Research reveals Putin's secrets
The independent Russian investigative website Proekt has published an extensive report on President Putin's entourage and web of power and money. A key figure in the revelations is millionaire Svetlana Krivonogich, who according to the report is Putin's secret partner. Her 17-year-old daughter is the spitting image of Putin, the report claims. What repercussions will these revelations have in Russia?
A country submerged in fog
The editorial staff of Proekt reaches a frustrating conclusion following its research:
“The main idea that has driven Russia's leader for 20 years is: conceal, conceal even better, and make your past and present as murky as possible with lofty words. ... This 20-year cover-up operation has cost the country billions of dollars and many lives. But it is not over yet, the mechanism works like clockwork and the new version of the law on guarantees for ex-presidents extends it pretty much indefinitely. A double life, double morals, double accounting and double rights have corrupted the state and society and threaten to become Putin's main political heir and legacy.”
Only a threat to the authors
Echo of Moscow also fears that the revelations will fade without consequences:
“In any democratic country such disclosures would trigger a huge scandal and damage a politician's reputation. And if everything turned out to be true, that would be the end of the person's political career. In Russia it's the other way round. ... Major revelations never harm the people involved. Plenty of shocking facts have been revealed both by Proekt and by Navalny. And then nothing happened. The masses don't care. Not only do the people not get upset, they actually envy the corrupt wrongdoers and officials. And if that's how things stand, such revelations are only a real danger to those who bring them to light.”