This post is dedicated to you, dear supporters of Vladimir Putin.
No irony. I genuinely want those who believe that Putin is building a just, corruption-free state to look at this post and say what they think.
This is a very simple post. It is about comparisons.
This is what Warren Buffett's house looks like:
Warren Buffett is a legendary investment financier and one of the best-known businessmen in the world. His fortune, which Buffett built through his knowledge and perseverance, is $66 billion.
The head of Berkshire Hathaway still lives in the gray-stucco house he bought back in 1958 for $31,500. Buffett's home, located in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, has just five bedrooms and covers about 557 square meters. Even so, it has everything a 79-year-old man could need, including a handball court to stay in shape.
This is the house Steve Jobs lived in until his death:
Steve Jobs created one of the largest companies in the world. Hundreds of millions of people use its products every day. The address of the house is 2101 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, California 94301. The house has an area of 536 square meters. It has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms.
This is Mark Zuckerberg's house, the first home he bought for himself a little over a year ago.
Zuckerberg is the world's youngest billionaire; he came up with and created Facebook, the world's largest social network, used by 1.2 billion people.
The house has an area of 837 square meters; it has two floors, five bedrooms, and a saltwater pool on the property.
And these are the homes of Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. Barvikha, the village of Zhukovka.
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg graduated from a physical education institute. They created nothing and invented nothing new. They did not give us iPhones, social networks, or successful investment projects.
They are friends of Vladimir Putin, and when he came to power, they became middlemen in the sale of pipes to Gazprom. That is how they made their first billions. Now the Rotenberg brothers are the "Kings of State Contracts"—they somehow manage to win all the most lucrative government tenders and profit from budget money allocated for the construction of roads, bridges, metro lines, and so on.
You can read more in this epic article.
We do not know how many rooms, bedrooms, and fur-coat storage rooms are in these... uh... homes, but it looks impressive.
If anyone has doubts that the houses in the photographs (taken by ACF's aerial team, many thanks to them) really do belong to the Rotenbergs, then the link contains all the records and evidence:
Do not get me wrong: I have nothing against rich people, palaces, fountains, or cypress trees as such. I am all for cypress trees and fountains. I just want cypress trees and fountains to go to those who work hard, support themselves, and provide a public benefit. And the entire "business" of the Rotenberg brothers is built on this gesture:
And on those anonymous Swiss accounts where they carefully set aside their kindly master's share.
So here is my question to you, dear supporters of Vladimir Putin: hand on heart, looking at these photographs, do you really believe this is how things ought to be?
A request to everyone: if you know someone who supports Putin, ask them this question. Let them answer honestly.