So, here's what happened.
On March 19, Oleg Chirkunov, governor of Perm Krai, said he would transfer money to RosPil. He wrote a post about it titled "My Contribution to the Fight Against Corruption".
I was a little surprised at the time, but really it was nothing out of the ordinary—the topic is trendy, RosPil gets written about a lot, and Chirkunov seems to style himself as a "progressive governor." Twitter, iPad, a solar-powered calculator, and other fashionable gadgets.
Last week his representative wrote to me several times, saying that 25,000 rubles had been transferred and clearly wanting this fact to be made public.
So I made it public; I had no problem with that. I even handed out compliments about Oleg Ch. in comments to various radio stations—saying, basically, look how brave he is.
That was the day before yesterday.
And then yesterday Governor Oleg Chirkunov wrote a post titled "I Regretted Transferring Money for the Fight," where he
-disavowed his previous... uh... declarations,
-said he was unhappy with my phrase "send materials on Perm Krai,"
-stated, "I became afraid that my money might be used not to fight corruption, but to fight some other opponent of Navalny, and I don't want that"
-and expressed a desire to pull the money out of the RosPil fund and redirect it to "helping children."
The post ends with the heart-rending line: apparently, I will never again transfer money to any kind of fighting fund. Only to aid funds. This is a lesson for me.
So here is what I want to say about that:
I view Oleg Chirkunov's action with understanding, given the situation he has obviously found himself in. So I have no complaints against him.
The lesson for you, dear Oleg, should be this: don't fool around, play games, and act up if you're afraid Daddy will box your ears.
You're a grown man and should think through your actions, and if you are a member of the corporation of monsters, then at least observe that corporation's etiquette instead of striking rebellious poses on LiveJournal in search of popularity.
In that sense, I don't even really hold it against the representatives of the Kremlin criminal group who played the role of Daddy twisting ears. If they couldn't keep their own governors in line, things would be truly dire: emboldened regional bosses would start writing all kinds of things on Twitter.
Oleg, I hope you didn't seriously think that transferring money to RosPil meant an "eased monitoring regime" for Perm Krai?
They steal in Perm Krai just as they do in the rest of Russia—brazenly, without limits, and on a massive scale. So as far as we're concerned, Perm or Birobidzhan—it makes no difference: everywhere, the same thieves sit at the mechanism of decision-making and money distribution.
Federal Law No. 94 has absolutely nothing to do with this. RosPil deals with violations in public procurement and will continue to do so regardless of whether Law 94 exists or not.
As for the claim that the money will go toward "fighting Navalny's opponents." At first I wanted to be outraged—what kind of insinuation is that? The money has a clear designated purpose. But then I realized: Chirkunov is right.
Only then let's not coyly say "opponents."
They are enemies.
The money goes toward fighting enemies—vile, disgusting crooks who are robbing my country. People with millions and billions in Swiss bank accounts while the impoverished population, with an average life expectancy of 54 years, drinks itself senseless in its towns and settlements.
These enemies fly to Europe with their families for the weekend, leaving big tips in cozy cafés, preferring not to remember that the money for their business-class flights, their niçoise salad, and even those tips was earned through embezzlement, kickbacks, and bribes.
These enemies sit in the Kremlin, the White House (the Russian government building), the Volga Federal District administration, the Perm Krai administration, and throughout this whole thieving vertical of power.
RosPil fights enemies like that. And we will definitely defeat them.
As for "let that money go to something else":
Dear Oleg Chirkunov, Governor of Perm Krai,
I of course understand that long years of working with taxpayers' money have accustomed you to a certain casualness in handling finances. Felt like it—send it here; felt like it—send it there. Felt like it—to an orphanage; changed your mind—to a flashy suit with big pockets.
Our situation is a little different. People transfer money to us voluntarily; we don't have a tax service. So RosPil's funding is built on trust in its organizers. No trust—no money.
If I said that money received into RosPil's account can only go toward employees' salaries and the taxes on those salaries, then that is exactly how it will be.
15,000 people transferred 6.1 million rubles on the condition that I would not change the rules. That I would not "regret" anything or get scared of what I started.
So unfortunately I cannot "pull" that money out of the fund. But since you have found yourself in such a difficult situation, as a first and only exception, I am prepared to transfer you my personal 25,000 rubles, which you may direct to any purpose you like.
For example, the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi has many fine projects. You could send them some money.
You certainly won't have to regret it or make excuses.
Places