Gagarin Park in Chelyabinsk Appoints New Director

On Saturday, January 31, the administration of Chelyabinsk officially confirmed another personnel change at Gagarin Park.

City hall representatives stated: «The new park director is Alexander Yeryomin. He will start his duties on Monday.»

The reasons for the director change have not been disclosed. Before this appointment, Alexander Yeryomin held the position of director of the municipal Victory Garden, after which he was replaced by Igor Yegorov.

The previous park director, Ilya Alekseyev, worked for less than three months. He was appointed at the end of November as a stopgap measure, since the former director was in a pre-trial detention center. On the institution«s official website, Alekseyev is still listed as the current director.

Before Alekseyev, the park was headed by Zhazit Nurgazinov. He was detained in October of last year, and a criminal case was initiated against him under the article on abuse of official authority. According to the investigation, Nurgazinov signed a contract for the supply of amusement rides for 86 million rubles (approximately $1,146,700 at current rates), understanding the inexpediency of the deal. The prosecution claims that part of the equipment was sold at an artificially inflated cost, was illiquid, and had significant wear and tear. The Investigative Committee published a video of a search at the suspect«s home, where a fireplace, paintings, and a large amount of cash were captured.

Gagarin Park has been operating as a municipal autonomous institution since 1994. The founder is the culture committee. The institution does not publish financial reports; the last available data, dated the end of 2010, show revenue of 75.7 million rubles (approximately $1,009,300 at current rates) and net profit of 1.6 million rubles (approximately $21,300 at current rates).

In mid-November, city authorities demonstrated the testing of new fountains on the park«s territory, one of which is a steam fountain.