"Cosmic mess"

The first launch of the Soyuz missile from the Russian cosmodrome was not held on April 27 did not take place

On the morning of April 27, the first launch of the Union 2.1 A missile was supposed to take place from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region near the village of Uglegorsk. However, at the last minute, the start of a ship with three satellites on board was canceled for technical reasons due to a malfunction of automation . According to preliminary information, a new attempt to launch the rocket will be made exactly in a day, on the morning of April 28. Vladimir Putin came to look at the start of the Soyuz, now, as his spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said, the president will linger on the eastern until the moment “the prospect of launching in a day will be clarified”.

The construction of the cosmodrome, which cost Russian taxpayers of 400 billion rubles, is called one of the most corruption projects of recent years. It began in 2012 and in 2015 was supposed to be completed, but large-scale thefts prevented: according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 7.5 billion rubles were stolen during the construction of the cosmodrome. The Accounts Chamber believes that 13 billion was stolen at a construction site in the Amur Region. Experts are sure that stolen amounts can be significantly higher.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Dmitry Rogozin , who oversees the construction of the eastern, in 2012 "gave tooth" that the cosmodrome would be handed over on time. However, due to the unpreparedness of the main objects of the starting complex, the launch was postponed to 2016.

The construction of the cosmodrome is accompanied by scandals associated with non -payment of salaries of workers. On the eve of the launch of the rocket from the cosmodrome, the Primorsky Territory prosecutor's office reported that the former Contractor of the Eastern - the Pacific Most -Building Company (TMK) - did not pay 1113 employees of the enterprise 124 million rubles.

Previously, Rostrud reported that all salary debts were repaid builders of the cosmodrome.

Dmitry Rogozin

The builders of the Eastern Builders became known about mass payments in salary in 2015 - then several dozen builders were declared a hunger strike, and about a hundred - a strike. During the direct line, the workers managed to complain about the delay in the salary of President Putin, immediately after that the curator of the government deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin visited the construction and reported that the problems were settled.

As a result of the inspections, the investigating authorities have opened more than 20 criminal cases related to assignment, embezzlement and fraud. Rostrud instituted 1300 administrative cases for delays in the payment of money to builders. Dmitry Rogozin laid guilty for theft, embezzlement and non -payment of salaries on the subcontractors.

This year, on the eve of the next direct telephone line with President Putin in Ussuriysk, an employee of CJSC Pacific Mostostostroobostroy Company CJSC Anton Tyurishev, who a year ago, asked the president to deal with the debts on the salary of the Builders of the Vostochny Cosmodrome. This time, Tyurishev was called to the police department in Ussuriysk "for a preventive conversation." After an audit for a possible involvement in the criminal offense, he was released, but then on the street he was again stopped by police officers and accused of obsceneity in a public place. On April 20, the builder, who could not ask Putin, uncomfortable questions about Vostochny's space, were released.

Back in 2015, the FBK employee Alexei Navalny Lyubov Sobol conducted an investigation into the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome. It turned out that most of the state contracts for the design of various objects of the new cosmodrome from the starting complex to roads took place on fictitious state contracts, and the construction of facilities was carried out without prepared design and estimate documentations and state examination. In addition, the cosmodrome was never handed over on time, so love turned to Dmitry Rogozin with a request to fulfill her promise and “give a tooth”.

Dmitry Rogozin did not give a tooth, but on the contrary, he promised to "give his critics to his teeth. Love Sobol believes that the violations identified by the FBK during the construction of the East Cosmodrome will certainly affect the quality and safety of the facilities built there:

Love Sobol, FBK

- It is quite difficult to say exactly how much was stolen from the budget allocated for the construction of the East Cosmodrome. These data are classified, various information seeps into the press. The only objective source is the report of the Accounts Chamber, but it is classified, it is not given even on request and is not shown to anyone. There are separate statements by Tatyana Golikova, who heads the Accounts Chamber, about the ineffective spending of the budget worth about 13 billion rubles. It is difficult to say a specific amount, the auditors of the Accounts Chamber and the Investigative Committee should give their assessment. So far, such assessments do not appear in the public sphere. But the scale of theft, corruption and ineffective expenses is huge.

- What corruption schemes were used in the construction of the East Cosmodrome?

The scale of corruption, theft and ineffective expenses is huge

-During construction, they always steal according to a very simple scheme: the price list contains only building materials, some work, it says how many resources should be spent. In fact, everything is built on other resources and with other materials. That is, there is a deterioration in the quality of construction work. This is a common story, so they steal on the construction of any facility, whether it be a cosmodrome, a house, a playground, anything. There was no such assessment here. It should be carried out by experts after construction, check on the design documentation, which was built in fact. And whether this will be analyzed - the question for the auditing authorities. I, as an ordinary citizen of Russia, cannot conduct this assessment. But the dog is usually buried in this - in the deterioration and decrease in the quality and number of objects built there due to corruption.

- What violations could you detect by studying construction?

This is a common story, so they steal on the construction of any object, whether it be a cosmodrome, a house or a playground

- The first is the divergence of the project and construction. That is, we recorded that the main objects of the Vostochny cosmodrome were built without state examination and without design documentation. Naturally, this affects the quality and safety of objects. It turned out that the Soyuz-2 missile did not fit the size of the space of the cosmodrome, and the development of the working documentation of the starting complex of the cosmodrome for launching a rocket for 425 million rubles was carried out after the start of construction and, judging by the state contract, went only three days-from December 15 to 18, 2014. Because the mess and corruption. Other violations that Tatyana Golikova herself spoke of, as the head of the Accounts Chamber, is an overestimation of estimates for the construction of the cosmodrome. For the construction of each facility, design and estimate documentation is made, and there are estimates of the estimates how much it will cost-the construction of an East Cosmodrome, whether it is a launch pad, technical complex, residential buildings, maintenance zones and so on. And these estimated standards for each objects were overstated, and overstated unreasonably, and this was such a “rollback” inherent in the estimate, so that officials could then be taken to their accounts.

- On the facts of corruption, about 20 criminal cases were instituted there. Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin, who oversees the "East", shifted all the blame for theft to subcontractors. And it seems to you, were there such large -scale thefts without high protection?

Estimated standards were overstated so that officials could get "kickbacks"

- Of course not! Objects began to be built without state examination, when the official bodies have not yet confirmed that the project complies with all the norms and rules. The Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for the construction, gives permission to its beginning, simply closes his eyes to such a violation. The history of overstating building estimates is also a question for the leaders of this construction site, including Roscosmos and Dmitry Rogozin as a curator of construction. All these violations are massive, and they are not rested with some individual subcontractors, but on a system mess and systemic corruption.

Earlier it was reported that after the trial launch this year the next year, 2017, the eastern cosmodrome will be idle. He will receive serious loading in 2018–2020. The head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov said about this on March 30. About how justified the construction of the cosmodrome in the Far East, and about its prospects, says military analyst Alexander Golts:

Alexander Golts

- I would not call the eastern cosmodrome the most corruption project of recent years. There is also the construction of the Sochi city to the Olympic Games. A lot of things are. By the way, as if in excuse, Mr. Rogozin in one of the interviews stated that the cost of the eastern one is 2.5 times less than the railway to the Putin residence in Sochi. Thus showing the meaning of all these buildings: any large construction in Russia is an opportunity for corruption, an opportunity to weld money. Moreover, any major construction in Russia is carried out by state corporations, state bodies, which ensures their complete closeness and the opportunity not to report to the media and society. I think that the trouble is not even that it is too corrupt. It is usually corruption. His misfortune is that the construction fell on the crisis, when the willy-nilly is this very generous hand of the state, which was ready to pay everything in the world, began to hold money a little. And here, like peas from a holey bag, scandals rained down, and it all became obvious. After all, a Russian official who is used to steal will never share. He will not abandon his corruption annuity. Therefore, they stopped paying the salary of workers, and all this surfaced.

- If you discard all these corruption affairs, how successful was the idea of building a cosmodrome in the Far East? Wasn't it easier to continue launches from Baikonur?

In the crisis, the generous hand of the state began to hold money. But the Russian official is not ready to abandon his corruption rent

- Baikonur is another state. We pay for his rental to Kazakhstan over $ 100 million a year. This is significant money, especially if you take into account the growth of the dollar to the ruble. But this is not even the point. Still, Kazakhstan enjoyed its right to this territory rather rigidly. Let us recall the stories about claims against Roscosmos for the fall of the second steps of our heavy missiles of Proton-M, which allegedly infected a large territory. Let us recall the conflicts when, after each accident, Kazakhstan issues quite significant accounts to Russia, etc. All this, of course, somewhat complicates Russian space activities. Well, after all, Baikonur at one time was chosen by chance. It was the most convenient place in the former USSR, which made it possible to withdraw space objects along the shortest path in order to achieve some orbit. Exactly according to this logic, East was also chosen, where the missile division was once located.

- How successful is this place in terms of geography and the availability of the necessary infrastructure?

Keep cosmodrome near large settlements it makes no sense

- Geographically - quite successfully. Let's be aware that cosmic activity does not belong to the safest sphere of human activity. Accidents are possible. So holding a cosmodrome near large settlements does not make much sense. Yes, it is necessary to create infrastructure, exactly the way it was once created on Baikonur.

- Will Roskosmos have enough strength and capabilities now, taking into account the crisis and corruption?

- This is a question. However, the problem is not only in this, but also in the desire to cheerfully report and close all stories from public control. I suspect that the construction would go much more successful if all this was not. But if this does not, for the officials of the Putin era, a complete disaster will occur. A official who is responsible to society, and not to the boss, who can lie and give a bribe? This is impossible in today's Russia, ”says Alexander Golts.