Yaroslavl Deputy Mayor Vinogradov to perform mayoral duties
YAROSLAVL. July 12 (Interfax) - Oleg Vinogradov, a deputy to Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov, has been appointed acting mayor, about which Vinogradov himself told Interfax on Friday.
"Yevgeny Urlashov's lawyers handed me a directive signed by the mayor, under which I will perform his duties for the entire period of the mayor's absence," Vinogradov said.
Urlashov was detained on July 3. The next day, he, his deputy Dmitry Donskov, head of the city hall municipal order agency Maxim Poikalainen, and mayoral aide Alexei Lopatin were indicted for an attempt to take a large-scale bribe from a group of individuals combined with extortion. Andrei Zakharov was charged as an accomplice in the bribery scheme. A court authorized the arrest of all the five men shortly thereafter.
The investigation also announced its intention to ask the court to suspend Urlashov from his mayoral duties.
Urlashov was named the leader of Civil Platform's party ticket in elections to the Yaroslavl regional legislature on July 7. The elections are slated for September 8.