Press Release, 24.01.2020

Yabloko’s Anti-Corruption Policy Centre drew up the results of a vote by the web-site visitors for awarding the Golden Toilet Brush 2019 anti-award to the most wasteful officials. Vladimir Medinsky, former Minister of Culture of Russia and currently President Putin’s aid, received most of the votes. He will receive the “golden toilet brush” for the purchase of the Ministry of Culture for screening of the documentary “I owe my millions to their work…” in Switzerland. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin got the Regional Golden toilet Brush for the purchase of 941 km of road curb stone borders for 3 billion roubles.

“The choice of “champions” in milking the budgets coincided with Vladimir Putin’s reshuffle of the government, so for many officials the “golden toilet brushes” will be a reminder of their lost posts. I hope that the awards will be useful to Vladimir Medinsky and other finalists of the anti-award in their new posts,” Alexei Karnaukhov, head of Yabloko’s Anti-Corruption Policy Centre, noted.

The nominees who came second and third received Silver Toilet Brushes. Thus, Yuri Chaika, former Public Prosecutor General, will be awarded Silver Toilet Brush for the purchase of golf carts for the Office of the Public Prosecutor General for 3 million roubles. It should be also noted that the ex-Public Prosecutor General was the absolute leader in the vote which was held in the Telegram social network. Aisen Nikolayev, Governor of Yakutia, also received a silver prize for purchasing services for 19 elite foreign cars for his trips in Moscow.

The bronze Toilet Brushes went to Alexei Miller, Chairman of the Board of Gazprom, for the purchase of Mercedes-Benz cars for 100 million roubles, and Andrei Bocharov, Governor of the Volgograd region, for the purchase of a military field tent worth 6.5 million roubles

The Golden Toilet Brush anti-award was invented by the Youth branch of Yabloko in St. Petersburg in 2008. The first prize was awarded to Valentina Matvienko, then Governor of St.Petersburg (2003-2011), for her purchase of toilet brushes for the City Administration at a price of 12,794 roubles apiece (approximately USD 474 as of the rouble/dollar rate in 2008). In 2018, Viktor Zolotov, head of the Russian Guard, won the vote of the Golden Toilet Brush. He received his anti-prize for overstating food prices for the Russian Guard by 1 billion roubles (according to the Anti-Corruption Foundation). The regional Golden Toilet Brush was awarded to Igor Ruden, Governor of the Tver region, for the state purchase of a camera for 1.83 million roubles.