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You can meet a guy like this one on any beach of the world. Who is he?
Why did he come here? Why is he lying fully dressed - nothing is known.
But these people exist. One for every beach. Maybe they're members of some secret league of idiots,
or the remains of the once-powerful order of the "Rosenkreuzers", or demented bachelors...
we'll never know.
I. Ilf, E. Petrov "The Golden Calf"
I filmed this in California, on a well-known beach.
Funny story, actually. I was acting as journalist. We found out about a banker in the United States,
ex-banker, actually.
He worked at Lehman Brothers.
So one time he's sitting in his office, and people in ski-masks rush in. FBI and Police Special Forces.
They got it all mixed up - they were actually looking for terrorists. So look what became of him.
But if anyone thinks that the same thing is going to happen to me - no. Us, Russians, we're made of different dough.
Actually, it was a nicetrip. I got to see America again.
I've always wanted to visit the south, where many of the battles took place.
I wanted to see New Orleans, Charlestown.
And I'll tell you this - America is as diverse, as it is united.
So any city you're in, no matter what you're watching - Fox, NBC or CNN - you see the unity of that country.
And when you watch Russian news, I think it separates - here's your Moscow with the powers and the flashy cars,
and 200 km from Moscow is a different country. You can see it in the news really clear.
So no matter how much we curse the U.S. and blame it on everything bad that happens to us
I'll tell you - we should learn a thing or two from them.
But not from this banker, who immediately surrendered.
So about the masks.
I really don't want to work the way it goes in Saltykov's short story - "How a peasant fed two generals".
First of all - I'm not your typical peasant, even though I do produce potatoes for millions of people
and provide them with TU-204 aircraft and also I buid low-cost social housing for the masses.
Something, by the way, which is neglected by foreign investors. So it's useless to explain all that in Davos.
So, anyway, I don't want to feed those generals, and I've got more than two to feed, also.
But I'd like to explain to those generals that to create a criminal suit from scratch like they used to do in 1937 is foolish.
Especially on the grounds of "unidentified" persons in my Bank appropriated the Central Bank deposit.
First of all - if you ask the Central Bank, you'll know that the deposit was returned on 27 of October of 2009.
Not 2010.
Second of all, if you think that there's a bancrupt bank, and NRB sanated two banks
Elektronica and Rossiskyi Capital
if you think one can make money off of that - than you are idiots. Sorry.
Because all one could do on such business is lose money.
And I had to write to the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance,
who've asked me to sanate the Rossiyskiy Capital Bank,
that we have losses of $50 million as the result.
As for you - our losses estimate at around $33 million.
And if you think that this will all go away and you can just forget about this
and I will forget about this - you're wrong.
That's why soon you'll see a story unfold, not unlike the storied we had in 96, in 2000
with the ex Prosecutor General Skuratov,
Egiazarian Brothers, who are now in hiding in California and asking for political refuge,
and if our prosecution asks for extradition I'll be sure to present them with all the necessary proof
of racketeering and extortion performed by an organised crime group
where all of the above took part.
But in my case for justice to be served it took 10 years.
I hope the country has moved up since then.
Our delegation in Davos can advertise out business-climate and investor-climate all they want
but one Chichvakrin case, one Storchak case,
one Magnitsky case and one masked assault case at the NRB can throw off all work done for years.
But I like what Medvedev is doing, I like what the Prime-Minister is doing
but in the past three months I have exhausted all my options of legally defending my rights
and I have no other options.
We've lost the court case, Interior Affairs Ministry refused all of our requests, prosecution also, FSB doesn't even grant us a reply.
All NGO's - Industrial-Business Union, Small Business Union, Business Russia - zero replies.
And I'm a member in every one of those organisations, I pay member fees.
Parliamentary inquiry - no effect.
We're asking - what else do we do? Maybe there's a party, which, if I join it, is going to help me acheive justice?
No. No such party. No active party satisfies me.
Maybe I can go to my representative? No, also not an option.
I really appreciate all the members of the executive branch who've talked to me and read my complaints
and said that it's a misunderstanding that will soon dissolve, but they can't do much.
So let's think. And that here is the point of our own television.
Of course we'll keep fighing Karaulov, and to Karaulov we'll add all the other members of the Moscow shows
who've driven the city to the point of crazy.
We'll give you news, and not just the news.
Analytical news, something that airs before everyone else.
And of course we'll have Breakfasts with Alexander Lebedev
where we'll invite interesting people to speak.
So you just wait, our TV project may as well push aside key state television channels.
Also, I support the idea of a public television to be made on the basis of TVC.
And the idea's not mine - it belongs to Putin and Surkov.
And the current Mayor of Moscow can acheive it.
But for now, my friends, - we'll help ourselves.
Almost forgot
I've got a fireman's helmet here
and I wrote a letter to Medvedev today.
You see, the police and FSB have stopped visiting us here, which is a huge relief,
especially right before Davos.
But the firemen came. They came to the best building in the country.
Class A, where fire-prevention and security systems cost over $22 million,
where RosNano is housed and where Putin visited last October.
The firemen instructed us that the building is not fire-safe enough.
A bit late, I mean, we've been here for a year. How did they let Putin in here than?
So we're ordered to close it down, our half - not RosNano.
Interesting how all that is going to play out.
That's why tomorrow I'm dressing up as a fireman, taking 2-3 fire-safety experts along
(goodold soviet experts, unable to lie like they do today)
I'll check the building with them, show it to them and I'll try to explain to the authority, to the high power in Russia, that...
comon, guys, this is not going to work. How can you close the HQ down?
And keep RosNano opened. We're sharing the building, you know. We built it.
And believe me, for my employees, for myself and for Chubays - I *can* build a fireproof building
with the lated in fire extinguishing technology.
Stop sending me rogue, corrupt firemen, please!
"Enough! Screamed the great combinateur!
I shall not wait any long.
We'll have to act not only on the ground, but at sea!"
I. Ilf, E. Petrov "The Golden Calf"