A favor to Uncle Volodya

The whole country should have shed tears when Dasha Varfolomeeva from the Buryat village of Tugnui asked “Uncle Volodya” Putin to “be a good wizard for the New Year” and give her and her sister, who were living on their grandmother’s pension, new dresses. The good prime minister responded by inviting Dasha, her sister and grandmother to Moscow for the New Year. Buryat officials, of course, hastened to promise that they would pay for the flight for both girls and their entire family. However, it later turned out that the girls would go without relatives, but as part of a group of children from the republic who were supposed to go to Moscow anyway - but not only that: in order to include the Varfolomeev sisters on the list, officials crossed out two other children from it. The girls' mother, Natalya Varfolomeeva, reported this to Ekho Moskvy. The family is put in a rather awkward position; in addition, the adults are afraid to let the girls go alone.

Later, Ekho Moskvy reported that the government of Buryatia nevertheless bought separate tickets for Dasha, her sister and mother. The message does not mention the grandmother.