In August 2026, the director of the municipal unitary enterprise "Ekspress" — the largest public transport operator in Dzerzhinsk — received a reprimand and was removed from office. The reason was the enterprise's loss of 11 bus routes and the ensuing social conflict within the workforce.

Background

From 1 July 2026, MUP Ekspress, which has operated since 2003 and has more than 400 employees and over 150 vehicles, lost 11 of the 14 city routes it served — nos. 1, 5, 8, 8a, 15, 22, 23, 33, 205, 206 and 213.[4] Service on these routes passed to the private company OOO "Stolitsa Avto" (Capital Auto), which turned out to be the sole participant in the tender: MUP Ekspress had not submitted any application at all.[1] Management never gave a clear explanation of why the enterprise had not entered the tender.[4]

After losing the routes, drivers were switched to a four-day working week and their pay was cut. According to the head of the passenger transport department, Dmitry Dyomin, six drivers had already left the enterprise because of falling wages.[3] In early August 2026, staff posted a video appeal on social media threatening a strike and demanding a meeting with city authorities.[1] The workforce also appealed to Yulia Garevskaya, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region, asking her to keep the situation under control.[3]

Reprimand and dismissal

On 10 August 2026, the head of Dzerzhinsk, Mikhail Klinkov, said on his Max channel that he would personally look into the situation.[1] On the initiative of Evgeny Lyulin, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region, a meeting was held on stabilizing the enterprise's operations, attended by Klinkov and staff of the Dzerzhinsk Transport Department.[4] Following the meeting with staff on 14 August 2026, the mayor issued a reprimand to the director of MUP Ekspress over the enterprise's failure to take part in the transport tender.[4]

Later that same day, the decision was made to remove the director from office.[3] Management of the enterprise was found to be ineffective.[5] Klinkov said the conversation with employees "turned out to be constructive and honest," and promised to address the issues of falling wages and reduced shifts. During the meeting, MUP Ekspress staff put forward their own proposals for solving the enterprise's accumulated problems.[5][4]

Aftermath

By the time of the meeting, the Dzerzhinsk Audit Chamber had already been auditing the enterprise's financial and business activities for three weeks; an expanded audit was announced for the near future.[4] Based on the audit's results, a roadmap for developing the enterprise and improving working conditions was to be prepared. Alongside the roadmap, the Dzerzhinsk administration, together with the regional Ministry of Transport, began drawing up a financial model for the enterprise meant to identify a way out of the crisis for MUP Ekspress.[5][3] Together with the Ministry of Transport of Nizhny Novgorod Region it was decided to develop additional routes for MUP Ekspress to make up for the lost workload; at residents' request, three new routes were announced even before the final meeting.[4] City Duma deputies expressed concern that the private carrier might not be able to handle the routes, and that the enterprise itself, after losing most of its lines, risked bankruptcy.[1]

Representatives of the regional government and the Ministry of Transport and Roads of Nizhny Novgorod Region also attended the meeting.[5]

Sources

  1. Vremya N — Dzerzhinsk MUP Ekspress to get new routes and new management (archived)
  2. NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Director of MUP Ekspress in Dzerzhinsk reprimanded (archived)
  3. NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Director of MUP Ekspress in Dzerzhinsk to be dismissed (archived)
  4. NN.RU — Dzerzhinsk MUP Ekspress drivers threaten strike over loss of routes (archived)
  5. Newsroom24 — Head of MUP Ekspress in Dzerzhinsk reprimanded after transport tender falls through — At the meeting, initiated by Evgeny Lyulin, besides the head of Dzerzhinsk also present were…
  6. Otkrytiy Nizhny — Director of MUP Ekspress in Dzerzhinsk dismissed after staff complaints — According to Dmitry Dyomin, head of the passenger transport department, in August 2026 wages… (archived)
  7. 52.ru (Nizhny Novgorod) — Dzerzhinsk drivers threaten strike, mayor steps in (archived)