In today's #vatnik soup, I'll introduce a corrupted Russian Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for Social Policy, Labour, Health and Pension Provision, Tatiana Golikova. Before this, she worked as the Minister of Health and Social Development.
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As a Minister, Golikova has the largest portfolio of powers and is responsible for many things in Russia - healthcare,education and pensions all fall under her huge umbrella. She's married to Viktor Khristenko, and together they have made a fortune from various enterprises. 2/11
Golikova and Khristenko have tried to hide their fortune via offshore companies and front organizations - as is the tradition among the wealthy in Russia. They've also transferred wealth to Khristenko's son, Vladimir.
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One of their companies is called Nanolek. Nanolek is owned by Golikova and Khristenko through complex company arrangements in Cyprus. Golikova's family also has stake in Generium, the largest manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik-V.
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Golikova's stepson has a 8,33% share in Generium that's worth over 60 million EUR. It's worth noting that foreign COVID-19 vaccines were forbidden in Russia, and we all know who made the call on that.
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Several Russian media outlets have accused Golikova of corruption. She and her husband, Viktor Khristenko, have connections to a company called Pharmstandard that makes over 400 drugs for both internal market and for export purposes.
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They also produce a "miracle drug" called Arbidol, one of most sold drugs in Russia. Russian Academy of Sciences has declared that the effects of Arbidol are not scientifically proven. This didn't stop Tatiana from hyping it, gaining her the nickname "Madam Arbidol".
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Think about your own country - would it be possible for the Minister of Health to promote drugs and vaccines from companies they own? Yet this seems to be perfectly allowed in modern Russia, as long as your part of the "nomenklatura".
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Based on research by Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, Golikova and her husband have earned at least 632 million EUR from their pharmaceutical and other enterprises. They estimate the real figure to be much higher, though.
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Where did all this money go? The family of course has their own private jet, that they used to fly around Europe while the common folk was told to cancel all of their travel arrangements because of COVID-19.
They own 3 golf courses in Russia and one in Spain.
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They also own real estate and hotels in Spain, Portugal, France and Russia. Their summer house, Villa Infinita cost 18 million EUR.
Golikova was sanctioned by the EU and Switzerland in Dec, 2022. She was sanctioned by Ukraine in June, 2022.
Sources: navalny.com/p/6627/
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In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.
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1/22
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In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll talk about the takeover of social media by illiberal, populist influencers. For the last ten years, social media has been dominated by these voices and it is one of the main reasons for the political rise of people like Trump and Orban.
1/25
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2/25
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1/17
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2/17
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