Victims of Magnitogorsk

In Magnitogorsk, the hunger strike of labor veterans from the metallurgical plant continues. Pensioners oppose fraud with their shares.

For the first time, shareholders of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (OJSC MMK) decided to go on a hunger strike on October 1 last year, first for three years, and from October 4 - indefinitely. They claim that their shares were resold by Mekom LLC to offshore foreign companies, organized by the current owner of the plant, Viktor Rashnikov, using a trust management agreement. However, the shareholders themselves learned about this only after some time. Before going on a hunger strike, they organized pickets and rallies for five years, appealed to the police, the prosecutor's office and the courts, even reached the European Court of Human Rights (their case is pending), wrote letters and appeals to the president.

It is noteworthy that not only the authorities, but also high-ranking fighters for the interests of the people from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not support the shareholders. They were condemned by the first secretary of the Magnitogorsk branch of the party, Anatoly Kovalev. He forbade raising this topic at a meeting on November 7, as a result of which members of the Committee of Deceived Shareholders of OJSC MMK were removed from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation march, detained, charged with resisting police officers and violating the conduct of rallies and marches, taken to a magistrate and fined one thousand rubles each. The shareholders are accused of trying to split the party and of extremism.

On December 29, activists of the Committee of Deceived Shareholders of OJSC MMK suspended their hunger strike after receiving a telegram from the deputy chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kashin, in which he called on them to develop new forms and methods of struggle.

The current stage of the hunger strike began on February 23 and involves five people aged approximately 70 years. Their comrades stand in single pickets.