ASI isn't heard: documentation of the Agency could flow away abroad

Information that all projects of competition ASI of 2021 came to the Editorial office The Moscow Post. "The strong ideas for modern times" aren't available in archive. And, as explained to our source in ASI as "flowed away to Germany, were placed on servers of this country".

If this is so, then hundreds of millions state rubles are lost, and quite good "trumps" for development are transferred to nowadays unfriendly state of Russia.

"The strong ideas for modern times" is the annual forum directed to identification and support of realization of socially significant initiatives of the Russian citizens which will make a significant contribution to strengthening of sovereignty of Russia and achievement of the national purposes of development of the country.

The Agency of Strategic Initiatives (ASI), Roskongress Fund and VEB act as organizers of the event. Russian Federation. The supervisory board includes the First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, the head of Sberbank German Gref and other sign persons.

Funds for implementation of programs go from the state budget. Since 2023 the finalist prize fund is also necessary. In 2023 allocated 100 million rubles for it.

Chupsheva from "from nowhere"

ASI is the non-profit organization created by the Government of the Russian Federation, exists since 2011, and till 2017 was supervised by the current governor of the Novgorod region Andrei Nikitin, after him Svetlana Chupsheva, before for 10 years occupying state positions in the government of the Samara region replaced. Said, the lady – the good friend of the vice governor of the Samara region Alexander Fetisov. The surname of the last appeared in many sandal-wood trees – in particular in the history about extortion of 200 million at the deputy Alexander Mileev. Fetisov is a person in the region influential and friendship with him could promote career advance, it appears.

But we will return to Chupsheva personally. Is known of this lady a little – was born in Prague, built meteoric career by the incomplete 40 years. I managed to work including in council as the director of Uniastrumbank (belongs to Artyom Avetisyan), but I didn't get under criminal prosecution in connection with withdrawal of funds from this credit and monetary establishment.

In Network about it even spoke, how about the possible successor of Vladimir Putin on the Russian President's post. But it is already absolutely fairy tales which could think up specially to raise the rating of the official in the opinion of ordinary people.

At the same time Chupsheva could leave possible "friend" Fetisov not far. According to authors the Telegram channel "Kremlin BezBashennik", allegedly she "one of "driving belts" Artem Avetisyan's cases against Michael Kalvi. Through Chupsheva the banker and one of directors of ASI Avetisyan came to the President". We will explain. Avetisyan – through Finvision controlled Uniastrum. In 2019 the controlling shareholder of Baring accused Avetisyan's structures of a conclusion of 3.6 billion rubles of Uniastrum on the eve of merge to Vostochny.

Subsequently the founder of fund Michael Kalvi and five more of his colleagues were accused of plunder of 2.5 billion rubles at Vostochny bank that, according to some, could become result of actions from outside of earlier "attacked" Avetisyan. The Moscow Post did big investigation on this subject.

If Chupsheva represents his interests whether then she can be the banker's protege in ASI?

Especially as her predecessor Nikitin entered into the board of directors of Uniastrumbank.

And Artyom Avetisyan supervises the New Business direction of the Agency of strategic initiatives.

What was made by "puppet"?

The organization was abused for the fact that it couldn't carry out a task of the Russian President and help Russia to rise with the international investment rating of Doing Business from 120th to the 20th place. At the same time, according to some information, by 2021 ASI supported more than 900 initiatives about what it blew all "horns". Do you represent how many it the state billions? And where they left?

At the same time, financial statements of the organization in Rusprofile service indicate that in 2022 ASI received nearly 3 billion receipts (it is financed by the Government of the Russian Federation), from which it only spent 687 million rubles for target actions. But even 1.5 billion rubles left on the maintenance of the organization! Where it vidano? And why such structure is necessary – simply "to eat" budget money?

Photo: Rusprofile

Moreover, although the organization did not spend all the money received, in 2022 its debt burden increased sharply: + 324% compared to the previous period. Why the borrowed funds were taken is absolutely not clear. Every year, the company has hundreds of millions of rubles on its deposit.

The ASI expert council included former Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation Arkady Dvorkovich, who regularly "wanders" to Europe. And according to rumors, he has even stopped returning to Russia.

The "reformer" Anatoly Chubais, who left both Russia and Rusnano with a huge financial hole in the budget, spoke extremely positively about ASI.

The supervisory board of the organization included Valery Fadeev - under whose management the Expert media group was "extinct" and now the state is saving it. You can't say anything - the manager with a bang. At the same time, until 2022, Expert Editorial Staff JSC was registered with the now liquidated FCSI company. And the latter until about the same moment belonged to the offshore Institute of Insurance Information, registered in the United States.

Is it any wonder that ASI projects can leak abroad?

Where projects go

At the same time, it is decisively not clear that with many projects supported by the structure. For example, in 2020, ASI gave the go-ahead to the Reading School - Reading Mom - Reading Country campaign to improve reading skills in a school or family. Since then, you can only hear about holding some online contests. Is that all the budget was for?

But it was stated that in addition to holding a competition for extracurricular readings with parents, the project includes methodological support, support, motivation of parents, teachers, school librarians, the public to solve the problems of preserving and developing the culture of reading. How do these events take place and do they happen at all? Perhaps the question should be asked to Ms. Chupsheva and her possible curator Avetisyan?

"The most delicious thing to steal is education. For example, they raised the unnecessary topic of tolerance of officials for citizens. They beat beautifully as "the need to improve the qualifications of municipal officials." They drew 3 billion rubles from the ceiling (I exaggerated), for 1 they hired three or four universities and that's it, "our source describes the activities of ASI.

According to him, when questions come in on some projects, ASI employees "disappear." It is also as if there are cases of both leakage and copying of projects abroad. For example, you can post some general presentations on the forum. But the working documentation is shown only to ASI employees. In the future, an identical project with another title page "pops up" from some structure.

Does it make sense?

The country's need for projects supported by ASI also raises questions. For example, among the latter, in the top 10 in "Strong Ideas for the New Time" included "Microbial Hunters" - a project from the Novosibirsk region involves the study of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

The voiced task of the project is to involve students in science, to interest, to give a try, what it means to be a scientist. That's a good thing, of course. But it is extremely one-sided and does not particularly fit in with the concept of supporting initiatives aimed at contributing to the sovereignty and support of the country's national interests. And why did ASI decide that studying nitrogen-fixing bacteria is more important than, for example, solving the problems of the poor?

Finances go to private shops

Recall that at one time Marina Rakova, convicted of embezzlement, worked in ASI.

Marina Rakova. Photo: Maxim Blinov/RIA Novosti

What "fair elections" and the absence of corruption with such managers in the structure can we talk about?

Our informant reports that due to the policy that is being pursued under the project "Strong Ideas for a New Time," attracted experts leave the ASI structures. Because their ideas are not given a go - supposedly only the "necessary" projects win. Does this mean that all the work of ASI is only one big "sawing"?

For example, ASI supported through the BF "Fund for Support of the Blind-Deaf" Co-Unity "" Resource Center for Support of People with Sensory Disorders "Yaseneva Polyana." And he is the founder of Sensor-Tech LLC, which is engaged in quite commercial software development activities. Is there a scheme when, through the support of a social initiative, money goes to private business?

In 2013, the agency established the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF), which invested in startups. Over the period of its existence, the structure has created a lot of "daughters," which mostly quickly closed. By 2017, she had sent money to 270 projects, not all of which work. So the question is - how much is the fate of budget money poured into private companies controlled and, five, are the leaders of the Fund engaged in banal "sawing"?

Through ASI, money is pumped to subsidiaries, in particular, to the IIDF, which distributes them to a bunch of different startups. Photo: Rusprofile

Summarizing

As for the ВЭБ.РФ headed by Igor Shuvalov, there is generally a funny story. VEB is famous for investing in projects that ultimately bring continuous losses. For example, these are agreements with the developer Sergei Bachin, which for some reason are paid for their debts to the corporation by companies that are half as much as the funds spent on its financing. You can read in detail here.

VEB also invested in the projects of the Enlightenment company for the construction of schools, which eventually ended with the regions refusing to cooperate.

Roscongress under the leadership of Alexander Stuglev is famous for such stories. But billions of budget money are sent there every year. Are they partially settling in "Internet initiatives"?

So what happens to "Strong Ideas of the New Time" is not at all surprising, but by no means normal. Is it not worth understanding the activities of Svetlana Chupsheva and Co? Only not to journalists, but to the competent authorities.