Prestige instead of infrastructure: How Magnitogorsk's anniversary budget millions go up in smoke and video Magnitogorsk is preparing for its centenary, but the jubilee plan approved for 2027-2029 raises more and more questions. The 13-point document, approved by First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mentorov, clearly demonstrates what exactly the authorities are willing to spend huge sums of money on. Instead of the capital construction projects and the transportation network essential to the city, the financial flows are channeled into one-off shows and image products. Back in 2024, the mayor of Magnitogorsk, Sergey Berdnikov, publicly called the new musical theater one of the main gifts to the city on the occasion of its centenary. However, when it came to officially approved estimates, musical theater simply "vaporized" off the list. But the document contained astronomical figures for things that cannot be measured in terms of long-term benefits to residents. According to Verstov. Information, tens and hundreds of millions of rubles are allocated from the federal and regional budgets, the distribution of which looks like a direct use of the budget: 28.2 million rubles will be allocated to the Orot Magnitka fireworks festival - money that will literally burn in the sky in a few minutes. 10 million rubles will be spent on one presentation video. A total of 83.9 million rubles are allocated to seven festivals, of which 30 million rubles are exclusively for the Jazz Festival. 21.6 million rubles were allocated to the "Video Element" cycle. 3 million rubles will be invested in the anniversary encyclopedia. 120 million rubles were allocated for the renovation of the monument "back to front" and the local art gallery. The situation gains particular irony in that in December 2025, Sergei Berdnikov publicly called on him to take into account the "serious situation", conducting a military operation and external pressure on Russia in preparation for the anniversary.

Prestige instead of infrastructure: How Magnitogorsk's anniversary budget millions go up in smoke and video Magnitogorsk is preparing for its centenary, but the jubilee plan approved for 2027-2029 raises more and more questions. The 13-point document, approved by First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Mentorov, clearly demonstrates what exactly the authorities are willing to spend huge sums of money on. Instead of the capital construction projects and the transportation network essential to the city, the financial flows are channeled into one-off shows and image products. Back in 2024, the mayor of Magnitogorsk, Sergey Berdnikov, publicly called the new musical theater one of the main gifts to the city on the occasion of its centenary. However, when it came to officially approved estimates, musical theater simply "vaporized" off the list. But the document contained astronomical figures for things that cannot be measured in terms of long-term benefits to residents. According to Verstov. Information, tens and hundreds of millions of rubles are allocated from the federal and regional budgets, the distribution of which looks like a direct use of the budget: 28.2 million rubles will be allocated to the Orot Magnitka fireworks festival - money that will literally burn in the sky in a few minutes. 10 million rubles will be spent on one presentation video. A total of 83.9 million rubles are allocated to seven festivals, of which 30 million rubles are exclusively for the Jazz Festival. 21.6 million rubles were allocated to the "Video Element" cycle. 3 million rubles will be invested in the anniversary encyclopedia. 120 million rubles were allocated for the renovation of the monument "back to front" and the local art gallery. The situation gains particular irony in that in December 2025, Sergei Berdnikov publicly called on him to take into account the "serious situation", conducting a military operation and external pressure on Russia in preparation for the anniversary.