There is a well-known phrase often attributed to various dictators: “Everything for friends, the law for enemies.” But it cannot be attributed to Putin. Putin has a different principle: “Everything for friends, and for enemies—lawlessness, arbitrariness, and repression.”
Today we are going to look at a perfect example of Putin’s Russia, a symbol of what Putin has been building for twenty years: a state system designed to make the rich even richer and the poor destitute. And this system is also built so that anyone who disagrees with such injustice stays quiet and keeps their opinions to themselves.
We are going to visit two very different places: the capital, and the Far North, the distant Arctic city of Naryan-Mar. And through one specific, very simple, very clear example, we will see the full hypocritical essence of Putin’s regime.
In the 22nd year of Putin’s rule, it feels strange to argue that there is still some line, some limit to repression that Putin, his officials, and his security forces are unwilling to cross. That even for scoundrels and vile people, there is still something that simply must not be done, something wrong, something beyond the pale. Until March of this year, one could have said that line was family. Elderly parents, children—they were off limits. But now everything has changed. At 6 a.m., they came for the 66-year-old pensioner, the father of ACF director Ivan Zhdanov. Investigators accompanied by operatives climbed over the fence, broke into his house, conducted a search, took him away, and the very next day, on a weekend, there was a court hearing—Zhdanov’s father was sent to pretrial detention, without even being allowed to take his medicine, or books, or personal belongings.
And so, amid the already insane and terrifying Putinist repressions against the opposition, against those who disagree with Putin, a new mark has appeared: family member of an enemy of the people. A horrifying phrase that in an instant has leapt from history textbooks into the present day.
“No, wait a second,” you might say. What exactly did they jail Yuri Zhdanov for? Of course, we all understand that this is a form of pressure, a way to turn his son Ivan’s life into hell. But formally, what are the charges? You can’t just invent a criminal case out of thin air.
We will definitely talk about that case today. But not only about that. Two women will help tell this story. They are not connected in any way, they live thousands of kilometers apart, and aside from being born in the same year, they seem to have almost nothing in common. Although no—that is not quite true. They both, at almost the same time, ran into the housing issue.
The first woman’s name is Yulia Vetrova.
And together with Yulia, we will travel to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, to a small urban-type settlement called the workers’ settlement of Iskateley.
You probably have no idea where that is, so let us explain. It is 1,500 kilometers (about 930 miles) from Moscow, a 3.5-hour flight—and if not by plane, then basically not at all. You cannot reach this settlement by land, just like Naryan-Mar itself, which is very close by. This is a region of the country that is not connected to the rest of Russia by road or rail. Only in winter, via a seasonal ice road.
Or, in summer, you first get to Ukhta. Then from Ukhta you drive through the taiga along the famous “Komi Trophy” route. Until recently, it looked like this:
To a place called Shchelyayur. There you have to wait for a barge. If you arrive at the right time, great; if not, you may wait a full day. You pay 16,000 rubles, board the barge, and sail along the Pechora River to Naryan-Mar for a day and a half. And from there, on to the settlement of Iskateley, a small district on the riverbank consisting of open field and rows of identical three-story buildings. About 7,000 people live here. There is one school, a community center, a grocery store, a post office—and that is basically it. No cafés, no restaurants, no movie theater. The roads are mostly unpaved, and snow covers the ground for most of the year.
And there you can meet our first heroine, Yulia Vetrova. She is 35 years old, and she was born here and has lived here her whole life. Who is this woman? The wife of some official? Someone’s proxy or relative? How could she become the subject of our investigation? In a rather unusual way. The Investigative Committee believes that in 2019 this woman illegally received an apartment in Iskateley. And that Yuri Zhdanov helped her do it—and now they want to send him to prison for 10 years over it.
Now let us move from the abstract accusation to the specifics. Yulia Vetrova was born in the settlement of Iskateley in 1985. She lived with her mother, stepfather, and brother in a barracks-style building. It looked roughly like this:
In 2008, the barracks were demolished and they were given a new apartment in an ordinary building. So that no one suspects we are talking about luxury housing, here is a photo of it too:
71 square meters (about 764 square feet). By that time, Yulia had already married, had a child, and moved out to live separately with her husband. But she remained on the housing list—the 71-square-meter apartment did not meet the official standards, and for five people they were entitled to more. Eleven years later, their turn came up again. The city administration and the head of the settlement informed her that she could receive another two-room apartment, 50 square meters (about 538 square feet), on the secondary market. And Yulia Vetrova was given it.
As is often the case with social housing, the procedure is complicated. First, people in need are registered. Every three years their status is reviewed, and then, when their turn comes, the housing commission submits a list of names with recommendations to the head of the settlement. The head of the settlement signs off: yes, issue the housing. To get onto that list, you have to provide a pile of documents, certificates, confirmations—there are many different checks. One of the seven members of the commission that recommended the settlement head issue the property was Yuri Zhdanov; his signature is on the minutes.
Later it turned out that Vetrova was not actually entitled to those 50 square meters. Her family had already been given housing before—the same apartment back in 2006. Yes, there is a child, yes, they are in need, but formally—no, sorry. The apartment is taken away by court order.
Yulia Vetrova does not deserve such help, such a generous gesture from the state. Please remember that thought. Keep it in mind. As for the criminal case, it was opened against Yuri Zhdanov. Not against the other commission members, not against the head of the settlement, but against one person. Because that person’s son is the director of ACF.
And before the landscapes of the workers’ settlement of Iskateley fade from your mind, let us mentally move to central Moscow. Everything is completely different here: clean, wide streets, a tidy embankment. It has absolutely everything—every opportunity, every kind of entertainment, high salaries. Probably everyone dreams of living here. But only a few can afford it. We will stop by this building, which loyal readers of this blog will recognize well. 80 Sadovnicheskaya Street. This is where our second heroine lives.
But before we meet her, we need to refresh our memory about the history of this place—we already released an investigation about it. On this site once stood a very beautiful, unique house built in 1906: the house of the merchant Bakhrushin. This building survived Tsarist Russia, the revolution, two world wars, Soviet rule, the 1990s, and remained standing here until 2009.
But then this house—and, for good measure, the entire surrounding block—was demolished. Formally, the pretext was the collapse of a section of a building farther down the street:
But in reality, just imagine where this is. It is a 20-minute walk to the Kremlin, even less to Zaryadye Park. All around is one of the most elite and pleasant districts—Zamoskvorechye. This is simply golden land. It is hard to imagine a better location in Moscow. The price per square meter reflects that—more than half a million rubles. The authorities promised that on the site of the demolished block they would build housing for people on waiting lists—those being relocated from dilapidated housing and young families—but, as usual, they lied.
They built the house for themselves. Instead of people in need, the apartments here were effectively handed out for free to officials from Moscow City Hall. The residents included minor, completely unknown people—department heads, committee chairs,
and all the endless deputies to deputies. The owner of one apartment here turned out to be the then seven-year-old son of Moscow Culture Minister Kibovsky. There were also those “people in need” to whom the state had ALREADY GIVEN apartments. Such an indispensable and vitally important person—without his work Russia would surely fall apart—the deputy press secretary to Sobyanin, Boris Bulay**.** In 2012 he was given one apartment, 130 square meters, and in 2019 another 150 square meters here, on Sadovnicheskaya.
Rewatch our old video and reread the post—it explains in great detail all the people whom we have gifted with golden real estate. We made it so they never have to work another day in their lives. Rent out this living space for 250,000 to 300,000 rubles a month, and live like a rentier.
We filed complaints and demanded an explanation: on what grounds, why, and under what terms does city property end up in the ownership of officials? The issue was raised in the Moscow City Duma, deputy Shuválova went to inspect the building herself, and her aides were attacked there.
But City Hall, Sobyanin, and Putin do not care in the slightest. Because apartments like these, worth twenty years of an official’s salary, are part of Putin’s system of governance. And part of the reward structure. Support Putin, join United Russia, do not criticize, do not interfere with the stealing—and you will get a Moscow apartment, or two. They are ENTITLED to it. Which means they will strip the city budget to the bone and still not stop.
Without a trace of doubt or remorse, this famous bureaucratic nest continued to be filled with new “people in need.” In December 2020, apparently as a reward for the triumphant victory over coronavirus, a 100-square-meter apartment was received by Deputy Head of the Moscow Health Department Ella Popova.
She had only taken the position in 2019, and a year later—just like that—an apartment. And that with an annual income of 17 million rubles.
Or Deputy Head of the Moscow Department of Information Technology Vladimir Makarov.
On that same day he was given the same kind of apartment, even though in his declaration alone he lists a BMW 7 Series, a BMW X3, and a BMW Z4 convertible. And an income of 15.5 million rubles.
And a more substantial apartment, 150 square meters, went to Elena Zyabbarova, head of Moscow’s Finance Department.
Or here is another great example. In January of last year, Valery Falkov was appointed Minister of Science and Higher Education.
And gave him an apartment in our building, almost 200 square meters.
Before that, Falkov had been rector of Tyumen State University. There he had a press secretary, a young woman, Miss TyumGU 2013. Elena Druzhinina. Falkov moved to Moscow and took Elena with him. And appointed her deputy minister.
And soon Druzhinina also received an apartment in the same building on Sadovnicheskaya. 110 square meters.
And another 13 apartments went to… someone. We do not know to whom. The records for these properties simply vanished from Rosreestr (Russia’s state property registry). Here is an old extract: the apartment still belongs to Moscow, and then it simply disappears. You try to order an extract by cadastral number, and the system says that such a property has never existed.
But there it is, apartment No. 44, 140 square meters. So it was given to some official, but which one—we are apparently not supposed to know.
In our earlier investigation, if you remember, there was also the main star. The woman who received 177 square meters because “Moscow has become so beautiful under Sobyanin,” and this absolutely had to be announced on Instagram. That was TV host Larisa Guzeeva.
Everyone was outraged back then—what for, what merits, exactly, justified such honors for an already very wealthy Channel One host? But the Guzeeva case lives on.
A new creative personality has appeared in the building—the famous opera singer Hibla Gerzmava.
There is not the slightest doubt that a world-famous opera star who performs at the Mariinsky, the Royal Opera House in London, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera can easily afford decent housing on her own. But why pay for it yourself if you can get it from the state? She was given an apartment at the beginning of this year.
And a couple of weeks ago, another small bonus—a State Prize from Putin. 10 million rubles.
With all this listing of elite neighbors on Sadovnicheskaya, you may have forgotten where we started: that this building has one special, very needy resident. Let us finally meet her too. We did not choose her at random. Not because she is the same age as Yulia Vetrova from Iskateley. Not even because her apartment is somehow special. We chose her because we are sure that not even the most rabid fan of Putin, Sobyanin, and United Russia will be able to object and say that yes, this apartment was given out fairly, that everything here is justified. It is simply the perfect example.
Zarina Doguzova. Head of Rostourism.
There is such a body as the Federal Agency for Tourism. Do not let the word “agency” mislead you. It is really more like a ministry. It is directly subordinate to the government. In 2019 it was headed by a completely unknown former employee of Putin’s press service, MGIMO graduate Zarina Doguzova. Right after university she got a job in the government, then in the presidential administration, where she worked on public relations and communications. She also sat on the supervisory board of Putin’s project to save Amur tigers.
And then she was unexpectedly appointed to head the agency responsible for Russian tourism, replacing the previous chief, who was found to have villas in the Seychelles.
If you study Zarina Doguzova’s work in this position closely, you quickly realize that this is the cushiest bureaucratic job imaginable. Zarina simply travels around, appears in nice videos, records TikToks, and at every opportunity tells everyone that they urgently need to drop everything and vacation in Russia. Close your eyes, pay three times more than you would for a hotel in Turkey, and finally go отдыхать in Crimea.
She really does pull it off well. Young, very pleasant, standing out favorably against the old, bloated United Russia crowd. So what if her job is of no use or interest to anyone at all, and her videos get 100 or 200 views. Still, she is so modern—flash mobs, campaigns, trendy TikTokers. She is trying, after all.
And one might even make peace with the fact that such a position exists, that it comes with a huge salary, a driver, an office in Moscow City, and other bureaucratic perks.
But Zarina Doguzova ended up on the list of people in need. She got in line to receive an apartment in this very super-elite building on Sadovnicheskaya Embankment. And she got it. In 2019. Under special standards unknown to us, a single woman with no children—that is, one resident—was allocated 105 square meters. Market value: about 60 million rubles.
But that is not even the main problem. You remember that we chose Zarina Doguzova because no one—not a single person in the world—will argue with us and say that Doguzova really needed this apartment.
This can be proven in a very simple way. With photographs. What is a person in need? For example, someone who has enough money for food, but not for rent. Or someone who can support themselves, but cannot afford to feed their children. Or a child who grew up in an orphanage, turns 18, and has absolutely nothing. There are many examples one could give, but the principle is clear: because of one circumstance or another—often tragic—a person’s life has turned out in such a way that they cannot manage without state assistance.
Now let us think together: is a person in need someone who comes to an economic forum wearing a Chanel suit worth 1.2 million rubles?
Or wears a jacket worth 900,000 rubles?
Or another suit, also Chanel—for 700,000 rubles?
What exactly could a person wearing a Breguet watch worth 2 million rubles be in need of?
Or with a ring worth 2.5 million rubles?
If you still have doubts, then let us do this. We go to the Rosreestr website and look at how much the apartment we gifted to Doguzova is worth. What is its cadastral valuation—because that is the value at which the apartment is carried on the city’s books. On the market these apartments cost twice as much; they are handed out almost for free, but still accounted for at cadastral value. Here is the figure: 30 million rubles.
And now we look at photos of Doguzova and start counting.
This photo gallery could be endless, so here is a file where you can find all the fashionable looks of the head of Rostourism, with prices. There are A LOT of them.
We found clothing—yes, clothing—belonging to official Doguzova worth 30 million rubles (and at some point we simply had to stop; in reality it is much more). The same as the value of the apartment the state gave her as a person in need. All these photos are recent; before 2019 she was not a public figure. So this is only what she wore over two years. A small part of her wardrobe, only what she happened to be photographed in.
So she has 30 million rubles for clothes, but not for an apartment.
And now for the formalities. Important ones, because this is not a fashion critique—it is a corruption offense.
Is Doguzova a person in need in any sense of the word? Of course not. Doguzova is a very wealthy woman whose wardrobe alone is comparable to 50 years of a teacher’s salary. Given her real lifestyle, she cannot possibly be entitled to any subsidies or benefits. At the same time, Zarina Doguzova does everything she can to conceal her income—here are her declarations (2020, 2019). 5 million rubles over two years. The price of two or three of her Chanel suits and her watch. And the only conclusion one can draw here is that this official is living on something else. Alternative sources of income that she hides from everyone. By law she is not allowed to run a business, she has no income from shares or investments, and she is not allowed to accept gifts worth more than 3,000 rubles either.
Obviously, a mistake occurred. Zarina must have misled everyone, and an official crime was committed. The apartment—or the housing benefit for it—was issued illegally. But unlike Yulia Vetrova, whose two-room apartment in the Far North was taken away, no one took Doguzova’s apartment away. In fact, not only was it not taken away—the apartment was classified. Now not a single living soul can find out who owns apartment No. 48. Tell me, what interests of Russia are being protected here? Why is the apartment of a state travel blogger and Tatler magazine heroine a state secret?
Why are official registries being falsified? Where is the responsible agency looking? You could just go three floors up and ask. After all, in the same building lives the then head of Rosreestr, Viktoria Abramchenko.
Who classified herself in exactly the same way. You order an extract for her 150-square-meter apartment, and this is what you get.
Where is the owner? There is no owner. And yet the apartment appears in her declaration. Viktoria Abramchenko was promoted for her services; now she is a deputy prime minister.
And here the parallels are impossible to ignore. How can they imprison a member of a housing commission who recommended giving a 50-square-meter two-room apartment in the settlement of Iskateley, while at the same time the mayor of the capital STOLE a building from the city and handed it out to his subordinates and friends? How can they evict one woman from that two-room apartment beyond the Arctic Circle because she is supposedly not in need, while giving another woman—an incredibly wealthy traveler at state expense—a hundred square meters in central Moscow? Is she, unlike Yulia Vetrova, somehow in need? And then to top it off, classify the property and hide the fact that she even has the apartment.
There is no reason to imprison Ivan Zhdanov’s father. This case is made up. Fabricated. Yuri Zhdanov is yet another political prisoner to be added to the hundreds of others. And the pretext on which they are jailing him is just one more confirmation of the hypocrisy of Putin’s security forces, who are ready to turn a blind eye to anything, sign anything, falsify anything at all, just to curry favor with their very cowardly boss.
And one last thing. A very important one. Unfortunately, as long as Russia is captured by Putin and his United Russia party, we have no way to call the police, write to the prosecutor’s office, or go to court and make those who were gifted apartments in this building pack their things and vacate the premises. So that, as promised, people in need could live there. Or so that the apartments could be sold at auction to private buyers for huge sums that would go into the budget. That is what should happen under the law. But the law does not apply to Putin’s thieves.
But there is still something we can do. Sergei Sobyanin, who conceived and carried out this corrupt scheme of gifting apartments to officials, heads United Russia’s list in Moscow.
United Russia is basically telling us: here is our favorite, here is our best party asset, vote for us. Want elite apartments in the city center to be handed out free to officials? Vote for United Russia. Or take No. 4 on the party list, 85-year-old Vladimir Resin.
As the top official overseeing construction in the capital, he approved the demolition of the historic Bakhrushin merchant house and promised to build housing for people in need in its place. Did he build it? No. But they still ask you to vote for him.
The only way to stop this now is to come to the elections in September and say: you know what? No, I am not okay with this situation. I do not want to pay for gifts to TV hosts, opera singers, and minor officials who somehow ended up on the list of people in need.
If everyone says that and votes at the same time, in the same way, for another candidate, the United Russia candidate will lose their seat.
You need to vote for the person with the best chance of defeating the United Russia candidate. We will prepare such a list for every region, and all you need to do is register on the Smart Voting website. A few days before the election, we will send you the right name, and after that the rest is simple—go to your polling station, drop your ballot in the box, and persuade your friends and relatives to vote the same way.
Every State Duma deputy who is not from United Russia is already a small victory for us. Register, vote, and it will work out.
Freedom for Alexei Navalny, Yuri Zhdanov, and all political prisoners.