Stuart Bathgate: Romanov’s ruinous reign at Hearts

AT the height of his power, Vladimir Romanov liked to host lavish parties in his adoptive home town of Kaunas. Waiters would circulate with trays of vodka and pickles, and at one do attended by Scots guests a bear turned up – apparently being admitted because it was mistaken for then Hearts coach Eduard Malofeyev.

Unsurprisingly, there has been no such occasion in Edinburgh to mark the final, dying days of the Romanov empire. No party. No wake. In fact not even a whimper.

Romanov himself has not been seen within the borders of the European Union, never mind the UK, for some months. Facing charges of embezzlement in Lithuania, he has placed himself beyond the reach of justice somewhere in his native Russia, apparently under the protection of a former president of Chechnya. His first failure to turn up for a court appearance was said to have been because he had suffered a stroke.

The second time was put down to a heart attack. Few people other than himself appear sure of his location, and perhaps not even his doctor is certain of his precise state of health.

His only child, Roman Romanov, has been an even less frequent visitor to Edinburgh. Still listed on the Hearts website as chairman and interim chief executive, Romanov jnr put himself forward for re-election, in absentia, at the club’s annual general meeting last month. He was rejected by a unanimous show of hands from the floor, but re-elected thanks to the bloc vote wielded by his father.

Since the resignation of Romanov’s niece Julija Goncaruk from the board, the only two directors besides Roman have been Sergejus Fedotovas and Vitalijus Vasiliauskas. Fedotovas chaired that agm, offering statements of reassurance to shareholders which club staff are now disinclined to believe. He has not been seen in the country since.

Vasiliauskas flew into Scotland on Sunday. He flew out again the following day, having signed the legal application to put Hearts into administration. Club staff only learned of what he had done after his departure.

Fedotovas did at least address staff via email yesterday, but given their reaction to his comments it was probably just as well that he was not there in person to deliver his remarks. “Our club is on the verge of transformation that will hopefully bring a new fortunes [sic] to Tynecastle,” the email began, and continued: “I hope all you will get deserved recognition and will be treated well under the new regime.”

That “transformation” officially began around 2pm, when the Court of Session ruled that Hearts would henceforth be under the administration of BDO. Fifteen minutes later, managing director David Southern left his office within Tynecastle, briefcase in arm. Staff believed he was heading for the Edinburgh branch of BDO in Haymarket Terrace.

The first consequence of the power vacuum was a minor one: stadium and security manager Keith Hogg decided to allow a reporting crew from Scottish Television onto the premises. For the past couple of months STV had been barred from Tynecastle and banned from attending press conferences at Riccarton after reporting that Hearts staff had been told in a meeting that there was a threat of administration.

Long before Bryan Jackson of BDO admitted last night that some redundancies could ensue in the coming days, they were aware that their posts were under threat.

Among those waiting to hear if she still has a job is Janet Smirnova, personal assistant to the board. With the disappearance of Fedotovas and Vasiliauskas and the certainty that club captain Marius Zaliukas will not be offered a new contract, Smirnova is thought to be the last Lithuanian on the Hearts staff.

But, while footballers were handsomely rewarded by Romanov for their efforts, Smirnova and her colleagues behind the scenes were less favoured.

Romanov might have thought it amusing to have bears turn up at his parties, but somehow his ostentatious largesse never quite extended to his own backroom staff.

Taken from the Scotsman