Khinshtein said Merkushkin offered him his friendship, but the deputy replied that it was out of the question
Deputy Alexander Khinshtein told how he met Nikolai Merkushkin, the former governor of Mordovia and the Samara region, who disappeared from the sight of journalists 6 years ago, in the State Duma.
He has been called Russia’s most “tenacious” politician. For the first time, Nikolai Merkushkin came to power in 1977, when he became secretary of the Mordovian regional Komsomol committee. And he entered the “shadow” only in 2017, having left the chair of the governor of the Samara region on the eve of the matches of the 2018 World Cup. Since then, no one has heard talk about him. And today State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein admitted to seeing Nikolai Merkushkin in the halls of the State Duma.
“In the corridors of the State Duma, like the ghost of communism, the ex-governor of the Samara region and Mordovia, Nikolai Merkushkin, roams,” Khinshtein wrote in his Telegram channel. “He bypasses the deputies he knows, complaining about the villainous fate: his son is in prison, his property is being taken away from him.”
Pictured: Nikolai Merkushkin. Source: Wikipedia Former Deputy Prime Minister of Mordovia Alexei Merkushkin was arrested on May 13, 2021 in connection with a criminal case for a bribe paid to the head of the Central Bank of Mordovia branch, Alexander Trenkin . In addition, he was charged with fraud and organizing abuse of power.
This video shows the moment of arrest of Merkushkin Jr. He was detained in Moscow, at Sheremetyevo airport, right at the check-in counter, as he was trying to catch a plane to Minsk. The security forces then declared that the son of the ex-governor of the Samara region was going to flee to one of the Baltic countries.
Alexei Merkushkin is currently in custody.
Pictured: Alexander Khinshtein. Source: State Duma Deputy Khinshtein’s official website Reminiscing about his meeting with Merkushkin Sr., Khinshtein writes: “I was just stunned when I saw him at my office, given that we broke up a while ago. 7 years, to say the least, without love.”
According to the parliamentarian, the former governor of the Samara region entered his office “with a broad smile, as if nothing had happened”.
“He said that he wanted to tell me ‘the whole truth’ and in general ‘he wants to be friends,’ Khinshtein continues. – Partly, I even felt sorry for Merkushkin. Where his former greatness and arrogance have- They disappeared? A miserable, unshaven old man stood in front of me. And it was only when I replied that after all that had happened, there could be no question of any friendship, only sparks. familiar faces of wickedness flashed into my eyes.
Ex-Governor of Mordovia and Samara Region Nikolai Merkushkin The People’s Choice describes the continued dialogue between them as follows:
“Well, could you at least shake my hand?” ” – He asked.
“I regretted it. And Merkushkin went wandering further through the corridors of the Duma, ”says Khinshtein. “This is how the glory of the world passes.”
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