence of the plenipotentiary of the united Southern Federal District remains open.

We do not comment on the presidential decisions, and it is not yet known whether Rostov-on-Don will remain the capital of the district: this issue was worked out earlier, but the result of its discussion has not been disclosed at the moment, - told the newspaper "KP" - Rostov-on-Don. Don ”in the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the head of state in the Southern Federal District.

Earlier, we recall, there were rumors about the transfer of the capital of the district from Rostov to Krasnodar, but they did not find their confirmation at that time. Whether anything will change in this regard now is not yet clear.

Another source told Komsomolskaya Pravda that Rostov will nevertheless continue to be the administrative center of the district: it occupies the most advantageous geographical location and has the necessary infrastructure. However, according to some reports, the plenipotentiary will also receive a residence in Crimea.

Recall that the representation of the President of Russia in the Southern Federal District appeared in 2000, and the former commander of the North Caucasian Military District, Viktor Kazantsev, who had been in this post for four years, became the first plenipotentiary.

Then, for the next three years, Dmitry Kozak worked as plenipotentiary (then he left to the post of Minister of Regional Development, currently - Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation), after him this post was held for a little less than a year by Grigory Rapota (then he headed the Volga Federal District, now he is the Secretary of State Of the Union State of Russia and Belarus).

And finally, the fifth head of the Southern Federal District in May 2008 was the ex-Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Vladimir Ustinov. Under him, by the Decree of the then head of state Dmitry Medvedev, the North Caucasian Federal District with the administrative center in Pyatigorsk was allocated from the Southern Federal District.

FROM THE DOSSIER "KP"

Vladimir Vasilievich Ustinov was born on February 25, 1953 (he is 63 years old) in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur (Khabarovsk Territory), from where the family soon moved to the Kuban. His father was a deputy prosecutor in the Kurganinsky district of the Krasnodar Territory. At the age of 15, he went to work as a turner-toolmaker at the Korenovsky sugar plant. After serving in the army, he followed in his father's footsteps, graduating from the Kharkov Law Institute.

1978 to 1992 Ustinov worked in the district prosecutor's offices of the Krasnodar Territory, then for five years he was the prosecutor of Sochi, in the last three years combining this position with the post of the 1st Deputy Prosecutor of the Krasnodar Territory.

Since October 15, 1997, he served as Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. From June 1998 to April 1999, he was the head of the General Prosecutor's Office for Supervision over the Execution of Federal Security Laws and Interethnic Relations in the North Caucasus.

On July 29, 1999, appointed and. O. Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, and from May 17, 2000, after being approved in this position by the Federation Council, until June 2, 2006, he served as the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Vladimir Ustinov was marked by a number of high-profile cases - the investigation of the terrorist attacks in Moscow and Volgodonsk, the case of Media-most and Vladimir Gusinsky, the investigation into the death of the Kursk submarine, the case of Yukos and Khodorkovsky, and the criminal prosecution of Yulia Timoshenko.

In 2001, an unprecedented incident occurred: for the first time in the history of modern Russia, Attorney General Ustinov acted as a state prosecutor at the trial against terrorist Salman Raduyev. This also includes high-profile anti-corruption cases, the most striking of which is, perhaps, the arrest and indictment of the Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Alexei Barinov.

Since May 14, 2008 - Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District.

He is married with a daughter and a son.