Last week, RosPil's lawyers prepared and filed complaints regarding a whole range of procurements, most of them related to design and construction work. The main violations were the absence of required documentation and undefined deadlines for the work. More detailed information is available in the "News" section of the website and in reports by our lawyers, L. Fedeneva and A. Mishchenkov. I also want to tell you about an astonishing case that RosPil took up after receiving a letter from one of our activists. Attention: a public procurement. Customer: Ural State University of Economics. Last year, the university bought itself the following Lexus:
(The picture is a nice touch in itself. We didn't find it; it was attached to the auction documentation. Very much in the vein of: "I'm sitting in Yekaterinburg, but dreaming of life in a quiet Alpine town.") Requirements for the Lexus: Upgraded interior trim in bubinga wood, a premium Mark Levinson audio system with 17 speakers, an FM/AM tuner, a 6-disc DVD changer, support for MP3 and WMA formats, two 7-inch LCD monitors (with remote control) for rear-seat passengers mounted in the front-seat headrests, an iPod connector, and a whole lot of additional options. According to numerous accounts and media reports, this Lexus was not the first luxury-class vehicle the university has purchased in recent years—the university already owns two BMWs, from the 5 Series and 7 Series. The price listed in the auction documentation was 3,705,000 rubles.
And here comes a small detail: the contract was ultimately signed at a different price.
But really, why nitpick over something as trivial as 45,000 rubles of taxpayers' money when we're talking about something so vital for a state university as buying a Lexus trimmed in bubinga wood? Meanwhile, on the supplier's official website—AVTO PLUS Company LLC—the prices for a Lexus GX 460 are lower, ranging from 3,115,000 to 3,600,000 rubles. Which already leaves a bad taste. Naturally, all the paperwork was signed by the university's rector, M. V. Fedorov, the happy user of that very Lexus. He (not the Lexus, but Fedorov) also serves as chairman of the Committee on Technical Regulation, Quality, Competitiveness, and Innovation of the Sverdlovsk Regional Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers).
Just look at how pleased he looks. Understandable: you're driving along, running your hand over the bubinga wood. Relaxing. Soothing. "Fine," you might say. "Why are you so hung up on this bubinga?" Maybe state universities in Sverdlovsk Region are so rich that the only thing they're lacking is Lexuses and bubinga wood, and soon they'll start paneling the dormitories with it too. That is not exactly the case. In fact, not at all. Take something basic, for example: fire safety. Back in 2009, the Arbitration Court of Sverdlovsk Region granted the prosecutor's office request and held the university administratively liable for violating fire safety regulations. More than 80 violations were identified, including restricted access to fire safety equipment, numerous problems with the centralized public warning system and evacuation routes, and so on.
The university's representatives acknowledged the violations that had been identified. But in 2011, the university was once again held administratively liable for violating fire safety requirements. For comparison, here are the violations identified in 2009:
and in 2011:
Court rulings on administrative liability from 2011: 1 2 3 And do you know how the representatives of Ural State University of Economics justify not fixing the fire safety violations? BY SAYING THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY
So because of a lack of funding, they supposedly can't remedy fire safety violations—but they can buy a Lexus with bubinga trim. Who cares about fire safety when you can buy a Lexus. And it has bubinga, a hard, dense wood with clearly visible annual rings and usually a beautiful texture due to frequent changes in fiber direction and other growth deviations. Who cares that the court ordered the suspension of operations in a number of the university's academic buildings and dormitory buildings. Who cares that, according to media reports, classes are still being held in those buildings. Who cares that someone could literally burn to death, and that there have already been four fires at higher education institutions in Sverdlovsk Region this year alone. It's a Lexus. With bubinga. Cool. When you pull up somewhere, everyone immediately understands that this isn't just some nobody arriving, but a government employee. And not an ordinary one. Mikhail Vasilyevich Fedorov, our enthusiast for buying Lexuses with budget money, is also the head of the Yekaterinburg branch of the "4 November" club. For those who don't know, the "4 November" club is a kind of "conservative wing of United Russia" (Russia's ruling political party), where this sort of crook gathers in Lexuses bought at our expense and lectures everyone about how extremists are rocking the boat and obstructing Russia's Conservative Development. This brazen rector absolutely needs to be taken down. We call on everyone to help do it. Misuse and inefficient use of budget funds are not always easy to prove, but this is one of those cases where RosPil will try to do exactly that. And beyond that, there is also willful noncompliance with court rulings, obvious abuse of office, and so on. We have already sent a statement to the Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee, asking it to examine these facts and take appropriate action.
We will also ask the Finance Ministry whether, against the backdrop of "twisted electrical wiring splices," it considers the purchase of Lexuses with bubinga trim to be an efficient use of budget funds. We will ask the Education Ministry as well to assess the actions of the institution under its supervision. And more besides. Of course, people like this ought to be sent somewhere that deals not with bubinga, but with a very different kind of wood—but not under the current authorities, where every second person is neck-deep in bubinga. Even so, we will be working on Rector Fedorov. And please help spread this post. The country should know its heroes. Thank you.