Yuriy Bulanov Former prefect of the Southern Administrative District of Moscow Date of Birth: 25.11.1952 Country: Russia

Biography of Yuri Bulanov

Yuri Konstantinovich Bulanov was born on November 25, 1952, in Kirovograd, Ukrainian SSR. He studied at the Kirovograd Civil Aviation Flight-Navigator School from 1969 to 1972 and then worked in the aviation industry for over thirty years. Despite being referred to as a pilot officer in a letter from veterans to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Bulanov worked as an air traffic controller from 1972 to 1979. After completing the command faculty of the Civil Aviation Academy in 1979, he started working in the Magadan Administration of Civil Aviation of the USSR and held various positions in the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the USSR and the State Civil Aviation Supervision. In 1986, Bulanov published a book titled "Guide to Investigating and Preventing Aviation Incidents."

In 1996, Bulanov was appointed Deputy Head of the Administration of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and served in this position until 1999. After that, he briefly worked in business structures until becoming the First Deputy Head of the Administration of the Golovinsky District of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow in 2000. In 2001, Bulanov was appointed Head of the Administration of the Voykovsky District of the Northern Administrative District and also served as an advisor to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, on construction. However, in September of the same year, local businessmen accused Bulanov of illegal extortions from small retail outlets and claimed that those who refused to pay were prevented from doing business in the district. Additionally, the small retail trade in the Voykovsky District started to shift towards Caucasians, as reported in the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta."

In 2002, Bulanov was appointed First Deputy Prefect of the Southern Administrative District (YUAO) of Moscow and the Head of the District's Construction Complex. While serving as Deputy Prefect, Bulanov completed his postgraduate studies at the Moscow Academy of Economics and Law, where he defended his dissertation on the "Organizational and Economic Foundations of Building Management System in Moscow." In July 2007, Bulanov replaced Biryukov as the Prefect of YUAO and from 2009, he also held the position of Minister of the Moscow Government.

During his tenure as Prefect, Bulanov received a total of five reprimands from the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. In March 2009, Luzhkov criticized Bulanov for "poor work with the population" and an increase in complaints from residents of YUAO. He also received a warning for "failure to implement previously adopted decisions on sanitary protection zones" in the district. In February 2010, Luzhkov issued a reprimand to Bulanov for unsatisfactory operation of the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve, and he also received a reprimand for the quality of major repairs in residential buildings in YUAO. Bulanov was also mentioned in the press in connection with a fire (or arson) and subsequent demolition of the Muromtsev Dacha in 2010. It was Bulanov who issued the order for the demolition under the guise of "cleaning up an unauthorized landfill and construction waste." The Prefect of YUAO was also accused of illegally creating housing cooperatives in the district. In May 2010, the press learned that Bulanov had annexed attic spaces to his Moscow apartment, paying only $40 per square meter.

According to his tax declaration, in 2009, Bulanov earned 5.5 million rubles, ranking third in terms of income among Moscow officials. He owned three land plots, two country houses, and one house. He also owned apartments in Moscow and France, two cars, and boats. He owned 60% of the shares in LLC "Monokon," which was the founder and owner of 100% of the shares of LLC "Monokon-Service," a company involved in the renovation of residential buildings in YUAO. However, the quality of the renovations carried out by the company received complaints from residents. Anonymous materials compromising Bulanov were published online by the "Independent Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the Southern Administrative District of Moscow," accusing him of unfair competition and appointing cronies to responsible positions. The publication even mentioned Major Denis Evsyukov among Bulanov's "appointees." On May 28, 2010, Yuri Luzhkov dismissed Bulanov from his position due to "incomplete official compliance." Georgy Smoleevsky was appointed as the new Prefect. On May 29, 2010, the offices of the YUAO prefecture, Bulanov's apartment, and his first deputy Vyacheslav Shcherbakov were searched, and documents related to real estate transactions were seized. The next day, Bulanov was hospitalized with hypertensive crisis and suspected heart attack. It became known to the press that Bulanov was a witness in the case of embezzlement of one billion rubles from the city budget by Abesalom Guldava, a Georgian citizen who was wanted internationally for fraud. It was reported that Guldava, with the help of Moscow officials, created commercial structures that received contracts for building repairs and landscaping: only a portion of the work was actually performed, and the rest was documented fictitiously. Subsequently, the investigation clarified that Bulanov and Shcherbakov could be involved in embezzlements of 23 million rubles allocated for the capital repair of housing. According to representatives of the Moscow Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry, despite the budget being used, the repairs in some houses were only half completed. The former prefect vehemently denied his guilt and claimed that he was dismissed due to the machinations of enemies - representatives of the gambling and drug business who allegedly threatened him for cracking down on their activities.

In June 12, 2010, criminal proceedings were initiated against Bulanov under Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (appropriation or embezzlement of someone else's property on an especially large scale). On July 1, the investigation detained Shcherbakov, and on July 3, 2010, Bulanov himself was arrested by the decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow within the framework of this criminal case. The measure of restraint was chosen based on the fear that the former prefect might flee from justice. On July 9, Bulanov was charged with embezzlement. At the end of the same month, the Moscow City Court rejected the defense's request for bail and kept him under arrest.

According to the media, the trial against Bulanov could have been a preparation for the upcoming resignation of the Mayor of Moscow. In September 2010, Luzhkov was indeed dismissed by the decision of President Dmitry Medvedev.

In July 2011, Bulanov's name was mentioned in relation to searches conducted in the offices of the company "Stinkom-Group" and its director Gennady Stepanyan, who was a co-owner of the "Yerevan-Plaza" shopping and entertainment center. The press reported that the former prefect allegedly protected officials of the Moscow government who were involved in financial fraud through the shopping center. However, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office deemed the search warrant unjustified, found no evidence of a criminal connection between Stepanyan and Bulanov, and the investigator who initiated the search did not pass the certification. Bulanov was convinced that the allegations against him were commissioned and linked them to revenge from those affected by his crackdown on gambling establishments in the district.

In August 2011, Bulanov was found guilty of embezzling approximately 30 million rubles by the Kuntsevo Court of Moscow and was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment and a fine of 400,000 rubles. According to the investigation, he participated in fraudulent activities involving funds allocated for the major repair of 189 buildings in the Southern Administrative District in 2008-2009.

Bulanov held the title of Active State Counsellor of the 2nd class. In 2009, he was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" of the 2nd degree, and in 2004, the Russian Orthodox Church bestowed upon him the Order of Daniel of Moscow. In addition, Bulanov was awarded several orders by the Academy of Security, Defense, and Law Enforcement Problems, but these orders were closed by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in 2008. He was also awarded the "Honorary Builder of Russia" in 2001 and the title of "Honorary Builder of Moscow" in 2003.

Bulanov is married and has two sons and a daughter. His sons, Sergey and Alexander, were involved in the development business. After their father's conviction in August 2011, the Moscow Department of Land Resources terminated the land lease agreement with the company "Glori-Elite," owned by the brothers. Additionally, Alexander Bulanov held the position of First Deputy Head of the Administration of the Tagansky District of Moscow for Housing and Utilities and Landscaping for some time, but he no longer worked there by October 2010. The press reported that Bulanov was fond of water sports, hunting, fishing, and poetry.