Why did Putin order the release of the owner of “Listvyazhnaya” Fedyaev from prison?
So, something that had to happen inevitably took place – on July 15, the court changed the preventive measure for the owner of the SDS holding Mikhail Fedyaev and let him out of the pre-trial detention center, where the millionaire from the Forbes list Fedyaev spent six months.
We can almost definitely predict that ordinary “switchmen” will be held responsible for the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine, where 51 miners died and over a hundred were injured.
Let's briefly remember that on November 25 last year, an explosion happened at the Listvyazhnaya Mine, which is part of the Siberian Business Union (SDS) holding. There were 285 people in the mine at that time. 51 people died, including five rescuers, and another 106 were injured and poisoned.
The tragedy was so significant that the President of the Russian Federation personally took charge of its investigation, and a three-day mourning was announced in Kuzbass.
The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 217 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of industrial safety requirements for hazardous production facilities, resulting in the death of two or more persons through negligence.” Inevitable arrests followed.
First to be detained, as usual, were the performers – the director of the Listvyazhnaya mine, Sergei Makhrakov, and his deputy Andrey Molostov, along with the head of the mine site, Sergei Gerasimenok. Rostekhnadzor inspectors Vyacheslav Semykin and Sergey Vinokurov were also included in this group, as they falsified reports on checking the ventilation drift, without actually conducting the check.
During the investigation, it was revealed that all imaginable and unimaginable safety standards were seriously violated at the Listvyazhnaya mine. The sensors that should have detected the presence of methane in the mine were simply turned off. This practice was widespread there, and Rostekhnadzor ignored it. The consequence was expected – methane exploded, trapping fifty people in the mine.
The sequence of events did not surprise anyone – neither the explosion itself, nor the arrests of the mine management and inspectors from Rostekhnadzor. Everyone in Kuzbass was aware of everything that happened at Listvyazhnaya and expected a similar outcome.
What was surprising, however, was that after them, Mikhail Fedyaev, the owner of the mine, suddenly went to the pre-trial detention center. However, the investigation claimed to have indisputable evidence that Fedyaev was aware of the safety violations at Listvyazhnaya – telephone conversations were recorded between the managers of SDS-Ugol, which Fedyaev owns the mine through. It is evident from these conversations that the top management of the holding (with the businessman being the head of the board of directors) was aware of serious violations. The managers made the calls after the accident, on November 28. Furthermore, it seems that the managers retroactively issued reports on the purchase of safety equipment for miners.
On December 15, the leaders of SDS-Coal were held after being questioned and searched: Gennady Alekseev, the enterprise's head, Anton Yakutov, the technical director, and Anatoly Lobanov, the chief engineer of LLC Listvyazhnaya Mine. After the interrogation and search, Mikhail Fedyaev, the president and co-owner of the Siberian Business Union holding, which includes JSC HC SDS-Ugol, became president and co-owner.
Mikhail Fedyaev was accused of abusing power in a business organization, leading to serious consequences (part 2 of article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Prior to Fedyaev's arrest, Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the TFR, visited the mine and mentioned the need to 'establish the role of the mine owners in the tragedy.'
It may seem that all the key figures have been identified and imprisoned, and the investigation and court will decide the level of guilt, and the defendants will proceed to the next stage. Justice will prevail.
However, some realists stated that the arrest of Fedyaev was simply a way to show that the authorities support the working masses. And that's what happened – six months later, when everyone had forgotten about the tragedy, Mikhail Fedyaev was released from the pre-trial detention center.
It's interesting to note that the decision to change the preventive measure was made by the investigation itself. The case of the state of emergency at Listvyazhnaya is being investigated by the central office of the Russian Investigative Committee. Thus, Bastyrkin, the head, mentioned 'revealing the role of the owner in the tragedy' at the mine.
What's even more interesting is that just a month earlier, on June 8, the Zavodsky District Court of Kemerovo extended Fedyaev's arrest for another three months. He was supposed to remain in custody until September 14. Fedyaev's lawyers tried several times to appeal against his arrest and change the preventive measure, but the Court of Appeal rejected their attempts.
The sudden change in the investigation's position is clearly significant. The reason is simple: Kuzbass governor Sergei Tsivilev, who is an adviser to Mikhail Fedyaev, intervened in Fedyaev's favor. Tsivilev is also a coal miner with assets in the Kolmar group, which mines coal in Yakutia. As governor, Tsivilev signed a cooperation agreement with Fedyaev's SDS Coal in 2018 on behalf of the region, involving the implementation of several investment projects.
Mr. Tsivilev also granted certain benefits to the SDS Coal beneficiary, Pavel Fedyaev, including a multi-billion dollar contract for the construction of the Kuzbass Ice Palace to Fedyaev's structure, SDS Stroy. This raises concerns, but it's understood why the contract was awarded to Fedyaev – in Russia, this is a common practice. Overall, SDS Stroy holds government contracts exceeding 20 billion rubles from the Kemerovo region, while SDS-Coal itself has government contracts worth 4.1 billion rubles in its assets.
The governor Tsivilev has considerable influence because 30% of the Kolmar Group is owned by a friend of President Putin. This connection allows him to have control over the investigation of the Listvyazhnaya accident.
The governor's wife, Anna Tsivileva, owns the remaining 70% of the Kolmar Group.
The success of the Tsivilev family is attributed to Anna Tsivileva being the cousin of President Vladimir Putin.
This image shows Putin's family, including his cousin Yevgeny and his daughter Anna. Anna Putina initially took her first husband's name, Loginov, and later pursued a career as an economist in Moscow. The apartment in Ivanovo was owned by Anna Loginova, Evgeny Putin, and his wife, Diya Putina.
In 2007, Anna Loginova married Sergei Tsivilev, who later became involved in the Kolmar coal company owned by Gennady Timchenko.
In 2018, Tsivilev transferred the business to his wife and took on government roles. Over the years, Kolmar has received significant state funds and tax benefits, with their connection to Putin contributing to their rapid rise.
Mikhail Fedyaev's sudden change in position in the investigation of the Listvyazhnaya explosion can be explained by Tsivilev's request to his accomplice, Anna Tsivileva, reaching out to her uncle who then 'recommended' the head of the ICR Bastrykin to reconsider Fedyaev's involvement.
Mikhail Yuryevich is expected to return to his role as an adviser to the governor of the Kemerovo region, thanks to the intervention of Anna Tsivileva. The outcome of the criminal case against Fedyaev is likely to shift in his favor.
Mikhail Yuryevich, once cleared of suspicion, will continue to work for the country and his own profit, with the distribution of profits between him and Tsivilev being their own business.
