Last week I was in the Urals. In and . There were many meetings, a lot of impressions and new acquaintances.

In Yekaterinburg, before meeting with readers, I went to the Yeltsin Center.

What is my attitude towards Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin?

It is, to put it mildly, complex.

On the one hand, this is the one who, for the sake of his ambitions, his hostility to Gorbachev and for his career, destroyed a great country, which was the start of an indescribable number of disasters in a vast geopolitical space. And these troubles are far from over, and there is no end in sight for them. The beginning of this grief was laid in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, where on December 8, 1991, three leaders of the three union republics "dissolved the USSR." Without any legal right to do so.

24 years ago, on December 8, 1991, three traitors destroyed the USSR, in violation of all the laws of our state. We remember pic.twitter.com/rgNLd3YArU

And another traitor - Gorbachev - easily agreed with this.

Yeltsin could have become the head of the USSR, he could have saved the country, but he chose to destroy it in order to get rid of Gorbachev and become an appanage prince in Little Russia. Become him instead of becoming a "king" in the USSR-Russia, a great, monarchical in spirit, a great power.

All this on the one hand. On the other hand, Yeltsin found Putin. I found and appointed someone who restored the power of the state in an incredibly difficult situation. And Yeltsin can be forgiven a lot for this appointment. Many, but not all.

I will not list all the disadvantages of Yeltsin, this material is not about that. The Yeltsin Center is an attempt to rehabilitate and mythologize not Boris Yeltsin, but the political course that is destructive for Russia, which he pursued and personified. Yeltsin Center is a collection of all possible liberal myths. This is the Looking Glass, where good is served by evil, and evil is dressed in the clothes of good.

And all this at an amazing technical level.

But let's start in order. As you know, the theater begins with a hanger. A modern museum starts with a parking lot.

So the parking lot at the Yeltsin Center is tiny (for 25 cars). She is practically non-existent.

And it is very symbolic that the Yeltsin Center has no parking. This is logical, because as a result of the reforms that Boris Yeltsin carried out, the Russians were not supposed to have not only cars, but nothing at all. It was during the Yeltsin period that predatory privatization took place, when the “Khodorkovskys” stole entire industries. So there is logic: "grateful" Russians are obliged to come to Yeltsin on foot. At the very least, use public transport.

The lack of proper parking indicates either that those who built it were well aware that there will be no folk trail and enough space for 25 cars. Or, according to the good old tradition, which no change can change, quickly reported about the construction of the center, and then they will build a parking lot which, I think, is also very symbolic. We are told that there is something new, and the desire to report is old. Why was it necessary to rush and report?

The very building of the museum of the first president of Russia is huge, made according to the latest Western museum format, so you can see the entire exposition in one hour. Everything flickers, glitters, talks. Personally, I have the impression that the format of clip consciousness is being deliberately created. It is impossible to walk, see, read everything in a calm atmosphere in such a museum, because there is so much of everything that it is impossible to focus on one thing.

The first thing you see at the entrance is the Law on the Establishment of the Yeltsin Center. Now many are indignant that in a difficult economic situation an obscure building worth many billions of rubles has been opened. At the same time, the liberals, who measure everything with “kindergartens” and pensions, for some reason did not propose not to build the Yeltsin Center and did not recalculate its cost in “pensions” and “kindergartens”. We arrived, groaned and groaned at its opening. This is a military budget, from their point of view, Russia does not need it. The Yeltsin Center is very much needed.

So here's to clarifying the situation. The law on the creation of the Yeltsin Center was signed by President D.A. Medvedev on May 13, 2008 and it is called as follows: "On the centers of the historical heritage of the presidents of the Russian Federation who have ceased to exercise their powers." As you can see, the legal procedure was followed and this law was first supported by deputies, then by senators, and only then signed by President Medvedev. This was done in May 2008, when the price of oil broke records and by mid-July it will reach $147 per barrel. And then it will be August 8, 2008, and in response to Russia's defense of its interests, the West will begin an economic and political crisis, which continues to this day.

The idea of ​​preserving the memory of the HEADS of state is the right idea, the only question is the form of its implementation. And the fact that they began to SAVE the memory from Yeltsin, and not from Peter the Great or Stalin. The memory must be kept about all the heads of the country and the truth must be told about all.

And what do they say, what do they show at the Yeltsin Center? To say that they "distort" history would be an understatement. Brazenly lie - just right.

The first thing that is shown to the visitor is a film on the history of Russia, made in a "cartoon" version. I would say, in a "Ural-cartoon" format: it seems that all the characters are made of gems and stones, as if Danila the master carved them.

It is impossible to agree with the content of the film: the history of Russia is shown exclusively in a negative way. In this sense, the authors of the film, more precisely, the authors of the idea, moved in the logic of the Bolshevik historians, who painted all the kings with black paint and showed the history of Russia exclusively as the struggle of its people against the tsarist regime. Here the people were not engaged in anything else, for a century or so since the 19th they were engaged in the “fight for freedom” and nothing else.

Here is the same thing. Everything is presented from the point of view of a modern liberal. The conversation starts about Ivan the Terrible. Every possible visual effect is used to scare the viewer. Especially a child. Tsar Ivan is terrible, approaching, crushing people, huge, growing. It has nothing to do with history. The tricks are completely blatant. They say: Ivan the Terrible introduced the oprichnina, they show terrible people who cut everyone with sabers. Then - the next proposal: the result of which was a civil war in the country. I thought for a second: what kind of civil war under Ivan the Terrible, due to the fact that HE introduced the oprichnina? It turns out that we are talking about the Time of Troubles, which began many years AFTER the death of the Terrible Tsar and had nothing to do with his actions. Is False Dmitry I appeared because there was an oprichnina? And False Dmitry II appeared because there was an oprichnina? But there would be no oprichnina, the Poles would never come to Moscow, there would be no Seven Boyars, would not be Minin and Pozharsky, there would be nothing at all if Ivan IV would convene a parliament and introduce democracy, right?

You understand, this has nothing to do with history. The Russian Time of Troubles and the tragedy of the 17th century has an external outline that is much larger than an internal one. The Poles and Swedes began to tear the country apart because of the betrayal of part of the elite. Precisely, probably, due to the fact that Ivan the Terrible did not stifle treason in his time, they betrayed not him, but Boris Godunov and Vasily Shuisky. Not to mention the fact that it is now precisely established that the death of Grozny's wife was due to poisoning, the death of his son, and even himself, is very suspicious.

But the authors of the introductory film need to show in five minutes that everything has always been bad in Russia, but she always wanted “reforms”. And the Yeltsin ones. You and I understand who the authors of this film will like. Anyone who will advocate for a weak Russia will please them. In fact

they do not like any of the leaders of Russia. Nobody but Gorbachev and Yeltsin. A little sympathy for Nicholas II. Why? So he's a "reformer" after all. Parliament created the Constitution. So the authors mold him into a "reformer".

But everything is in order. The next one who is shown after Ivan the Terrible - they have a free interpretation of history - is Peter I. 100 years was easily squandered. Peter I is shown as an evil tyrant. He wanted to cut a window to Europe, and did not reckon with any losses. They show a frame: Peter I cuts down a tree, it breaks into pieces, they fly and kill people. People fell to the left, he waved his ax to the right - the tree fell into fragments, again people fall dead. Here it is the Russian government! All on blood and murder!

The next one to be shown is Catherine II. The beginning, it seems, is positive: she advocated enlightenment, so that there were subjects, not slaves. but after that, at the end, it is again served with a negative sauce. Farther - Alexander I. He, seems to be good wanted a constitution, but did not make it. This is where reformers come in. Every king has such a reformer like Chubais who, if they had listened, the whole life would have gone differently. Napoleon, of course, would not have attacked Russia if Speransky had carried out some reforms much earlier. The logic is this. Manipulation in everything.

Next show Nicholas I. This, of course, is a fabulous villain. Decembrists on the square. And he shot them, the rebels, with cannons. And they end about this king with the following phrase: the defeat in the Crimean War was the logical conclusion of his reign. This is not a quote - this is the meaning. The tsar was conservative, so he lost in the Crimean War. Then they go straight to Alexander II. I think, how will they show that the Tsar was killed by terrorists? Showed. From his liberal point of view: he started the reforms, but then abandoned the reforms and therefore he was killed. That is, it turns out that this is normal: the head of the country refused to reform, and you can kill him.

It's hard to watch this "cartoon" calmly. Such a concentration of lies per square centimeter that just rolls over.

Exhibit of the Yeltsin Center

Tsar Alexander III, it is clear that for them it does not exist at all in history, nothing is said about it. By the way, this is my beloved tsar, who, I think, is most consistent with our Russian world order. After the king-liberator killed by the murderers, immediately comes Nicholas II. Gave the Constitution in 1905 and immediately Russia blossomed, began to grow, everything immediately became good. But then, bam - and the First World War, which interrupted this "flight". That is, when Nicholas I took certain political steps and lost the Crimean War, then this is a shame and obscurantism, and when Nicholas II gave the Constitution and lost the First World War, it happened that way.

In general, an extremely negative image of Russia is being created, everyone is satraps and executioners, all the great sovereigns only thought how to ruin their people, but the reformers thought how to save them.

Then they move on to the Bolshevik revolution. Lenin is shown more or less neutrally. Liberals never criticize him. It is clear that Stalin- horror, there cartoon characters torture and kill everyone. As always, they talk about losses with liberal ease: 10-20 million people died as a result of repressions. What is so modest? What is such a small spread of 10 million, just twice? It would be said that from 10 to 100 million people died. The next phrase: the exact figure is still unknown. Wait, did you just name her? So 10-20 million or UNKNOWN DIGIT?

I know a completely different figure that is perfectly accurate: 3 million 777 thousand 380human, who were generally sentenced to prison terms and , sentenced to capital punishment. And this from 1921 to 1953. And in the Yeltsin Center they give figures that differ by tens of millions, and then immediately, without hesitation, they say that they don’t know the exact number. If you don't know, shut up. Say: a tragic period of history, the exact figure is unknown. Everything, the position is clear: we study, we learn - we will tell. No, they need to denigrate, say nasty things, name ANY huge figure and immediately say that they cannot confirm it.

Next comes The Great Patriotic War. Here, too, in passing all the time negative. What they're saying? The victorious people respected themselves and paid for the Victory a price that no one has ever paid in history. This is true, but it is presented from the point of view that it is bad. It seems that the people would not want to pay this price, but they forced them to.

After Stalin, in passing, Khrushchev is a positive character. Reformer. Further fleeting Brezhnev with a touch of negativity (stagnation). Then Gorbachev, well done. And the top of this whole “food chain” is Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin. As the greatest politician in the history of Russia.

And then the exposition itself begins. Lots of items, posters, photos. Trolleybus, telephone, shop counter. This is the very kaleidoscopic option, when it will be difficult for a simple visitor to focus on something.

Exhibits of the Yeltsin Center

What impresses is the office of President Yeltsin. I was not in Yeltsin's office, I don't know what he looked like, but the feeling when you open the door and go inside is strong.

What can not be said about the rest of this Yeltsin Center.

Difficult moments in history that they would like to bypass, they bypass. For example, I was wondering what they would write about 1993 About the shooting of the parliament and the unconstitutional Decree of Yeltsin.

And do you know what they called it? Poetically. "The Birth of the Constitution".

There quote hanging from Boris Yeltsin. Its meaning is as follows: I, Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin, I saw that the wrong decisions accepts Parliament, and realized that this group of people should not run the country and cannot. End of quote. That is, he came, saw: a bad group of people, and made a coup d'état. That's all the rationale.

About 1993 everyone blames the communists. That is, Yeltsin was for dialogue, but a military rebellion began there, and nothing is reported about the fact that he had previously violated the Constitution by his decree. And here is such a lie in everything.

That is, before us is the beginning of the mythologization not even of Yeltsin, but of the 90s. Those who lived in the nineties, they remember what happened there, they know. But the youth who did not live in this era?

For example, there is a space in the Yeltsin Center called Svoboda Square. And from all screens this word is repeated. Or actors read the Constitution. Emphasis on the word "person". And about how a person in Russia lived under Yeltsin, silence.

I lived in the Soviet Union and I don't remember feeling the lack of freedom. This is a very complex concept, everyone perceives it in their own way. And in the Yeltsin Center, such abstract concepts are used to promote the destruction of the country in the 90s. There, even in one place, Bill Clinton tells how cool it was to live in Russia in the 90s.

Come in, take a look. It must have been good for Clinton in those years. Even in Russia.

Exhibit of the Yeltsin Center

Tour guides are young people, I think, somewhere around 20-21 years old. Maybe a little older. Probably students or just young people. They are savvy, erudite, but I don’t know how much they believe in what they say, how much they sympathize with all this. I would like to believe that not so much. Why did they recruit such young people? Because they didn't live in the 90s. They would take a forty-year-old man as a guide, who then lost his job, lost something else, how would he tell how wonderful Yeltsin is? He couldn't do it! Therefore, they take young girls, young people who do not know anything about this, do not remember.

A nice girl-tour guide seems to personify the "reforms": all in piercings, her hair is blue-blue.

The memory of the presidents, of course, should be kept, whether we like them or not, but these are statesmen. We need such museums. But they should not be a place for propaganda of destructive reforms and treacherous actions. Tell us about Yeltsin. Do not forget in more detail about the war in Chechnya, about drugs and frozen cities, about Russians devoted to them in the former republics of the USSR.

This, in fact, is not a museum of Yeltsin, but destruction of Russia under the sauce of beautiful words about freedom. And Yeltsin is a screen or a reason to open this museum. You will see photographs of all the “democrats” there: they are on the photo, and on the video, and on the flickering screens, everywhere, from all sides, they are smiling, starting with Chubais, ending with Nemtsov. Here are all the figures of the media space of a liberal persuasion. It seems to me that they used the first president of Russia as an excuse to get together in some space and try to put pressure on public opinion.

But it will not work, there will be no folk trail there.

There is very little Yeltsin in this museum and a lot of liberals. This is a museum from the 90s. And the nineties are not only privatization and Chechnya, not only MMM and impoverishment. This is also the collapse of the country in 1991.

And such things cannot be sung!

P.S. I shared my impressions of what I saw with the people of Yekaterinburg, and the Nakanune.ru resource wrote about this http://www.nakanune.ru/news/2015/12/07/22422334

The Yeltsin Center, established in 2015, is a cultural, educational and educational complex dedicated to the history of Russia, where visitors are immersed in the atmosphere of the 1990s, a turning point for the country and the global geopolitical space. The collapse of the communist party, the formation of a new way of life, reforms and crises are reflected in archival and multimedia materials. High-tech information equipment coexists with collections of authentic items from a bygone era.

Museum of Boris Yeltsin

Before viewing the exposition, you need to go through the metal detectors, and the bags are checked with a scanner, like at the airport. At the entrance is a GAZ-14 "Chaika" car, which Boris Yeltsin received for official use in 1983, holding the post of first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee. Another car is an armored government limousine ZIL 41052 from a special purpose garage, in which the first Russian president traveled until his resignation. The cabin is equipped with bulletproof glass, radiation protection and listening systems. Nearby is an exhibition of gifts to the President of the Russian Federation.

There are 9 rooms in total. "Labyrinth of Russian history" covers the period from 1914 to 1987 and introduces the life of the Yeltsin family. Before getting inside, guests watch a 3-minute cartoon in which the main characters are the rulers of Russia, starting with Ivan the Terrible. Photographs, posters, shots from feature films are placed on the stands. At the end - a handwritten message to Mikhail Gorbachev, in which the first secretary of the Moscow city committee of the CPSU, Boris Yeltsin, demands to speed up the progress of perestroika.

The next seven halls tell about the most significant milestones during the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are thematically united under the title "Seven days that changed Russia." The author of the concept is film director Pavel Lungin.

The first day. "We are waiting for changes!"

The scenery imitates the atmosphere of the Kremlin hall with the coat of arms of the USSR, a podium and carpets, where on October 22, 1987, Boris Yeltsin delivered his famous speech at the plenum of the Central Committee. Those who wish can listen to the entire audio recording of the speech. Portraits of members of the Politburo hang right there, and their critical statements about Yeltsin are printed on the back. The next exhibit is a real trolleybus with views of Moscow from the windows. It is allowed to occupy both the passenger seats and the driver's seat. The party leader periodically used public transport, as an ordinary resident of the capital. Information about literature, films, rock music, theaters, festivals of the late 1980s - early 1990s is presented. Putting on headphones, you can listen and watch fragments of the concert of the Kino group and the cult song of Viktor Tsoi, which has become the motto of the generation, on the screen.

Second day. "August Coup"

The interior copies the typical atmosphere of a Soviet apartment: a “wall” set, a Persian carpet on the floor, a sofa. The date on the calendar is August 19, 1991. On TV they show the ballet "Swan Lake" and the announcers of the Central Television. The dial telephone rings. You need to pick up the phone to hear disturbing news. Opening the door, visitors find themselves on the barricades. Video footage of events in the center of Moscow is shown on the screen. And on the stands - appeals of the organizers of the State Emergency Committee. The museum exhibits a tricolor flag hoisted over the Kremlin, the guitar of Dmitry Komar, who died under the caterpillars of a tank, the Vitrazh-AT police shield, and the recorder of the White House defender. Further, the process of secession of the former Soviet republics is described in detail.

Day three. "Unpopular Measures"

The USSR ceased to exist. The food crisis hit. Long lines for groceries, coupons. The "buyer's card" of Naina Yeltsina has been preserved. The hall is set up like a store with empty shelves - on display is only Far Eastern seaweed salad and birch sap in three-liter glass jars. Characteristic signs of the times are video equipment, cassettes, the prefix "Dandy", the game "Tetris", privatization checks, serials. Holograms of members of the Gaidar government speak of economic prospects.

Day four. "Birth of the Constitution"

Despite the results of the 1993 referendum, the country is on the brink of civil war. There is an attempted coup. The studio of the Ostankino television center, which was stormed by the rebels, has been reproduced. Famous people read articles of the Constitution.

The 1996 election headquarters was already equipped with personal computers. Collected campaign materials, ballots. Here is the text of the oath and the sign of the President of the Russian Federation. It tells about the bloody war in Chechnya. Puppets from the NTV program of the same name are exhibited.

Day six. "President's Marathon"

Boris Yeltsin underwent heart surgery, but continues to lead the country. The photographs captured the meetings of the Russian president with politicians. In the recording studio, you can dictate your radio address to the nation for 2 minutes. Charts with economic indicators are depressing. In 1998 there was a default. Of particular interest to visitors is the "nuclear briefcase". Through binoculars, a view of the city and the Iset River opens up.

Day seven. "Farewell to the Kremlin"

The entourage of the presidential office in the Kremlin has been recreated. Boris Yeltsin's last New Year's address to the Russians sounds on the eve of 2000, in which he renounced power and said the famous: "I'm leaving." In the cupboard behind glass: a work book, a pension certificate, award sheets.

Freedom Hall conceived as a place for discussions on human rights in the realities of modern Russia. Zones with screens provide an opportunity to learn about the interpretation of the word “freedom” in the understanding of famous personalities and record their own statements on video on the topic: “Freedom of enterprise”, “Freedom of movement”, “Freedom of assembly and association”, “Freedom of thought and speech”, “ Freedom of conscience".

In the center of the hall on the second floor of the museum, Boris Nikolayevich himself is sitting on a bench in full size. Near the bronze sculpture, visitors like to take selfies. In front of the building there is a 10-meter monument to Yeltsin made of white marble. In the evening, the facade turns into a media gallery.

Sites and projects of the Yeltsin Center

The Yeltsin Center complex has several scientific and exhibition venues, equipped rooms for lectures, film screenings, and concerts. The Presidential Center is an organizer and an active participant in cultural events at the city, Russian and international levels, including the annual Library Night and Museum Night events.

Art gallery

Art platform projects - exhibitions, master classes and photo biennale.

Documentary Film Center

The complex of premises of the cinema-conference hall is a platform for film screenings, round tables, discussions and conferences, scientific and cultural festivals.

Atrium

The universal space is used for the implementation of museum projects — high-quality video shows on the big screen, interactive classes and intellectual games, creative meetings and other events of various formats.

Education Centre

Within the framework of the Educational Center, public lectures are held (the lecture hall of the Piotrovsky bookstore), seminars, educational quest games, master classes, various educational programs are being implemented. On the third floor, there is the Newton Park Science Museum, which organizes science, entertainment and educational activities for a children's audience.

Prices for tickets to the Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg

TASS-DOSIER. On November 25, 2015, the Presidential Center B.N. Yeltsin ("Yeltsin Center"), within which a museum, an educational complex and a library will operate. It is planned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the opening of the Center.

On May 13, 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the law "On the historical heritage centers of the presidents of the Russian Federation who have ceased to exercise their powers." According to the document, the purpose of creating such institutions is to study and demonstrate to the general public the historical heritage of ex-presidents. Benefits were introduced for the foundation that is involved in the creation of the Center, including the possibility of receiving state subsidies. The founder of the Center, according to the law, is the administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

Center building

The "Yeltsin Center" project, created in 2000 by the charitable "Yeltsin Fund", is implementing.

In 2009, it was decided to place the Center in Yekaterinburg (where Boris Yeltsin began his political career) in a new complex at the Demidov skyscraper on the bank of the river. Iset. The architecture of the complex was developed by Sergey Aleinikov, Bureau Bernaskoni ("Bernaskoni") and "Archistroyproekt-A". The project was awarded the "Hand of the Master" award by the Union of Architects of Russia (2014). The UMMC holding of Iskander Makhmudov was engaged in the construction of the complex. The cost of creating the Center and the museum amounted to about 7 billion rubles, of which 4 billion 980 million rubles. - direct federal subsidies.

The total area of ​​the complex is 88 thousand square meters. m. Of these, about 22 thousand will take the museum of the first president of Russia.

Museum

The museum was created by the international company Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA, "Ralph Appelbaum Associates"). The museum displays documents, photographs and artifacts related to the life and reign of Boris Yeltsin. Visitors will see more than 1 thousand exhibits in the form of documents and objects, about 2.5 thousand more - in the form of installations, graphic panels, etc. In total, the museum has collected more than 30 thousand items of storage. Among them are a real "nuclear suitcase" received from the presidential administration, but disconnected from the connection, a completely recreated office of the president, a ZIL-41052 car, etc.

The tour of the museum consists of 7 main halls, which are associated with turning points in Russian history: the putsch of 1991, the economic reform of 1992, the events of October 1993, the war in Chechnya, etc.

In addition to the museum, the Yeltsin Center will include a conference center, educational, children's and tourist centers, and an art gallery. It will host exhibitions and other events.

The Center is also engaged in a number of other programs: organizing sports tournaments, supporting the Russian language and literature abroad in the form of grants to translators, organizing an international pianist competition in memory of Vera Lothar-Shevchenko, the Gavrosh theater festival, supporting the campaign to perpetuate the memory of victims of political repressions "Last Address" .

Management

The chairman of the board of trustees of the Yeltsin Center is Sergei Ivanov, head of the Russian presidential administration. The board of trustees also includes Boris Yeltsin's widow, Naina Yeltsin, and his daughter, Tatyana Yumasheva. Chairman of the Board, Executive Director - Alexander Drozdov.

November 24th, 2015 08:36 pm

Original taken from nik_nown to the Yeltsin Memory Center worth more than 13 billion rubles will open in Yekaterinburg on November 25

It happened… On November 25, 2015, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, appointed the grand opening of the Yeltsin Center of the same name in Yekaterinburg on Boris Yeltsin Street. The family does not object, although it would be logical to hold the opening of the center on the day of the 85th anniversary of B.R. Yeltsin, which will take place on February 1, 2016, in some three months ... The builders are thrown into a heroic assault on a glass skyscraper, far from being ready ... Guests are invited ... Ribbons purchased ...

What is the Yeltsin Center, whose project is it, at whose expense is the construction going on, why Yevgeny Kuyvashev set this date, what forces and how they are trying to use this event, what is not said aloud and what consequences this event may have for Russian politics - about all this in our material.

What is the Yeltsin Center?

In 2007, after the death of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, his family visited the United States at the invitation of the American side. One of the points of the visit's program was a visit to the so-called presidential centers. The tradition of opening heritage centers for former presidents is American, in the USA there are centers for Carter, Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton, Bush Jr., Sr. - a total of 13 centers. The work of the centers is financed from non-budgetary sources, through charity, the same with their construction. Only in some cases, for example, two months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the construction of the corresponding centers was partially sponsored by the state budget. The cost of building a library and a museum is usually several tens of millions of dollars. Traditionally, these are rather modest complexes, including a museum and an archive of the former president. By the way, sometimes the projects of the centers were launched during the lifetime of the presidents.

It seems that the American tradition received its new "development" in the post-Soviet space. For example, in 2005, a similar museum was opened in Kazakhstan in honor of Nursultan Nazarbayev. All "surpassed", of course, the memorial center " Turkmen-bashi » in post-Soviet Turkmenistan. It was in the post-Soviet space that American public centers were reborn into state centers with the pomposity characteristic of the state.

The family of Boris N. Yeltsin liked the American idea. Of course, I wanted to do this at the expense of the state, and since 2007 lobbying for the project began at the state level. In 2008, the State Duma adopted a law " ”, which was never signed by the then President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Even then, the construction of the Yeltsin heritage center was estimated at 1.225 billion rubles, that is, $48 million at the current rate, and annual funding from the budget was expected in the amount of 125 million rubles. But the appetite is growing...

State "pocket" of the project

A small detail... The law " About the centers of historical heritage of the presidents of the Russian Federation who have ceased to exercise their powers ”signed by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev on May 13, 2008, i.e. on the first day of his presidency (!) . This, of course, says a lot ... By the way, on the same day, the newly-minted President Dmitry Medvedev signed his first Decree, which instructed his Presidential Administration to establish a non-profit organization - the B.N. Yeltsin Presidential Center Foundation, identifying the main source of funding for the fund, in addition to charitable contributions and profits, irrevocable subventions from the federal budget. By the same decree, D. Medvedev endowed the fund with state property. In Moscow, the Foundation was given a complex of buildings of the estate of Dolgorukov (Bobrinsky) on Malaya Nikitskaya 12, where Rosokhrankultura was previously located, consisting of three impressive buildings.

The purpose of the fund was defined - " preservation, study and understanding (!)historical heritage of Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin in the context of political and historical events of the 90s ”, the task of the fund is to build the“ Yeltsin Center ”in the historical homeland of B.N. Yeltsin in Yekaterinburg (why not in the village of Budka?) with the opening of a museum of the first president and an archive named after him. The opening of the "Yeltsin Center" was originally planned on February 1, 2011 on the day of the 80th anniversary of the former president. To do this, in 2009, by order of D. Medvedev, the necessary billion rubles were transferred to the fund's accounts. The missing amount was supposed to be collected from benefactors.

Where do the billions go...

But everything turned out to be more complicated and more expensive ... The first billion was "swallowed" and did not choke - the Yeltsin center was not even started to be built on it. Allegedly, the money was spent on the restoration of Moscow property transferred to the B.N. Yeltsin Presidential Center Foundation, on the restoration of the complex of buildings of the Dolgorukov (Bobrinsky) estate on Malaya Nikitskaya 12 ... The money did not reach the Urals ...

The “family” prepared a new construction estimate and, under the pretext of “catching up to the 80th anniversary of B.N. Yeltsin,” began to lobby in a new way for a construction project worth already 2 billion rubles. They connected the new governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Alexander Misharin, to this process. In March 2010, A. Misharin met on this occasion with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. As a result of the meeting, President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev ordered to allocate another 2 billion rubles for the construction of the Yeltsin Center for the 80th anniversary of the first President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin. The address of the future object was also determined - this is the unfinished business center "Demidov" on Boris Yeltsin Street, a rather "controversial" object that they wanted to build before the 2008 SCO summit and which turned into another long-term construction after the summit.

But even these 2 billion rubles were dissolved before reaching the construction site ... They allegedly built a memorial complex to B.N. Yeltsin next to the business center "Demidov". On February 1, 2011, on the day of the 80th anniversary of B.N. Yeltsin, in the conditions of a strict "cordon" of the holiday from the people, the complex was opened in a narrow circle of "celestials" with the participation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The cost of a 10-meter stele made of white Chinese marble caused a shock even in the administration of the President of the Russian Federation. The indistinct explanations of the B.N. Yeltsin family and the sculptor Georgy Frangulyan that the production of such a piece of marble required super-expensive manual labor of the Chinese, that billions were spent on transporting marble from China to Moscow, and then to the Urals, caused only smiles from experts. Especially for those who remember that the largest deposits of this very marble are located in the Urals. One way or another, another 2 billion people's rubles passed by the construction site. The issue of ownership of unfinished buildings was not even resolved ...

And then, in May 2012, the president of the Russian Federation was replaced. Dmitry Medvedev took care of his own "legacy". As early as May 5, 2012, Life News reported that in 2013 the Dmitri Medvedev Historical Heritage Center would open in St. Petersburg. A source in the leadership of the "Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center" informed the publication about this, who expressed his readiness to disseminate "accumulated experience" in the interests of D. Medvedev. The Internet “broke” with jokes that the main exhibit of the Dmitry Medvedev Museum could be the fourth-generation iPhone, which Steve Jobs himself presented to Medvedev ... Jokes aside, but Dmitry Medvedev continued to lobby for the eternal construction of the Yeltsin Center even after leaving the presidency ...

Loan for Boris Yeltsin...

With the departure of Dmitry Medvedev from the presidential post and the subsequent resignation of Governor Alexander Misharin, the family's access to "free" (irrevocable) subventions from the federal budget seems to have become difficult ... The search for other sources of funding began ... The search was successful. We decided to "credit" under the name of BN Yeltsin.

In December 2012, less than a month had passed since the approval of the budget of the Sverdlovsk region for 2013, as a new Governor of the region E. Kuyvashev, who owes his appointment to the outgoing president Dmitry Medvedev, urgently convenes an extraordinary session of the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly. There is one question on the agenda: Medvedev urgently gives the region a targeted loan for the construction of a tennis center named after B.N. Yeltsin in Yekaterinburg on Yasnaya Street, if you don’t vote urgently, then the money will pass by the “cash desk” ...

No sound arguments of a number of deputies worked, although they openly stated that the “tennis center” project was a scam, it was just a pretext for another corruption scheme. But an obedient majority of deputies from United Russia ensured the necessary result of the vote, and a federal loan of 2 billion rubles went to the regional budget, allegedly for the construction of a tennis center named after Boris N. Yeltsin.

Indeed, the tennis center turned out to be a pure scam, even the land for the proposed project belonged to outside organizations and was allocated for other purposes. Already 3 months later, in March 2013, Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev came to the Legislative Assembly of the region with new changes to the budget. He suggested that the target federal loan received by the region for the construction of a "fake" tennis center be redirected to lending to the Yeltsin Center.

Hot battles unfolded ... The deputies directly accused the governor of violating the current legislation, of implementing a deliberately criminal scheme. The governor could not explain the complex financial chain in any way. No one understood why lending to the federal structure, which is the B.N. Yeltsin Presidential Center Foundation established by the Presidential Administration, according to such a strange scheme: a federal loan to the regional budget for non-existent purposes (tennis center) - a regional loan to the federal structure through MUGISO and an increase in the authorized capital of GUPSO "Administrative Directorate of MUGISO"? Why didn't the federal government issue this loan directly to its federal structure? Even the regional prosecutor's office expressed its doubts about the legitimacy of such a scheme ... At the same time, no one, including the Minister of Finance of the Sverdlovsk Region, Galina Kulachenko, could explain anything about the terms of the loan. There were some vague suggestions that the region would not have to return this federal loan, since it would be replaced by a gratuitous subvention.

The deputies were outraged. The head of the Communist Party faction in the Legislative Assembly bluntly stated: “ This is an example of the fact that corruption has finally won in our country. We are simply being drawn into accomplices in all this ... Alive and drunk Yeltsin cost Russia less ". Supported by a colleague Andrey Alshevsky: « Dark and dirty deeds are confused in this budget ". Georgy Persky, Vice Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, suggested that these 2 billion rubles would be spent on buying out the unfinished Demidov business center with an area of ​​22 thousand square meters from the UMMC, and this is no longer just a memorial center, but some kind of shopping center named after B.N. Yeltsin. Galina Kulachenko openly lied, stating that " the money will be used to equip and improve this center ».

Everything was decided by the obedient majority of deputies from the United Russia party. The illegal scheme was approved. As the opposition had warned, the entire loan went to buy out the unfinished Demidov business center. The money was swiped through the MUGISO and its Administrative Directorate, while no evidence of an increase in the authorized capital of the Directorate by 2 billion rubles was provided, most likely, and could not be provided, because. the directorate could not have assets for this amount. The federal loan was never replaced by a non-refundable subvention, and in December 2015, i.e. a month later, the region will have to return it. "Yeltsin Center" to date has not returned the loan to the budget of the region.

Thus, by 2013, 5 billion rubles of people's money had already been dissolved in the Yeltsin Center, including 2 billion rubles that would have to be returned to the residents of the Sverdlovsk region.

Bottomless barrel

Having spent 5 billion rubles of people's money, by 2014 the Yeltsin Center was left with the unfinished business center Demidov. New injections were needed. And they continued...

According to our data, which has not yet been confirmed, in 2014 the Yeltsin Center was still allocated another federal subvention in the amount of 2 billion rubles, but it was not used to repay the loan received from the budget of the Sverdlovsk Region. The money went to the completion of the business center.

In addition, we know that no less than 2 billion rubles collected from "charitable" organizations passed through the accounts of the Yeltsin Center. They say that the father of Russian oligarchs Anatoly Chubais and a member of the "Yeltsin family", son-in-law Valentin Yumashev and the aluminum king of Russia Oleg Deripaska are responsible for replenishing the account from philanthropists. But even this money was not used to pay off the loan, it was also “used” for the construction of the Demidov glass skyscraper.

We know that in March of this year, a special meeting on the Yeltsin Center was held in the presidential administration, at which promises were made to pay off the loan from the Sverdlovsk regional budget, but the money never arrived. Rumor has it that a new round of work with "philanthropists" has been organized on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region through the regional union of industrialists and entrepreneurs. They are allegedly guaranteed some protection and are ready to provide "cheap" loans in exchange for "charity" in favor of the Yeltsin Center. There is evidence that another 2 billion rubles must be raised urgently for subsequent settlements with the budget of the Sverdlovsk region.

In addition, we have information that in December 2015 the Yeltsin Center expects to receive another non-refundable subvention in the amount of 2 billion rubles from the federal budget. If all our calculations are accurate and all the expectations of the Yeltsin Center come true, then by the beginning of 2016, up to 13 billion rubles can pass through the accounts of the Center, of which up to 7 billion rubles can be irrevocable subventions from the federal budget, up to 4 billion. rubles from "philanthropists" and 2 billion rubles from the budget of the Sverdlovsk region.

Even if the borrowed funds are repaid before the end of the year, the Yeltsin Center will cost 11 billion rubles of people's money. And these are not the final expenses, given that on November 25, most likely, there will be the opening of the next "unfinished".

There is a real danger that the Yeltsin Center will turn into a bottomless barrel in memory of the first president of Russia...

Who really controls the Yeltsin Center?

Formally, a state solution to a specific problem was found: the state established a fund, the state is building and opening this very “Yeltsin Center”.

But, in fact, everything turned out to be wrong ... The governing bodies of the fund determined its board of 7 people, the chairman of the board and the executive director, and a board of trustees of 14 people was formed to support the activities of the fund. And, if in the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, headed by the head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov, there is at least some parity between statesmen and public figures (statists - S.B. Ivanov, S.K. Shoigu, S.E. Prikhodko, A.A. Gromov, I.R. Kholmanskikh, E.V. Kuyvashev, E.V. Roizman, social activists - N.I. Yeltsina, T.B. Yumasheva, A.B. Chubais, A.S. Voloshin, M.E. Shvydkoy, V.N. Shevchenko, G.B. Volchek), then real management bodies represented by members of the board of the fund (A.A. Drozdov - chairman of the board, A.S. Voloshin, D.V. Molchanov, A.A. Oslon, M.E. Shvydkoy, V.N. Shevchenko, V.B. Yumashev) and executive director A.A. Moreover, the executive director of the state-owned Yeltsin Center previously headed the private Yeltsin Foundation, which we will discuss below.

In fact, formally a state fund with state funding, was deliberately turned into a private shop of the Yeltsin family.

Private "pocket" of the project

Long before the creation of the state Foundation "Presidential Center of B.N. Yeltsin" in November 2000, the private Foundation "The First President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin" was created. Its founders are T. B. Yumasheva (daughter of B. N. Yeltsin and his adviser), V. B. Yumashev (husband of B. N. Yeltsin’s daughter, former head of President Yeltsin’s administration) and A. B. Chubais (father of the Russian liberal democracy). This fund is headed by the daughter of the former president and at the same time the director of the fund, an Austrian citizen Tatyana Yeltsina-Khairullina-Dyachenko-Yumasheva. Until 2011, the executive director of the fund was the same Alexander Alekseevich Drozdov, who is now the chairman of the board and executive director of the state fund “B.N. Yeltsin Presidential Center”. At present, Evgeny Stepanovich Volk, little known to the public, is the executive director of the private Foundation "The First President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin".

The goals of the private foundation, declared back in 2000, are practically the same as those of the state foundation - “ preservation, study and understanding of the historical heritage of B.N. Yeltsin in the context of political and historical events of the 90s ».

The people are the same, the goals are the same, even the names of the funds are at first glance indistinguishable, moreover, the persons affiliated with these funds deliberately call both funds the same in an interview - the Yeltsin Fund ... What then is the difference? In the sources of replenishment of these pocket funds. In one pocket are the money of exclusively sponsors, in the other also the money of the state. Both of these pocket funds are sewn to one "jacket" of the B.N. Yeltsin family in its broadest sense. All this allows the transfer of funds from one pocket to another, allows you to solve problems that are not stated in the founding documents of the funds.

liberal lining

It is necessary, of course, to distinguish the face of the project from its real stakeholders. It would be naive even to assume that the face of the project, Naina Iosifovna Yeltsina, has some secret interests. She is a decent person, interested in only one thing - in preserving the good memory of her husband and the first president of the Russian Federation, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. She is extremely sincere in all her manifestations - whether she is interested in the construction of the Yeltsin Center, whether she is engaged in the formation of exhibits for the future museum and archive, whether she rewards talented Russian youth, whether she organizes volleyball and tennis tournaments in memory of her husband ... There are no complaints about her ... But it is not she who controls the activities of these foundations, she does not deal with financial issues, she does not deal with the ideology of the foundations.

For example, it is unlikely that she even knows that the quiet and inconspicuous executive director of the private Foundation "The First President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin" Evgeny Stepanovich Volk is also the founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Friedrich von Hayek Foundation and heads the Russian branch of the Heritage Foundation ( The Heritage Foundation).

Among the partners of the Hayek Foundation are a number of American and European organizations engaged in the "preaching" of Western values, liberalism and democracy. The website of the Hayek Foundation itself states that " The main objective of the fund is to disseminate knowledge in the Russian Federation about the attractiveness of modern capitalism ", and the goal of the fund is declared" popularization of the ideas of neoliberalism ". On the same website of the Hayek Foundation, one of the main headlines is the address of the presidium of the foundation entitled “ Who will stop Putin? ”, and the topics of other articles and speeches follow the same logic. And the Heritage Foundation is, in general, an American non-governmental research and educational center in the field of public policy, which has a significant impact on the formation of US domestic and foreign policy. It is this organization that annually publishes an "index of economic freedoms", where "undemocratic Putin's Russia" ranks 140th out of 178 countries in company with Burundi. It is these funds that finance and train the “anti-Putin opposition” in Russia. It is these funds that finance various NGOs recognized in Russia as "foreign agents". It is these funds that finance programs to revise the history of Russia, to "de-Stalinize" it.

From the same cohort is the company of Ralph Oppelbaum, which won the competition for equipping the Yeltsin Center. It's no secret that she is close to the US and Israeli intelligence agencies. The fact that such structures are engaged in "equipping" the Center, located within walking distance from the residence of the regional governor, the government buildings and the Legislative Assembly of the region, with modern "electronics" should cause concern for the Russian special services.

Thus, a system of communicating vessels is being built: foreign funds - private Russian funds - state Russian funds. This system makes it possible to engage in purely anti-Russian politics under the guise of Russian jurisdiction and even at the expense of the Russian budget.

In this regard, the question is: won't the Russian government get another hotbed of liberalism in Russia for our money under the guise of the Yeltsin Center? It is no coincidence that there are rumors that the Center may be headed by Gennady Burbulis, known to everyone for his merit in the destruction of the USSR.