vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #558 / Special reports / Reading article...

Primorye’s prosecutor’s office has forwarded to the general prosecutors for legal comment a complete text version of a press conference given by Vladivostok Mayor Vladimir Nikolayev an hour after he was removed from his position by the city court on Wednesday. Talking to reporters Nikolayev called the case against him ‘a sheer falsification’ and ‘someone’s paid order’.

In its press statement on Thursday Primorye’s prosecutor’s office announced that, ”Vladimir Nikolayev called the criminal case initiated against him by prosecutors as a paid and ordered deal and his speech was broadcast by all local and many federal news agencies. In this respect Primorye’s prosecutor’s office asks the General prosecutor’s office to make a legal assessment of Nikolayev’s remarks concerning the case against him.”

Primorye’s prosecutor’s office launched a criminal investigation against Nikolayev on charges of embezzlement and appealed to the city court to temporarily halt Nikolayev’s duties as a city mayor during the investigation.

On Wednesday Vladivostok’s Leninsky court fully satisfied Primorye’s prosecutors appeal and ruled to temporarily dismiss of Nikolayev from his office saying that, “Nikolayev should not have the power to influence his subordinates during an investigation carried out against him.”

An hour after the court decided to remove the incumbent mayor from office, Nikolayev gave a press conference to reporters and commented that, “all actions happening to the city’s administration since mid February can be considered a cynical order from top officials.” According to Nikolayev, the officials ordered Primorye’s law enforcement bodies to remove the current administration of Vladivostok using any invented reasons. “These people aim to delete current administration and introduce an absolute disorder in Vladivostok,” Nikolayev said.

“The criminal case against me is all made up. Some people want to get to power here and be able to share the funds given by the government for the APEC summit,” Nikolayev said. “I think that in such situations any mayor would feel unprotected and I want mass media to broadcast my opinion about this paid falsification against me to make these people answer for their dirty deeds,” Nikolayev said. During the press conference he did not name people whom he considered responsible for his misfortunes.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have opened five other related criminal investigations into the activities of the current administration, including one against the city's deputy mayor Igor Golubev.

The related stories can be viewed at
http://vn.vladnews.ru/issue558/Special_reports/Vladivostok_Mayor_temporarily_dismissed
http://vn.vladnews.ru/issue558/Special_reports/Vladivostok_mayoral_office_under_investigation

The prosecutor’s press statements (in Russian) can be found at www.prosecutor.ru

The full text of Nikolayev’s press conference can be found at http://www.primamedia.ru/news/show/?id=34452