The opposition leader is mobilising young Russians not in thrall to superpower nostalgia, and making the Kremlin look small
The sum of €700 (£618) is not large in the context of Russian corruption, but it is a lot to spend on a toilet brush. Then again, sprawling presidential estates have a lot of toilets, which must be cleaned to a standard delivered only by Italian designer brushes.
Details like that are what make Alexei Navalny’s recent film about Vladimir Putin’s personal fortune so potent. The anti-corruption campaigner’s documentary has been viewed more than 100m times. Thanks to aerial drone footage and digital reconstructions based on leaked architectural plans, ordinary Russians have had a guided tour of what Navalny describes, without exaggeration, as a modern-day Versailles. They see what has become of money that might otherwise have been spent easing the burden of economic stagnation and the pandemic.
