Rucriminal.info continues to publish private talks between officials and wealthy people, which Boris Berezovsky recorded for many years.
From these talks, readers can learn many secrets of Russian power and business elites, journalism, what they really discuss and think about, and do not hear from TV screens. In a new set of recordings we present the talks between the manager of ORT (Channel One) at that time on behalf of Berezovsky, Badri Patarkatsishvili, and the top manager of the channel, Konstantin Ernst. Boris Yeltsin was campaigning, concerts were to be held in Moscow with his participation. They were organized by Sergei Lisovsky, and Igor Malashenko supervised all the work of the president with TV. This obviously irritated Ernst very much.
On the first recording, an angry Ernst complains that Malashenko is making him produce a TV show of a concert with Yeltsin’s participation, styled as “Old songs about the main thing.”
“Lisovsky told me you, ORT, will film all this. Lisovsky has no money. How much money is not clear. It will be awful, we are being tricked. Malashenko sets us up. He went to x … I do not obey him. I don’t do concerts… There will be no real “Old Songs”. Artists do not want to go to Lisovsky. Malashenko says you must show it. He went to x … “- complains Ernst.
Patarkatsishvili asks for a brief explanation for the anger.
“I’m angry because Malashenko is p..”, Ernst continues to complain. Badri suggests to send Malashenko and end it.
However, later it turns out that it will not work to send Malashenko, since he is authorized for such work by the president.
In the next recording, which is published by Rucriminal.info, Patarkatsishvili tries to delicately convey this to Ernst. And in return, he offers encouragement from his superiors in the form of free accommodation at the state dacha. You will not believe it, but under Yeltsin, television managers did not have palaces on Rublyovka for hundreds of millions of dollars. And the opportunity to live at the state dacha was a significant bonus for them. Now everything has changed…
“I need arguments against Malashenko, the ones I gave, they parried,” says Badri.
The dissatisfied Ernst continues to stick to his position: “I, as the author of “Songs about the main thing”, gave permission for such a concert, but there will be no half of the artists … There will be no original scenery. We turned to Mosfilm, they were dismantled, ”Ernst is trying to find at least some arguments.
“The fox (Lisovsky – Ed.) said that the scenery would cost a hundred thousand,” says Badri.
“How much?” Ernst becomes angry. “Do you know how much all the “Songs about the main thing” cost? 120 thousand. And then … Let Igor (Malashenko-Ed.) Do this concert.
Patarkatsishvili is clearly tired of Ernst’s whims and he suggests that he himself call Malashenko and bring some convincing arguments. It can be seen from the voice that the disgruntled Ernst is giving up. Badri explains that Lisovsky and Shabdurasulov “attacked” him and offers Ernst an “encouraging prize”. “If there is an opportunity for you to live at the state dacha, will you go?”
“I don’t mind, of course,” Ernst agrees.
