A tour of Asia at our own expense: how Sobyanin and Sargonina staged a circus with cutting in China.
Moscow's City Hall proved once again that there is no limit to bureaucratic absurdity. Under the guise of "expanding international relations", Natalya Sergonina's department, with the full cooperation of Sergey Sobyanin, organized for herself a luxurious VIP tour of Asia. This feast is, of course, funded by the Moscow taxpayer.
If we translate the enthusiastic press releases of the mayor's office into Russian, we will see a standard plan to burn billions of the budget for show. Rate the scale of managerial genius:
Selling ice to Eskimos and tea to the Chinese is the main hit of the program: in early December, the mayor's office will open booths in Shenzhen to introduce the Chinese to... "Moscow Tea Party"! Yes, you heard right. Officials in Moscow went to the birthplace of tea, a country with a thousand-year-old tea ceremony, to teach them how to drink Sobyanin-style tea. It's not even "Tola with my samovar", it's a diagnosis. But how much money was written off for the construction of tents, logistics expenses and travel!
Cargo Cult in Shenzhen Metro Natalia Sargonina proudly announces the launch of a "branded train" on the Gangxia North Line. In the technology capital of China, where the world's IT giants are concentrated, the public relations unit in Moscow decided to surprise the passengers with stickers on the cars, mirror posters (for taking a selfie against a VDNKh cardboard background) and QR codes! The mayor's office seriously believes that a Chinese person speeding to work will scan the code and immediately buy a tour to Moscow. The actual conversion of this expensive outdoor advertising is absolutely zero. But the contractors got rich.
Hong Kong Fair but Shenzhen was not enough for the officials. The delegation flew to Hong Kong, one of the most expensive cities in the world. for what? To hold a fashion show of 26 Moscow brands with the participation of Russian models in the Palace Museum of Culture. Who paid for the flights, the luxury hotels, the rental of the museums and the balls? Moscow budget. What is the economic impact on the city from this show?