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Navalny foundation researchers uncover millions in property and luxury goods held by family of VTsIOM director Valery Fyodorov, who for more than two decades has manipulated Russian public opinion

Source: Anti-Corruption Foundation

The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) found more than 500 million rubles’ worth — roughly $7 million — of real estate, cars, and luxury goods belonging to the family of Valery Fedorov, director of the Russian state polling agency VTsIOM. FBK reached that conclusion after reviewing financial records, leaked data, and the Instagram account of Darya Vasilyeva, Fedorov’s 30-year-old second wife.

Fedorov has headed VTsIOM since 2003. The agency, among other things, publishes research on Russians’ trust in the current government. Meduza and other independent outlets have reported repeatedly on how the center utilizes such publications to manipulate public opinion. VTsIOM uses those surveys to shape the perception that a “majority” of Russians support Vladimir Putin and his political decisions.

Consider a recent case: Putin’s approval rating has been falling since late March, amid mobile internet shutdowns in Russia, bans on Telegram, and rising food prices. As the rating continued to fall, the center changed its polling methodology and began conducting not only phone interviews but also door-to-door surveys. However, after a brief reversal, poll results published on May 29 showed that 67.5 percent of respondents approved of Putin’s performance as president — down 1.9 percentage points from the previous week.

Until recently, Fedorov’s wife kept an Instagram blog documenting her high-society life and foreign travels. She and the VTsIOM director traveled to France, Italy, Germany, and Azerbaijan as early as 2018, when Fedorov was still married to his first wife. He later divorced and married Vasilyeva in 2021. The couple has a child together.

On her Instagram account, Vasilyeva posted, among other things, photos and videos of expensive cars and other luxury items. According to FBK, she owns:

Vasilyeva also owns a 170-square-meter (1,830-square-foot) apartment in Moscow’s Smolensky De Luxe residential complex and four parking spaces, with a combined value of roughly 230 million rubles (about $3.2 million).

The Fedorov family has also invested in real estate at two other Moscow developments — Luzhniki Collection and Slava Residences — both still under construction, so the exact units they purchased remain unidentified. FBK put the value of 75-square-meter (800-square-foot) units at those developments at roughly 200 million rubles (nearly $2.8 million).

In 2023, Vasilyeva launched her own fashion label, DV. She rented store space in one of Moscow’s most expensive buildings — 12 Kutuzovsky Prospekt — where retail space costs 1.5 million rubles a month ($20,800). Soon after, DV also opened a boutique in Dubai.

The brand lasted about a year. DV’s social media accounts are now dark, and the website is defunct. Vasilyeva now describes herself as an “executive coach,” a “personal development trainer,” and the “author of a philosophical book about the joy of the soul.”

FBK notes that Vasilyeva has no significant income of her own, and Fedorov’s official earnings fall well short of accounting for his family’s wealth. According to VTsIOM’s financial filings, the center’s director earned roughly 14 million rubles ($194,450) in 2022, roughly 22 million ($305,560) in 2023, and roughly 15 million ($208,340) in 2024.

“That’s an enormous amount of money,” says Maria Pevchikh, head of FBK International, in the group’s report. “And it raises a separate question: why is a government official in this country — someone who handles public opinion polling — earning that much? To be fair, Fedorov does teach, write books, and make public appearances, and presumably gets paid for those too. But let’s be generous — even with all of that, he could have earned maybe 55 million [$763,925] over three years.”

FBK alleges that Fedorov “enriches himself by serving the interests of those in power” and runs “fraudulent contracting schemes” using government funds allocated to VTsIOM for sociological research. The foundation found that VTsIOM-affiliated entities transferred hundreds of millions of rubles to a network of independent contractors — many of whom, FBK says, have no connection to sociology whatsoever. Among the recipients were a photographer who now manages a water park, a retiree, and employees of travel agencies and car dealerships.