Alexander Sergeyevich Makarov

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Aleksandr Sergeyevich Makarov is the current mayor of Tomsk, Russia. He is currently suspended from his office, pending the outcome of a criminal case against him for corruption. Born in Slavyansk, Krasnodar Krai, his family moved to Tomsk in his childhood. After graduation from Tomsk Medical Institute, he worked as a surgeon in Krasnoyarsk Krai before returning to Tomsk to work in the local psychiatric hospital. Later, he entered the Tomsk State Pedagogical University and earned his teaching certification.

After two years of teaching, Makarov entered public service, first as the chairman of the presidium of Sovietskii rayon (1990-1992) and later as the head of the Sovietskii raion administration (1992-1996). In 1994, he also ran for and won a seat in the Tomsk Oblast duma. His seat in the duma became a springboard for his run for the mayorship of the city in 1996. Makarov defeated Aleksandr Konovalov that year and won re-election in 2000 and 2004. From 1996-2001 he served simultaneously as mayor and as a duma deputy.

[edit] Arrest

On December 6, 2006, Makarov was taken into custody on charges of abusing his office. Initially, he was accused of having extorted over three million rubles ($114,000) from residents by threatening to destroy their real estate and preventing them from rebuilding. The police reported that, after further investigations, he was discovered to own over $1.5 million in apartments. A search of his home uncovered one million rubles ($38,000) with another 300,000 rubles ($11,400) on the mayor himself. [1]

During the search of his home, Makarov suffered a heart attack and was transported to the hospital. Legal proceedings have been suspended while he is being treated. However, the prosecutor, Sergei Panov, is now considering further charges, alleging that Makarov has made threats against investigators. [2]. Panov has also alleged that the mayor's condition is sufficient to allow the trial to move forward. (in Russian)

Makarov's attorney, Natalia Azurova, has protested to the court that the prosecutor's actions are illegal. Specifically, she claims that searches were conducted at the homes of his children, that sums of money found were not in the "eight figures" claimed by prosecutors and that no actual witnesses have stepped forward.

On December 26, 2006 further charges were levelled against him by the prosecutors office after it was claimed that the police found large amounts of opium in his apartment. [3]