The end of the year. Newspapers and little blogs are full of metaphors, images, and other contraptions meant to embody 2013. Let me offer one vivid image too. Especially since it concerns what we’ll all be discussing very actively in the first months of 2014—the Olympics. You probably remember the recent post about how the miracle contractors on Olympic construction projects can carry out 400 million rubles’ worth of work in 7 days. Well, the Krasnodar regional office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (UFAS) ruled our complaint unfounded: no violations were found. And this despite the fact that these very same contracting officials had twice been found guilty in court of the same violations (decision 1, decision 2). The officials and the “tender winners” are drinking champagne and splitting up the money. But that’s not even the point. A 400-million-ruble project completed in 7 days no longer surprises us. Now behold that very “vivid image” illustrating the SUPER-MEGA-GRAFT OF 2013, which reached its absolute peak this year:
http://zakupki.gov.ru/pgz/public/action/orders/info/common_info/show?notificationId=8030945 The reconstruction and major repair of roads worth 414 million rubles in budget funds must be completed, as can be seen from the tender documents
by December 30 of this year. That is, by this coming Monday (today is Friday). Wait, don’t laugh yet. The thing is that under the law, the earliest date on which the “winner” of the tender can sign the municipal contract is December 31, 2013. That is, Tuesday. So in the final days of 2013, we are about to witness a genuine New Year’s miracle: Krasnodar officials and their contractors will carry out a major overhaul of Sochi’s roads in -1 (minus one) day. Checkmate, space-time continuum. The civil servants of Krasnodar Krai have pinned you to the mat without any string theory whatsoever (and, notably, not a single boson was harmed in the experiment). What could be a better image of the year to illustrate how our record-breaking and fantastical 1.5 trillion rubles spent on the Olympics are being used?