Penza, 24 February 2014. PenzaNews. The exaggerated in political circles unofficial list of candidates for the post of the governor of the Penza region, which used to include at least three people, among whom is the vice-governor of the region Valery Savin, the deputy plenipotentiary of the Russian president in the Volga Federal District Oleg Melnichenko, the president of OJSC “TVEL” Yuri Olenin, now has one more name — Oleg Grishchenko, who is currently the head of Saratov.

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“The media and the Internet are increasingly citing the information about possible candidates for the chair of the governor of the Penza region. Most of these names are local officials somehow related to the current governor of the region Vasily Bochkarev. However, among them there are nonresidents of Penza. One of these figures is, for example, the head of Saratov Oleg Grishchenko, who is allegedly familiar with the deputy head of the Presidential Administration Vyacheslav Volodin, who in turn is allegedly lobbying nomination of Grishchenko for the governor of the Penza region,” goes the message, spread by the press service of the regional committee of the Communist Party said in a statement released on Monday, February 24.

Penza Communists believe that it can take a while guessing whether Vasily Bochkarev will remain the governor or he will be replaced by some of the local candidates or newcomers, but there is no fundamental difference as to what region a new representative of the United Russia will come from, because he will represent the interests of the party in power rather than working people.

“Of course, the appointment to this position of a person from another region will change the landscape of the local elite, but ordinary Penza residents will not feel a thing. We believe that the Penza region is in need of radical change of political course. Penza Communists have a clear program for the development of cities, villages, industry, education, health and other sectors,” the message states.

Oleg Grishchenko was born in Saratov in a working class family in 1966. He graduated from the Saratov assembly college, majored in technology.

In 2004-2005, he was a deputy of Saratov Regional Duma of the third convocation.
From August 2005, he was the first deputy head of administration of Saratov, and from December — the acting head of administration.

In March 2006 he was elected the deputy of Saratov City Duma and the head of Saratov, and was re-elected in 2011.
Oleg Grishchenko was included in the federal list of candidates admitted to distribution of deputy mandates by elections to the State Duma of the sixth convocation, representing the All-Russian political party United Russia.