Maria Pevchikh Profile picture
Nov 10, 2022 17 tweets 6 min read Read on X
1/16 General Armageddon? The Syrian Butcher? A great commander? I don’t think so. General Surovikin, commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine, turned out to be a simple crook and a hustler, who uses his wife’s firm to receive cash payments from Putin’s oligarchs. THREAD 🧵🧵🧵 ImageImage
2/16 Today we released our brand new investigation about the main face of Putin’s war in Ukraine. This decorated general is well-known for his cruelty and ruthlessness. Now he shall be known for his corruption as well. Image
3/16 Surovikin’s wife has owned a sawmill and wood processing plant in the Urals for over 10 years now. In fact, it was discovered back in 2011 by my colleague @leonidvolkov, then a member of the Yekaterinburg city council. The firm still exists, so we decided to check on it. ImageImage
4/16 Turns out Surovikin has monetized his role in the Syrian war quite well. In 2017 he was put in charge of the Russian military operation there. Aside from the war crimes he was casually committing in Syria, he also appears to have had some extracurricular duties. Image
5/16 When Putin visited Syria Surovikin proudly reported that among other liberated targets were two phosphate ore deposits. Why would Putin care? Because his buddy and sponsor Gennady Timchenko was planning to make money there. Wherever Timchenko makes money, Putin gets a cut. Image
5/16* like this one. The Putin's Palace and the vineyards next door were partially paid for by Timchenko. And the house in Biarritz too. ImageImage
6/16 In early 2017 Bashar al-Assad ratified a contract granting Timchenko’s Stroytansgaz exclusive rights to extract and export phosphates from two deposits near Palmyra. There was only one problem: at that moment the Syrian army and government had no control over them. Image
7/16 That’s when the Russian army stepped in. They helped Assad’s government recapture the deposits and Timchenko started extraction within weeks. Timchenko also conveniently got control of a fertilizer plant and the port of Tartus where the Russian military base is located.
8/16 This is a very important moment. The phosphates are currently transported as follows: they are first taken by trucks or trains from the deposits near Palmyra either to the fertilizer plant in Homs or directly to the port of Tartus. Image
9/16 In the port, they are loaded onto ships with switched off tracking beacons. Then they tamper with the documents to make the shipment not appear Syrian anymore, and sell the phosphates to Europe, bypassing the sanctions against both the Syrian government and Timchenko.
10/16 You can read more on this scheme in the investigation released by the OCCRP journalists:
occrp.org/en/investigati…
11/16 It is a complex logistical chain that requires constant armed protection and escort in Syria. They are provided by the Syrian army and PMCs, the Wagner PMC, and the Russian army, which is inextricably linked to all of them.
12/16 All of this is vital to Timchenko's business. Otherwise his Syrian firm wouldn't be able to make money: the phosphates simply wouldn't make it to the port, or they wouldn't be allowed out. And this must be what Timchenko's firm paid Surovikin's wife $1.4 million for.
13/16 That's the only thing Syrian phosphate exporters and Ural sawmill have in common. The details of the Timchenko-Surovikin deal hardly change the point. Surovikin has made a great living off the war in Syria. And I am sure the same thing will happen in Ukraine.
14/16 This is the essence of the corrupt Putin regime and its generals and oligarchs. Z-swastika on the forehead, Russian flag in one hand, the, and the other hand raking in money. Image
15/16 Watch our new investigation for more information about Surovikin - it comes with English subtitles:
16/16 If you like our work, please consider supporting us via this link - it is only thanks your donations that we are able to continue releasing our investigations: acf.international/#donate

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More from @pevchikh

Aug 19
1/28 Воспользуюсь информационным поводом, чтобы рассказать вам немного о работе международного отдела ФБК. Фоновой работе, которой и мысли не было хвастаться в паблике. Но на прошлой неделе я чуть со стула не упала от удивления и возмущения, увидев ЭТО. Тема нам не чуждая. ТРЕД🧵 Image
2/28 Сначала разберёмся, что все обсуждали на той неделе. Максим Кац создал в Израиле фонд, который бегает по грантодателям и просит денег на КОМПЕНСАЦИЮ ВЫПАДАЮЩИХ ДОХОДОВ ютюб-блогеров. Логика такая: тебя признали иноагентом >> доход от рекламы упал >> возместите разницу. Image
3/28 Заметил это Майкл Наки, возмутился от двумя вещами. Тем, что в докладе, который де факто является грантовой заявкой, упомянут его канал. И тем, что ютюб-блогеры, о которых идет речь в заявке, скажем мягко, не самые первые в списке нуждающихся. Image
Read 28 tweets
Jun 15
Жарков в своей колонке точно замечает, что "демофобия наряду с абсолютизацией роли рынка — один из столпов российской либеральной догматики 90-х." Если речь зашла о демофобии, мне вспомнилась другая статья, ссылку на которую я подсмотрела у В.Гельмана. Авторства кружка Чубайса.Image
Чубайс возглавлял некий научный кружок или ассоциацию, и это их видение того, как должны проводиться либеральные реформы. Еще до того, как Чубайсу выпал шанс реально эти реформы проводить, в его голове царили антидемократические взгляды и тотальное презрение к людям. Мини-тред👇 Image
Суть статьи (1990 г) в том, что Чубайс и Ко рассуждают о политическом сопровождении предлагаемых ими рыночных реформ. Какая политическая поддержка им понадобится. Первое, что предлагается - разогнать профсоюзы, если они не поддержат реформы. А вместо них создать свои, карманные. Image
Read 14 tweets
May 28
1/14 Politicians are often asked, "What have you done in your first 100 days in office?" It's a symbolic amount of time, of course, but enough to show some intent. So today, I would like to ask Western officials, "What have you done in the 100 days since Alexei Navalny's murder?"
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2/14 We've heard countless times from world leaders that Putin is personally responsible for Navalny's life and safety. If a hair falls from Navalny's head, Putin is in trouble. Well, now Navalny is dead. What were the consequences for Putin? NONE.
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3/14 It's actually worse than none. The UK sanctions package in response to Navalny's murder included six individuals. Six prison employees who live in the village of Kharp. These people most likely haven't even considered traveling abroad, perhaps not even outside their region. Image
Read 14 tweets
May 27
Ever wondered what happened to this? It was a widely discussed and supported initiative to sanction Putin's 'authorised representatives'. Those individuals who endorsed and officially participated in Putin's electoral campaign. Here is the answer: nothing. Nothing has happened.
I am still convinced that the idea is brilliant. We proposed to preemptively announce that anyone who would join the list of Putin's endorsers will be sanctioned immediately after the election. And this would discourage celebrities from joining.
And I think even just this public discussion kinda worked. In the first December list of Putin's 'authorized representatives', there were indeed fewer famous people than usual. We were hopeful and continued to bombard the EU authorities with our proposal. Image
Read 8 tweets
May 24
Посмотрела интервью Ходорковского. Мне оно совсем не понравилось, но по паре важных моментов всё-таки выскажусь. Тех, которые касаются ценностей, границ допустимого в политике и прочих вещей, которые пригодятся в будущем. Тред! Image
Первое. «Коррупция — это не коррупция в некоторых случаях» и прочие попытки оправдать преступления, потому что «человек хороший». Абсолютно вопиющее утверждение о том, что «коррупция складывается из двух вещей — человек берет вещь и относится к ней как к своей».
Ну приехали. Ельцин не чувствовал, что квартира его, поэтому всё нормально. Там же Ходорковский говорит, что Ельцин не понимал концепции частной собственности, и для него это было служебное помещение. Классно. Но вообще-то, понимать такие вещи было буквально работой Ельцина.
Read 18 tweets
Mar 28
Смотрите, какую крутую штуку придумали наши юристы @ACF_int. Есть Европейский суд по правам человека (ЕСПЧ). В него можно обратиться, если тебя незаконно задержали на митинге. И через несколько лет получить компенсацию. Как правило это около 3-5 тысяч евро. Image
Тысячи людей такие компенсации получили. Только наши юристы выиграли около 400 дел, на общую сумму больше €2млн. Но теперь Россия эти деньги выплачивать отказывается. Это незаконно.
После начала войны Россию исключили из Совета Европы. Путин что-то промямлил про суверенитет и то, что решения исполняться не будут. Но на самом деле Россия обязана выплатить все компенсации по всем делам, которые ЕСПЧ уже рассмотрел или принял к рассмотрению.
Read 9 tweets

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