Plzeň district councillor has lived in Russia for five years — yet still draws a salary from city hall

Jakub Zíba, a councillor for the Plzeň-1 district representing the SPD party, has been living in Russia for five years, recently graduated from a Russian university, and openly praises Vladimir Putin's regime on social media. Despite this, he remains officially listed as an elected representative and continues to collect a salary, even though he almost never attends council meetings.

According to the district's press office, Zíba has personally shown up to meetings only twice during the entire term — in December 2022, when he was sworn in, and again in June 2023. He joined remotely five more times. Last year and this year, he hasn't attended a single session — either in person or online. District spokeswoman Miroslava Vejvodová says he always sends his apologies, but never takes advantage of the remote-participation option available under the council's rules.

Nevertheless, Zíba keeps receiving 3,467 crowns a month — more than 40,000 crowns a year. He justifies his absences by arguing that attendance statistics don't reflect a councillor's real activity, and that joining meetings online is a right, not an obligation. He insists he hasn't broken any law or regulation.

His mandate can't be revoked — but it won't be renewed

Zíba took over the seat after his party colleague Roman Šťastný (originally elected unsuccessfully) stepped down. Following the October municipal elections, Zíba is leaving the city council altogether: he told our editorial team he has decided to "close this chapter" and focus instead on producing content about life in Russia, which he says has been well received by his audience.

Current legislation doesn't allow a councillor to be forcibly recalled — only a voluntary resignation would do it. Back in 2023, TOP 09 councillors Ilona Jehličková and Martin Leška publicly urged him to step down, calling his stance "a slap in the face to all the victims of Russian aggression against Ukraine." Zíba, following the session online at the time, flatly refused to resign.

Martin Dittrich, head of the Plzeň branch of SPD, admits he disagrees with his party colleague's behaviour: "I think it's wrong that he doesn't attend meetings and still gets paid. But we can't recall him, so we've had to accept it until the end of the term." District councillor Petr Pinkas adds that the real question is whether it made sense to put someone on a winnable list slot in the first place, when it was already clear he had no intention of staying in the Czech Republic.

Propaganda — and money from Russia

Zíba describes his social media content as "the honest truth about life in Russia, straight from the source," but he regularly spreads Kremlin propaganda there. He has called the anniversary of the August 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia an act of "stirring up hatred against Russians," downplayed the scale of the invasion of Ukraine, and expressed a wish to obtain Russian citizenship.

According to the outlet Voxpot, the blogger receives money directly from the Kremlin: his tax return shows payments from the sanctioned Russian media holding "Rossiya Segodnya" — roughly 100,000 rubles a month, or about 50,000 crowns at the current exchange rate. Zíba himself denies that his activities are funded by the Russian government, but he has never directly addressed this income in his videos.

The Plzeň-1 district council has officially distanced itself from the councillor's public statements. District mayor Ivana Bubeníčková said Zíba effectively fails to perform his duties, and that his actions could seriously damage the district's reputation and public trust in local self-government. All councillors backed the resolution except two non-party SPD representatives.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz