So, something that had to happen happened – on July 15, the court changed the preventive measure for SDS holding owner Mikhail Fedyaev and released him from the pre-trial detention center, where Fedyaev from the Forbes list spent six months.
Further developments can be anticipated with almost 100% certainty – ordinary “switchmen” will be held responsible for the accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine, where 51 miners died and more than a hundred were injured.
Let us quickly remember that on November 25 last year, an explosion occurred at the Listvyazhnaya Mine, part of the Siberian Business Union (SDS) holding. At that time, there were 285 people in the mine. 51 people died, including five rescuers, and another 106 were injured.
The tragedy was so large-scale that the President of the Russian Federation personally took control of its investigation, and a three-day mourning was declared in Kuzbass.
The ICR launched a criminal case under Part 3 of Article 217 of the Russian Criminal Code “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 arrested, as usual, were the performers – the director of the Listvyazhnaya Mine, Sergei Makhrakov, his deputy Andrey Molostov, the head of the mine section Sergei Gerasimenko. Rostekhnadzor inspectors Vyacheslav Semykin and Sergey Vinokurov were also added to this group, as they drew up false reports on checking the ventilation drift without actually conducting the check.
During the investigation, it was revealed that at the Listvyazhnaya mine, all possible safety standards were blatantly violated. The sensors meant to signal the presence of methane in the mine were simply disabled. This practice was common at the mine, and Rostekhnadzor turned a blind eye to it. Predictably, not without reason. As a result, it was methane that exploded, burying fifty people in the mine.
Actually, the course of events did not surprise anyone – neither the explosion itself, nor the arrests of the mine management and Rostekhnadzor inspectors. Everyone in Kuzbass was well aware of everything that happened at Listvyazhnaya and expected a similar outcome.
Another surprising thing was the sudden transfer of Mikhail Fedyaev, the owner of the mine, to the pre-trial detention center. However, the investigation claimed to have conclusive evidence that Fedyaev was aware of the safety violations at Listvyazhnaya – phone conversations were recorded between the managers of SDS-Ugol, through which Fedyaev owns the mine. They indicated that the top management of the holding (with the businessman as the head of the board of directors) knew about the serious violations. The managers made calls after the accident, on November 28. Furthermore, the managers were seen to retroactively issue reports on the purchase of safety equipment for miners.
On December 15, following questioning and a search, the leaders 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. Following the questioning and search, Mikhail Fedyaev, the president and co-owner of the Siberian Business Union holding, including JSC HC SDS-Ugol, became president and co-owner.
Mikhail Fedyaev was accused of misusing power within a business, resulting in serious consequences (part 2 of article 201 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Before Fedyaev’s arrest, Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the TFR, visited the mine and mentioned the need to “determine the role of the mine owners in the tragedy.”
It may seem that all the main figures have been identified and imprisoned, the investigation and the court will establish the level of guilt, and the defendants will go through the stage. Justice will prevail.
But even so, realists claimed that the arrest of Fedyaev was simply “a display that the authorities are on the side of the working masses.” And so it occurred – after six months, when everyone had forgotten about the tragedy, Mikhail Fedyaev was released from the pre-trial detention center.
It is interesting 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. Therefore, Bastyrkin announced about “revealing the role of the owner in the tragedy” at the mine.
Another intriguing aspect of the Sledkom's decision 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 to be detained until September 14. Fedyaev's legal representatives have repeatedly attempted to appeal his arrest and change the preventive measure to a milder one. Nonetheless, the Court of Appeal rejected their requests.
And here comes a surprise from the Sledkom. It is evident that such a drastic change in the investigation's stance has a reason. In reality, everything is simply explained. Kuzbass governor Sergei Tsivilev, who has Mikhail Fedyaev as an adviser, intervened for Fedyaev. Tsivilev himself is a coal miner, with his assets focused in the Kolmar group, which mines coal in Yakutia. As governor, Tsivilev signed a collaboration agreement with Fedyaev’s SDS Coal in 2018 on behalf of the region, involving the implementation of several investment projects.
Mr. Tsivilev also offered certain advantages to the beneficiary of SDS Coal, Pavel Fedyaev, including Fedyaev’s organization, SDS Stroy, receiving a multi-billion dollar contract from the regional authorities for the construction of the Kuzbass Ice Palace. This raises some concerns. Nevertheless, everyone understands the reasons behind awarding the contract to Fedyaev – this is common practice in Russia. Altogether, SDS Stroy holds government contracts exceeding 20 billion rubles from the Kemerovo region. SDS-Coal itself has government contracts worth 4.1 billion rubles in its assets.
Talking again about governor Tsivilev and his ability to "pray" for his adviser Fedyaev, Sergey Tsivilev has influence because the Volga Group, which is owned by the oligarch Gennady Timchenko and is a close friend of President Vladimir Putin, owns 30% of the Kolmar Group. However, this is not the only way to get to the president, who has taken control of the investigation into the accident at Listvyazhnaya.
The wife of the governor, Anna Tsivileva, owns the remaining 70% of the Kolmar Group.
The reason for the Tsivilev family's success is simple, like everything else in Russia. Anna Tsivileva, the wife of the governor of Kuzbass, 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 the time was trying to start a private security business, which didn't succeed much. Then, in 2012, the Tsivilevs purchased 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, becoming the deputy governor of Kuzbass first, and then headed the region after the fire in the Winter Cherry. 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. The rapid rise of the Tsivilevs is naturally due to their relationship with Putin. But that's a different story.
Going back to Mikhail Fedyaev, the mystery of the rapid change in the position of the Investigative Committee, which is looking into the explosion at Listvyazhnaya, is quite understandable – Tsivilev asked for his accomplice. More specifically, Anna Tsivileva asked her uncle, and her uncle “recommended” the head of the ICR Bastrykin to “reconsider” 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, he can thank his wife for her active involvement 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.
