You probably don’t want to read in English that very OCCRP investigation that sent the Kremlin press office into hysterics for a week. The one they called an “unprecedented smear” and “an attack on Russian statehood.”
Here’s the bare-bones summary:
President Putin is generous and grateful. With the help of his friend Grigory Bayevsky, who, incidentally, works for the Rotenbergs, Putin rewarded a number of women with real estate.
Katerina Tikhonova. The head of Moscow State University’s most ambitious expansion project, whose academic work is personally reviewed by Viktor Sadovnichy, the university’s rector. Although neither Putin nor Peskov has acknowledged her, she is widely believed to be his daughter. Katerina received an apartment near Novo-Ogaryovo (the Russian president’s official residence), where she registered her foundation.
Leysan Kabaeva, the sister of the well-known gymnast, former lawmaker, and head of National Media Group, Alina Kabaeva. Putin has not acknowledged this woman either, saying there is nothing connecting them. Kabaeva’s sister received a 228-square-meter (about 2,454-square-foot) apartment in Moscow.
Anna Zatsepilina, the grandmother of that same gymnast, Alina Kabaeva. Putin still does not acknowledge Kabaeva, yet her 80-year-old grandmother ends up with, quite literally, golden land and a house on Rublyovka (Moscow’s elite suburban enclave).
Alisa Kharcheva, known for nothing except this photo shoot. Alisa is 23 years old and a “journalist.” Apparently, Alisa is not being acknowledged either.
Personally, it seemed to me that the authors of the investigation were quite clearly hinting that Mr. Putin and Ms. Alisa Kh. are connected by shared leisure time and other personal relations.
Though maybe she just gets apartments for no particular reason. Maybe she’s destitute. Or an orphan. Or talented.
Why was the Kremlin so hysterical before publication? A lot of people are now wondering:
A personal matter. Personal relationships. Women, private life.
It’s clear where the personal cashbox is (Rotenberg) and who manages it (Bayevsky). Grigory Bayevsky is yet another piece of evidence that we are unlikely ever to find a Swiss bank account in the name of Vladimir V. Putin or a yacht or spaceship registered directly to him. All these Bayevskys, Timchenkos, countless Rotenbergs, Shamalovs, and company—these are the people holding what in reality belongs to Putin.
It’s clear why Rotenberg gets absolutely any state contract he wants in Russia with such ease. He provides for the family, the daughters, and the mistresses. He is the innermost circle. I can just picture the conversation: *- Vladimir Vladimirovich, they’re putting out a tender for the Crimean Bridge contract, maybe you could put in a good word, and I’ll make sure Alina Maratovna and little Alisa are well taken care of.... Oh, Romka, you incorrigible rascal, nothing is ever enough for you. Fine then, take the bridge to Crimea too. Just make sure... the girls are happy with everything. - Don’t worry, Vladimir Vladimirovich, I’ll do everything to the highest standard... Alina Maratovna’s grandmother was so pleased with the house on Rublyovka, she said she’d plant currants and even promised me a jar of jam!*
At first glance, it may seem that none of this can be proven. In fact, this is documented, straightforward corruption that could be examined in court. A businessman who receives state contracts buys a house for his mistress’s grandmother (or perhaps by now his wife’s)—that is a textbook example of corruption. Fine, mistress or not, there may be room for debate there, but when an apartment is bought for the daughter, there’s no wriggling out of it.
And really, it’s almost disappointing. We imagine there are complex schemes and rival Kremlin towers (factions), but in reality Russia and its national wealth are simply handed out in huge chunks to whoever takes better care of Alina Kabaeva’s grandmother.
The original investigation was published on the OCCRP website, and it contains far more detail than the Reuters version.