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Pochinok to Host Tax History Show

Former senator Alexander Pochinok Andrei Makhonin

The often outspoken Alexander Pochinok, who got kicked out of the Federation Council on July 2, will host a show on Ekho Moskvy radio about the history of taxation, "from ancient Egypt to the present day."

Pochinok, gained notoriety in the mid-'90s as a tax minister who publicly grilled celebrities, including Alla Pugachyova and her then-husband, Filipp Kirkorov, and urged them to pay taxes.

Pochinok was known for ostentatious stunts, such as flying a helicopter over rich Russians' mansions to compare their properties with their income declarations.

The liberal-leaning Ekho Moskvy's editor-in-chief, Alexei Venediktov, announced the show Tuesday on his Twitter blog but did not mention a start date.

Pochinok, who represented the Perm region in the Federation Council, was stripped of his senatorship by the locality's newly appointed governor, Viktor Basargin.

The governor said last week that Andrei Klimov, who represented Perm in the State Duma, is more connected to the region and should assume the post.

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