Odesa residents call on deputies not to support Talalayev as deputy mayor

An open letter from the public to the members of the Odesa City Council not to support the candidacy of Konstantin Talalayev for the post of deputy mayor was recently published on Facebook.

The authors of the letter insisted that the appointment would lead to catastrophic consequences for the social sphere of Odesa, and primarily for the city's healthcare.

The authors of the letter accused Konstantin Talalayev of abusing his position as vice-rector of the medical school and participating in corruption schemes that allegedly exist in the university.

"In 2018, Talalayev repeatedly became a subject of official investigations into abuse of power. Employees and students openly spoke about the bribery system he organized within the university. Students were forced to write false statements against teachers, and unsatisfactory grades were used as leverage," the authors of the appeal stated.

Konstantin Talalayev is known for supporting the latter when Health Minister Uliana Suprun attempted to dismiss the rector of the medical university, Valeriy Zaporozhezhan. The reason for his dismissal was that Zaporozhan refused to let the Health Ministry commission in and provide it with the necessary documents for inspection.

Zaporozhan himself then went on sick leave and sued the Ministry of Health. At the same time, he appointed the current vice-rector Yuriy Bazhor as acting head of the university. The Ministry appointed Konstantin Aymedov as acting rector of Odesa National Medical University. Later, the leaders of Zaporozhan's supporters and the ministry changed. And a protracted conflict began at the university.

Konstantin Talalayev was one of the plaintiffs in the court demanding a ban on changing the rectors of the university.

In early December, the head of the Odesa City Military Administration, Serhiy Lysak, said that he had agreed to appoint Konstantin Talalayev as deputy mayor. Ihor Koval, the secretary of the city council, is currently acting mayor.

Кирило Бойко