Crimean official quits, changes her mind, then quits again after bizarre ‘bread and fur coats’ scandal
Maya Khuzhina hands out loaves to Leningrad Seige survivors © Kerch City Council
By Jonny Tickle
"Fur-coat gate" has gripped Crimea after a local official resigned, then re-instated herself, before – somewhat unbelievably – later resigning again. All in the space of a couple of days.
The controversy started when Maya Khuzhina was pictured handing out pieces of bread to elderly veterans of the Second World War Leningrad blockade while wearing an expensive animal skin. The siege of the city – now Saint Petersburg – by Nazi Germany and its Finnish and Italian allies, lasted 872 days and resulted in over a million deaths, a great many of them from starvation.
In her role as chair of the city council of Kerch, an ancient settlement on the Black Sea coast, Khuzhina handed out bread and medals to eleven survivors of what many consider a genocide. She then posted photos on Facebook, and that's where the trouble started.
The images quickly gained notoriety, and in less than 24 hours there were more than 500 comments, most of which complained about how out-of-touch the politicians pictured seemed to be. The outrage was caused by the contrast between the seemingly cheap loaves of bread and the expensive fur coats of Khuzhina and the accompanying council members making up her entourage.
Later, the politicians explained to reporters that the bread was actually a meat pie, while the fur coats were “imitation,” and they stressed that the gifts were purely “symbolic.”
Following a considerable amount of interest in the national media, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, stated that Khuzhina’s actions looked “like mockery, like humiliation,” and ordered an investigation into the event. Aksyonov wrote that the head of the City Council and all deputies should be fired and expelled from the ruling party, United Russia.
Maya Khuzhina © Kerch City Council
Despite the outcry, Khuzhina refused to show any remorse, saying:
“I don’t think I’m guilty, I think I did everything right. I received comments from those blockade women who came to me today with their children... and said that ‘we are very grateful to you; you are the only person who remembered us.’”
The story quickly took a strange turn. Despite seemingly not feeling any guilt, just three days after the scandal broke, Maya Khuzhina and her deputy Larisa Shcherbula wrote letters of resignation. However, the resignation didn't last long, as Khuzhina rescinded her decision less than one day later. "I withdraw my statement, it was a moment of weakness," she said. Unbelievably, just a couple of hours later, she resigned for a second time.
It seems she has more weak moments than strong ones.
Khuzhina's resignation letter will be considered at an extraordinary session of the City Council, according to First Vice-Speaker of the Crimean Parliament Yefim Fiks.
Fiks told RIA Novosti: "Khuzhina wrote a statement and will comply with any order of the head of the Republic of Crimea. An extraordinary session is scheduled for Monday to consider her statement... she apparently said something emotionally, but then explained that she would obey any decision of the head of Crimea."
Khuzhina was born in Kerch, Crimea, and has been an elected official since September 2019.
Head of Chuvashia expelled from Russia’s ruling party after humiliating local firefighter & threatening journalists
© Global Look Press / Komsomolskaya Pravda
By Jonny Tickle, RT
Russia’s largest political party has expelled the long-time leader of the Chuvash Republic following a series of gaffes which caused national outrage.
Mikhail Ignatiev had run Chuvashia, in the Volga region, for almost a decade before a video of him taunting a local firefighter went viral across the country.
It followed earlier comments in which he suggested that journalists who criticize the authorities be “wiped out.”
The party’s General Council secretary, Andrey Turchak, announced the decision after a meeting of its Presidium.
On January 23, Ignatiev conducted a ceremonial review of firefighting equipment in the republic’s capital, Cheboksary. As part of the inspection, he was tasked with handing out keys for brand new fire engines to firefighters, during which Ignatiev held a set of keys above the head of an officer, forcing the worker to jump to reach them.
Chuvashia’s most senior official is considerably taller than the firefighter in question.
The video of the incident quickly spread on social media and anger fomented over a politician publicly humiliating a city employee.
Bryan MacDonald✔
@27khv
The Governor of Chuvashia, Mikhail Ignatiev, has just been expelled from the ruling "United Russia" party. Last week, he forced a firefighter to jump for keys to a new fire-engine. A few days earlier, he suggested “wiping out” unfriendly journalists.
video 0:05
The governor’s spokesperson told RIA Novosti that he has been friends with the firefighter for a long time, and it was just a “joke.” However, Russian Minister of Emergency Situations Evgeny Zinichev didn’t see it this way and noted that it’s “unacceptable” for a high-ranking official to act in such a manner.
It wasn’t the first incident for which Ignatiev caused upset in January. Earlier in the month, he was forced to apologize for suggesting that journalists who criticize the authorities be “wiped out.” Ignatiev was invoking a famous phrase used by President Putin in 2000 when he suggested “wiping out” Chechen terrorists.
Sounds like a 'wannabe oligarch'!
A statement from the Chuvash regional administration insisted that he was misunderstood, and he only meant to criticize journalists who peddle fake news. He also apologized to those “good souls” who were offended by his words.
Ignatiev has been the leader of the Chuvash Republic since 2010, having previously served as the local minister of agriculture. Russian media has speculated Ignatiev could also leave this post. Responding to questions about this, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: “I can only say that there is no decree at the moment.”
Chuvasia, Russia
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