Well, it’s nice to deal with people who acknowledge their mistakes and correct them quickly. Yesterday, at 3:58 p.m. I wrote about the purchase of an Audi A8 for the Dagestan Finance Ministry for 8.5 million rubles. At 9:06 p.m., the Dagestan Finance Ministry withdrew the procurement notice.
They did the right thing. Many thanks to everyone who supported my post yesterday. It was thanks to your efforts that 8.5 million budget rubles were saved from being squandered senselessly. Of course, we’ve only saved them temporarily, and there’s no guarantee they won’t end up being spent on fresh orchids to decorate the residence of the president of Dagestan. Still, it’s something. We’ll keep watching the situation. Special thanks to the unknown hero who sent me this link in the comments. Unfortunately, I can’t even find it anymore (the bots are running wild in the comments again). And by the way, Georgy Nikolaevich Grets of the Smolensk State Academy of Physical Education turned out to be far more stubborn than Abdusamad Mustafayevich Gamidov. He absolutely refuses to back down from the purchase of a $130,000 vehicle: "We are buying not just a minibus, but a laboratory on wheels to serve the integrated scientific teams of two Russian national squads: fencing and short track. The bus is equipped with scientific research apparatus that makes it possible to examine an athlete’s body before and after competitions. The vehicle, which seats seven passengers, will be used to transport our students who are members of Russia’s national teams," the academy’s rector told RIA Novosti (a Russian state news agency). Rector Grets should have thought twice before trying to treat us like three-year-olds. By law, tender documentation must contain specific technical characteristics of the item being procured. In this case, the technical specifications mention a "starlit-sky style ceiling" and a "white leather interior," but say not a word about any "scientific research apparatus". What’s more, Rector Grets is now rather carelessly backing himself into a corner. He is effectively saying: "the documentation says one thing, but we actually want to buy something else." If that is really the case, then at the very least it constitutes an administrative offense. Don’t be stubborn, Rector Grets. Take a cue from the Dagestan Finance Ministry. And, as usual: the total value of shady and senseless government procurements canceled by RosPil (an anti-corruption project) has now risen to 291.5 million rubles.