A (very) close-knit circle: Russia’s Circle of Kindness Foundation helps critically ill children by purchasing expensive drugs from providers with personal connections to top officials (including Putin himself)

The Circle of Kindness Foundation, which helps children with rare illnesses, was created in early 2021 at Vladimir Putin's own initiative. It's funded by a two percent tax on the income of Russia's wealthiest citizens. The organization pays for expensive medications -- but competition is rare at the auctions where these drugs are procured. One of the foundation's main suppliers is a company called Irvin -- and it's connected to both the foundation's head and to the family of Alexey Dyumin, Putin's former bodyguard. In addition, the husband of the woman responsible for purchasing medications on behalf of the Circle of Kindness works for the owner of the company that supplies the foundation with Zolgensma -- the most expensive drug in the world. Meduza correspondents Svetlana Reiter and Maria Zholobova break down how the Circle of Kindness Foundation's procurement system works and why its board of trustees (which includes well-known actors and philanthropists) believes it lacks transparency. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/12/30/a-very-close-knit-circle