It's true what they say: you shouldn't jump on someone right away — you should try to understand them first.
I made a mistake: I lashed out at State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin over his remarks that the state pension system could be abolished and that pensioners should go to sports grounds. I even made a special video about it.
I was too hasty. If I had sat down, thought it through, and looked at the documents, I wouldn't have had to record an apology video today:
The thing is, none of us managed to understand Volodin's absolutely correct phrase: "if pensioners want to live longer, they should go to sports grounds."
It is 100% correct.
The ACF (Anti-Corruption Foundation) has found this sports ground and is ready to show you the relevant documents.
Yes, indeed. There is a sports ground. It is located inside an apartment. And there is a happy pensioner, the owner of that apartment, who at 82 retains astonishing energy and mental sharpness.
That pensioner's name is Lidia Petrovna Barabanova.
She is a successful businesswoman — and also Vyacheslav Volodin's mother.
And this is her apartment. Why are we so sure that this is where Volodin's famous "sports ground for pensioners" is located? Because the apartment is nearly 400 square meters (about 4,300 square feet) in size.
FOUR HUNDRED. Why else would an 82-year-old grandmother need one that big? Only for exercise.
The apartment is in the elite residential complex "White Swan" and is worth about 230 million rubles.
A mere trifle for one of the leaders of United Russia and an official with 22 years in government service.
The media have written about Lidia Petrovna Barabanova. She is well known for her remarkable story. This wonderful woman used to work as a daycare caregiver and an elementary school teacher.
And then, at the age of 72, she decided to go into business. And she turned out to be very successful at it.
Lidia Petrovna now owns ten companies with revenues in the billions of rubles. She even has a hunting estate covering 50,000 hectares (500 square kilometers).
Barabanova is still actively engaged in business. Just two weeks ago, she registered a new company and contributed 10 million rubles to its charter capital.
Vyacheslav Volodin, OF COURSE, has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. His 82-year-old mother is a businesswoman. She earns money. She buys apartments worth hundreds of millions of rubles.
Meanwhile, her dear son is wearing himself out in public service — first in the presidential administration, and now busy raising the retirement age.
We very much want as many pensioners in the country as possible to learn how touchingly the chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation cares for his mother — and what a fabulous apartment she has.
We really want these two phrases to go together: "Volodin told pensioners to go to sports grounds" and "Volodin's mother has a 400-square-meter apartment worth 230 million rubles." In the minds of Russian pensioners, those two things should become permanently linked.
We found the apartments — we've done our part. Now help spread the video.
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P.S.
One more thing. You know, for some reason we don't believe that it is really Volodin's mother who is running these businesses. We suspect she is a nominal owner and a sham businesswoman. Everything actually belongs to Volodin himself, and he is corrupt. We will file all the relevant complaints.