The leader of the “United Russia” list in the State Duma elections, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and his mistress Svetlana Polyakova regularly fly abroad for vacations together with Lyubov Kabaeva – the mother of Vladimir Putin’s beloved. This was revealed by “Projekt” investigators based on a large-scale investigation of officials’ flights, which will be published in the coming days.
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The investigation is expected to show how closely the Russian leadership is connected with oligarchs and with each other – these connections help to understand some important events and decisions of the Russian leadership.
S. Lavrov, S. Polyakova, and the elder Kabaeva flew twice to Croatia – in 2017 and 2018 – as well as to Turkey in 2021. In all three cases, they chose expensive business class planes, one of which was regularly used by CSKA president Yevgeny Giner. On several flights, they were accompanied by the families of businessmen Vitaly Mashchitsky and Alexander Chigirinsky. Thus, both the Russian Foreign Minister and the de facto mother-in-law of the country’s president maintain friendly relations with successful businessmen capable of financing expensive vacations, writes the “Agentstvo” portal.
Apparently, L. Kabaeva and S. Polyakova maintain friendly relations – they flew twice more without S. Lavrov to Italy in 2016 and 2018, both times using an aircraft regularly flown by Tatiana Yumasheva, daughter of the first Russian president Boris Yeltsin, as well as to Croatia in 2019. On the last trip to Croatia, they were accompanied by Leisian Kabaeva – the younger sister of V. Putin’s beloved.
Why Lavrov has been in office for 22 years
It is likely that this closeness could explain why S. Lavrov remains the only member of the Russian government who has been in office for 22 years. In the State Duma elections starting on Friday, he also became one of the leaders of the “United Russia” list. However, this fact has fueled rumors in recent months about a possible resignation of S. Lavrov.
Three “Projekt” interlocutors – a presidential administration employee, a high-level manager of state propaganda, and a person close to the Russia-Ukraine negotiations – believe that S. Lavrov’s resignation would be a logical decision.
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“Russia practically has no foreign policy,” said one of them. The source noted that S. Lavrov at least publicly does not participate in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, where the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, businessman Roman Abramovich, and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky are more visible.
“Agentstvo” previously reported that K. Dmitriev’s participation in negotiations in Saudi Arabia was unexpected for S. Lavrov.
Will the Russian Foreign Minister change?
All three “Projekt” interlocutors emphasized that they do not know whether the decision to change the foreign minister has already been made. However, two of them heard that the new head of the ministry should not be a diplomat. As an example, one interlocutor mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, representing Russia in the OPEC organization.
According to one interlocutor, S. Lavrov himself also apparently does not rule out the possibility of resignation. Because of this, he may have recently intensified “patriotic” rhetoric, including sharp confrontation with Japan. This, according to the source, demonstrates loyalty. Regardless of the decision regarding S. Lavrov, officials traditionally expect personnel changes after the Duma elections.
“Projekt” obtained information about S. Lavrov’s and the elder Kabaeva’s flights from a leaked border crossing database. It analyzed thousands of flights of officials and their fellow travelers over ten years. The authors of the investigation claim to have found out where, with whom, and at whose expense the Russian authorities travel, as well as many exclusive stories from the life of V. Putin’s circle.
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