June 04, 2024

The Post that Angered a City


The Post that Angered a City
A view of Novosibirsk. Alex Polezhaev, Wikimedia Commons.

The wife of a Novosibirsk city deputy for the Kremlin party, United Russia, posted a selfie mocking the city, calling it a word that implies it is provincial and dirty. The post outraged Novosibirskians and led journalists to share information on her family's alleged wealth.

Maria Tarasova is used to sharing notes about her lavish lifestyle and latest garments on social media. But recently she uploaded a picture of herself in her car in Novosibirsk with the caption: "Greetings from Mukhosranska," a word that implies a place that is "savage, provincial, and dirty." The selfie was uploaded to a page only her friends could see, but the image was leaked, sparking anger on the internet.

Tarasova told Novosibirsk Online that she spoke offensively of her town because of its air quality. Tarasova said she is allergic to dust and said she was "beginning to choke" because of the city's smog. On the day she posted her controversial caption, she had run a race and had to stop because she could not breathe.

To add fuel to the fire, the Telegram channel Lyubit Novosibirsk (Love Novosibirsk) posted that the Tarasovs' son was studying at the French Polytechnic Institute La Jaune et La Rouge and that one of their daughters was married and living in France. Tarasova confirmed her son has been studying in France since 2021, but emphasized, "We don't pay a single rouble for this." Tarasova denied her daughter was married, as both of the family's daughters are underaged and study in a Novosibirsk school.

It is not the first time that the Tarasovs' name has circulated in Russian media. In 2023, Maria's husband Alexander (the legislator) made headlines after complaining that a picture of two men eating ice cream next to each other in the snow was "LGBT propaganda."

With the latest scandal, the family's finances came into question after tax records showed Tarasov made R685,000 ($7,100) a year, while his wife made R16 million ($176,922). Maria Tarasova has shares in six real estate and household goods businesses. Novaya Lizingovaya Kompanya (New Leasing Company), owned by her father, lists her husband as a member of the enterprise's board of directors.

 

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