Igor Shuvalov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government, is supposedly the one with the cleanest hands in the Kremlin. So where did he get a quarter of a billion dollars?
Unfortunately, this question is being asked not by Russia’s law enforcement agencies, not by the Russian media, and not even by Russian society.
This is an article in the influential American publication Foreign Policy. Give it a read—it is quite revealing and telling. It shows that the colossal, unexplained wealth of Putin’s elite is drawing more and more attention from the Western establishment, which has traditionally turned a blind eye to it: so what if some oil-fueled barbarians are robbing their own people.
Shuvalov, meanwhile, tries to present himself as part of the “enlightened” wing of Putin’s team. As if the Rotenbergs and Timchenkos are the bad crooks, while he is one of the good ones. One who speaks English, no less.
And yet, as you can see, no matter how much you try to cover up a quarter of a billion dollars with an Orenburg down shawl (a famous fine Russian wool shawl), sooner or later someone will still ask: what is that over there, gleaming and shimmering so brightly?
We need to be asking that question more often ourselves—and doing everything we can to make the public take an interest as well.
A reminder: this post will refresh your memory about the origins of Monsieur Shuvalov’s wealth.
The ACF also flew over the state official’s “modest” estate in Skolkovo:
Flight to Igor Shuvalov — the state dacha Zarechye-4 by Black Karlsson.
This remarkable architectural site was even the main subject of one episode of our “Popular Politics” show:
A complete campaigner’s toolkit. Help spread all of this around.
Shuvalov and his quarter of a billion dollars are a textbook case of illicit enrichment—the very thing we are campaigning against with #Twenty. The money is enormous, but there is no legal explanation for where it came from. It makes no sense to us, and it makes no sense to the American magazine either.
Don’t put it off—make your small contribution to the common fight against illicit enrichment right now: your vote for the bill. Over the holiday week, our voting momentum dropped sharply, and we need to make up for lost time.
Already voted? Then bring a friend. 100,000 votes are not going to collect themselves.