Oleg Kalyadin, a member of the ruling United Russia party and the head of a municipal precinct in St. Petersburg, has resigned after police discovered an illegal casino in his apartment over the weekend.
Police raided the apartment Friday night, confiscating a dozen slot machines and poker and roulette tables after breaking down the door. Kalyadin, who owns the apartment, reportedly told police that he was renting out the real estate and had no knowledge of the illegal activities that were taking place inside.
On Saturday, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported that Kalyadin had resigned from his post as the head of the Vedensky precinct in St. Petersburg’s Petrograd side district.
The politician was then kicked out of United Russia after a party meeting Monday, the local Fontanka.ru news website cited a party spokesperson as saying.
Kalyadin has been a municipal deputy from the Petrograd side district since 2004. The district is considered to be a stronghold of St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly speaker Vyacheslav Makarov, who local observers say is under increasing pressure from the city’s new governor Alexander Beglov.
Dozens of violations were reported in the district during the city's September 2019 municipal elections, including alleged beatings of observers and ballot stuffing.
