Bastrykin oversees criminal case over school renovation delays

Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, has ordered to be briefed on the investigation into a criminal case regarding the disruption of major renovations at two schools in the city of Volzhsky, a satellite city of Volgograd.

Recall that the issue was raised by parents of students at School No. 13, which closed for major renovations, forcing the children to be transferred to School No. 1. However, it too is scheduled to close for the same reason from February 1. Concerned parents, tired of having to change schools, first recorded a video appeal to the administration of Volzhsky, and shortly after—to Alexander Bastrykin.

From the video appeal by parents of students at Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School No. 13:

“Our school was closed for repairs three years ago. All students were distributed to other schools in the city. We have a written response from the education committee stating that our children will study during the building«s renovation at Schools No. 1 and 2. We understood and accepted this situation.”

“Today marks the third academic year that our children have been forced to study not in their own school, but in the building of another, temporarily provided, while School No. 13 is under repair. However, we have now been informed that the primary school building is being closed for repairs and all our children are being redistributed to other schools.”

According to information from School No. 13«s own website, the major renovation of the building cost 114.7 million rubles (approximately $1.3 million at current rates). According to auction documentation, the winner was OOO »OMS« from Stavropol Krai. It is known that the work began in January 2024 and is still not completed: the deadlines have been missed by almost 10 months. Meanwhile, the contractor verification system »Kontur.Fokus« indicates that the contract for the school»s major renovation has been fulfilled.

The head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, has drawn attention to the emergency situation.

“An appeal by residents of the city of Volzhsky has been posted in the media space, arguing that their children are forced to repeatedly change schools due to unfinished major renovations at two educational institutions included in the modernization program,” the Investigative Committee«s press service reported. “Parents fear that new transfers of children due to the continuation of repair work will negatively affect the educational process and ask for the opportunity to complete the academic year without additional moves. Based on this fact, investigative bodies of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Volgograd Oblast have initiated a criminal case on signs of a crime under Article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, »Negligence.«”

Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School No. 13 is not the first school in Volzhsky where major renovation deadlines have been missed. The administration is still trying to resolve the issue with the reconstruction of School No. 32 «Evrika-Razvitiye» (Eureka-Development), which became the center of a corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of a large sum of budget funds. The work, according to the public procurement website, has been ongoing since 2023. You can read more about it here.