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I don’t understand where Putin even finds these people, honestly.
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It’s a huge country, with a population of 145 million.
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The average level of education is high.
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There ought to be decent candidates for
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governor, but when you look at whom Putin
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is pushing into regional leadership posts, it makes your hair
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stand on end. Right now, half of the
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potential governors are former
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presidential bodyguards. But compared
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with what they’ve found for St. Petersburg,
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even a bodyguard would be better. Alexander Beglov
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— very eager to lead St. Petersburg — is
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simply incompetent, unfit,
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a dusty Soviet-style caretaker-manager.
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His only merit is that
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he has been close to Putin since
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time immemorial. He is incapable of
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organizing
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even the most basic work of city services for
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snow removal, and instead he drags in
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a bunch of photographers to film how
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Beglov helps pensioners cross the street.
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He lies endlessly, and so absurdly that
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his lies are exposed immediately. That’s exactly what happened
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after Beglov claimed that he had
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heroically
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led a woman out of a building where there had been an explosion.
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The woman, of course, immediately said that
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Beglov didn’t save me or lead me out.
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I was helped out by some young men,
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who were nearby at the market,
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helping and encouraging me.
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Beglov says he is not a member of United
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Russia (the Kremlin’s main ruling party),
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but everyone knows that he is one of
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the founders of that party. “I want to say
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that I am the only practical manager here
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among politicians who do not belong
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to any political party. I have only one
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party — our citizens, our city residents.” He has
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a fake Candidate of Sciences dissertation (roughly equivalent to a PhD thesis), so
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he is not just a liar, but also
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a plagiarist. He not only got himself into
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government service, but also placed his entire family there.
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I am, of course, calling on
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the people of St. Petersburg to vote on September 8 for
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anyone but Beglov. And in this video I
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want to ask the gubernatorial candidate one
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simple question. Please watch until the
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end, and if you share my
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curiosity, then share this video.
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Let all residents of St. Petersburg see it and
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make
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Beglov answer properly instead of dodging.
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In more than 40 countries around the world, laws on
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illicit enrichment have been adopted.
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The principle is very simple: what matters is not only
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an official’s income, but also their spending. If one does not
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match the other, that is
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grounds for opening a criminal case.
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And the official is simply obliged to explain
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where he got a new dacha (country house), an expensive
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car, or some yacht. Let’s
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do a simple exercise together and check
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whether perhaps Beglov has something that doesn’t
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quite add up. Though surely, of course, they wouldn’t have sent
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a corrupt official to St. Petersburg. Let’s take
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Beglov’s declarations for five years, from 2008 to 2012,
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and add up his entire family income — his
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and his wife’s. That comes to 30 million
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rubles (about $1 million at the time). We’re trying to be objective.
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On the other hand, from those same
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declarations, we list all of his assets,
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the real estate that he owns.
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There are three small old
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apartments, and two more substantial ones: 106
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square meters (about 1,140 sq ft) in St. Petersburg on
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Nakhimov Street on Vasilyevsky Island,
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where, by the way, judging by his campaign
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declaration, Beglov lives right now, and
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160 square meters (about 1,720 sq ft) in the famous officials’
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building on Rodchelskaya Street in Moscow.
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It was allocated to him by the Presidential Property Management Department,
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where he was, essentially,
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working at the time. He practically allocated the apartment to himself.
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Perfectly logical and crystal clear.
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The income is ordinary enough: one apartment in St. Petersburg and
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another
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in Moscow, granted for his service. And so
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everything would be calm and tidy from there on, if not for
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this document.
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Well, look at that: at the beginning of 2013, our Beglov
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buys a 150-square-meter apartment (about 1,615 sq ft) in Moscow,
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in Kazarmenny Lane, in the Pokrovka area,
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right in the very center.
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So what is going on here? Let’s quickly
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take a look. Here’s the description on the website:
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“The residential complex House on Pokrovsky
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Boulevard, deluxe class.”
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“Tired of the hustle and bustle of a noisy
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metropolis?
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How about escaping from all
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that and enjoying peace and a close-knit
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family circle? House on Pokrovsky Boulevard
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was created so that every
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resident could rest and relax after
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hard working days.”
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Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes — that’s all about me, I have
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hard working days, Beglov seems to cry out, and then
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he buys an apartment there for 150 million
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rubles (about $4.9 million at the time). That’s what housing there costs. And
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Beglov’s is also on the top, 10th floor. Everything would
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be fine, except that we have our calculations.
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The apartment costs 150 million. Beglov
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and his wife earned 30 million over five
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years. If you convert all that into annual salaries
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at the time of purchase, that means 25 years of hard
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working days would be needed
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to buy such a home.
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That’s not good, Alexander Dmitrievich.
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Very much not good. Where did the apartment come from, Beglov? You
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present yourself as a European-style
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politician in St. Petersburg, so please explain
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to the city’s residents — and to the rest
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of the country — where you got
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25 years’ worth of your annual salary for an apartment in a
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deluxe-class residential complex.
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What deluxe, Beglov? Aren’t you supposed to be our Cossack-style
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representative
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must sleep under a willow bush
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wrapped in a burka (a traditional Caucasian felt cloak)
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with his faithful horse grazing nearby, but it turns out
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that this is not about the Cossacks and the motherland, but some kind of deluxe version
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So, I was watching the news, and a couple of days ago you
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briefly met with schoolteachers
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and solemnly promised them a bonus for
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homeroom supervision—5,000 rubles (about $55)
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you benefactor, please tell these
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teachers the truth: your bonus is 5,000 rubles (about $55), while mine is
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an apartment worth as much as your
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salary over five hundred years. I have no doubt
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that Beglov won't want to answer; he generally
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doesn't like uncomfortable questions, which is why
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this kind of lawlessness is happening in St. Petersburg
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with independent candidates being pushed out of the elections
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but it is within our power
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to make sure that everyone in the city finds out
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about this issue, supports the campaign, and joins it
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so that everyone in the city, on September 8,
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votes in the gubernatorial election
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for anyone but Beglov, so that everyone in
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the city
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takes part on September 8 in Smart Voting
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and helps independent
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municipal candidates defeat
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United Russia candidates. By the way, if you are ready
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to work as an election observer in
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St. Petersburg, Moscow, or other cities where
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elections will be held
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then there is a link for you in the description
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help us, help yourselves
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vote for anyone but Beglov, register
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for Smart Voting, subscribe to
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our channel—this is where the truth is told