The Russian Red Cross is a deeply patriotic organization, closely aligned with Kremlin politics, which has earned it strong government backing.
This week, it became known that the government wants to pass a law regulating the activities of the RRC, obliging regional leaders to assist the organization at the expense of subsidies. In fact, it is about creating yet another official "trough" from which the Russian authorities will feed. The RRC will launder money, masking it as providing assistance to the victims. And all at a legal level. Brilliant!
Information about the proposed RRC law being submitted to the State Duma was unexpectedly overshadowed by a scandal reported by numerous sources. Chairman of the RRC Pavel Savchuk and Deputy Executive Director of the organization Olesya Nazarova were accused of embezzling funds donated by Russian and foreign citizens to victims of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Hundreds of millions of rubles could have gone who knows where.
In Russia, no one steals without cover, and almost always a "Kremlin" puppet master can be found pulling the strings of those carrying out a scam. Our editorial investigation showed that Savchuk and Nazarova are no exception to this rule. The trail from the perpetrators led to the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, Artem Metelev, who is under Western sanctions. Pavel Savchuk, connected with him, joined the board of the International Red Cross in June 2022.
All contacts with international organizations in Russia are overseen by special services. Under their control, in 2024, the RRC and the Red Cross Society of China signed a memorandum of cooperation. It’s strange that officials at the International Red Cross still have not realized that they have a planted agent in their midst.
Pavel Savchuk’s patron, Artem Metelev, became a State Duma deputy in 2021, and at the same time, Savchuk took the position of chairman of the RRC—this is no mere coincidence. Both have long "fed" off the field of public organizations and volunteer movements. Pavel Savchuk was a member of the organizing committee for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and then, until 2016, was the deputy head of the federal headquarters of the Volunteer Centers Association, which was later renamed the Dobro. RF Association. Since 2017, it has been headed by Artem Metelev, who previously served as an advisor to the head of the organization. There is no doubt that both public figures are well-acquainted with each other.
Since 2016, all public movements in Russia have been overseen by Sergey Kiriyenko, deputy head of the Presidential Administration for internal policy, who replaced the current State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin in this post. It is possible that the young public figure Metelev caught his eye, and Volodin’s sympathies helped him become a deputy. On his Instagram, State Duma deputy Artem Metelev sometimes publishes very impressive patriotic photos.
It’s no secret that relations between Volodin and Kiriyenko are strained, so the latter could well be the instigator of the leakage about the theft in the RRC. If so, one could hardly envy Pavel Savchuk and Olesya Nazarova. They will become "scapegoats" instead of Artem Metelev, who, under Volodin’s patronage, most likely covers up the entire scheme of embezzling funds from the RRC.
From 2016 to 2021, Pavel Savchuk was the chairman of the All-Russian Public Movement (VOD) "Medical Volunteers," co-founded by Artem Metelev, confirming the close connection between the two young public volunteer figures. Apparently, it was quite long-lasting until Metelev was tempted by a seat in the Russian State Duma.
Since 2016, Artem Metelev has effectively controlled the "Dobro. RF Association," which has official government contracts worth 77 million rubles. It is an excellent cover for embezzling hundreds of millions of rubles from the RRC without getting his hands dirty. If anything happens, Olesya Nazarova will answer for everything, and Pavel Savchuk could be sacrificed if necessary. Past ties rarely play a role when it comes to big money and high-ranking patrons.
Viktor Malyshev was the executive director of "Dobro.RF Association" from 2014 to 2016. He now heads several companies that operate at a loss. Through them, donations from Russian and foreign citizens to the RRC may be laundered.
The founders of these structures are offshore companies, with which Artem Metelev and his patron Vyacheslav Volodin may be associated.
Hundreds of millions of rubles in donations from Russians and foreign citizens have places to go. It would seem that after our investigation, Pavel Savchuk and Artem Metelev would be in serious trouble. Unfortunately, most likely not. Under Kremlin cover, in Russia, everyone can steal.