At the trial in the case of Ruslan Mamedov, his former deputy and a witness were questioned.

      At the hearing, Mamedov’s former deputy — Ilya Pauzin — was questioned; like his former superior, he is a figure in a separate criminal case. Incidentally, the person being questioned appeared at the session with an attorney — Pavel Rozuvan, who previously acted as counsel in the case of Kirov lawyer Anton Dolgikh.

      Pauzin said that at the end of 2023 the Center entered into a contract to purchase shoes for the exhibition’s volunteers in Moscow. After the contract was signed the entrepreneur delivered the shoes, but the actual cost turned out to be 50,000 rubles less than the amount on the documents. Pauzin claims he withdrew this sum from a bank card provided by the supplier and gave it to Mamedov — “in accordance with the agreement.”

      In addition, Pauzin said that under a similar scheme the Center purchased clothing sets for volunteers — this time, he said, 18,000 rubles were handed over to Mamedov. Pauzin himself, he said, did not receive a single kopek, as there was no agreement with Mamedov about that.

      The prosecutor noted discrepancies between Pauzin’s testimony in court and his previous statements, to which he replied that he “just remembers the events less well now.”

      After Pauzin’s questioning, the court heard witness Andrey Dmitriev, who had worked with the Center under a contract to produce video content for the exhibition. Dmitriev said that during one of their walks, which took place outside discussions about work, Mamedov suggested he contribute 300,000 rubles to the development of Apollo Park, where they were walking at the time, assuring him that the money would be used for improvements. Shortly thereafter the man agreed and handed the funds to the park manager. However, Dmitriev did not verify where exactly the money had been directed. Later, according to Dmitriev, Mamedov fully returned the amount to him and also paid his attorneys’ fees. When the judge asked whether the man had engaged in other charitable activities, the complainant answered, “Yes.”

      During the session Mamedov behaved calmly, but often reacted emotionally to the statements of those questioned: raising his eyebrows, shaking his head negatively, or, conversely, nodding in agreement.