Murmansk ‘grey cardinal’ returns to Severomorsk
Vladimir Yevmenkov for years worked as the deputy of Murmansk governor Andrei Chibis. The former interior ministry official now returns to the post as Mayor of the strategically important Northern Fleet city Severomorsk.
When the SSJ Superjet crash landed at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow in 2019, Vladimir Yevmenkov quickly grabbed his suitcase from the overhead compartment and made it out of the burning aircraft. Despite the extreme situation, Yevmenkov later said that he could not recall any signs of smoke in the cabin. And there was “absolutely no crowding, at least as far as I could see,” he told journalists. A total of 41 people died in the accident. Among them was Alyena Martynova, a top official from the regional Interior Ministry in Murmansk.
Vladimir Yevmenov was City Mayor of Severomorsk at the time. But he is likely to have been well aware of the woman that was seated 11 rows behind him in the plane. Yevmenkov himself comes from the Interior Ministry where he worked his way up from regular policeman to chief of the regional department. Five years after the crash, the 52-years old official returns to Severomorsk and the position as city mayor. The municipal council this week unanimously approved his candidacy.
He starts in the job on the 15th of November, the Severomorsk city administration informs. After four years in the regional government of Andrei Chibis, Vladimir Yevmenov will again lead the city that houses the headquarters of the Northern Fleet. He does himself not have a background from the Armed Forces, but has long experience from working with the security services. Yevmenkov grew up in Zapolyarny, the mining town located near the border to Norway and Finland. He graduated at the Historical Faculty of the Petrozavodsk State University.
In an interview with a local newspaper, Yevmenkov expresses pride for having graduated at the same faculty as Rashid Nurgaliev and Nikolai Patrushev, the two security hawks from the Russian Interior Ministry and FSB. Yevmenkov is himself closely connected with the law enforcement and security services in the Murmansk region. During his tenure as deputy governor, he has appeared as a “grey cardinal,” who covertly and invisibly managed key government developments. Yevmenkov has only rarely made independent appearances in the public and mainly took part in events that involves security officials. He is not active on social media and his VK account has hardly been updated since 2021.
The Navy representatives in Severomorsk might not be happy with the appointment of Yevmenkov. But the FSB and the Russian Interior Ministry appear to have gotten their man in the strategically important city.
