Does Kiriyenko filter the "waste" through Lebedev?

Rosatom, the state atomic energy corporation, ordered an environmental assessment of newhazardous waste disposal facilities. The Moscow Post correspondent says three plants will beserviced by the Research Institute of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry and Biotechnology LLC,which appeared in a criminal case on embezzlement of budget funds, allocated for theelimination of the "Black Hole" in Dzerzhinsk. A person behind the Research Institute may be alongtime acquaintance of Sergei Kiriyenko - Vladimir Lebedev, senator from the NizhnyNovgorod.

As part of the Ecology national project, Russian plants, destroying chemical weapons, are nowbeing transformed into complexes where Rosatom plans to process waste of hazard classes I andII. To mollify the protests, the state corporation orders costly service on environmental impactassessment. But it seems peace won't be achieved so easily after all.

The Research Institute will service the following factories: "Maradykovsky" (Kirov region),"Mountain" (Saratov region) and "Shchuchye" (Kurgan region). However, everyone is underapprehension that the said organization, associated with the former "Rosatom" employee SergeyKiriyenkom, may evaluate the new complexes as needed by the state corporation. Will thealleged "union" of Lebedev and Kiriyenko result in new dangerous landfills and a "leak" ofbudgetary funds for the regions?

Earlier the Research Institute had emerged in one revealing story. In 2013, it earned notorietyfor having promised to liquidate the world's dirtiest water reservoir, known as the Black Hole, for1.6 billion rubles, together with Ekoros LLC. Engineering surveys for Ekoros were beingperformed by Saratov's Research Institute.

The liquidation project shut down when the director of Ekoros, Mikhail Morozov, had gotimprisoned for fraud on a particularly large scale. As the investigation established, the contractorwasn't fulfilling his obligations, and kept providing false reports for payment, as was reported byKommersant.

According to the Telegram-channel NEZYGAR, allegedly, the real beneficiary of that contract wasVladimir Lebedev, a member of the Federation Council from the Nizhny Novgorod Region.The Research Institute had been on a loss streak from 2013 to 2016, with the largest lossreaching 24 million rubles. In 2018, the structure managed to make a profit of 1.1 million rubles.

However, the value of the asset is estimated at negative equity of 19 million. How can such acontractor be trusted to work with the state budget?

The Black Hole story did not affect Vladimir Lebedev. Moreover, following that, he managed toassign his son Andrei at Rosatom to the position of the director for the implementation of stateand industry programs in the field of ecology. Now, in his newly-acquired position, Lebedev Jr.again hired friends from the Research Institute. All for the family!

Is Andrey Lebedev working for his family's good?

The reasons for such luck are pretty obvious. Vladimir Lebedev is in warm friendly relations withSergei Kiriyenko from the Komsomol years. Therefore, it is no surprise that the state contractfrom Rosatom went to the structure, associated with a friend of Kiriyenko. This event presentsmore than enough reasons for concern.

Senator's "poisonous" business?

Key players of the garbage industry associate the Lebedev family with several companies.

Theybasically "dig out " the garbage of the Nizhny Novgorod region, which, as you know, SergeyKiriyenko considers his patrimony.Evil tongues, in particular, point at Lebedev at the mention of the “Onion Regions”.

Environmental activists once caught this company as it wanted to dump waste of the highestdegree of danger into an ordinary municipal landfill. According to the authors on the Activatikaportal, a truck with barrels of toxic waste was intercepted on the way to the landfill in Balakhna.

However, the inspections conducted prior to that by the Department of Rosprirodnadzor alongwith the Ministry of Ecology of the Nizhny Novgorod Region had not detected any legal violations.

Another mediator known in the garbage industry is Waste Management-NN JSC, with which theauthorities of the Nizhny Novgorod Region have signed concession agreements for theconstruction of landfills. The senator's family is also associated with this company, since AndreiLebedev previously worked there as a former deputy director.

The end of 2018 marked the conviction of the former director and co-founder of WasteManagement-NN JSC, Igor Gavrilov, of illegal no-licence execution of the contracts for thedisposal of waste of the 4th hazard class, including using special equipment, in the landfill site inBalakhna. The income received from the operation amounted to more than 11.226 million rubles,as was reported by Regnum.

But hardly anything has changed since then. PASMI reported that the landfill management stillplainly accepts toxic waste, which should not be landfilled there. JSC Waste Management NN stilloperates there. In relation to the leadership of the Balakhna landfill, over the past year and ahalf there have been attempts to start criminal cases for the illegal transportation of hazardouswaste, but they were nothing but futile.

A year ago, the FSB conducted inspections at the Ministry of Ecology and in CJSC "WasteManagement - NN" in Nizhny Novgorod, as was written by "Ura.ru". But, evidently, neithercriminal cases, nor any progress followed...

But the firms controlled by Lebedev aren't limited to the Nizhny Novgorod region. For instance, itbecame known last year that the Federal State Unitary Enterprise RosRAO was instructed toeliminate a giant dump of hazardous waste in Chelyabinsk. The senator and his son were claimedto be the only accountable for the organization of the appointment of RosRao.

Moreover, in reality, RosRAO can only act as a company that does not perform any work, butthrough which the budget money of the contracting organization GeoTechProject LLC passes. The same company, in turn, has already gained notoriety in the design and construction of otherlandfills. That is, can money simply be withdrawn through a commercial structure?

According to Rusprofile, despite state contracts and revenue of 119 million rubles in 2018,GeoTechProekt finished with a profit of only 484 thousand. Where does the money go then? Doesit perhaps land in the pockets of the “waste kings” - Lebedev family?

"Swan"Lake Ardino

Prior to his appointment as senator, Vladimir Lebedev was the head of the Federal ForestryAgency. In 2014, the Audit Chamber revealed numerous violations in the department amountingto 6.6 billion rubles. And, by chance, Lebedev hastened to hide under the "roof" of parliamentaryimmunity. Was there anything to be afraid of?

Lebedev has quite a past. Until 2012, he oversaw the environmental block as deputy governor ofthe Nizhny Novgorod region. In 2009, his son, Ivan Lebedev, leased a massive forest land in theLyskovsky District. According to the official version, he planned to engage in logging, huntingand beekeeping. However, the true goal could be the natural monument "The Swamp ofBakaldyn" with Lake Ardino.

The authors on the Free Press portal claimed that the pearl of the region,Lake Ardino, supposedlywent to the official’s family ... for mere 36 thousand rubles. Access to the reservoir was legallylimited, with the roads leading to it being dug up.Lebedev is called a “gamekeeper” for his eyes, since a significant part of Kiriyenko’s huntinggrounds in the Nizhny Novgorod Region was rewritten to Lebedev’s family, particularly, near Lake Ardino.

Some well-known people occasionally showed up at the lake. Rumors had it that one of themwas an ex-minister, Mikhail Abyzov, who is currently in jail for fraud and organization of acriminal community.

It seems that Lebedev keeps not only the lake, but also the waste business for his old friend.Only remotely resembling government affairs, the activities of Kirienko and Senator Lebedev aremore like get-rich-quick business. The ones paying for it are, apparently, ordinary citizens, whodo so through taxes, and, apparently, with their health.