Thread by @pevchikh

Do you know many people who publicly support Putin, who continue to praise and love him even now? Who stay loyal to Putin even after the massacres in Bucha and Irpin, after mass civilian killings and rapes? It's incomprehensible, right?

It seems like only the most bloodthirsty monsters would do that. Or those brainwashed into oblivion. Turns out, not really. You can be the world's most beloved classical musician, a talented and cultured man, and still stand by Putin’s side. It’s just a matter of money.

Today I will tell you the story of the star Russian maestro Valery Gergiev. The celebrity conductor who headed the London Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and many others. He was once the most wanted guest at La Scala, The Met Opera, Grand Opera, everywhere.

Many years ago Gerviev, who's also the director of the Mariinsky Theatre, made a deal with Putin. He, the maestro, whitewashes Putin abroad, and in exchange he gets to steal as much money as he can grab. Public support of Putin, heartfelt love-speeches in exchange for cash.

Make a cup of tea guys, it’s going to be a long and interesting thread. Plus, we have a big task ahead of us. We need to sanction the hell out of this guy. If you read this thread to the end, there will be no more need for me to convince you why it’s necessary.

Gergiev actually holds an official title of Putin’s trusted representative. This is an electoral endorsement mechanism that allows a person to act and speak on the candidate’s behalf. Putin handpicks those people. Only the closest and most devoted make it to the list.

The idea behind the Putin/Gergiev deal is very simple. It’s a trick, a deception. Gergiev is assigned the role of an unofficial minister of Foreign Affairs, informal ambassador of Putin abroad. The alternative face of Russia, a less ugly one than the ones we are used to.

They came up with a simple formula targeted at the Western audience:
You love Gergiev and his talent → Gergiev loves Putin
→ Therefore, you should like Putin too.
Maybe Putin isn’t that bad if your favourite musician endorses him. Just think about it. Reconsider.

And it kind of worked.Gergiev managed to distract the world by playing Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky. He skilfully diverted public attention: don’t look at Putin's crimes, look at me. The great Russian music culture was effectively weaponised to serve political interests.

To realise how morbid this arrangement is, consider this. On 17.07.2014 the Russian troops, secretly posted to Ukraine, shot down a passenger plane, MH17, killing 300 innocent people. We know who, when and how launched the missile. These were the Russian soldiers, sent by Putin.

The plane was going from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, so naturally there were a lot of Dutch people onboard. 193 to be precise. Just a few weeks later Gergiev hosted a memorial concert in Rotterdam dedicated to those Dutchmen who died in this plane crash.

Just read his statement. ‘I feel very close to the Dutch people’. ‘I share the immense pain’. ‘I condemn this outrageous act of terrorism’. How touching... But hold on for just a second there, Valery. Who did this? Who is responsible for this act of terrorism? Any thoughts?

Is it possible to be more hypocritical than this? His literal boss, Vladimir Putin, is the one who killed those people. And Gergiev stands in the heart of the county that lost 193 people and mourns. As if the plane exploded on its own, there is no war, no Russian troops, no Putin

If you think it cannot get more sickening than this, yes it can. GERGIEV IS A DUTCH CITIZEN HIMSELF. We discovered in our recent investigation that he used his Dutch passport for registering an Italian firm. Up until last week it was a well-kept secret from everybody in Russia.

Given how strict the Dutch naturalisation rules are, it is probably an honorary citizenship granted to Gergiev as an exception. Gergiev was also knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands herself. Until today he holds a title of Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion.

Was this MH17 concert his only PR stunt for Putin? Oh no. This is Putin’s and Gergiev’s routine from long ago. Look, here is Gergiev giving a concert on the ruins of Tskhinvali in 2008 after Russia invaded Georgia.

Here is Gergiev in Palmyra, Syria, performing for the Russian troops. Putin is watching.

Gergiev opened the Olympic Games in Sochi. Gergiev played for Putin and Gianni Infantino at the FIFA World Cup event in Moscow in 2018.

And now, on March 25, 2022, a whole month into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gergiev met with Putin to receive a grandiose present for supporting the war. The ultimate reward for not condemning Putin’s war criminals in Ukraine. Putin offered Gergiev a new job.

He asks the maestro to reestablish the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres, essentially becoming the head of two main theatres in Russia - Mariinsky (St. Petersburg) and Bolshoy (Moscow). How imperial! Bravo.

It’s a fancy new job title, no doubt, but this is not what Gergiev was really after before the war. Before the war, he worked as a chief conductor at the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Despite Gergiev’s devotion to Putin he performed mainly abroad: in NY, London, Rotterdam, etc.

On 23 February 2022 Gergiev hosted a premier of La Dame de pique at La Scala. I actually was there on that day. Gergiev was wonderfully received, there were standing ovations and words of gratitude. At the very same hour, Putin started to bomb Ukrainian cities.

Here is me taking his autograph. This is not a sign of admiration, no. I needed his signature to be able to verify that it matches the one on the title deed for a New York penthouse worth $5m.

It does. Gergiev has been hiding his NYC flat from the Russian authorities for over 15 years. As a government official he must declare all foreign assets.

Apart from that lovely penthouse next to the Metropolitan Opera, we have also found out that Gergiev has over $100m worth of buildings and land in 8 Italian cities. These are mainly some agricultural plots of land but there are also some gems in his portfolio.

Like this wonderful cape close to Naples. The whole thing belongs to Valery Gergiev. He also had numerous properties in Milan which he has recently sold for €47m.

But the crown jewel of his properties is Palazzo Barbarigo in Venice, an iconic 16 century building on the Grand Canal. In order to be able to film it, me and my colleague @alburov had to hire a gondola. Now tell me that my job isn’t the coolest in the world.

We then stopped for a coffee on Piazza San Marco. The cafe is called Cafe Quadri, and it occupies the premises that also belong to the Russian maestro and Putin’s buddy Gergiev.

I am almost done with this infinite thread. There is one more thing. I am a little sad to disillusion the theatre-lovers of this world. Our Maestro turned out to be a simple crook. He commits financial crimes and steals money from the donors on a daily basis.

He runs a charitable foundation named after himself, collects tens of millions of $ for “developing the social and cultural sphere, supporting young performers, popularising classical music and assisting in professional training” and spends it… on himself.

The money is donated by large Russian state owned companies (Gazprombank, VTB Bank, Rosneft, etc.), oligarchs like Deripaska or Usmanov, the government of Moscow, and even by the international companies you all know, like @Mastercard , @Nestle or @PwC.

We’ve managed to obtain banking records of Gergiev’s foundation and found out that the money intended for ‘popularising classical music’ is spent on buying lux properties, chartering jets and even paying Gergiev’s utility bills at his home.

Gergiev’s ‘charity’ purchased 3 flats in a flashy development complex in St Petersburg and another 4 flats in a residential building in the centre of Moscow. Its funds were also used to build a private dacha for Gergiev with a concert hall. Putin even visited it once.

And then Gergiev also just pays himself a ‘salary’ of some sort. By transferring money directly from the foundation to his personal bank account. Between 2018 and 2020, Gergiev has rewarded himself with more than 300m RUB ($4.3m).

This ‘charity’ arrangement is textbook embezzlement. This is so painfully familiar to those who investigate Russian corruption. Government officials steal money in Russia and spend it on their life abroad. Gergiev is a government official, and he is doing exactly that.

The fact that Gergiev hasn’t been sanctioned yet is utterly ridiculous. Some Russian businessmen, far less loved up with Putin, got sanctioned for the mere fact of meeting with Putin after the invasion. Gergiev not only met with Putin but also got a new ‘imperial’ job from him.

That should qualify him formally. We also call for an immediate arrest of Gergiev’s Italian property portfolio. One of the iconic Venetian buildings belongs to a warmonger and Putin’s mate. Gergiev makes tens of millions euro in trading Italian real estate. How is this normal?

Same applies to the New York flat. At the moment nothing stops Gergiev from either moving in to live there tomorrow or selling it for $5m or so. Why do we allow members of Putin’s inner circle to benefit from the ‘evil West’ that they accuse of starting the war in Ukraine?

Here is an incomplete list of Gergiev's international titles and medals.‘Officer of the Legion of Honour’ (FR). ‘Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion’. Legion of Honour? Really? The time has come to stop praising Putin's accomplices. Talent, however great, can’t be an excuse.

And here is the special call for my readers from the Netherlands🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱. You have every mechanism to demand and pressure your government into revoking Gergiev’s citizenship. Under which circumstances has he become a Dutch citizen? Does he live there? Does he speak the language?

Is he married to a Dutch person? I don’t think so. He hasn’t given up his Russian passport either. It looks like Gergiev’s citizenship was an ‘honorary’ one and came as a generous reward for his work at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. But does this honour still apply?

Do you still want to welcome the person who works for the murderer of your fellow citizens? Just because he is a talented musician? Gergiev uses your passport as a convenient travel document, so he can live anywhere in the world where Putin doesn’t start wars.

Our video investigation about Gergiev is available here. It comes with 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪, 🇳🇱, 🇮🇹, 🇫🇮 and 🇮🇱 subtitles. Do share it. And do ask your MPs and government officials to strip Gergiev off his medals, properties and foreign passports. Easy come, easy go.

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