A report from the courtroom and a few words about the “transparent” and targeted assistance of the Federation Foundation

The final hearings on the claim of the Federation charity foundation against actress Chulpan Khamatova passed surprisingly quickly. Chulpan was unable to come to the Moscow City Court: a rehearsal was scheduled for that day at Sovremennik before the next premiere. The presence of the head of the Federation, Vladimir Kiselyov, according to the foundation’s lawyer, was not necessary (in cassation proceedings the personal participation of the parties is not so important), and he also did not appear.

Lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant appeared before Judge Boris Gerbekov. The judge recalled the essence of the case. In October last year, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow upheld the claim of the Federation, whose founders considered Khamatova’s commentary to the Kommersant newspaper to discredit the foundation’s reputation. The actress, herself a co-founder of the Gift of Life charity foundation, told the Kommersant newspaper: “I managed to find a list of <fund trustees>, it included either people about whom no one knows anything, or simply people with a dubious reputation” (Kommersant " dated March 9, 2011). The Tver court ordered Khamatova to publish a refutation and pay a symbolic (at the request of the plaintiff) 1 ruble in compensation for moral damage. Chulpan Khamatova filed a cassation appeal, insisting that her statement was not a statement, but a personal opinion. On February 16, 2012, the complaint was considered in the Moscow City Court, and after a long debate, the judicial panel decided to postpone the decision, since a typo was discovered in the resolution of the Tverskoy Court. When it was corrected, a new meeting was scheduled.

The presiding judge asked the lawyers not to repeat themselves and to say what they wanted to draw the court's attention to. Yuliy Tay, Khamatova's representative, admitted that the word "doubtful" is not positive, but used in the form of a judgment. “What actions or omissions on the part of the plaintiff prompted the expression of doubt?” - asked Gerbekov. There is a complete lack of information about the charter, founders and governing bodies of the Federation, Tai responded, while information transparency is generally accepted among charitable foundations. “Enough,” the judge concluded. Federation's lawyer Konstantin Kozlov confirmed that the fund does not have a board of trustees. “But if the decision is implemented, then in favor of whom specifically?” - asked the judge. At this point it seemed that he was taking the defendant's side. Kozlov replied that the “Federation” has founders, a manager and a council as the highest collegial body, but among them there are no people with a dubious reputation. The lawyer did not name a single name. “The lawsuit was filed to protect the interests of the Federation Foundation,” he explained. “Thank you, I see. The panel is retiring for a meeting,” Judge Gerbekov announced. All presentations and explanations took less than half an hour.

The resolution was unexpectedly categorical: the decision of the Tverskoy District Court was upheld, the cassation appeal was not satisfied. Yuri Tai did not hide his disappointment: “Now someone has the opportunity to defend themselves from fair criticism.” He told me that during the litigation he was able to familiarize himself with the charter of the Federation, but he never saw the list of founders and the board of the foundation. “We will implement the decision, but we will appeal it to a higher authority,” Tai added. True, it is not clear to whom and to what account the compensation should be transferred. There are no indications in the lawsuit. The only option in this case is to deposit it with a notary on demand.

In the cloakroom at the exit from the Moscow City Court, the lawyers of Khamatova and the “Federation” stood next to each other and talked on their phones, without looking at each other. Yuliy Tai excitedly explained what had happened to someone, Konstantin Kozlov calmly reported. It's clear: his client won.

But the story with the transparency of the “Federation” is not over. The foundation became famous because Vladimir Putin sang Blueberry Hills at its first charity concert in December 2010. On March 30, 2012, the Federation will hold another event with the participation of foreign celebrities - a charity auction at which Kevin Costner's guitar, Woody Allen's clarinet, lots from Larry King, Thomas Anders, Jose Carreras, Sophia Loren, Julio Iglesias will be exhibited. The slogan of the action: “Stars in support of Russia’s efforts to combat serious childhood diseases.” In the list of recipients of charitable assistance on the Federation website, the first one is the courtyard of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' at the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Spreader of the Loaves” in the village of Priazovskaya, Krasnodar Territory. The question is not even how this relates to sick children (in general, the statutory goal of the foundation is “participation in projects that are of great importance for solving a wide range of social problems”). The patriarch does not have a courtyard in the Krasnodar region, and in the village of Priazovskaya there is no temple mentioned. But in the village of Priazovsky in another region of the Kuban there is a monastery in honor of the “Different of the Loaves,” which belongs to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery near Moscow, subordinate directly to Patriarch Kirill. And there is the Holy Trinity Church with a small courtyard (dormitory, library, Sunday school). So where will the money go from a fund that declares “the effectiveness of the funds used” and “the targeting and targeted nature of the initiatives”?

“Federation”: against Chulpan Khamatova and in favor of the Patriarch