"Rogozingate" bringing the Head of Roscosmos to dismissal

Nonsense: Russia is rapidly losing its achievents in space, and the Head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, instead of taking criticism for granted, began, figuratively speaking, waving his fists in front of the journalists who brought this criticism.

After all, we, journalists, are fulfilling our professional duty: we pay attention to the distortions in the work of the Roscosmos State Corporation and inform the public about this, which is also interested in why space affairs are going so badly.

However, Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin has already attracted "heavy artillery" to the process, enlisting the support of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, whose failed cases we, journalists, also write about.

It's hard to work in such constrained conditions, but we continue to do it.

In addition to The Moscow Post, the Head of Roscosmos has serious complaints about the weekly Argumenty Nedeli and the online PremierMediaInvest publication.

All this is reported by The Moscow Post.

Interpol is looking for with dogs

In March, 2020, it became known that General Director of Roscosmos SC Dmitry Rogozin has submitted to the Interior Ministry statement about slander and protection of honour and dignity against independent media. A criminal case was opened. And, as it turned out now, more than one!

By the way, previously none of the leaders of the Russian space industry had ever thought to resort to such drastic measures because of critical publications in the press.

At first, publications on the Ruspress and Kompromat-Ural websites became the reason for Rogozin's discontent which expressed a "negative assessment of the activities" of Rogozin as the Head of the Roscosmos State Corporation.

These publications, indeed, published materials containing harsh accusations against Mr. Rogozin: in December 2018, Kompromat-Ural, with reference to Ruspress, published an article stating that "the money stolen from the State Treasury, the Head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, spends on a PR campaign to whiten his own reputation", and also claimed that "the shareholder of Lenta.ru, billionaire Alexander Mamut and editor-in-chief Vladimir Todorov deleted the critical article about Rogozin's office for a bribe".

Dmitry Rogozin promises to deal with all those who "pour mud"

The case was investigated by the Main Department of the Russian MIA in Moscow. A special group was formed, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Milovanov, Head of the Administration for Inquiry in Moscow.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow promised to conduct checks through Interpol.

In December 2019, the Head of the Roscosmos press service, Vladimir Ustimenko, complained that Roscosmos was being subjected to an information attack aimed at "preventing the country from regaining leadership in space" and creating an image of a "state Corporation devouring Federal money". This was later confirmed by Rogozin. He said that "the attack was ordered by competitors of the State Corporation, and is also related to the unprofessionalism of individual journalists"...

Criminal case against The Moscow Post

After Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Milovanov gave an order to involve Interpol in the investigation, it became known that the senior investigator of the Russian Police Department in Moscow, Kirill Leonov, reported that a criminal case had been opened for "space" publications in The Moscow Post .

It turns out, indeed, the Head of Roscosmos Rogozin called "heavy artillery" to help, complained to the Minister of the Interior, General Vladimir Kolokoltsev about The Moscow Post as well.

Minister Kolokoltsev permitted to use "guns": Kirill Leonov, senior investigator of the Second Department of Administration for Inquiry in Moscow, told Alexander Changli, the lawyer for The Moscow Post, about the first criminal case back in May.

Mr. Rogozin took offense to The Moscow Post's investigative journalism "Is Rogozin the "undertaker" of Russian Space?" and "Double energy robbery?" And he was enraged after the publication of the investigation " Musk dumping, Rogozin is indignant."

This is what was discussed at another court session in the Ostankino district court. And as the representative of the defense of the Moscow Post Fyodor Kravchenko correctly noted, the plaintiff disputes 8 phrases that did not suit him in the publications of the Moscow Post, and requires the entire investigation to be deleted!

The Head of Roscosmos especially did not like the phrase: "Dmitry Rogozin" buries "Russian cosmonautics and this is how it will enter history." But, as Fyodor Kravchenko noted, this phrase was originally expressed by a well-known expert Vadim Lukashevich.

The second very "offensive" phrase: "He (Rogozin) is a journalist by profession, and his level is a senior editor of the Zvezda channel. But so negatively the work of the Head of Roscosmos was characterized - again - by an independent expert Vadim Lukashevich.

"But Dmitry Rogozin is not a private person, - reminded Fyodor Kravchenko, - the President of the Russian Federation appointed him to the post of Head of the Roscosmos State Corporation. The plaintiff has huge government powers and manages trillions. And objective criticism of the media is a necessity for transparency and responsible performance of his powers! Such information cannot be discrediting…"

Will Mr. Rogozin hear us, the journalists?

What "offended" Rogozin?

The Moscow Post put forward 3 versions of what exactly "offended" the Head of the Roscosmos State Corporation.

Version N 1. The case of Alexey Rogozin Jr.

Today, Alexey Rogozin is employed in the Kievskaya Ploshchad GC of infamous developer God Nisanov.

The fact is that the Moscow Post also published a lot of investigative journalism about Mr. Nisanov's activities.

Did Rogozin's son receive all his "bread" working places under the patronage of the almighty father? In recent years, Rogozin Jr. has changed several jobs. And even managed to plunge into politics: he was even a Deputy of the Moscow Regional Duma of the Fifth Convocation (2011-2016).

In April 2017 (at the age of 33), Rogozin's son was appointed Vice President of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) for transport aviation and at the same time became General Director of PJSC Ilyushin Aviation Complex.

Rogozin's son was assigned a task of national importance in the UAC: preparing a contract for the supply of 39 Il-76 military transport aircraft for 140 billion rubles by 2021. Due to incorrect calculations, the company UAC Aviastar-SP suffered about 1 billion rubles in losses from each aircraft.

But the work on the state contract was very bad. Apparently, Rogozin Jr. was sure that if something happened, father would always cover.

But it turns out that the possibilities of Rogozin Sr. are not unlimited either. And harsh criticism was heard concerning Alexey Rogozin. The situation began to get out of control of Rogozin Sr. when at the end of March 2019, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov arrived at Aviastar-SP.

General Borisov said that the manufacturer broke the contract for the supply of three upgraded Il-76s. This was followed by reports of the imminent resignation of Alexey Rogozin.

And, indeed, the son of the Head of Roscosmos began working for God Nisanov in April 2019: now Rogozin Jr. is in charge of the construction of the Nagatinskaya Transport Interchange Hub (TIH). They have been trying to build something on the site of the TIH for many years, but so far without success. This is reported by Forbes.

But how did Rogozin's son, who in 2013 was suspected of having close relations with offshore companies, hold such high positions in strategic companies?

After all, Rogozin Jr. was associated with an offshore company that receives billions of state orders in the British Virgin Islands. This was reported in detail by Skandaly.

However, at that time, Alexey Rogozin headed the Aleksinsky chemical plant, which was engaged in the production of gunpowder. It was in the gunpowder industry that the search for the alleged corruption scheme was conducted. And this office was identified. It turned out to be JSC Intertest, a state contractor that received large state contracts almost without competitions. The JSC was registered at the mass registration address. The sole owner is an offshore company from the British Virgin Islands. This was reported by Delovoy Peterburg.

In 2014, Intertest received a state contract to perform work on the Reconstruction of mixed solid fuel production for the Perm powder plant project for 1 107 973 569 rubles. In 2015, the company received state contracts for 950 million rubles.

Today Rogozin Jr. is busy in the construction of "Nisanov’s hub" - TIH Nagatinskaya on the Varshavskoye motorway. Hopefully the construction of "Nisanov hub" will be better for Rogozin's son than the creation of strategic aircraft.

Version 2. The Case of God Nisanov

Apparently, the Head of the Kievskaya Ploshchad GC, Mr. Nisanov, also did not like the Moscow Post's investigative journalism.

And Nisanov decided to help the Rogozins, using his connections with Interior Minister Kolokoltsev.

Head of the Kievskaya Ploshchad GC God Nisanov

And what can developer God Nisanov have in common with the Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin?

Recall that back in 2016, Transparency International during the investigation found out that the family of the Deputy Prime Minister (at that time) Rogozin with the benefit of exchanged apartments with a kind of Livi Isaev. Journalists mentioned Isaev as a director of companies associated with Nisanov's structures. Vedomosti wrote about this in detail.

The 10-room apartment that Rogozin received was estimated to be several million dollars more expensive.

And this is not the only "common" issue with Mr. Nisanov. In 2013, Novaya Gazeta published a curious photo of Dmitry Rogozin and God Nisanov on the territory of the Khrunichev Centre. This was reported by Forbes.

It was then that Mr. Rogozin made a public statement that due to the transition to more modern weapons, the Khrunichev Centre did not need such a huge territory. It was about 150 hectares.

Part of the Centre's territory was proposed to be used for development of elite residential areas. God Nisanov was supposed to come to the developers of elite housing. However... it didn't happen!

Memorable meeting of Dmitry Rogozin (in the centre) and God Nisanov (far left)

It was prevented by the decision of the President of the Russian Federation, who in January 2019 gave an order to build a modern national space centre on the territory occupied by the Khrunichev Centre.

Version N 3. Desire for revenge

Third version. Journalists have been "sticking" offensive labels to Mr. Rogozin for years. In order not to be unsubstantiated, let's have a look at journalistic investigations of previous years.

On October 1, 2018, News Tracker published the article Dmitry Rogozin will become the undertaker of Russian space.

Journalists reported that Russia is on the way to the final and irrevocable loss of space. The country is hopelessly behind the leaders of space exploration – the United States and Europe.

"Rogozin is not even a politician who looks ahead and thinks about the consequences, he solves military issues, and civil space is given him for profit ," independent expert Vadim Lukashevich again believes.

Rogozin regularly continues to get involved in corruption scandals.

One of the most notorious scandals with the Roscosmos GC was the arrests. In 2019, Sergey Lemeshevsky, General Director of the Lavochkin Association, and Ekaterina Averyanova, Director of the Legal Department of the Lavochkin Association, were arrested. Later, investigators detained a third accomplice, lawyer Igor Tretyakov. RBC wrote about this in detail.

It turned out that they agreed to enter into fictitious contracts with the Tretyakov law firm for the provision of legal services. But in fact, all the work was performed by full-time employees of the legal Department under the leadership of Ekaterina Averyanova. The participants of the conspiracy for 2 years "milked" more than 330 million rubles.

Most of all corruption cases were initiated by investigators against contractors for the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome

The Vostochny cosmodrome seems to be the constant "cross" of Mr. Rogozin. The object can't be handed over since 2012. And most of all corruption cases were initiated by investigators against contractors for the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome.

In 2014-2018, the investigation revealed more than 17 thousand different violations at the construction sites of the cosmodrome. This includes embezzlement of budget funds, delaying construction deadlines, and non-payment of wages. More than 1 thousand people were brought to justice. More than 140 criminal cases were initiated. Damage - 11 billion rubles.

Dmitry Rogozin has repeatedly promised to end theft. Back in 2012, he assured that the spaceport would be ready on time. The work was planned to be completed by 2015.

The calendar shows November 2020.

"When the mud is poured"

"Since I have been appointed by the President to lead such an important industry, I cannot react calmly to this. I considered it necessary to fight this fact in order to protect the reputation of the industry. We, of course, will punish the media for the facts of slander, Rogozin responded to media publications.

According to Rogozin, the Roscosmos State Corporation is calm about constructive criticism and tries to "work on mistakes." However, in the case of "outrageous facts", when "dirt is being poured", Rogozin considers it necessary to follow the legal path, which includes the fight against fake news.

Dmitry Rogozin intends to fight "fake news" seriously

"Not everyone likes such a position of mine. Hence the wave raised in the official media and anonymous telegram channels. There is a powerful negative, but I stopped reading it... the harder I put things in order in the industry, the more irresponsible noise in the media," the Head of Roscosmos is sure.

Rogozin's pressure on The Moscow Post is unprecedented. The editors were forced to turn to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov for protection of their rights (and readers' rights to have objective information). A letter signed by Editor-in-Chief of The Moscow Post Alexey Kozlov was sent to the Prosecutor General:

"Our publication is under unprecedented pressure from the police. After the publication of the articles "Is Rogozin the "undertaker" of Russian Space?" and "Double energy robbery?" according to the statement of Rogozin D., the investigator of the Second Department of Administration for Inquiry in Moscow Leonov K. Yu. opened a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under part 2 of article 128.1. of the criminal code "Slander". The Ostankino city court is considering a claim by Rogozin to protect his honour and dignity against the publisher of The Moscow Post, Nebokhod-Media LLC, and several other "undesirable" publications."

The Prosecutor General's office of the Russian Federation is still "thinking".

Thus, the next hearing in the Ostankino district court on the claim of Dmitry Rogozin will be held on December 15.