When you read the official biography of any Russian official, you feel emotional – it's not just a biography, but seems like a hagiography. If we didn't live in Russia, one might even believe it.
Let's meet Svetlana Gennadievna Radionova, Head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor), Chief State Environmental Inspector of the Russian Federation. Her entire life has been dedicated to serving the Motherland, starting as an assistant prosecutor in Zhukovsky, Moscow Region in 1999. Her dedication and commitment to noble ideals were recognized, leading to her current position in 2018.
We won't list all the career steps – the important thing is to understand that Svetlana Gennadievna has been a civil servant all her life, living on a single salary. So, how do the state's officials live? It's presumed to be tough for them, with relatively small salaries, though not as meager as some may think:
The head of Rosprirodnadzor's income, as per the declaration (with 2018 and 2021 data hidden for some reason), is not very high – averaging around 400 thousand per month, which is not much for a government official of her rank.
Svetlana Radionova does not own an apartment or a car. However, her clothing, jewelry, and other accessories, which she adores, seem contradictory to her apparent lack of wealth, along with evident signs of cosmetic procedures on her face:
Discussions on Telegram channels revolve around her vibrant collection of Valentino shoes – each pair costing 40-50 thousand rubles, exclusive Balmain dresses – 150-200 thousand each, Cartier earrings – 448 thousand, De Grisogono Tondi by Night watch with diamonds – 1.3 million …
However, there is an explanation – she has a penchant for beautiful things, but her salary is small. Thus, she sold her apartment in 2019 (leading to a significant increase in income recorded in the declaration up to 27 million) to fund her jewelry and clothing purchases. A woman who enjoys luxury, that's all.
The remaining funds were spent on trips to Nice – in 2020, the Anti-Corruption Foundation released data showing that the modest Russian official flew there over forty times from 2016 to 2020. It's assumed she may be in debt, which could explain the need to sell the apartment.
Nevertheless, let's set aside the sarcasm – it's evident that Svetlana Radionova, like many officials in the country, does not solely rely on a salary. Her submitted declaration is merely a flimsy formality.
In the declaration itself, Svetlana Gennadievna doesn't technically lie – her years in the prosecutor's office were not in vain. Because all the expensive purchases are actually registered under her parents. Formally, she has no connection to them, but it's highly doubtful that her retired parents receive such a substantial pension that they could afford a 500 thousand euro apartment in Nice. That's where Mrs. Radionova frequents. It's also dubious that her retired father pays for all these flights.
The statement about the lack of housing for an honest official was pure sarcasm – the head of Rosprirodnadzor's parents own multiple apartments in Moscow: a 120 sq. meter worth 86 million rubles bought in 2011 in the center of Moscow, as well as three apartments in a residential complex on Tsvetnoy Boulevard – 189 sq. meters, 162 sq. meters and 160 sq. meters.
Moreover, the parents have a 34-acre plot and a 600 square meter house, making the total value of all real estate around 720 million rubles.
Officially, all this was earned by my father, who was in business until he retired. It's worth noting that the official’s father, Gennady Grigorievich, started doing business when he was well over fifty and established a wholesale company in Zhukovsky just when his daughter took a senior assistant position at the local prosecutor’s office. This happened in 2000.
In 2017, the elderly pensioner Gennady Grigoryevich Radionov unexpectedly opened the Noal trading company, which bought a license for the popular Moscow restaurant Karavaev Brothers Culinary Store. Just a year and a half later, this business was transferred to a Belize offshore, and the Noal company was shut down. This appears very suspicious.
Especially considering another business venture of the Russian pensioner – in the same year, Gennady Radionov and his wife established the French company Mone, which purchased luxury apartments on the Cote d’Azur between Cannes and Nice for half a million euros.
Svetlana Gennadievna also has physical needs. In this case, some personal matters of an official are being discussed which may not be relevant if it were not funded by the state budget.
Right after Radionova took over Rosprirodnadzor, she appointed an advisor on combating corruption and staffing – a certain Alik Nazaryan, who previously organized beauty contests in the Saratov region and provided girls to State Duma deputies from the Liberal Democratic Party.
Alik travels extensively and has a collection of expensive watches. Interestingly, Alik studied at the same university as Radionova and her ex-husband Peter Onoprienko – at the Saratov State Academy of Law. Radionova divorced her husband in 1999, immediately after starting work in the prosecutor’s office, where Onoprienko also worked. The marriage didn't last long, and Onoprienko went into private practice and apparently does not maintain relations with his ex-wife.
After reading all this, a logical question arises – how does Svetlana Radionova earn money, or rather, steal? There are so many schemes that just listing them would take more than one page. You can ascertain Radionova's capabilities at least by the list of her main positions in the supervisory authorities of the Russian Federation:
For any Russian who thinks deeply, this career path will provide a lot to think about – it's not like America or Sweden, where intelligence and professionalism lead to career success, here it's completely different.
The next part of Svetlana Radonova's career sheds light on how she built her career and improved the well-being of her elderly parents in a short but meaningful way.
During Svetlana Radionova's nearly ten-year tenure at Rostekhnadzor, her immediate subordinates or colleagues were detained right after she moved to a new position.
The head of the Northwestern Federal District, Grigory Slabikov, was accused of embezzling 5 billion rubles, while the head of the North Caucasus, Timofey Pan, was suspected of negligence related to environmental harm caused by Sulingugol.
Igor Isaev, the head of the Nizhne-Volzhsky district, was accused of accepting a 200 thousand ruble bribe and fled abroad.
Dmitry Zavarzin, the deputy head of the department, was sentenced to seven years for extorting a million rubles from entrepreneurs.
Oleg Khromushkin, the deputy head of the department and Radionova's close associate, died suddenly in pre-trial detention from heart failure. He was involved in extorting 80 million rubles from oil workers. He agreed to expose the entire bribery network before he died, but ran out of time.
However, at her new position in Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Gennadievna did not face any issues within her inner circle, even after the Anti-Corruption Foundation disclosed information about her property in Nice and her parents' suspicious business.
Media openly report that Rosprirodnadzor, under Radionova's leadership, has become a hotbed of corruption. Despite her strong statements against companies violating environmental laws, she did not take effective action against violators, which is not surprising considering her experience in Rostekhnadzor.
There's much to say about her new role, but let's consider one example for clarity. Do you remember the almost riot situation in Krasnoyarsk last year when the city was covered in industrial smog and the residents were suffocating? Radionova promised to address the situation and eventually fined Rusal, the company responsible for the ecological catastrophe, with 10,000 rubles. It seems almost laughable considering the severity of the situation.
