The well-known Russian opposition leader Ilya Ponomarev put an end to the issue of paying salaries for the last 10 months to the employees of his media project “February Morning”. The details of this story are told by Ponomarev’s former associates themselves, who wrote a long appeal to European activists and the authorities in hope of reaching out to those who can influence the oppositionist in one way or another.
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Financial difficulties for the project began after the murder of Darya Dugina, when the oppositionist said that he had organized the attack with some militants of the Russian Volunteer Corps (although this is not so). Then Ponomarev demanded that all subordinates support his statement, some journalists refused to do so and quit. Also, sponsors turned their backs on “February Morning” and funding stopped in August 2022.
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“We repeatedly demanded to pay off our debts and pay our due salary, but alas, without results. The behavior of I. Ponomarev is just a consequence of his attitude towards people, which, alas, was demonstrated by a person who claims to be one of the leaders of the Russian opposition, ”the Russian employees of the “February Morning” editorial office write in an appeal.
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But the general public became aware of salary delays only in December last year. Ponomarev was not frightened even by threats of courts in the EU. And the main complaint against the oppositionist is that when the funding for the project ended, he did not finish the work of the editorial office, but continued to demand new videos, texts, promising that “the money is about to come”, it’s all about “technical problems with crypto, bank accounts ” etc.
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“All this was repeated for about a month and most of the employees continued to conscientiously perform their work, which was accepted by management and had to be paid. Later, when it became clear even to the most loyal that the problems were far from being “technical,” Ponomarev changed tactics, explaining the following: “we put the work to a stop, all salary debts will be paid off without fail,” Ponomarev’s subordinates say.
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Later it turned out that the oppositionist in September 2022 hired correspondents in the same regions where he did not pay people for the work they did. He also promised a good salary to new employees at the end of the month, and, of course, inulked them too.
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And now Ponomarev, in various interviews to the question about the salaries of the “February Morning” employees, says that the salary was not provided for in the project, because the oppositionist does everything according to the will of his heart and soul.
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“We are ideologically motivated people, and whoever wanted to make money here got the wrong door,” Ilya Ponomarev said in a report by Sota. And when they heard these words, many realized that they could not wait for the promised money from the contender for the title of “the main Russian oppositionist in exile.”
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History repeats itself and we see the same corrupt, deceitful and greedy liberal opposition as on the pages of Grigory Konikh’s novel “The Elusive Avengers”. And one day everyone will see this true face. But someone, apparently, needs to lose their own money in order to understand these simple truths.
