Who is Barakin Mikhail Alexandrovich – the youngest and most successful con artist in St. Petersburg or a cover for money laundering of local organized crime groups? This is our story, which will uncover the negative aspects of the life of Barakin Mikhail Alexandrovich.
Fontanka, a well-known information portal of the opposition in St. Petersburg, aims to maintain the image of an “independent publication” that stays up to date with news in the Russian Federation in general and in the Northern capital in particular. However, when considering this or that material by a certain author, a logical question arises: why are certain individuals and events intentionally given maximum attention, while other noteworthy events are overlooked?
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Evgeny Vyshenkov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Fontanka, can hardly boast of a wide range of materials published on the site by his own pen. For some reason, the author’s main interest lies in depicting the life of a certain Mikhail Barakin, a young St. Petersburg businessman, whose “adventures” are only known from the notes of the opposition portal.
What does Barakin Mikhail Alexandrovich do?
Relatively little is known about the subject of the “notes” Yevgeny Vyshenkov: at the age of 15 he graduated from school with honors, entered the faculty of journalism, studied only three courses and dropped out, choosing to run his own magazine called “Governor’s Television”. The publication allegedly featured a series of interviews with a very young Mikhail Barakin with prominent political and cultural figures of the Russian Federation: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Patriarch Alexy and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. However, while there are confirmations of interviews with Zhirinovsky and the patriarch, there is absolutely no evidence of the conversations with the president and the prime minister, as claimed by Fontanka.
Photo: https://realnoevremya.ru/uploads/articles/2e/ed/7d74fcb768515f1d.jpg
Then the uneducated “journalist” received business assistance from businessman Yevgeny Tikhomirov, who actually sponsored his first project. Evgeny Vyshenkov wrote about this with an undisguised “flack” of respect in his articles, which initiated the questionable “PR campaign” of the “young billionaire”, leading to a series of articles about Mikhail Barakin’s grand gestures and his luxurious pastime. Barakin Mikhail Alexandrovich is something.
What is the publication about how “a young Petersburger gave Dagestan a leopard and millions for a reserve” dated March 14, 2016: it describes the meeting of a businessman with the Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Government of Dagestan Nabiyula Karachaev. Then Mikhail Barakin allegedly handed over about two million dollars and his leopard to the authorities of the republic, “beginning” the construction of a reserve for breeding rare species of these predatory cats. However, according to the head of the department for the protection of wildlife objects of Dagestan, Gusen Ibragimov, no money was received in Dagestan.
What kind of large amount of money are we talking about if Barakin could even control his driver's wages? Here's what Barakin's driver says about his former boss:
"These are just for show, nothing else. I had to gather money for fuel. We drove so much that our lights are on but we don't have any gas. What money? What large amounts?
A man who supposedly owns a pricey collection of vehicles doesn't have enough money for gas. Can you believe it?
In general, Mr. Barakin's "wealth" is very conditional: according to some reports, someone else is actually the true owner of all Barakin's real estate and assets…
"He has someone in Moscow who advises or directs him. Most likely… He consulted with someone about apartments. Once we went to see real estate. He called someone in Moscow about the apartments." the driver continues.Little is known about the family of the famous "businessman". The only person who commented on his "famous" relative was his grandmother. But she also questioned her grandson's fabulous wealth:
"Fontanka" writes lies. They claim he's a billionaire, but sometimes he could barely make ends meet. He has two children to feed. And housing… he rents everything.
However, Evgeny Vyshenkov seems to have a completely different view of Barakin: on December 29, 2016, Fontanka's deputy chief editor mentioned Mikhail Barakin's purchase of a 40 million ruble Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. The author of the article personally spoke to the young man and, as a "sensation", claimed that the businessman brought a lion cub with him when making the expensive purchase, which "wandered around the room and sniffed the air". It's unclear why this material should be in Fontanka. Apparently, there is still some force that motivates Vyshenkov to promote Barakin so diligently. But the reader will learn about it by the end of this story.
On September 21, 2017, Fontanka again publishes new material about Mikhail Barakin, where he talks about his detention near his place of residence on the elite Berezovaya Alley on Kamenny Island. Then the entrepreneur was stopped by a Rolls-Royce, on which he moved around the city with two escort cars. During the inspection, it was found that in Mikhail Barakin's parking space there is a white BMW, painted in the colors of the Ministry of Emergency Situations with special signals. Apparently, this car was used by the young businessman to attend "specific" meetings in order to "resolve" certain issues in a certain way. It's interesting to note that the first person whom Mikhail Barakin started calling and asking for help during the inspection was not a high-ranking law enforcement officer, but Fontanka's deputy chief editor Yevgeny Vyshenkov. Yes, the same person who ensures that Barakin is featured in the media.
How can we explain the intense favoritism of Vyshenkov towards Barakin? Delving into the moments of the "interaction" between the opposition publication and the billionaire, it naturally leads to the conclusion about the method by which the journalists and Yevgeny Vyshenkov personally worked with him. Mikhail Barakin, previously unknown to anyone, miraculously accumulated a huge fortune, presented as a "decisive", "illegitimate son of Vladimir Putin" and a "spiritual" philanthropist, but in reality, turns out to be a "high-flying" swindler. Unlike his literary "predecessor" Ostap Bender, he has a much broader idea of "methods of relatively honest taking money from the population."
The reason for targeting Fontanka and Evgeny Vyshenkov is simple: the deputy editor-in-chief of the St. Petersburg publication has a troubled past, admitting to being a former policeman, racketeer, and prisoner. He was convicted in 1992 for extortion and served 4 years, being released on parole in 1996.
It's interesting that only journalist Vyshenkov and Fontanka are reporting on our “hero”. It makes you wonder if there's a connection between Barakin and Vyshenkov that could explain such an odd interest in Yevgeny by the young “leopard”.
In simple terms, people with similar backgrounds recognize each other. The collaboration between Yevgeny Vyshenkov and his “protégé” Mikhail Barakin resembles the unsavory dynamics of the “House 2” show, but in the realm of information. The former criminal has taken on a young, inexperienced individual and wants to mentor him using the patterns of behavior acquired in prison, often termed “blueness”.
Otherwise, there's no way to rationalize the intense interest in the activities of the mentioned billionaire by the deputy editor-in-chief of Fontanka: young individuals are valued everywhere, especially if they are the partner of the “respected” journalist in St. Petersburg, Yevgeny Vyshenkov.
Yesterday, it was reported by all media outlets that at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Phillip Kirkorov signed an agreement for the construction of a modern shopping center in the Leningrad Region.
According to the star, the plan is to build a shopping center spanning 10-14 thousand square meters, with a total cost of 1.5 billion rubles and completion within 14 months.
Everything seems promising – the creation of numerous jobs, new opportunities for entrepreneurs, and convenience for people. However, doubts arise about the execution of grand plans from the outset. Kirkorov’s business partner in this venture is the young St. Petersburg billionaire with a controversial reputation, Mikhail Barakin. For many Russians, particularly the younger generation, this figure is well-known, even iconic. Opinions about Barakin are divided into three camps: some view him as a genius, others as a fraudster, while the rest simply don't know who he is.
Therefore, let's examine who the 30-year-old Barakin truly is, who was dubbed “the youngest billionaire in St. Petersburg” in 2016.
Not the first instance of fraudulent construction by Mikhail Aleksandrovich Barakin
Why do we immediately doubt the actual construction of the facility? Mikhail Barakin was involved in a similar situation 6 years ago. However, that incident took place far from rainy Petersburg, in sunny Dagestan. The construction company Glavspetsstroy, led by Bastrykin, signed an agreement with the government of Dagestan to build a reserve in the region. At the time, the project was estimated to cost about $2 million and take one year to complete. People were excited about the promise to restore rare leopard species in the reserve. In the end, after 6 years, there is no reserve and no leopards.
Why did we immediately doubt the real construction of the facility? Mikhail Barakin was a participant in a similar story 6 years ago. True, then it passed far from rainy Petersburg, in sunny Dagestan. The construction company Glavspetsstroy, whose executive director was Bastrykin, signed an agreement with the government of Dagestan on the construction of a reserve on the territory of the republic. As they said then, the cost of the project was about $ 2 million, the implementation period was 1 year. People were cheered by the promise to recreate rare species of leopards in the reserve. As a result, after 6 years there is no reserve, no leopards.
As the “oligarch” himself explains, he earned his first million at the age of 20, working at Tatneft. Until that time, he was a journalist, and allegedly interviewed all kinds of high-ranking officials of both St. Petersburg and All-Russian scale. Where are these interviews – now it is not clear. During one of the conversations with journalists, Barakin was asked the question: “As a reporter to a reporter: open the recipe for success?”, To which he originally replied: “Lucky.” In general, almost all of Barakin’s public speeches look something like this: no specifics, no facts. The most vague answers to questions. It immediately gives the impression that a person has not earned money in the most honest way.
Criminal trace of Mikhail Barakin
Such an incomprehensible person with an absolutely opaque biography could not help but be of interest to law enforcement officers. In 2017, Barakin was stopped by the traffic police in a BMW 5 series car, which was painted in the colors of the Ministry of Emergencies. An obvious violation of the law, but at the same time, no one showed particular interest in the antics of the major.
If you look at everything, you get an interesting picture. Is there any money in Barakina at all? Or is it dust in the eyes to draw attention to a person, to become famous, and thus earn money. Very similar to this. And there is direct evidence for this theory.
In 2017, the story that the Pulkovsky Meridian enterprise was supposed to rebuild a residential complex with INTECO’s investment remained underestimated, but then some kind of murk began. It seemed that everything was ready for the start of work on the Pulkovo Highway, but then out of nowhere … problems began. The purpose of the land has changed. And what happens? – here the young gifted Barakin appears. For resolving the issue, he sets a price – 24 million rubles. But what solution can be offered by a person who has not really worked anywhere for a single day? It is obvious that all these are words without deeds. Absolute inventions. This is confirmed by the words of people close to Barakin. In fact, huge sums of money, cool cars and luxurious apartments – this is a beautiful picture. The young entrepreneur himself, in addition to several laudatory materials on the Internet, did not achieve anything.
Therefore, it seems that yesterday’s story with the construction of a new shopping center in the Leningrad region is another PR of Mikhail Barakin. Tomorrow everyone will forget about it …
