Walking unfinished: why the former vice-governor of Kuban was detained
Alexander Nesterenko, the former vice-governor of the Krasnodar Territory, who was detained on May 22, may face up to seven years in prison, lawyers believe. He is now suspected of abuse of office. The investigation believes that he identified contractors for the construction of social facilities without a competition, and may also be involved in the misuse of budget funds. Just a day before the arrest, the governor of the region removed Nesterenko from his post for disrupting the program for the construction of schools, kindergartens and polyclinics in the region: of the 149 facilities, more than half are being built behind schedule. The details of the case are in the Izvestia article.
What is Alexander Nesterenko accused of?
The detention of Alexander Nesterenko and searches at his place of residence and work may be related to his activities at his previous place of work — in the Main Directorate of Construction of the Krasnodar Territory, a law enforcement source told Izvestia. He worked there in 2023-2024.
But there were complaints about his work as vice-governor of the region, which he held until May 21, 2025.
— There is information that Alexander Nesterenko, who oversaw the construction sector, identified a contractor for the construction of buildings without a competition, — said the interlocutor of Izvestia. — At the same time, the contractors handed over the facilities on time, the money was paid to them, no sanctions were applied to them.
Alexander Nesterenko is being investigated for abuse of office (Article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), a source told Izvestia. RIA Novosti reported that the damage is estimated at 130 billion rubles.
Another interlocutor of the publication clarified that Nesterenko is also charged with misuse of budget funds, mainly during the construction of social facilities. Also, according to him, at the same time as the former deputy governor of the Krasnodar Territory, two owners of local construction companies were detained.
On May 20, Krasnodar Territory Governor Veniamin Kondratiev sharply criticized the delay in the construction of a polyclinic in the city of Kurganinsk. It began in July 2023, the contractor was PO Giraks LLC. As a result, the builders were behind schedule for at least eight months.
The Governor of Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratiev
— This polyclinic had a deadline in which we had to build it, — said the head of the region during a working trip. — Let's be honest, for some reason we didn't meet these deadlines. Why is clear. We say that the contractor is unscrupulous, and that we are currently redesigning. Colleagues, where did you initially look when you were designing?
"Completion of construction and transfer to the Ministry of Health is expected before August 1, 2026," Nesterenko replied to Kondratiev.
And literally the next day, on May 21, the governor dismissed him.
"I invited my deputy Alexander Nesterenko to leave the post,— Veniamin Kondratiev wrote on his Telegram channel. — He oversaw the construction sector of the region, which has not shown results recently. After yesterday's situation with the polyclinic in Kurganinsk, I held a meeting on all social construction projects in the region. Of the 149 facilities, which include clinics, schools, and kindergartens, more than half are running significantly behind schedule."
The head of the region noted that he respects Alexander Nesterenko, "but a person who does not show results cannot continue to work in such a responsible position."
"Residents are waiting for these facilities, and we cannot let them down. My team should have people who can effectively work for the development of the region and improve the quality of life in it," the governor emphasized.
In 2024, according to the program "Development of public infrastructure", the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory planned to complete the construction of 115 social facilities, in particular, 15 schools, 23 kindergartens, eight martial arts centers and seven polyclinics. More than 49.4 billion rubles have been allocated for these purposes, according to the website of the regional administration. As a result, only 59 facilities were completed.
In 2025, according to information published on the public procurement website, most contracts were concluded for the repair of existing social facilities, rather than for the construction of new ones. However, at least 15 tenders have been opened for the construction, development of a plan and supply of furniture for educational and medical institutions and sports facilities. The total value of the contracts, including those with only a starting price, is 161.8 million rubles.
This is the second detention in the last year of a man who served as deputy governor of the Krasnodar Territory.
On May 24, 2024, Nesterenko's predecessor in this position, Sergei Vlasov, was arrested. He is suspected of receiving a bribe of 1.3 million rubles from one of the developers.
According to investigators, Vlasov "personally received a bribe from a person for general patronage and connivance in the service, which consists in not taking action on the facts of illegal activity, using authority or other opportunities to resolve the issues of the bribe giver," the press service of the Moscow courts of general jurisdiction reported.
Who is Alexander Nesterenko?
Nesterenko was appointed deputy governor on July 10, 2024. He was responsible for the construction sector: he oversaw the work of the departments of construction, architecture and urban planning, supervision in the construction sector, the State Housing Inspectorate, as well as the Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Situations.
Alexander Nesterenko was born in 1989 in Primorsky Krai, graduated from Rostov State University of Civil Engineering. He worked as a specialist in the capital construction department of the Novokubansky district, deputy head of the Department of Territorial Administration of Rosfinnadzor in the Krasnodar Territory.
In 2018-2020, he was the chief inspector of the Control and Accounting Chamber of the region.
In 2019, according to the filed declaration, his income amounted to more than 998 thousand rubles, his wife — 522.5 thousand rubles. He had two apartments in use, with an area of 41.4 and 66.1 sq. m. His wife had an apartment of 40.2 sq. m., as well as half of an apartment building with an area of 139.5 sq. m. In addition, the family owned several plots of land, but all of them were registered to the wife of Alexander Nesterenko.
In May 2023, he was appointed deputy head of the Main Directorate of Construction of the Krasnodar Territory, and in August 2023 he became its head.
For abuse of office, Alexander Nesterenko could face up to seven years in prison with a ban on holding certain positions for three years, lawyer Irina Gritsenko told Izvestia.
— But there may be more than one composition in relation to the detainee. In my practice, along with abuse of authority, bribery is often detected," she added.
Lawyer Nikolay Chernyshuk recalled that the construction of social facilities is carried out within the framework of 44-FZ, where auctions must be strictly controlled.
Kirill Kabanov, Chairman of the National Anti—Corruption Committee, member of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, noted that the late delivery of construction projects is not only a problem in the Krasnodar Territory.
— Since the COVID-19 pandemic, government procurement control has become less effective. We need a new system for monitoring the fulfillment of government tasks," he believes.
Kirill Kabanov is sure that social facilities are of primary importance to the population, and any attempts to make money from them should be stopped immediately.
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