Former Russian cabinet minister takes effective control of an American-owned canned food company seized by the Kremlin

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The company “Druzhba Narodov” (lit. “Friendship of the Peoples”), which maintains ties to former Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev and is notorious for supplying food to the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya), has taken control of a facility that is still officially owned by an American firm. The Insider discovered that since November 2024, representatives of Druzhba Narodov have been steering key decisions at The Baltic Canning Factory, located in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region. The Baltic Canning Factory itself is owned by the firm Glavprodukt, which in turn is owned by American businessman Leonid Smirnov’s Universal Beverage Company.

This takeover of a Glavprodukt facility by Druzhba Narodov offers further evidence of what amounts to a corporate raid — one carried out at the expense of Rosimushchestvo, the Russian federal agency temporarily managing the company. According to documents obtained by The Insider, a lease agreement was signed in early March 2025 allowing “Druzhba Narodov” to rent premises and equipment at the Baltic Canning Factory. Under the terms, Druzhba Narodov is allowed to produce canned goods using the plant’s production lines every even-numbered day of the month.

Sources close to Glavprodukt told The Insider that, in effect, Druzhba Narodov was granted access to the factory’s workforce, raw materials, and equipment — without providing its own resources. The products manufactured on the even-numbered days — essentially half of the plant’s total output — are reportedly claimed by Druzhba Narodov as their own, on the basis that they were produced during their designated shifts.

As one legal expert familiar with Glavprodukt’s ownership structure explained to The Insider, the actions of Druzhba Narodov are not only detrimental to Glavprodukt, but are ultimately harming Rosimushchestvo, which holds nominal control of the canned food manufacturer.

In October last year, the Russian state assumed temporary management over not just Glavprodukt’s parent company — whose brand appears on its canned meat products — but also subsidiaries such as United Canning Plants LLC (ООО «Объединенные консервные заводы») and Orelprodukt JSC (АО «Орелпродукт»), which oversee the Kaliningrad factory. Officially, the reason cited was the owner’s status as a citizen of an “unfriendly country” — in this case, the United States of America. Alternatively, according to a source cited by the newspaper Kommersant, the real motivation behind the move was to “ensure national food security.” The publication's source added that “following the de facto nationalization, the company will supply the majority of its products for government needs.”

As The Insider previously reported, managers from Druzhba Narodov took over all core administrative functions at Glavprodukt in November 2024, including its HR and financial operations. This occurred just a month after the company was nationalized via a presidential decree issued by Vladimir Putin. On paper, Druzhba Narodov did not appear in legal filings until spring 2025, when it was named in the Prosecutor General’s lawsuit.

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for July 11 and is expected to be closed to the public. Sources familiar with the events of previous hearings told The Insider that in early May, the court restricted outside access to the proceedings shortly after a Druzhba Narodov representative said in court that “there is clearly no basis or legal pathway” for Glavprodukt to be transferred to Druzhba Narodov.

The nationalization of Glavprodukt marks the first known attempt by the Russian authorities to impose external management on a company owned by an American national. Glavprodukt’s founder, businessman Leonid Smirnov, has reportedly appealed to the White House for help, according to The Insider’s earlier reporting. In late April, Glavprodukt’s U.S.-based parent company also hired the lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs to represent its interests, and The Insider has obtained the relevant documentation confirming that fact. Notably, Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff to U.S. President Donald Trump, previously worked at Mercury.

Sources close to Glavprodukt’s management also believe that similar takeovers may be occurring at other facilities owned by the company, particularly in Russia’s Orel Region. These include the Verkhovsky Dairy-Canning Factory and Orelprodukt itself, a major producer of canned meat and pâtés.

The Insider reached out to Druzhba Narodov for comment, but the company had not responded by the time of publication.

Learn more about how Druzhba Narodov — a Rosgvardiya supplier linked to former Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev — is carrying out the takeover of a U.S.-owned canned food producer via the link below.

With reporting by Timur Olevsky.