For two weeks now, not only Khabarovsk Krai but the entire country has been tormented by one question: is Mikhail Degtyarev really that stupid, or is he pretending?
Usually, when I want to make fun of an official, I show you a video of his idiotic remarks. But in Degtyarev’s case, you could show literally any of his videos.
He is either spouting nonsense or talking about bathhouses.
But I want to say this with full responsibility: he is pretending. You know the type: dumb, but cunning. That is Degtyarev exactly. He plays the fool, but in reality he rakes in money for helping United Russia politicians solve their problems, including by acting like a clown.
Let me get straight to the point. This is what the public image of Khabarovsk Krai Governor Degtyarev is built on:
- Zhirinovsky’s servant; - even more so, the Kremlin’s servant; - says ridiculous, laughable things; - supposedly has nothing much. Not a wealthy man.
In his asset declaration, there is only his parliamentary salary and his wife’s tiny income. Add up everything he earned during his time as a lawmaker, and you will see nothing remarkable.
His parents are ordinary people too. Until recently, both worked as doctors in Samara. They really did work there—we checked (father, mother).
So, all in all, Misha is just a regular guy. From Samara. Close to the people, understanding the problems of ordinary folks.
Now let’s look at the real Mikhail Degtyarev.
Together with Zhirinovsky, he makes money by posing as a kind of opposition.
It is 2013. The Moscow mayoral election. Degtyarev takes part, spouting his usual absurd nonsense. He does not criticize Sobyanin or Putin—on the contrary, he praises them. If he criticizes anyone, it is mostly me. He gets his 2.9%.
And exactly one month later, our supposedly not-so-wealthy Degtyarev suddenly has some serious cash in his pockets.
His father—a simple gynecologist from Samara—on October 9, 2013 bought a 16-sotka plot of land (about 1,600 square meters / 0.16 hectares) 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the MKAD (Moscow Ring Road).
And he immediately starts building in earnest.
On paper, the house is modest—266 square meters. Unfortunately, a doctor from Samara could not afford even that, but when we went to take a look, we saw that this building looked far too expensive not only for a doctor, but even for a member of parliament.
We can see that the house’s real size is around 1,000 square meters. The governor’s thrifty family chose to register the building with its area understated by a factor of four, and now they are saving very nicely on taxes.
We estimate the construction of this country residence—which will remain as a souvenir of a very profitable mayoral campaign—at no less than 70 million rubles. The market value of a house like this in that settlement is 100 million rubles. We checked specifically.
Both Degtyarev’s father and mother continued working at a hospital in Samara while the land was being bought and the house was being built. And yet somehow they had 70 million rubles to spare to build in the Moscow suburbs.
In the classic book, it was: money in the morning, chairs in the evening. With Degtyarev, it is: take part in the election, get paid. He played the opposition while praising the authorities—good job, son, step up to the cashier and collect 70 million. Sergey Sobyanin spares nothing for his friend.
We know perfectly well how our friend Sergey Sobyanin organizes elections in Moscow. People are simply handed suitcases full of money for pretending to be a constructive opposition. Quite recently, one of the leaders of the party “Communists of Russia” openly said that the party leadership received 120 million rubles for running spoiler candidates in the most recent Moscow City Duma election.
If some pathetic “Communists of Russia,” whose job is to siphon off 2% from Communist Party candidates, get that much, can you imagine how much Zhirinovsky and Degtyarev are paid?
Mikhail Vladimirovich earned his money. He built his house, and then the money ran out. But he wanted more real estate. So what was to be done?
Why, there were new elections ahead!
In 2018, Moscow was once again electing a mayor, and our Degtyarev once again played the opposition while continuing to praise both Sobyanin and Putin.
And he received payment in advance. An upfront installment.
By a special order from the Moscow Department of City Property, the city sold him an apartment at some token price. A very nice apartment. Nearly 100 square meters in Akademicheskaya. An apartment like that is worth 25 million rubles. Modest Degtyarev immediately registered it in his mother’s name. This was done as urgently as possible so that the appearance and disappearance of the property would not show up in his asset declaration. And it did not. So official Degtyarev can look everyone straight in the eye and say: what, I have nothing. I live in an official residence.
The 1,000-square-meter house is in his father’s name. The new apartment is in his mother’s name.
As for himself, he only bought a new MERCEDES-BENZ GLS 350 for 6 million rubles.
So, dear residents of Khabarovsk and everyone else: when this man who sells political participation for money starts telling you about paid protesters, outsiders, and foreigners who supposedly came for money, please just shut him down immediately.
If there is any outsider in Khabarovsk right now who came for money, it is the new governor, Degtyarev.
Just now, the driver of the “Furgal-mobile” was jailed for 8 days. But for what? What bad thing did he do? Unlike Degtyarev, he did not take bribes, did not participate in paid-for elections, and was not implicated in illicit enrichment.
But Degtyarev has been implicated. Yet he sits in his office beneath a portrait of Putin and accuses ordinary decent people of holding rallies that are illegal, unauthorized, and unsanctioned.
The latest polls show that a majority of Russian citizens support the Khabarovsk protests. This is very important. Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and everyone else—know that the whole country is behind you.
Do not give up. Putin and United Russia are waiting for you to leave the streets. Your demands are completely legitimate, and what the Kremlin is doing is lawlessness and the humiliation of an entire region.
And to everyone else, I want to remind you that many of you will have your own Khabarovsk in September: regional elections. In them, either we will beat the United Russia candidates, as happened in Khabarovsk Krai, or they will beat us. Smart Voting is the best strategy against pro-government candidates. Sign up right now.