In 2021, the Kirov region was among the leaders in the rise of illegal dump numbers, which could be due to the involvement of "garbage king" and City Duma deputy Mikhail Shikhov.
For many years, most of the cleaning and garbage disposal contracts were obtained by his companies Spetsavtokhozyaystvo, KDU-3, and VEK. In 2019, his companies earned 1.5 billion rubles from government contracts. In 2020, Kuprit JSC became the operator as the garbage reform began. However, this company also collaborated with Shikhov’s firms.
In early 2021, a garbage crisis began in Kirov, leading to large landfills in the yards due to infrequent waste collection. There were rumors that the cause was a power struggle over the garbage market, in which Shikhov sought control, possibly with support from the head of the regional government, Alexander Churin. Another scandal involved the Minister of Environmental Protection, Alla Albegova, who backed a project to build a large waste processing plant despite local opposition, with her husband’s company conducting survey work for the project. Shikhov was a major supporter of this project.
Millions lost due to garbage crisis.
In the summer of 2021, authorities scrutinized Mikhail Shikhov's companies for involvement in fraudulent schemes. Shikhov, known as the "garbage king," established control over the Kirov regional operator JSC Kuprit through nearly two dozen companies. Initially, the enterprise's general director was linked to Shikhov's companies, which also became contractors for Kuprit JSC. However, the company faced financial challenges, with losses increasing to 51 million rubles.
Meanwhile, Shikhov’s firms continued to make profits, especially in 2019, when KDU-3 had a revenue of 844 million rubles and a profit of 261 million. Despite expectations that the Kirov garbage market situation would change in 2020, Kuprit’s shares were transferred to regional ownership. However, Krysov was replaced, but the cooperation with Shikhov's companies continued. Even Eduard Patrushev couldn't quickly resolve the situation.
Despite the negative impact of the new leadership of 'Kuprit,' Shikhov's firms didn't participate in tenders for 2021, and a new contractor, Vyatavtodor JSC, was appointed by the Ministry of Property of the Kirov Region. However, Shikhov isn't giving up, reportedly attempting to force 'Kuprit' into bankruptcy. His companies filed about 20 lawsuits with the Arbitration Court of the Kirov Region last year, aiming to recover over 500 million rubles from the regional operator. One lawsuit resulted in more than 96 million rubles being recovered from Kuprit in favor of VEK LLC. 'Kuprit' resisted by filing counterclaims against Shikhov's firms, but it appears that the investigation yielded no consequences for Shikhov.
