Crimean movement 'in support of the Russian president' calls for resignation of local Sevastopol administration
In Sevastopol on July 12, there was a meeting of the movement “In support of the President of Russia”. Its participants, including members of United Russia and the All Russia People’s Front, adopted a resolution calling for the resignation of the city’s Kremlin-controlled government and parliament. At the event it was also announced that on 15 July a rally would be held in protest against the city’s current management, Krym.Realii reported.
The meeting took place in a semi-closed manner. Participants called the situation in the city “catastrophic, occasionally reaching a state of humanitarian catastrophe”.
According to United Russia member Tatyana Ulyanova, the consumer basket in the city has not been revised since 2014. The Russian authorities compiled it from 11 groups of goods and assessed it at 6,395 rubles (roughly $107.5). For comparison, in neighboring Russia the basket consists of 156 groups of goods. She also called Sevastopol “the leader in price increases and the outflow of the professional workforce”.
Former emergency medical care station head doctor Yuriy Malkov reported that the city lacks more than 400 doctors and 700 nurses and paramedics. According to him, medical workers’ salaries are “embarrassingly low”, the doctors coming from Russia “receive their million bonuses” and still leave the city.
Former Sevastopol University employee Oksana Avramenko said that students are leaving the city en masse. She added that the number of students at Sevastopol University has dropped from 11,000 to 8,000, the enrollment for several technical specializations is ending, and the lecturers are working without increases to their salaries. There are not enough kindergarten teachers and nannies due to the low salary and the increased demands of officials. She also noted that in the Kremlin-controlled Sevastopol department of education there are now a record high number of officials – 116 people with high salaries.
At the meeting, employees of the city trolley-bus depot said that there is no repair facility for trolley buses.
The Kremlin-controlled city authorities have not yet commented on the accusations of the participants in the meeting.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared the 20th of February 2014 the start of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. On the 7th of October 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the relevant law. International organizations have recognized the occupation and annexation of Crimea as illegal, and have condemned Russia. Western countries have introduced a number of economic sanctions. Russia denies that it is occupying the peninsula, and calls it “restoration of historical justice”.