"Siloviki" and "liberals." This is the main explanation of how Putin's system of power works that various political analysts and Kremlin insiders have been pushing on us for years.
We have already accepted it as an axiom: there are two ideologically opposed groups, and Putin stands above them, constantly trying to maintain a balance. One group, the "siloviki"—the security-service hardliners—are crude and dim-witted, but supposedly more "patriotic." Confrontation with the West, Russia "rising from its knees," and so on. Opposing them are the so-called "liberals." They are more sophisticated and cunning. They speak more politely, want reforms, and want to be friends with the West.
I put those "siloviki" and "liberals" in heavy quotation marks for a reason. Neither group actually exists. It is a smokescreen, a fiction, a performance for the public. There are no factions, no Kremlin "towers," no ideological hostility. There is one fairly monolithic group. It is called "crooks and thieves from Putin's government." People who use Russia and its people for their own personal enrichment.
And to prove it—and even illustrate it—we need to go to Rublyovka (Moscow's ultra-elite suburban enclave).
Let us return to our "irreconcilable enemies" and leaders of the warring Kremlin "towers." Let's get to know them in detail.
Let's start with the very leader of the systemic liberals. Many years ago, he climbed into the very heart of Putin's system, dug in there, and has been doing his utmost to promote only the very best and most liberal ideas. He is putting Russia on the track of development and efficiency. He is not afraid of unpopular reforms and actively pushes for raising the retirement age.
Anton Siluanov. Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.
Now let us look for his complete opposite. Some nasty, unpleasant silovik. He must, of course, be covered in medals and decorations and appear in public only in uniform. Along with that, our candidate should periodically spout some fantastical nonsense about an "encircling ring of enemies," the NATO budget, and the military greatness of Russia and Putin.
We have just the man! Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Khadzhismelovich Tsalikov. After Putin, Shoigu, and the chief of the General Staff, he is Russia's fourth most important military leader.
Unlike Siluanov, you probably do not know him, so a few words about our hero. Although there is not much to tell: Tsalikov is simply Shoigu's shadow. He has spent 30 years in government service, 25 of them under Shoigu's direct supervision. He is Shoigu's right-hand man and closest associate. In 1994, when the Ministry of Emergency Situations became a ministry and Shoigu was put in charge of it, Tsalikov was already there. And after that, wherever Shoigu worked—whether as a governor or at the Defense Ministry—Tsalikov was always and everywhere his first deputy.
Now let us check whether our heroes fit the roles. Do they say the things a silovik and a liberal are supposed to say?
Perfectly!
Here Siluanov vigorously condemns the arrest of Abyzov, here he demands the release from pretrial detention of the American investor Calvey. Look, he practically pounces on the siloviki like an enraged lion, saying they are ruining the investment climate. Sometimes he even says that the number of officials should be radically reduced. Here, Anton Germanovich recently accuses Rosstat of not knowing how to count. Hard to disagree. He stands up for the self-employed, saying they should not be overregulated—they already have it hard enough. Quite right: first he introduced the tax himself, then he felt sorry for them. A true Putin-style "liberal."
And what about our general? Also excellent.
Tsalikov oversees Yunarmiya (the state-backed youth military movement). Tsalikov opens museums in Patriot Park. More than that, Tsalikov is building a new Patriot Park in Crimea.
Here is the rundown. Tsalikov oversees the construction of a "technopolis"—in reality, the closed city of Era near Anapa. They are supposedly going to develop ultra-secret and ultra-innovative weapons there. For example, they write about AEROBOT—a drone with, attention please, artificial intelligence and machine vision. It can avoid obstacles on its own and land at a designated point. For the record, a drone like this one—already badly outdated, and bought by us in 2016—can do all that anyway.
Tsalikov also fights on the ideological front. He defends the public consciousness through psychological defense. He talks about information threats from abroad that must be urgently combated.
Public consciousness, psychological defense, invisible war. The perfect Putin-style "silovik."
At the beginning, I wrote that to fully grasp what Putin's "liberals" and "siloviki" really are, we need to go to Rublyovka. To its most elite part. In a village called Razdory (you could not make that up), a fierce battle has unfolded between our heroes: the silovik and the liberal.
Each of them is building a country mansion.
Let us begin by studying the battlefield map.
First, look at the plot under development, outlined in liberal green. Its area is exactly 1 hectare. As can be seen from the registry extract, it belongs to Anton Germanovich Siluanov.
Next, look at the adjoining plot, outlined in menacing red. There is already a giant house built there, with an area of almost 2,000 square meters. But there is a problem with the paperwork. In the official extract from Rosreestr (Russia's state property registry), we see that two days after Siluanov, the neighboring plot was bought by an "INDIVIDUAL."
Actually, it is impossible to be entered that way in Rosreestr. That is what makes it a registry. There should be a name there.
But the especially important and especially secret people do not care about that, and their names are constantly blacked out under absurd pretexts. I assume in exchange for bribes. At ACF (the Anti-Corruption Foundation), this infuriates us, so every time we see some code, or "individual," or some other special notation instead of a full name, we take it as a challenge.
Decided to hide? Fine—sooner or later we will identify you anyway. In this case, sooner, because even a fifth-grader could solve the mystery of the "individual" living next door to Siluanov.
We check the exact size of the individual's plot: 10,140 square meters. Then we check which official declared ownership of a plot of exactly that size. Ruslan Tsalikov.
But that is not all the evidence—do not rush. We have seen these Rublyovka residences of Putin's officials so many times that we know exactly what to do next.
A 1-hectare plot is a bit too small for a Putin minister. A Putin minister deserves much more than a measly hectare. So we turn our attention to the huge stretches of forest BEHIND these two mansions and discover that they are leased out. Siluanov's plot is marked with a green dotted line in the image below. And when we study the extracts for the neighboring one—22,000 square meters—we get the same story all over again. This time the plot is leased not to an "individual," but to the "Russian Federation."
This is idiocy on a truly cosmic scale: according to this extract, the Russian Federation leased a plot of land to the Russian Federation. Under an official 49-year lease agreement.
This is what a normal extract looks like—normal in form, not in substance. The rights holder is the Russian Federation; the lessee is a specific person.
We know what to do next. We go check Tsalikov's declaration and see those same 22,000 square meters listed as leased.
All right, enough of boring tables and satellite maps. Let us see what our irreconcilable silovik and liberal have built there.
On the left is Siluanov's hectare. On the right is ~~an individual~~ Tsalikov.
The forest stretching off into the horizon behind them is those very plots they lease. Construction is underway on both sites. Siluanov's project is nowhere near finished, but Tsalikov may well be able to move in by summer.
Let us first take a look at the liberal, Anton Germanovich.
Here the main house is being built. It will have three floors, including one underground. By our estimate, its area will be around 1,500 square meters.
Behind it, another building is going up—twice as large, judging by the foundation. It is not yet clear what it is: perhaps a guest house, perhaps a swimming pool complex.
We will find out very soon. The construction is in full swing, and you can clearly make out both the excavator and the workers ~~(the self-employed),~~ climbing around on the roof.
Now it is the turn of our fighter against mass mind manipulation, Tsalikov.
His house is fully built. Its area is 1,868 square meters. Even by Rublyovka standards, that is quite impressive. The guest house—or perhaps the bathhouse—is finished too.
There is also a gazebo from which you could practically reach over and touch neighbor Siluanov's plot. Tsalikov will probably relax there, grill shashlik, and periodically shout insults and anti-liberal curses in the direction of the finance minister.
Isn't it beautiful? So different, yet still together. Our silovik and our liberal live in perfect harmony. Fence to fence.
And it is not just the fence that unites them. What really binds them is that neither one of them could possibly have earned the money for this.
Let us start with Siluanov. Despite declaring a gigantic salary of 40 million rubles a year—goodness knows where it comes from—even that would not be enough for this plot and this construction project.
A hectare of land in this part of Rublyovka costs about 650 million rubles. A 1,500-square-meter house built from scratch costs 300 million. The second house, whose purpose is unclear to us, will be at least two stories high judging by the foundation. Let us assume it will have an area of 2,000 square meters. My rough estimate is another 300 million. Altogether, that is more than 1 billion rubles.
Add up Siluanov's official income—actual income, not averages—and you get 300 million rubles over seven years.
And we state the obvious. His savings—if he neither ate nor drank nor spent anything at all—would be enough for, at most, one house. To save the 1 billion rubles needed for this construction, Siluanov would need about 30 years.
With Tsalikov, the situation is completely out of hand. It is outrageous. A hectare on Rublyovka, just like his neighbor's, is 650 million. A 2,000-square-meter house—let us price it the same as Siluanov's—another 300 million. That brings the total to around 1 billion rubles.
Now compare that with his official income. We take everything available in the public domain—declarations for 10 years, from 2009 onward. Do you know what the total comes to? 74 million rubles.
All the money he officially earned over 10 years would be enough for just one-ninth of the land ALONE, without the house. I will even mark it on the map specially, with a little piece shaded red.
That is how little Tsalikov officially earned in 10 years. But in reality he bought nine times more than that. And built a giant house. And leased another 2 hectares next door.
In both cases, we can throw out the "millionaire wife" scenario. According to his declaration, Siluanov has no wife. And Tsalikov's wife earns 15,000 rubles a month.
Both "siloviki" and "liberals" are just two names for the same thing. All of this was invented to mess with our heads. Inside Putin's system of power, there is only one type of person: people who think every second only about themselves and their own enrichment.
Where did Siluanov get the money for his construction project? Well, doctors are going on strike because they are paid 14,000 rubles a month. And the police are sent after them to make them keep quiet. Because the doctors' money went to build the Siluanovs' country houses.
And sailors of the Black Sea Fleet went to court to get the per diem they were owed for special operations in Syria. And the court told them: "No, even though you were in Syria, we are not going to pay what we promised you." They were cheated. And the money of those sailors was taken by the Tsalikovs. And they filled up all of Rublyovka with their country estates.
Our task is not to endure this and not to stay silent. Our task is to fight all of these thieves—both Putin's siloviki and Putin's liberals. The simplest step you can take is to participate in "Smart Voting." Look, United Russia is losing even small local elections across the country. And we need it to lose the big ones too, the ones taking place on September 8 this year. Register for "Smart Voting," and on the eve of the election we will write to you and tell you whom to vote for so that both Siluanov and Tsalikov are as upset as possible.