'Jerk By Christmas Tree': Conversation In Which Oligarchs Close To Kremlin Discuss Putin Posted On Net

They call 2023 "the last year for Russia".

The System (an investigative project of Current Time and Radio Svaboda) has received a link by email to a publicly posted audio recording of a conversation, allegedly by billionaire Roman Trotsenko. His interlocutor was not named in the letter, but judging from the conversation, it could be businessman Nikolai Matushevsky.

Trotsenko is the former president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation and former advisor to Rosneft president Igor Sechin, one of the businessmen relatively close to Vladimir Putin. Matushevsky, a long-time friend of Trotsenko and creator of the Moscow Flacon Design Factory, is publicly sympathetic to the opposition, for example posting videos of protests in Moscow in 2021 on his Instagram.

The letter to Sistema was sent from an email address that contained the name 'Oleg' in its name, but was not linked to any social networks. The author of the letter provided Trotsenko's real phone number as indirect evidence of the authenticity of the recording. He did not respond to questions from the editorial team.

Trotsenko confirmed that he knew Matushevsky, but had not spoken to him in "maybe a year and a half". Roman's voice on the audio recording does not sound like Trotsenko's, his acquaintance believes and suggests that the recording could have been fabricated by his competitors: "He is a big businessman, he might be in someone's way".

After the System journalist contacted Matushevsky, he said he did not know what it was about and asked for a link to the recording. After about 40 minutes (the same length as the recording itself) Matushevsky said that "this conversation did not take place". He added that he last spoke to Trotsenko in 2022 and certainly never discussed politics. "I think it's a fake or someone's stupid joke using AI [artificial intellect]," Matushevsky added.

The 40-minute phone conversation between the two men appeared on YouTube on April 17. At the time of publication, it had gained just over 100 views.

"Making Money and Keeping Power"

The dialogue between Trotsenko and Matushevsky allegedly took place in early January 2023. In the first part of the conversation, two men - they call each other Kolya and Roma - discuss a holiday in Bali. Kolya tells Roma that there are many investors and opportunities on the island. "I've been having a hard time in Russia lately, I knew something was wrong, there's nothing to do there," complains Kolya, and the man whose voice the authors of the leak attribute to Trotsenko agrees. Afterwards, Kolya details his new project, Airbnb for Business. "It's the right thing to do, don't have to recall what it was like in Russia. That's gone and won't happen again," Roma approves of the idea and notes that in Indonesia, "everything will grow tenfold in ten years, while in Russia, it will fall by half".

The pals then have a long discussion about moving and children, the infrastructure in Bali and personal affairs, but eventually the conversation turns to a discussion of the war and the situation in Russia.

"Unfortunately, Russia, which we love so sincerely, has ended up in the clutches of some assholes. Who profess, [fuck], some strange compositions, [fuck], of the 19th century. It can't end well, it'll end with hell, [fuck]. People will be killing each other in the streets of Moscow", says Roma wearily, while Kolya agrees and tries to turn the conversation to healthy food and vegetarianism. But the conversation quickly returns to politics. Kolya tells him that he recently watched a clip of New Year's greetings from presidents, "starting with Yeltsin [...] to the last one, when that jerk is not in front of the Christmas tree, as usual, but in front of the military."

"How can a country live and develop where the only ideology is making money and keeping one group of people in power?" Roman asks his interlocutor. "There is no concept of 'what's next'. They will die at some [fucking] point and leave nothing behind. It will just be a scorched desert," continues the man with a voice attributed to Trotsenko. Nikolai only sighs, and Roma continues to complain - not all Russians have got to the bottom of what's going on. "Then this simple [bullshit] will reach everyone, everyone. And it will turn out to be too late. People won't be able to withdraw money, they won't be able to leave, their children have been drafted into the war... [Horror], in short," he finishes the thought.

Then the connection disappears for a while and the pals start discussing the presidential election coming up in 2024. "2023 is the last year. Those who packed up, transferred money, organised something... Destiny, it turned everything around in 2022 and showed how it could be, but it gave 2023, [shit], to sort it all out," Roman warns Kolya and advises him to make citizenship immediately. "It will be your best investment. Look for lawyers right now," insists Roma. "Everything is falling apart in Russia. You've been given a year by fate to get all your loved ones out, to get the money out, everything you need. Do it tomorrow," he continues to press on Nikolai and says that he was offered to get Cyprus citizenship, but he refused and now it cannot be done for any money.

"I am a Russian patriot, I love my country," he retells his reaction to the proposal of Cypriot authorities. "We do love our country, but there are people who do not love it, and we can do nothing with them," sighs Kolya again. His friend tries to reassure him that in 10-15 years time his homeland will need them both. But for now the two men agree that Nikolai needs to get a new citizenship, get his money and relatives out of the country.