The court tightened the sentence for the former head of the settlement in Kuban
The court canceled the suspended sentence for the head of the Black Sea urban settlement of the Seversky district of Kuban, Vladimir Zhigulin, in the case of abuse of official powers. The official was sentenced to actual imprisonment.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", elections for the head of the Black Sea urban settlement were canceled in the Krasnodar region due to a lack of candidates. The last head, who was convicted on charges of exceeding his powers, faced pressure from the authorities, and the situation in the settlement is very difficult, so no one wants to take responsibility.
The only candidate for the position of head of the settlement was local pensioner Natalia Kamyshanskaya, but she was denied registration due to document issues. The previous head of the settlement, Vladimir Zhigulin, worked since 2021. Before his appointment, he was a driver and performed his duties under serious pressure from the authorities. In 2025, he was found guilty of exceeding his powers when paying a contractor for the construction of a park and was sentenced to a suspended sentence.
According to the court and investigation, in December 2023, the head of the Black Sea urban settlement, Vladimir Zhigulin, acting out of personal interest, signed documents for the payment of works that were not actually performed by the contractor, reports "Interfax" citing the press service of the prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar region.
The prosecutor filed an appeal against the sentence in the case, arguing that the punishment imposed by the court was lenient. On October 15, 2025, the Krasnodar Regional Court agreed with the arguments of the supervisory authority, changed the sentence, canceling the suspended punishment. Subsequently, on February 17, 2026, the Fourth Cassation Court canceled the previously issued judicial acts, and the criminal case was sent for new judicial consideration to the Seversky District Court with a different composition.
During the repeated judicial investigation, the defendant fully admitted his guilt and repented of his actions. The former head of the Black Sea urban settlement was found guilty of abuse of official powers and sentenced to two years and three months of imprisonment. The convicted person will serve his sentence in a general regime correctional colony. In addition, he is prohibited from holding positions in public service and local government for two years.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Seversky District Court of the Krasnodar region satisfied the prosecutor's claim for the transfer to state revenue of the property of the former head of the Smolensky rural settlement, Sergey Bezuglov, amounting to more than 39 million rubles.