Holiday romance with separation

Gifts for the New Year, flowers for March 8, a group trip to a restaurant - trade unions are usually associated with such simple things today. In extreme cases - with rallies and protests, if we are talking about the trade union of an automobile plant. Meanwhile, many Russian trade union associations manage significant property, which may be the envy of other large commercial enterprises. The Leningrad Federation of Trade Unions (LFP) is no exception. True, in recent years the amount of trade union property has decreased noticeably. “New” tried to figure out why the once rich federation turned into a princess on beans.

During the era of redistribution of socialist property, the property of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was divided between new trade union organizations. One of the largest trade union assets in St. Petersburg is the Sestroretsky Resort sanatorium, located in the most prestigious suburban area of ​​the city. During Tsarist Russia, this sanatorium was a favorite vacation spot for the elite. In the post-perestroika period, it was divided between the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) and the Leningrad Federation of Trade Unions. A closed joint stock company was created, the main shareholders of which were these associations. FNPR received 50.74% of the shares, and LFP - 46.75%. A small balance of shares ended up in the hands of individuals.
In 2003, at the presidium of the LFP, the question of buying out the stake owned by the FNPR was raised, as a result of which the sanatorium would completely come under the control of the Leningrad Federation. Money was even allocated for this, but for unknown reasons the decision of the presidium was never implemented. In 2005, the LFP was headed by the former head of the Labor Committee, Vladimir Derbin. It was assumed that he would stop the emerging process of outflow of trade union property and competently manage the remaining assets. But everything turned out exactly the opposite.
Soon after the appointment of Vladimir Derbin, Sestroretsky Resort CJSC carried out an issue of shares. The corresponding decision was made at the company's board of directors. For some reason, Vladimir Derbin did not consider it necessary to inform the LFP presidium about the upcoming issue, as a result of which the federation’s share in the closed joint-stock company decreased sharply. Without the necessary information, LFP was unable to take part in the issue, after which it actually became a minority shareholder, not even having a blocking stake.
Almost simultaneously with the issue, the alienation of land plots belonging to the closed joint-stock company is carried out. Commercial structures became the owners of almost 33 hectares of the sanatorium territory. And again, Vladimir Derbin did not notify the trade union community about this operation.
At the end of 2006, a conflict in the management of the Sestroretsk resort led to the dismissal of the general director of the company, Lyudmila Kazakova. And already at the beginning of 2007, Sestroretsky Resort CJSC was transformed into an OJSC. Vladimir Derbin becomes the chairman of the board of directors of the newly formed company. The trade unions did not receive clear explanations as to why it was necessary to transform the form of ownership. However, a remarkable clause appeared in the charter of the new OJSC, according to which shareholders can sell or assign their shares to third parties without the consent of other participants. This small position made it possible to spray the property without any obstacles. Is it worth mentioning that Vladimir Derbin did not report to LFP about the dismissal of the director and the change in ownership?
The peculiar treatment of trade union property caused discontent among a number of minority shareholders of the Sestroretsk resort and the dismissed Lyudmila Kazakova, who also held a small block of shares. A group of owners appealed to law enforcement agencies with a demand to understand the circumstances of the transformation of the company and the dismissal of the director. The Kurortny District Economic Crime Department opened criminal case No. 509584 on grounds of fraud, and cases in civil proceedings were also initiated. However, without much result. The criminal case, although not closed, has been suspended. And it is unknown when fighters against economic crimes will return to consider it.
Vladimir Derbin himself took a rather interesting position in this situation. Despite the fact that, as the head of the LFP and as a representative of the federation in the Sestroretsk resort, he personally participated in all the processes described, he declares that certain third forces are to blame for everything - powerful raiders who fraudulently took possession of the property of the trade unions. For example, Vladimir Derbin listed the structures of AFK Sistema as the plunderers of socialist property.
One way or another, the involvement of the System in the fraud with the Sestroretsk resort is not confirmed by anything. Among the private structures that now own shares in the sanatorium, there is neither the company itself nor any organizations associated with it. Another fact is clear: in just a few years, LFP has lost one of its largest assets. Moreover, this in no way affected the federation’s accounts. Since we are talking about multimillion-dollar property, it is clear that since the money is not in the LFC accounts, it must be somewhere else. Perhaps they should be looked for in the offshore accounts of Vladimir Derbin himself. But while he leads the federation, no one makes such attempts. Apparently, this is why Vladimir Derbin is waging an uncompromising fight in the trade union elections, striving to become an uncontested candidate.
It is noteworthy that, despite Vladimir Derbin’s statements about raider attacks, he maintains quite friendly relations with the new owners of many trade union assets. For example, with CJSC Trust Sevzapkurortstroy. This organization, together with the LFP, owns significant shares in many objects that were previously owned exclusively by trade unions. This includes the Kirov Palace of Culture, the yacht club on Petrovskaya Spit, and the Vostok-6 and Vzmorye boarding houses. Moreover, the organization’s leadership believes that it is “Trust” that is the direct heir to the property of Soviet trade unions in St. Petersburg and the region. Vladimir Derbin does not seem to mind - at least he does not interfere with the withdrawal of trade union property. And his relationship with the organization to whose balance sheet the property is transferred is quite positive. At least last year, trade unions transferred 24 million rubles to Trust Sevzapkurortstroy CJSC for some legal services.
It is possible that the Trust is involved in transactions with trade union property simply as a cover. After all, the Sestroretsk resort is far from the only facility brought into the balance of the LFP with the participation of Derbin. Recently, the property of the Dunes boarding house, the Lensovet House of Culture, the Chernaya Rechka boarding house and many other institutions have been sold. The proceeds must be somehow legalized. The easiest way to do this is through Sevzapkurortstroy through investments in jointly owned properties. And then it turns out that, although most of the federation’s property was “torn apart”, and nothing was added to the accounts of the LFP, the participants in the process are happy. Except perhaps all trade union members. And few people care about this.

Konstantin NIKOLAEV

PS The editors of Novaya are ready to give the head of the Leningrad Federation of Trade Unions, Vladimir Derbin, the opportunity to express his point of view on why the Sestroretsk resort ended up in the hands of private individuals.