Penza, 16 April 2015. PenzaNews. Yuri Krivov, head of Penza administration, publicly accused PenzaNews agency of theft of a draft document, though he did specify which. The incident occurred on Thursday, April 16, during the meeting of the Penza mayor with reporters at the public garden “Tri gvozdiki” [Three carnations] on Karpinskovo street, where previously the unidentified persons cut bark off several trees and covered the wounds with salt to dry out the trunks.

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Before preparing to shoot a comment on why it is important to preserve the park for Penza residents, Yuri Krivov asked the journalists which media they represent. A press photographer Maxim Kostyushin answered he was from “PenzaNews,” and the mayor immediately reacted.

“Ah, my best friends who stole some draft document and made a mess for the whole…” Yuri Krivov said, but did not finish the phrase because another journalist interrupted him with a question and accidentally misnamed the mayor.

“My name is Yuri Ivanovich,” the administration head immediately corrected her, after which an awkward pause occurred.

“What if I call you Dusya?” the mayor joked, laughed and then decided to listen to the question on the importance of preserving the park for the residents of Penza.

The PenzaNews agency editorial office strongly condemns the public and unfounded statement of the head of Penza administration Yuri Krivov about the alleged theft of a draft document, and officially declares this information defamatory.

“The situation borders on duplicity: yesterday, Yuri [Krivov] called me by phone, congratulated me on the 30th anniversary and wished success in work. In the evening, on his behalf, the city administration even brought a letter of gratitude for being an active citizen, having creative attitude to work and conducting professional journalism. And today, he is accusing us of stealing some document. Most likely, but I cannot speak for the mayor, he is talking about an unpublished decree No. 410/1 dated March 31 2015, when ‘PenzaNews’ agency, citing a copy of the document, reported on the proposed cancellation of bus fare deductions from May 1, and then his deputy refused to provide the registration journal. Honestly, I do not understand what is happening in Penza administration. First the vice-mayor [Viktor Gvozdev] states that this whole situation with the statement is the work of the opposition, and now the mayor accuses us of theft. I state that the opposition did not give us a copy [of the document], ‘PenzaNews’ agency did not steal the draft document. The rest is fiction, which to my mind should not be made public to avoid a defamation suit,” PenzaNews editor-in-chief Pavel Polosin commented.