Deputies in Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region convened to discuss pay raises for public servants, but ended up doubling their own salaries instead, the local TVK television channel reported Tuesday.
Regional deputies will now receive a monthly remuneration of 200,000 rubles ($3,290), which is roughly twice their previous salary.
In comparison, the average salary in the Krasnoyarsk region is approximately $500 a month, according to the local statistics agency.
Speaking to the channel, a deputy for the Patriots of Russia party, Ivan Serebryakov, said the initiative was initially presented as a means to raise the salaries of civil servants, librarians and doctors.
“And then somehow the concept changed. It’s mostly members of United Russia that pass laws of this kind,” he said, referring to the government’s majority party.
Although the proposal was put forward by United Russia, it was unanimously supported by members of the four opposition parties, the report said.
The proposal has already been approved and signed by the region’s governor, Viktor Tolokonsky.
