No. This gesture doesn’t mean anything. I’m just pointing at the pile of curb stones they’re using to "beautify" the lawn next to my building. ⠀ The news came out today: Moscow City Hall is buying a͟n͟o͟t͟h͟e͟r͟ 3͟ b͟i͟l͟l͟i͟o͟n͟ r͟u͟b͟l͟e͟s͟ worth of curb stone. 940 kilometers (about 584 miles) of curbs. ⠀ Do they really need that much? Right next to my building, migrant workers have smashed up a perfectly decent sidewalk and are now laying these curbs there. At the same time, they bulldozed away an ordinary natural lawn—just regular grass—and are now putting down insanely expensive rolled turf instead. (I’ll film it from my window and show you.) Why? Because they have money to burn. ⠀ I͟n͟ j͟u͟s͟t͟ f͟i͟v͟e͟ y͟e͟a͟r͟s͟,͟ S͟o͟b͟y͟a͟n͟i͟n͟ (Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin) h͟a͟s͟ s͟p͟e͟n͟t͟ 1͟3͟ b͟i͟l͟l͟i͟o͟n͟ r͟u͟b͟l͟e͟s͟ o͟n͟ b͟u͟y͟i͟n͟g͟ c͟u͟r͟b͟s͟.͟ ⠀ Needless to say, the procurement price is far above market rate—just about everyone has written about it. They spent 13 billion, and at least 6 billion was stolen. It’s no surprise City Hall is so afraid of independent deputies and wants the Moscow City Duma to be filled entirely with United Russia, the Kremlin-backed ruling party. They won’t ask inconvenient questions. ⠀ But we want deputies who do ask questions. To elect deputies who are not subordinate to City Hall, take part in "Smart Voting"—our shared strategy for fighting the crooks and thieves from "UR" (United Russia).