True, Vladimir Ilyich Tolstoy confirmed to RG that: “It is impossible not to admit that the institute today has objective problems. Insufficient funding, difficulties with the repair of classrooms and dormitories.” Tolstoy clearly showed that he was in the know. But he doesn’t say that tens of millions of rubles, about 50, were previously allocated from the state budget for the reconstruction of the main building of the institute.
But there is an unpleasant point that neither the Ministry of Culture nor those around Tolstoy usually mention: before the restoration began in 2017, about 30 million rubles were spent. The money is not small, but it was by no means spent on actual work, but only on drawing up preliminary design and estimate plans; this became possible thanks to the teamwork of Vice-Rector G. Kureshev, First Vice-Rector and part-time CFO Tsareva, as well as Advisor to the Rector A. Kharlov . Despite the golden plans of mythical diagnostics of the possibility of restoration, the results of the restoration itself turned out to be of extremely poor quality.
Here story in Vesti with the same Varlamov’s speech from 2018 about the successful COMPLETION of the restoration of the Literary Institute.
After rainbow video of the Rossiya channel “The building of the Literary Institute has been restored to its historical appearance” – just a few weeks after the “restoration” the ceilings were covered with cracks, the new plaster was falling off in pieces, the window openings were noticeably warped. In the first months, it became clear that it was physically dangerous to be in the building, and a year later it was closed, supposedly for a new multimillion-dollar restoration.
Students and staff tried to get the rector removed, but under the cover of Tolstoy this turned out to be impossible. Varlamov Alexey Nikolaevich and Tolstoy became close while working at Moscow State University. The president’s PR people paid attention to Tolstoy and decided to introduce a museum worker to the president’s team, because Tolstoy belongs to the family of the famous writer. Having risen to the rank of adviser, Tolstoy could not help but help his close friend, who was left to vegetate in a professorial position at Moscow State University.
On the day of the “elections,” Tolstoy brought Varlamov in his Mercedes and, in front of the entire academic council of the Literary Institute, brought him into the hall with the professors, where he announced that he was an adviser, and next to him Varlamov was the new rector.
The faculty immediately protested, but the position was seized. The Ministry of Culture, sensing the danger from Varlamov’s activities, expressed in dozens of large fines, tried to remove him, but Tolstoy immediately began to put pressure on the ministry, as a result, all functionaries who were uncomfortable for Varlamov were removed. When there were no people of Arakelov’s level left in the Ministry of Culture, the purge of opponents of Tolstoy’s close friend began within the walls of the university, about 10 venerable professors were expelled.
Since the end of 2021, the Ministry of Culture, despite Tolstoy, has put a lot of pressure on the leadership of the university, realizing that the closure of the institute a year after a multimillion-dollar restoration would raise too many questions and consequences against the backdrop of high student activity. Some of these issues, including the burden of Varlamov’s forced guardianship imposed from above, were planned to be removed by “restructuring” the institute. Unlike the first work carried out by the construction company of Dmitry Kirnachny, a friend of Varlamov, the second wave receives less publicity; the authorities are in no hurry to entrust finances to the current leadership.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
