Become an OC Media MemberSupport independent journalism in the Caucasus:
Join Today
Media logo
Corruption

Head of Daghestan admits giving bribes

Head of Daghestan admits giving bribes
Marat Aslanov (chernovik.net)

On 26 April, while speaking at the educational forum ‘New Quality — New Goals’, Daghestani Head Ramazan Abdulatipov admitted that he had given bribes.

‘If earlier there was a price [a bribe] for this certificate, now Rosobnadzor [the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science] has improved. I came across Rosobnadzor before. I myself gave bribes to Rosobnadzor. And what are you laughing at? I was the rector of the university, if I can’t pass the attestation normally, humanly, then I had to [pay a bribe]… Although I was always against it, I was persuaded, they said that I’d fail the attestation if I didn’t give them at least a little bit [of money]’, Abdulatipov said.

In addition, the head of Daghestan advised students to hire pretty girls as their assistants, because otherwise, ‘all you see are cows’.

On 3 May, a member of the Communist Party, Marat Aslanov, staged a solitary picket in Makhachkala’s central square. The MP held two posters in his hands. One of them said that giving bribes was punishable by Russian law, while the other showed a poem by Daghestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, with the phrase ‘woman of the mountains’ replaced by ‘fat cows’.

A few minutes after his picket began, two other members of parliament confronted Aslanov — Minister of Sports Magomed Magomedov and Head of the Territorial Fund of Compulsory Medical Insurance Magomed Suleymanov.

‘Magomedov took the posters away and grabbed me by the chest. When I pointed out that he was acting illegally, he answered that he didn’t care. Police officers didn’t approach us until the Minister of Sports shouted that I had a gun in my pocket, and began to cling to my pocket. I had my sunglasses there. I showed the police what I had in my pocket and left’, Aslanov told Chernovik, Daghestani weekly.

A little later, Aslanov wrote on his Facebook page:

‘Salam aleykum to all! Today I staged a solitary picket at the building of the Government of Daghestan in disagreement with the recent public admittance of the head of the republic, Ramazan Abdulatipov to giving bribes to Rosobnadzor. I believe that such actions discredit the region and Abdulatipov. It has serious consequences. If we want to develop civil society, we must think about what we say, when, and where. Ramazan Abdulatipov repeats often himself that we Daghestanis shouldn’t be ignorant and so on, but at the same time he publicly confesses to committing a crime. This, I repeat, discredits him as the head of the region.’

Local inhabitants reacted positively to Aslanov’s solitary picket. Many social media users weren’t hiding their joy.

‘What do you want people, bread and circuses? A solitary picket doesn’t require a permit, and if there were two protesters, then it would be an unauthorised protest. Then you can detain and open a court case. [Aslanov’s] act deserves respect. But don’t anticipate a hundred of thousands of men [protesting]’, journalist Yana Martitosova wrote in the comments under Aslanov’s post.

‘Marat’s act is an example for all those who care about the future of Daghestan, it was a courageous deed’, State Duma deputy from the Just Russia party, Gadzhimurad Omarov wrote in a comment.

On 4 May, Anora Maksudova, who staged another solitary picket against Abdulatipov’s words, was detained on Makhachkala’s central square. Police arrested the woman and three people who were videoing the protest on mobile phones immediately after the picket began.

Related Articles

Nazim Baydamirli. Image via Wikipedia Commons.
Azerbaijan

Former Azerbaijani MP sentenced to eight years in prison for extortion

A

Former Azerbaijani MP and businessman Nazim Baydamirli has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Baku Grave Crimes Court on charges of extortion.  Baydamirli was sentenced on 30 September, following over a year spent in pre-trial detention.  His lawyer, Agil Layij, told Meydan TV that the charges against his client were unfounded.  Likewise, Baydamirli’s wife, Farida Baydamirli, told OC Media that his arrest was absurd. She said that the family never expected such a thing would

Image via Tabula.
Bidzina Ivanishvili

Georgian Dream denies allegations that Ivanishvili’s wife owns Russian real estate

O

A report by the Organized Crime Reporting Project (OCCRP) has alleged that Ekaterina Khvedelidze, the wife of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, possesses three undisclosed plots of land in Moscow, one bought as recently as this year. The joint investigation by OCCRP, iStories, GMC, Studio Monitori, and iFact found that the three plots of land were recently purchased as an expansion to three other adjacent plots Ivanishvili’s family acquired prior to 2012. This included a house that w

Vladimir Gasparyan, former Armenian police chief. Image via Hetq.
Armenia

Former Armenian police chief released despite being found guilty of abuse of power

A

Former chief of the Armenian police, Vladimir Gasparyan, and three other former police officials have been found guilty of abuse of power, forgery, and embezzlement by Armenia’s anti-corruption court, but have been released after amnesties were applied to all four.  On Tuesday, the court found Gasparyan, his deputy Levon Yeranosyan, and two other former police officials guilty. Vladimir Gasparyan was found guilty in two cases, but exempted from serving the sentence for one on the basis of th

The mansion of the family of former Armenian finance minister in California, US. Image via Hetq.
Armenia

US court seizes LA mansion of family of former Armenian finance minister

A

A US Court has seized a California mansion belonging to the family of a former Armenian finance minister, ruling it was purchased with funds of criminal origin. The mansion in Los Angeles belongs to Gurge and Artyom Khachatryan, the sons of former Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan.  On Monday, the Armenian General Prosecutor’s office announced that negotiations between Armenia and the US were underway on the return of the lion’s share of the proceeds from the house’s sale to Armenia. I

Most Popular

Editor‘s Picks