In Volgograd, the statement of Navalny’s headquarters on the cancellation of the tender for the concert was denied due to a complaint

OFAS Volgograd region really canceled the purchase for the organization of the concert, but this decision was made due to the fact that “taking into account the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation to postpone all activities related to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, the relevance of this purchase was lost”.

The customer of the auction for the "Provision of services for the preparation and conduct of citywide cultural events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" was the Volgogradkontsert MUK. The contract price was 6.5 million rubles.

The news about the cancellation of procurement Navalny headquarters in Volgograd published in late April 2020. Oppositionists claimed that the application was compiled by local authorities so that only the Silver group fell under its criteria.

“The Antimonopoly Service on our complaint canceled the purchase of a concert of the Silver group for six and a half million rubles! In procurement, officials have limited competition. Except for “Silver,” no one matched the criteria of the auction. Everyone has different musical tastes, and the purchases must be fair, ”Navalny’s headquarters said in the text of the news.

OFAS in the Volgograd region examined the complaint. The message on the agency’s website states that "several performers are suitable for the requirements of the documentation."

“For example, Pyotr Nalich, the Prime Minister group, Yulia Savicheva,” the OFAS said in a statement.

Some violations in the auction "Volgogradkontserta" were still discovered. Namely, the indicated requirements for pop groups should have been justified, but they were not in the application.

However, the antimonopoly service decided to cancel the purchase due to the loss of its relevance, "taking into account the instructions of the President of Russia."

As told RT in the administration of Volgograd, this order of the president was fulfilled by them.

The officials explained that as part of the preparatory work for the celebration of the Victory Day in Volgograd, several open electronic auctions were announced to select contractors to ensure the technical side of the celebration. 

The contracts provided for: preparation of the stage and equipment, carrying out a costumed historical reconstruction, as well as the organization of a large festive concert dedicated to Victory Day.

“If restrictive measures were maintained in May 2020, the purchase conditions provided for the possibility of canceling competitive procedures or terminating the contract,” the administration said.

In the future, the decision to organize celebrations and, accordingly, to hold new auctions will be made based on the operational situation, the interlocutors emphasized.

In February, activists of Navalny’s headquarters in Khabarovsk claimed that they had achieved the closure of the representative office of the Khabarovsk Mayor’s office in Moscow, but denied this at the mayor’s office itself.