Notes on self-government in Pechenga

During the reform on so-called local self-government, each quite big town in Russia, (in Pechenga district such towns are Nikel, Zapolyarny, Pechenga and Korzunovo) should have their own authorities. Usually it implies legislative power - Council of deputies, and executive power - administration.

Before the system was purely soviet - authorities existed just for territorial divisions. In hierarchy it looks so:

1. State (Russia)
2. Region (Murmansk region)
3. District (Pechenga district)

It was the way to divide Communist Party structure vertically - each CPSS part worked on problems on its subordinate territory

1. Central Comitee
2. Obkom
3. Raykom

In 1990-s what really happened was just change of the mask. It's quite correct for Pechenga district, that former members of CPSS became "democrats" and deputies in newly formed municipality. So, one may say, Pechenga district municipality inherited much from Raykom in people and in the ways it functions, at whole retaining an old way of management the local issues. And the main - there were still the soviet system of territories division (territory called Pechenga district).

Now, reform has introduced new variables into equation: town municipalities.

During transition period they are to take control over objects situated in the corresponding towns and territory around them (for Nikel it is a very big territory, including Rajakoski and Prirechny). That created specific mixture of powers, pushing one another on the same territory.

To make it clearer, let's take two famous objects in Nikel - Palace of culture house Voshod and Sport palace Metallurg get their money from the budget of Nikel municipality. But before they were the paragraph in the Pechenga district municipality budget. The Pechenga district municipality on the other hand financially controls schools in Nikel, secondary ones as well as artschools.