Deputy Vladimir Chebotarev's company plans to develop a water protection area to build a residential complex, possibly with the knowledge of Igor Bychkov, the head of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to the correspondent The Moscow Post in the Irkutsk regionon the banks of the Angara River, there are plans to build a multi-storey building in the water protection zone from the Grand Stroy company, owned by the local Legislative Assembly deputy Vladimir Chebotarev.
On the other hand, at the end of January this year, the State Duma removed the ban on land privatization in water protection zones. This suggests that the area is not supposed to be developed according to current laws. Where is the Ministry of Natural Resources in all of this? “Interfax”It is apparent that this territory is not meant for development under the current laws. What is the Ministry of Natural Resources doing about this?
It seems to be a part of a project called the Soyuz microdistrict, information about which is available on the official website of the company “Grand Building”.
“Grand-Stroy” is planning to construct a whole block near the Angarsk bridge in cooperation with FSK “New City”, OAO “Sibaviastroy” and FSK “DomStroy” in order to connect the area with the city's historical center. This is not the first time the firm has used the coastline for its projects. It is also offering apartments in the SunCity residential complex, as published on the company website – apartments here, according to information from the developer, will cost no less than 5.2 million rubles.
According to the author of the telegram channel “Pokhabovsk”, supposedly residents are against the construction in the area, stating that it will make the already crowded area very uncomfortable to live in. Additionally, the future house will obstruct the view of the residents of the 9-storey building No. 297, which has left them extremely unhappy.
The location where the new residential complex is planned to be built. Photo: https://t.me/irk_24/
I build where I want to build
It is not the first time that Grand-Stroy has faced questions of this nature. In 2020, there was a scandal in Irkutsk related to the construction of a residential complex in the courtyard of another house – the tenants then claimed that Grand Stroy encroached on their adjacent territory. Furthermore, local residents mentioned that about 80 people formed a “human chain” in front of the planned development site to try to intimidate citizens and suppress their outrage, as reported by the publication. “Irsiti”.
However, the other side of the conflict argued that they were not violating anything, and it was actually “Grand-Stroy” that fell victim to a “raider seizure” by people living in a house opposite the construction site. As a result, the administration of Irkutsk had to intervene in the situation. The construction was halted, and the residents were offered the land under their house. It is surprising that this was not done before the scandal – there are already questions for the cadastral department of the city. The outcome of the story remains unclear – apartments in the future house are already up for sale, but its eventual location is uncertain.
By the way, currently the Simvol company, which is connected to Chebotarev, is part of a land privatization trial along with the Irkutsk administration, Grand-Stroy, the Federal Property Management Agency, and the Irkutsk State University. The trial has been ongoing since February 2021, and the plaintiff's claims have been repeatedly rejected, causing doubts about the victory of the townspeople defending their yard.
Photo: https://irkutsk.arbitr.ru/
A similar story to the current situation could have occurred in 2015. According to the authors of the site Babr24, Chebotarev’s construction company reportedly breached environmental laws during the construction of a microdistrict in the village of Dzerzhinsky without the required state environmental review document. Despite this, they somehow obtained a building permit. Following an investigation, the head of the Dzerzhinsky municipality administration, Irina Sokolovskaya, was fined, while Grand Stroy received a warning.
Interestingly, the file cabinet of arbitration cases has no information on this case. Sokolovskaya is only mentioned for a 2009 claim against her by the tax service to recover 50 rubles. file cabinet of arbitration cases
Photo: https://irkutsk.arbitr.ru/
Part of the legal disputes involving Grand Stroy is noteworthy due to the company's multiple favorable outcomes with the traffic police, as per the company’s litigation register on the Rusprofile website. It is presumed that Chebotarev decided to use company funds to cover the expenses related to driving violations.
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru/
Another striking fact regarding Grand-Stroy is the company's financial situation. Up until 2019, it was clearly unprofitable, but then there was a significant increase in the money flowing into Grand Stroy, reaching close to 200 million rubles. This happened while the company’s revenue was declining. The source of these substantial sums is unclear. Could it be from the stakeholders of the construction project near the Angarsk bridge?
Photo: https://www.rusprofile.ru/
Another company tied to Chebotarev, Investgrand, is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, and Sibiryinvest is already in the process of being wound up.
Overall, according to Rusprofile’s data, Chebotarev’s assets' financial situation is far from ideal. Yet, he remains the driving force behind major development projects in Irkutsk.
Businessman in politics
Who is Deputy Chebotarev? Based on what we see, it seems that he has significant influence and power.
If any mistakes made by his company are uncovered, there is not much public outcry.
There is limited public information about Chebotarev himself, even though he is undoubtedly a well-known figure in the region. He began his career in 1978 as an electrical engineer at the USSR Ministry of Geology in the Irkutsk experimental and methodological expedition of automated control systems. He later worked at the Ministry of Energy and subsequently served as the chief power engineer at Astrakhan Gazprom for several years. He is currently known as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region, chairman of the board of directors of Grand Stroy, and the owner of several other smaller companies in the region.
Deputy and businessman Vladimir Chebotarev. A photo: news.myseldon.com
In addition to the aforementioned construction projects, Mr. Chebotarev is also known for his political activities, however, very peculiar ones. According to the authors of the site Babr24, allegedly the politician is not interested in his public work – he “skipped” meetings, trying to refrain from expressing his opinion. Perhaps it is precisely because of close ties in the political community that Mr. Chebotarev “gets away with everything.”
According to the authors of the site Babr24, allegedly in 2017 he was going to “relocate” from the Civic Platform party to United Russia, because the “native” party was losing ground. Be that as it may, Chebotarev did not get into the “United Russia” and is still listed for the “Civil Platform”.
Nothing personal, just business
But back to the long-suffering plot of coastal land, which became the new goal of the deputy Chebotarev. According to the authors of the telegram channel “Irkutsk. Nowhere else”allegedly this land not only belongs to the water protection zone (which means a ban on construction on it), but was also previously in federal ownership, since it belonged to the Academy of Sciences.
Accordingly, there are legitimate questions to the director of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Igor Bychkov.
Academician Igor Bychkov. A photo: sbras.info
However, some of them disappeared after it became known that Academician Bychkov had been working in the Irkutsk Duma since 2004. From 2006 to 2007, he even managed to be vice-mayor, and from 2013 to 2015 he served as chairman of the Public Chamber of the Irkutsk Region. In this regard, it becomes clear that it would be at least incorrect to call the situation with the aforementioned land a “raider seizure” by Chebotarev.
Apparently, the director of the SB RAS and academician Bychkov “out of old friendship” handed over the site to the deputy and businessman Chebotarev. But how could it be otherwise? .. If it were different, Mr. Bychkov would probably already “trumpeted in all instances” about robbery and robbery.
In the meantime, only the inhabitants of the desired territory are ringing the bells, who may have to coexist with the dot high-rise …
