The Blue Buckets asked me to help publicize links about how they’re going after deputy Shchitov. http://community.livejournal.com/ru_vederko/284922.html , http://community.livejournal.com/ru_vederko/286007.html , And rightly so, in my opinion. Moscow City Duma deputy Kirill Vladimirovich Shchitov is a pretty brazen piece of work. He was driving along Kutuzovsky Prospekt, and the “buckets” got in his way. Which is why he called them “goats” (roughly: jerks/scumbags). He posted a photo of how they were obstructing him, and added: “had to use the backup lane.”
Well, a person’s right to call other people “goats” is inalienable. We’re not going to infringe on it. Even if the name-caller is a member of the United Russia party, which by definition places him in a, uhhhh... specific category of people. But this foul-mouthed deputy has to be viewed in the context of his biography and achievements. So then. The subject was born in 1985. His biography is fairly straightforward: *Kirill Vladimirovich Shchitov Born April 14, 1985. Graduated from MGIMO University under the Russian Foreign Ministry (Moscow State Institute of International Relations). In January 2009, he was elected chairman of the Youth Chamber under the Moscow City Duma. Before being elected to the Moscow City Duma, he worked as head of the information and analytical department at the Moscow city government-funded Center for Youth Parliamentarism. Elected deputy of the Duma on October 11, 2009 *Using a dashboard camera, the “buckets” found out that the 25-year-old deputy gets around in a red Audi A5
(price starts at 2.1 million rubles) The wonderful “connected” license plate number 005 “just happened” to end up with the deputy entirely by chance:
The little deputy’s income declaration is available at this link, and it points to more than modest earnings. A quick Google search on the deputy shows that, in politics, he has so far become famous for arguing not with just anyone, but with President D. A. Medvedev himself. When Medvedev publicly stated that the number of deputies in Moscow should be increased, it was Shchitov who also publicly told Medved to get lost. One thing remains unknown: who exactly paid up for the spot on the United Russia party list that made our hero a deputy. I know perfectly well what the Moscow City Duma is. I ran myself on the Yabloko party list. A seat in the Moscow City Duma is more expensive and more prized than one in the State Duma. In the State Duma there are 450 idiots like this; in the Moscow City Duma, only 35. There are more opportunities to “get things done,” and in terms of working comfort there’s no comparison. How a man with a biography of “graduated from university — worked as head of a department in a budget-funded institution” could get a seat for which United Russia members tear each other’s throats out is obvious. Several million dollars were paid. By whom? Google has no clear answer to the question: who the hell is Vladimir Shchitov? Maybe he has a well-placed uncle, or mother, or someone else. In short, information is wanted. If you know something, send links. By the way, the young deputy has a LiveJournal. http://6214773.livejournal.com/ With the heart-rending title “Deputy Kirill Shchitov’s Blog.” I recommend taking a look. It’s full of wonderful posts like, “On June 28, I held a public reception at the Moscow City public reception office of United Russia Party Chairman V. V. Putin.” And while you’re there, you can leave the deputy some comments. From his goat-voters. And while I’m at it, I’ll add a bit of constructive criticism of the “buckets” themselves. I support this movement and think it’s excellent. However, I fully agree with Malgin that their claims of being apolitical only do harm. It’s a kind of infantilism. As in: we’re against villains with flashing blue lights, but we won’t associate with “political” people. Who exactly are we trying to fool? By its very nature, this movement is political and should welcome political activists of every kind into its ranks. NBP members (National Bolsheviks), communists, right-wingers, Solidarnost (an opposition movement). Everyone. Because a person who hangs a plastic bucket on their car in protest is, by definition, a full-fledged political activist. And should be proud of it. Let me remind you that the idea of the “buckets” belongs to Sergei Parkhomenko (c**ook)**. He has fairly clear political views. I don’t share all of them, but I find nothing ambiguous about them. And the “buckets” should become just as clear and straightforward. The enemies need to be named plainly. It’s not officials in general — it’s United Russia. It’s Putin personally. These are the people opposing a reduction in special signal permits to just 2–10 for the entire country. So if you oppose the flashing lights, you should also support removing them from power. Update 1 I’m being corrected: the Buckets were not invented by Parkhomenko, but by someone else. Parkhomenko brought the idea to the masses. Update 2 Daddy has been identified. He is the head of one of the main directorates of the Presidential Administration’s property management office. His declaration is available at the link. The whole family earns in a year half of what the son’s car costs. Perfectly normal, sure. Update 3 He apologized.