## Accessibility links * Skip to main content * Skip to main Navigation * Skip to Search Next Close Previous Next ![\\"please](\\"/Content/responsive/img/player-spinner.png\\") ![\\"\\"](\\"\\"/) This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal ### Print Options: * Images * Multimedia * Embedded Content * Comments Cancel Print Link has been copied to clipboard * Home * United States U.S. News All About America Silicon Valley & Technology Immigration * World Africa The Americas East Asia Europe Middle East South & Central Asia * Ukraine * Press Freedom * China * Iran * Broadcast Programs ##### Follow Us Languages Search ![\\"site](\\"/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo-compact.svg\\") ![\\"site](\\"/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.svg\\") Europe Search ![\\"site](\\"/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo-print.gif\\"/) ![\\"site](\\"/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo-print_color.png\\"/) U.S. Envoy Scouted \'Social Unrest Potential\' In Russian Car Capital share * * * Previous Next Breaking News Europe # U.S. Envoy Scouted \'Social Unrest Potential\' In Russian Car Capital September 08, 2016 10:57 AM ![\\"\\"](\\" Share * * * ![\\"Nikolai](\\"\\") #### Nikolai Merkushkin Governor of Russia\'s Samara Region \"The ambassador [to Russia] of the United States [John Tefft] stayed here in Tolyatti for three days in April-May... And why did he visit Tolyatti?... Because in the spring, Tolyatti was facing a very serious economic situation.” Source: Partial transcript of speech published by Samara news portal Zasekin.ru False ...never visited Tolyatti Merkushkin, a senior member of President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party, made the statement at an August 19 meeting with residents in the central city of Tolyatti, an auto-manufacturing hub whose economy has been hammered by plunging car sales amid Russia’s economic recession.His remarks first garnered national attention after they were published August 23 by the Samara news portal Zasekin.ru. Kremlin loyalists have long accused Tefft of helping engineer revolutions that swept pro-Western governments into power in Georgia and Ukraine. allegations that he dismisses. But while Tefft did indeed visit the Samara region for three days in early April, there is no record that he ever set foot in Tolyatti during the trip. ![\\"\\"](\\" Tefft’s April 4-6 visit to Samara, the regional capital, was devoted in large part to cultural events, such as a photography exhibit about New Orleans and a concert of Broadway hits performed by the Samara State Philharmonic, according to the embassy and Russian media reports at the time. He also visited the city’s landmarks and met with business leaders, academics, and journalists working in the region. The visit was chronicled extensively by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, as well as local and federal news outlets. Russian state television even aired a report suggesting Tefft had ulterior motives for his trip to Samara, including stirring up political discord, but never suggested he had traveled to Tolyatti. Embassy spokesman Will Stevens did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether Tefft traveled to Tolyatti during the trip, though Novaya Gazeta cited unidentified embassy employees as saying that he did not. Given Tefft’s well-documented itinerary in Samara, it appears highly unlikely he would have had time to visit Tolyatti, much less spend three days there, as Merkushkin alleged. It is possible that Merkushkin merely mixed up Samara and Tolyatti. But the context in which he made references to Tolyatti indicates it was no slip of the tongue. He repeatedly referred to Tolyatti as he accused Tefft of scouting the city as a potential site for social unrest. He added that the U.S. ambassador ultimately decided it would be pointless to try and orchestrate unrest there “because there is great support in Tolyatti for the [Russian] president and significant support for the governor as well.” When a local factory worker complained about more than a year of unpaid wages, Merkushkin scolded her for her “tone” and told her to “go ask those who are stirring you up” for the money. An audio recording of the exchange published by the national Ren-TV network made it clear Merkushkin was talking about Tefft as among those “stirring up precisely these people.” The comments were the second time in the space of a few days that Merkushkin accused the United States of murky meddling in Russia’s affairs. In the earlier speech he said fluctuations in the price of oil – which he said meant Russia could barely pay pensions – were the work of specialists in the employ of the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and a charity founded by U.S. billionaire philanthropist George Soros, a favorite bugbear of Russian officials and media, banned in Russia since last year as a “threat” to state security. ## More Europe News * ![\\"FILE](\\"\\") #### Pope opens new debates on Catholic Church future * ![\\"FILE](\\"\\") #### OPEC+ unlikely to change output policy * #### Ukraine says Russian drone attack hurts 2 people in Odesa * #### Danish police investigate two blasts near Israel\'s embassy in Copenhagen * #### China\'s coast guard enters Arctic for the first time for patrol with Russia ## The Day in Photos * ![\\"An](\\"\\") #### October 1, 2024 ​ Back to top * Follow Us * * * * * * * United States * US News * Immigration * All About America * Silicon Valley & Technology * World * Africa * The Americas * East Asia Pacific * Europe * Middle East * South & Central Asia * Sections * VOA Programs * Special projects * Day in Photos * Press Freedom * Refugees * VOA News on Iran * VOA News on China * Arts & Culture * Economy & Business * Health * Extremism Watch * Student Union * 52 Documentary * Videos * More From VOA * VOAAfrica.com Programs * VOA Learning English * Editorials * About this site * Terms of Use & Privacy Notice * About VOA * Get VOA+ * VOA Around the World * Contact VOA * Media Relations * Usage Requests * VOA Pronunciation Guide XS SM MD LG
The ambassador to Russia of the United States John Tefft stayed here in Tolyatti for three days in AprilMay And why did he visit Tolyatti Because in the spring Tolyatti was facing a very serious economic situation