"Dosh" magazine: in Ingushetia Evkurov is trusted less than Zyazikov was

The Caucasian independent magazine "Dosh" held a social poll in Ingushetia, asking the population about their attitude to the former and current heads of the republic. The question was worded as follows: "Who do you trust more: Ruslan Aushev, Murat Zyazikov or Yunus-Bek Evkurov?"

In total, within 10 days in early March, about 1500 persons were interviewed in the streets of six dwelling settlements of the republic, including Nazran. The poll was anonymous.

According to the editor-in-chief Israpil Shovkhalov, the results proved to be unexpected. The first president of Ingushetia Ruslan Aushev was supported by 81.8 percent of the respondents, Murat Zyazikov - by 9.5 percent, and Yunus-Bek Evkurov - only by 8.7 percent.

"We were surprised not with the high degree of confidence in the first president Aushev; he has been long known as the most popular Ingush politician; we were surprised with a sharp, almost crushing loss of confidence in the current head of Ingushetia Evkurov, who lost even to his predecessor Zyazikov in the sympathy of people," Israpil Shovkhalov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He has recalled the enthusiasm, with which Ingushetia welcomed in late October 2008 the appointment of General Yunus-Bek Evkurov to the post of the head of the republic. "His willingness to communicate with people, his accessibility and openness, and his uncompromising negative attitude to corruption had literally charmed the people," said Shovkhalov.

Olga Allenova, a special correspondent of the "Kommersant" newspaper, believes that from the very beginning Ingushes had too high expectations after Evkurov's appointment.

"To some extent these expectations were met. But people always tend to wait for more. The current opposition accuses Evkurov of "having surrendered" the Prigorodny District to the federal centre. They say that it was he who had signed the respective agreements with the Ossetian party. At the same time, while criticizing Evkurov, very few people are able to realistically evaluate the situation," said Olga Allenova.

She is sure that the main Evkurov's failure is that he could not cope with corruption. "Well, he couldn't. I think he honestly tried to fight it and almost lost his life (meaning the attempt on Evkurov on June 22, 2009, - note of the "Caucasian Knot"), but corruption is stronger, because the roots of the Caucasian corruption are in Moscow, not in the Caucasus," she said.

Olga Bobrova, a columnist for the "Novaya Gazeta", believes that the stand of Yunus-Bek Evkurov at the time, when he just came to power, was a revelation for the Ingush people.

"His words about the cease of abductions and extrajudicial executions, suppression of the monopoly of federal power structures on actions in the republic - all this positive rhetoric had worked towards the image of strong-willed and independent politician," said Olga Bobrova.

According to her story, after time had passed, people now have a chance to compare words with actions. "It looks like the comparison is not in favour of actions. We see that disappearances continue, while the republic's authorities often look helpless," she said.

Let us remind you that while commenting in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" on one of the abductions, the head of Ingushetia said that not always power agents are involved, while the situation is sometimes artificially inflated: "Some time will pass and everything stabilizes. And then a theft of a chicken from the hen house will cause political resonance."

Evkurov also said that he would work towards eradicating corruption. "But to this day sentences on cases of this kind are rare," said Ms Bobrova.

Besides, according to her story, Evkurov "is not free from the vertical, that is, from the will of the federal government; therefore, it's doubly difficult for him to fulfil his promises given to people.