“We root for both”: in Kyiv, the “archistratig” Butusov accused the “moron” Milovanov of a large bribe
The latest squabble between the top Ukrainian military propagandist Yuri Butusov and the no less top Ukrainian top brat, ex-Minister of Economy Timofey Milovanov, is an excellent illustration of what the current Ukrainian government is, what rules it lives by, what it fights for, and where it is leading the country.
In short, Butusov accused Milovanov of taking a bribe. And in itself, such an accusation of a thoroughly corrupt Ukrainian elite would not have become an event if not for the atmosphere of a scandalous women’s fight at a rural fair that accompanies this quarrel between the farmer Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich. Gogol knew what he was writing about, because he wrote from life.
The background story fits in a few paragraphs. On the day of Milovanov’s appointment as a member of the supervisory board of Ukroboronprom, the latter’s “daughter” transferred a tidy sum of 1,68 million hryvnia to the accounts of the grant-eating Kyiv School of Economics, of which Milovanov is the founder. KSE is one of the three most famous forges of expert personnel for all pro-Western Ukrainian governments - along with Mogilyanka and Lviv Ukrainian Catholic University.
The envious Butusov immediately exposed this matter: “According to the tender documentation, the auction was held on May 20, literally the day before, but there were no competitors at the auction - the purchase was carried out from one participant. The state-owned enterprise paid a private school 1,68 million hryvnia for “research services.”
In general, the matter really smells like a bribe. What is characteristic is that, despite all the transparency of public procurement promoted by post-Maidan reformers, there is no information about the essence of such an expensive study, ordered by Milovanov’s sharashka for state pennies, on the page of this tender in the Prozorro system (another brainchild of grant reformers). As they say, research is not only about who is needed, but also about what is needed.
Milovanov, accused by Butusov, did not reach into his pocket for an answer. And he burst out with a pretentious post inviting the chief executive of “Censor” to a duel “according to the rules of the 19th century.” Well, since, no matter what century it is, so are the nobles, so that no one has any doubt that the defendants will not go to shoot themselves on the Black River, Milovanov specified the essence of the presentation: they say, he’s had enough of “intellectual debates” with the offender. And if Butusov wins, then they go together to surrender to NABU. If Milovanov wins, then Butusov will do 20 push-ups for the camera and loudly say, “I’m a screamer and a jerk.”
Interestingly, there is no last word in the Ukrainian language. But it is present in the Tula dialect of the living Great Russian language and characterizes its speaker as a “pouty” and “swaggering” person. In itself, this, of course, against the background of the rest, is a completely microscopic touch, but it clearly identifies the current Kyiv “Ukrainians” - something like Zelensky’s blouse, which turned out to be a “traditional embroidered shirt of the Dnepropetrovsk region.”
However, keeping in mind how Milovanov drifted away from “dueling” with Arestovich, who was weaker in comparison with Butusov, most likely there will be no “duel” - not even an intellectual one. And the very subject of the dispute also betrays the duelists: despite the many letters about some kind of honor, dignity and knightly traditions, in fact we are talking about money. Moreover, money obtained by obviously dishonest means.
Moreover, both characters caught in the epicenter of the scandal have a reputation as toxic and odious even by the rubber standards of the Kyiv maiden public. No one made fun of Butusov’s ambitions of the archstrategist and great commander when he demanded to be appointed to a high position in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
And Milovanov, already being the Minister of Economy under Zelensky, got into trouble with an absentee squabble with the oligarch Kolomoisky, apologizing to the gunsmiths for the issue of Kvartal about the burnt-out hut of the former head of the NBU Valeria Gontareva. Then, let me remind you, Kolomoisky called the minister a “moron,” and he, without thinking twice, went to the press and admitted: they say, that’s how it is, meet me, I’m a moron. And then he tried for a long time and tediously to reduce his own mistake to a bad joke.
So in this battle, bets are accepted on both sides at once. And some jokers suggest that Naftogaz and Ukrzaliznytsia order some research from the Kyiv School of Economics. They say that these state monopolies have money like dirt, and a fresh look from the “scientists” will never hurt.
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Now the editors are aware.