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Hi, this is Navalny, and I want to say this.
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We'll fly over that forest in the distance and see it.
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the dacha of Aman Tuleyev, the former governor
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of Kemerovo Region, which for some reason
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remained in his possession even though he
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is no longer even governor. I filed
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a petition with the President of the Russian Federation
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about it, but in fact this entire
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forest is actually part of his country estate.
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Some media outlets have already shown this,
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but we'll show it to you
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better than anyone. And most importantly, what outraged us
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was precisely the question of why he
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should still have this dacha now.
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After all, Tuleyev didn't even leave in honorable
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retirement. He sat in power for 28 years,
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wrecked absolutely everything, turned
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Kemerovo Region into one of the most
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troubled regions, and became, among
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other officials, one of those responsible for
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the horrific tragedy in which more than sixty
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people died in the fire at the
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Winter Cherry shopping mall.
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It was a real catastrophe that shook
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the whole country. Under public pressure, Tuleyev
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was forced to resign.
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But the way he left was simply
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an additional insult to all of us, and
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especially to the residents of Kemerovo Region. He
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was somehow slyly handed a deputy's mandate
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by United Russia deputies in the legislative
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assembly, and apparently he will become its
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chairman. He will continue receiving
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some utterly wild, absurd payments for
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the titles of "people's governor" of all
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towns and villages. Officials in Kemerovo
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came up with this specially for Tuleyev—this
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simply perverse scheme. Different
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towns and settlements awarded him the title of
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"people's governor" or "honorary
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citizen," and for that he was paid money.
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Altogether it comes to nearly 3 million rubles a
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year—roughly $30,000-$35,000 a year—for literally nothing, and that's 8 times
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more than the average resident of this
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region earns.
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And, in fact, they left him that very
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residence that we're now
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flying over together. Everything looks rather bleak:
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tiny houses, crooked fences,
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sheds—and of course, looking at that from the windows of
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the governor's dacha is apparently unacceptable. That's why
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the residence is hidden from the outside world
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by roughly 1 million square meters
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of dense forest surrounding it on all
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sides.
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But for us, that's no obstacle. Let's
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take a look at what they built there.
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And we come across a whole cluster of
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residential houses.
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Much neater and more attractive ones.
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Three houses with a total area of more than 1,000
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square meters are fully visible; several more
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houses can be seen at the edges of the frame. This is
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actually a unique feature
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of Tuleyev's residence: instead of one
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large multi-story dacha,
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he built many one-story ones. In total, we
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counted 12 residential houses on the property.
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It's like his own private village. Across
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the entire residence runs
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a road nearly 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long.
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We examined it closely, and it is
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probably the best road in all of
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Kemerovo Region.
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All the best asphalt is right here. Is it even worth
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mentioning that the residence has its own dedicated
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power supply network,
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gas pipeline, and also its own
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cell tower, visible on the right? And
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now we fly a little to the left and see
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utility buildings. In fact, there are
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a lot of things there: more than 40
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structures on the site—boiler houses, a laundry,
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cellars, a water tower, a warehouse, and even
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its own artesian well. So
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all of Kemerovo Region can
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envy Aman Tuleyev not only for the forest air and
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excellent roads,
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but also for the purest natural water. Here I
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need to pause and explain that
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clean air and water are especially important
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for Kemerovo Region. In terms of
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water pollution from wastewater discharges,
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the region ranks seventh in Russia,
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and in air pollution, third.
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The environment there is a massive problem, and
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direct responsibility for it lies with
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Tuleyev. It is the result of his policies. So
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when an official builds a residence in the middle of
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a huge forest in Kemerovo Region,
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that means he gets something
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that is inaccessible to everyone else.
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After all, in terms of life expectancy,
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Kemerovo Region ranks 75th in Russia.
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We fly on, past the old
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hotel that is now abandoned, and we see
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an artificial pond with a pier and a fountain.
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At the center, the pond's area is about 4,000
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square meters—0.4 hectares (about 1 acre), larger
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than any dacha nearby.
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Not far from the pier stands a building that looks like
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a bathhouse. Very convenient—you can get a good steam,
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really sweat it out,
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run out, and shouting something in praise of Putin,
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jump cannonball-style into the water. Let's once again
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take in these Siberian
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expanses. Officially, the land plot here is about
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155,000
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square meters—15.5 hectares (38 acres)—and
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look, here's an interesting fact: the neighboring forest
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lands were illegally seized and fenced off,
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so
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the surrounding forest became an extension of
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the residence. I say this because everyone
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wonders: how could it be that the burned-down Winter Cherry
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was an unauthorized building, even though past it
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for many years drove all the regional and
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city officials?
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So for them, that’s just normal practice if
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for the governor’s dacha (country house) they can arrange
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such an outright land grab, then surely
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for money, the issue of permits and paperwork
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these same officials will sort out with no trouble at all, and that’s
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So, my friends, this is what a resignation looks like
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for officials in Putin’s Russia: you fail
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at your entire job, become one of those
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responsible for people’s deaths, insult
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the relatives of the dead by calling them
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“troublemakers” — I mean, that alone is just
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the relatives of the dead alone — that is simply
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well, but those who constantly... [unclear audio]
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you resign under public pressure
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and you still keep everything
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— status, a position, a state dacha (government country house), and we
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you and I, the people of Kuzbass (a coal-mining region in Siberia), of course first and foremost
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but overall all of us are supposed to
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pay for him and maintain that dacha for him. Why?
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I don’t think there is even a single
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person in Russia willing to give even a kopeck
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for him, but our authorities
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couldn’t care less about our opinion, and that is why it
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must be fought by every possible method
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