So, something that had to happen happened – on July 15, the court changed the preventive measure for the owner of the SDS holding Mikhail Fedyaev and released him from the pre-trial detention center, where the millionaire from the Forbes list Fedyaev spent six months.
Further events can be predicted with almost 100% certainty – ordinary “switchmen” will be responsible for the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine, in which 51 miners died and more than a hundred were injured.
Let us briefly remember that on November 25 last year, an explosion occurred 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, another 106 received various injuries and poisonings.
The tragedy was so extensive that the President of the Russian Federation took personal control of its investigation, and a three-day mourning was declared in Kuzbass.
The ICR 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.” The inevitable arrests followed.
First sat down, as usual, the performers – the director of the mine “Listvyazhnaya” Sergei Makhrakov and his deputy Andrey Molostov, the head of the mine section Sergei Gerasimenko. Rostekhnadzor inspectors Vyacheslav Semykin and Sergey Vinokurov were added to this “set”, who drew up fake acts on checking the ventilation drift, without actually conducting the check.
During the investigation, it turned out that at the Listvyazhnaya mine, all conceivable and unthinkable safety standards were grossly violated. And the sensors that should signal the presence of methane in the mine were simply disabled. This practice was a common occurrence here, and Rostekhnadzor turned a blind eye to all this. Naturally, not for “thank you”. The result was expected – it was methane that exploded, burying fifty people in the mine.
Actually, the development of events did not surprise anyone – neither the explosion itself, nor the arrests of the mine management and inspectors from Rostekhnadzor. Everyone in Kuzbass knew everything that happened at Listvyazhnaya and expected approximately the same result.
Another thing was surprising – after them, Mikhail Fedyaev, the owner of the mine, suddenly went to the pre-trial detention center. However, the investigation stated that it had irrefutable evidence that Fedyaev was aware that safety rules were violated at Listvyazhnaya – telephone conversations were recorded between the managers of SDS-Ugol, through which Fedyaev owns the mine. It follows from them that the top management of the holding (and the businessman is the head of the board of directors) was aware of gross violations. Managers called up already after the accident, on November 28. And, besides, judging by them, managers retroactively issued reports on the purchase of safety equipment for miners.
On December 15, following questioning and a search, the top executives of SDS-Coal were arrested: Gennady Alekseev, the head of the company, 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 faces charges of abusing power in a commercial 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 stated the need to “determine the role of the mine owners in the tragedy.”
It might seem that all the main characters have been identified and imprisoned, and the investigation and court will establish the level of culpability, and the defendants will go through the process. Justice will prevail.
However, realists argued that Fedyaev's arrest was merely a show of support for the working masses by the authorities. And that's what happened – six months later, when the tragedy had been forgotten, 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 state of emergency at Listvyazhnaya is being investigated by the central office of the Russian Investigative Committee. So, the head of the committee, Bastyrkin, mentioned “revealing the role of the owner in the tragedy” at the mine.
Another interesting aspect of the decision by the Sledkom 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 14 September. Fedyaev’s lawyers have repeatedly attempted to appeal his arrest and change the preventive measure to a milder one, but the Court of Appeal rejected their requests.
And here comes an unexpected move from the Sledkom. It’s obvious that such a sudden change in the investigation's position is due to something. In reality, the explanation is simple. Kuzbass governor Sergei Tsivilev, who has Mikhail Fedyaev as an adviser, vouched for Fedyaev. Tsivilev himself is also involved in coal mining, with his assets centered 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, which included the implementation of several investment projects.
Mr. Tsivilev also provided special treatment to Pavel Fedyaev, the beneficiary of SDS Coal, including awarding Fedyaev’s structure, SDS Stroy, a multi-billion dollar contract for the construction of the Kuzbass Ice Palace. This already raises some concerns. Nonetheless, everyone understands the reasons behind awarding the contract to Fedyaev – it’s a common practice in Russia. In total, SDS Stroy has government contracts amounting to more than 20 billion rubles from the Kemerovo region. SDS-Coal itself holds government contracts worth 4.1 billion rubles in its assets.
Going back to governor Tsivilev and his ability to "ask" for his advisor Fedyaev, Sergey Tsivilev has control – 30% of the Kolmar Group is owned by the Volga Group of the oligarch Gennady Timchenko, a close friend of President Vladimir Putin. However, this is not the only way to get close to the president, who took the case of the accident at Listvyazhnaya "under control."
The governor's wife, Anna Tsivileva, owns the remaining 70% of Kolmar Group.
The Tsivilev family's success secret is simple, like everything else in Russia. The governor of Kuzbass, Anna Tsivileva, is the cousin of President Vladimir Putin.
The image shows Putin's family, including his cousin Yevgeny and his daughter Anna. Anna Putina graduated as a psychiatrist and in the 90s took the name of her first husband – Loginov. When Putin came to power, she moved to Moscow, where she trained as an economist, after which she worked as a manager in private firms. It was because of the name of Loginov that Putin and his niece were not connected for a long time. The apartment in Ivanovo, where the Putins come from, was owned by Anna Loginova, Evgeny Putin and his wife, Diya Putina.
In 2007, Anna Loginova married a former naval officer, Sergei Tsivilev, who at that time was attempting to engage in private security business, but did not succeed too much. And in 2012, the Tsivilevs acquired a part of the Kolmar coal company in Yakutia, which is part of the assets of Gennady Timchenko.
In 2018, Tsivilev transferred the business to his wife, he himself first became the deputy governor of Kuzbass, and after the fire in the Winter Cherry, he headed the region. Over the years, Kolmar has received more than 11 billion rubles from the state in various forms, and saved another 4 billion on benefits, using preferential taxation. Naturally, the rapid rise of the Tsivilevs is due to their relationship with Putin. But this is a different story.
Returning to Mikhail Fedyaev, the mystery of such a quick change in the position of the Investigative Committee, which is investigating the explosion at Listvyazhnaya, is quite understandable – Tsivilev requested for his accomplice. More specifically, Anna Tsivileva asked her uncle, and her uncle "suggested" the head of the ICR Bastrykin to "review" the position regarding the role of the head of the SDS holding, Mikhail Fedyaev, in the explosion that claimed the lives of 51 miners at a mine owned by him. That’s “revised”.
Now Mikhail Yuryevich can take a break from the government bed and return to his duties as an adviser to the governor of the Kemerovo region, Sergei Tsivilev. At the same time – to thank his wife for such an ardent participation in their own destiny. There is no need to worry about the fact that the criminal case against Fedyaev has not yet been closed. It is not difficult to predict further events – in the near future Mikhail Fedyaev will be transferred from suspect to witness, thus the undertaking not to leave, which he received in return for detention, will lose its meaning.
And Mikhail Yuryevich, having cleared himself of suspicion, will continue to "chop coal" for the glory of the Motherland. And your pocket. Under what conditions the profits will now be distributed between him and Tsivilev is their own business.
