Vasily Kozupitsa, the mayor of Orsk, a city heavily affected by floods, has refused to step down from his position, as reported in a statement published by 'RIA Novosti' on May 3. Over 3,000 city residents are demanding his resignation.
Vasily Kozupitsa, who leads Orsk in Orenburg Oblast, said that resigning during a flood would be 'inhuman and unstatesmanlike.'
He also mentioned that the most emotionally challenging moment during the flood was when residents rallied in dissatisfaction with the authorities' inaction.
On April 8, Orsk residents gathered near the city administration building to record a video appeal to Vladimir Putin. When the mayor approached them, people started shouting obscenities and chanting 'Shame!' Subsequently, over 3,000 residents signed a petition calling for Vasily Kozupitsa’s resignation.
After the dam breach and flooding in Orsk, activists discovered that the mayor’s son owned an apartment in Dubai worth 33 million rubles (approximately 360,000 USD). The leadership of the United Russia political party claimed to have no questions regarding this property for Kozupitsa, stating that the official 'had not committed anything discrediting.'
A war participant's widow reminded Kozupitsa about his son’s position. She expressed outrage that the mayor was 'sitting here in clean trousers, his son in Dubai,' while ordinary Orsk residents had been deprived of state assistance for two weeks.
