Penza, 4 June 2015. PenzaNews. For the first time over a long span, the Penza region lost its position in the social and political stability rating of Russia as one of the stable regions and shifted to the group below, barely hanging in it at the 21st place, according to the research of the Petersburg Politics foundation in May 2015.

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The region dropped from 8 to 7.5 points over a month.

Among the positive events were the decision to organize an investment with the “Pachelma Garden Union,” the plans to organize an armed concrete factory in the Kamenka area, and a potential project to build a rabbit breeding factory in the Gorodische area.

Moreover, a positive trend was boosted by the visit of a Sichuan province delegation and a job trip of a group of Penza representatives to Turkey.

The analysts also praised the fact that the Penza region went up by seven positions, to the 10th place, in the HSE innovation development rating.

Among the negative influences were the campaign against the increase of transportation fareas, and the fact that the Penza region was rated 76-81st in the HSE democracy level rating, while its debt load was rated “extremely high” by the same research institute.

Another blow to the position was the announcement of the Health Ministry Veronika Skvortsova that the mortality rate in the region grew by over 9%.

Among other notable events in the region were the replacement of Vasily Bochkarev by the new acting governor Ivan Belozertsev due to the former’s end of term, the decision of the former to not take part in the gubernatorial election in September, the decision of Ivan Belozertsev to lay off his own son Alexander from the regional government, and the fact that the LDPR chose Anton Ischenko from the State Duma as a candidate for the election.