This year’s first rolling prize for the dumbest and most brazen explanation of squandering taxpayers’ money goes to one Denis Sukhorukov, spokesperson for the Yekaterinburg city administration.
The whole point is that the, uh... utterly shameless city administration decided to buy itself two Lexus LS 460 AWD cars for 8.8 million rubles.
The ones enjoying Lexus-level comfort will be city administration chief Yakov
and city council chairman Porunov
(This is what that very Lexus looks like. The photo was taken against the backdrop of the beauties of Yekaterinburg, transformed by the tireless managerial efforts of Yakov and Porunov.) The real purpose of the purchase is obvious even to a child: the Yekaterinburg crooks not only want to drive their United Russia party bodies around the city streets in maximum comfort, but also to ritually demonstrate to the rest of the residents—at whose expense these Lexuses were bought—the importance of the outward trappings of power and the visible distinction between social statuses. But spokesperson Sukhorukov came up with a better explanation: He suggested that the two Lexus cars would be used for the needs of Yekaterinburg administration head Alexander Yakov and the head of the Urals capital, Yevgeny Porunov. In addition, these cars would be used to meet VIP guests. “Ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, federal officials from Moscow may come to the city on inspection. Yekaterinburg is also bidding to host Expo 2020, which means visits by European delegates are possible. Of course, they need to be received properly,” Denis Sukhorukov said. Well, that’s brilliant. So, officials from Moscow are going to come on inspections. And of course such important birds have to be seated in Lexuses costing about $150,000 each, so they can be driven first to a meeting and then to the banya (traditional bathhouse) and a restaurant. These are officials from Moscow on inspections, after all—not just any nobodies. They are presumably coming to inspect the efficiency of budget spending. The gentle rocking of the Lexus as it swerves around the enormous potholes on Yekaterinburg’s wrecked roads will no doubt lull their vigilance. The bit about possible European delegates is wonderful too. So apparently it is absolutely impossible to rent a limousine for European delegates for two days (if the delegates are so fussy and demand luxury). No, the limousine has to be bought for an official, and of course he will graciously yield it to the delegates if they actually show up. I suggest that citizens Yakov and Porunov also buy their grandchildren an elephant at state expense, and let spokesperson Sukhorukov explain it by saying that Yekaterinburg might receive visits from Indian maharajas, who must be welcomed properly. Until the maharajas arrive, the elephant can live at Yakov’s dacha on even-numbered days and at Porunov’s on odd-numbered ones. RosPil - UrFO, of course, will challenge this procurement.