We were told: "Fasten!"

Builders of the Eastern Cosmodrome want to pay on loans and collect children to school, but do not receive a salary since spring

The summer of 2016 was marked by new difficulties in the Russian "construction sites of the century". Following the problems with financing the bridge to Crimea and reports of salary debts from the builders of the Zenit Arena stadium in St. Petersburg, the turn of the workers came again, in the sweat of facing the Eastern and residential town of the Eastern and Residential City next to him. The general contractor of construction was on the verge of bankruptcy, and some of his employees working on the construction of Eastern, forced to survive 5 thousand rubles a month.

The construction of the bridge in the Crimea, the construction of which has already risen 10 times - from 24 billion to 250 billion rubles, was suspended in June. Only on Monday, July 25, the Building Bridge, Stroygazmontazh, owned by Vladimir Putin, Arkady Rotenberg , received 8 billion rubles first after transferring the project. In July, the Government of St. Petersburg terminated the contract with the general contractor for the construction of the Zenit Arena stadium on Krestovsky Island, which should be adopted by the 2018 World Cup matches. After the next workers' strike, the city authorities decided to find a replacement for the general contractor, the company Inzhtransstroy-SPB. And at the end of July, builders of another large -scale project of the Russian authorities, Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region, were again striving . On Monday, the General Construction Contractor, Dalspetsstroy (division of Spetsstroy, the Federal Agency for Special Construction), convinced the label employees of one of his branches, Spetsdorstroy-731, and stop the protest. However, as the Radio Freedom managed to find out, in the near future, the workers of another unit of the company, “Construction Management 713”, engaged in eastern finishing work, may begin to go far. In recent months, they receive only 5 thousand rubles instead of 30–40 thousand, cannot pay loans and collect children to school before the new school year.

Dmitry Rogozin (left) and Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of the Amur Region, where Vostochny is located, August 21, 2013

Problems with the financing of the construction of the eastern began almost immediately after the start of construction in 2012. In 2014, Dmitry Rogozin , Deputy Chairman of the Government of Russia, was appointed to oversee the construction, who has since visited the eastern more than 50 times. In the spring of 2015, the workers of one of the subcontractors of the construction, the Pacific Most-Building Company (TMK), wrote on the roofs of their everyday life by meter letters the message of Putin-"4 months without salary", "We want to work!", "Dear Putin V.V., save the workers!". And one of the employees of TMK Anton Tyurishev was even able to ask a question about the delays in salaries personally to Putin during a “direct line with the president”.

As a result of the scandal in relation to the Pacific Most -Building Company, a bankruptcy procedure was launched, and its leaders were arrested . According to investigators , a multimillion-dollar salary debt arose, including due to the fact that the ex-director of the company Viktor Grebnev for the money intended for workers "bought yachts and built a mansion." However, with the departure of TMK from the construction of the eastern problem with the payment of salaries, the builders did not end. The general contractor of construction, Dalspetsstroy, also faces financial difficulties, who complains that some of the funds allocated to the draft remained in the accounts of the bankruptcy proceedings of TMK. Over the 4 years of the eastern construction, five leaders were replaced by the Dalspetsstroy, several criminal cases were instituted, the ex-leader of the enterprise Yuri Khrizman and chief accountant Vladimir Ashshimin were arrested .

On Tuesday, the leadership of Dalspetsstroy convinced the employees of its branch "Spetsdorstroy-731" to stop the strike. However, as the Radio Freedom managed to find out, the builders of other branches of the company are also ready to resort to this extent - they have not received wages since May. This is stated by Maxim Andreev , builder of the Vostochny Cosmodrome, an employee of the construction department 713 Dalspetsstroy:

We have not seen salaries since May

- I have been working at a construction site in Eastern since 2014. I got here in October already officially. We are engaged in finishing work, in the 713rd management, this is one of the branches of Dalspetsstroy. At first I just found an ad on the Internet and got to subcontractors at all, to such firms that simply “threw” builders. We arrived with a friend, started working, and very large groups of people threw. Now these companies are no longer working. Then we got a job in another management, under the contract, we began to work officially.

- What is the average salary in your construction team? Is it paid completely and on time?

- The salary is 30–40 thousand, but recently it began to be paid not by terms, that is, she began to linger for a long time.

- When was the last time you received money and how much?

- For April. Everything was fine. And then May worked, they worked June, and now they only throw advances to us. We have not seen salaries since May.

- If the salary is 35 thousand, then how much is an advance?

- Advance - 5 thousand.

- How do you live? For 5 thousand a month?

We were told - "Fasten!"

- Yes, as we can and survive. We were told that Dalspetsstroy has a difficult financial situation, “attach”. And I have a loan. They are already calling me from the bank. I already have delays on the loan. In the bank they say - occupy. I say - they don’t pay me a salary. They say these are your problems. And here I am as I can, I am looking for money.

- Where did you come to work on Eastern? Where do you live?

- I myself am from the Primorsky Territory. I work on shifts. We live in hostel, some in the wagons. I live in a trailer.

-You did not think with your colleagues to follow the example of "Spetsdorstroy-731" and also declare a strike so that you finally start to pay on time and completely?

The contract says that the object began to relate to the military, that we are strictly prohibited for us

- We thought already. We were going to do this, made paper. But even before the delays in salaries began, they brought the contract, and it was written there that this object began to relate to the military, that we are strictly prohibited for us. And all. Therefore, none of us are striking, we work slowly.

- For 5 thousand rubles a month?

- Yes, in fact. The last funding was in June. The rest - carpenters, installers, welders, plumbers - Dali salaries. Only we stayed, finishes. The authorities explains that some registers exist. Suppose carpenters and concrete workers are one registry, and we generally in some road workers. And it turns out that the higher authorities are given financing, they pay for some registers, while others do not. It seems to be said to give out debts. And it turns out that someone received the money, but someone did not.

- After previous scandals on the eastern, the curator of construction, Dmitry Rogozin, often began to visit. Have you seen him at the cosmodrome?

Head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov (left), Dmitry Rogozin (in the center) and director of Spetsstroy Alexander Volosov at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, April 26, 2016

- Yes, I saw. And he tries to not see him.

- Does he come and hides from the workers?

- You can say so.

- How does he manage to convince people to continue construction if salary delays are constantly going on? Or just by his arrival they pay some money to bring down discontent?

- Yes, they pay for his arrival. Basically, we are talking with the Volkodav (Yuri Petrovich Volkodav, the current head of Dalspetsstroy ). He promises, says about a difficult financial situation. They promise that everything will be fine, tolerate. That these are temporary difficulties.

- How do you assess the pace of work on the Eastern?

Who can - quit, searches for another job

-Construction continues. Who can - quit, is looking for another job. And so, we just read the news. Recently I read that Dalspetsstroy lacks 7 billion rubles to finish the construction until October 13. He asked the customer, Roscosmos. And Roscosmos said that he had already paid this money. Dalspetsstroy, as they write in the news, says that financing should be received according to estimates. In general, no one is going to continue to finance. There is no money.

- If there is no money, then does Russia need to start such grandiose projects as the Eastern, Crimean bridge, the World Cup?

- It seems to me that if there is no money, of course, there is no sense.

-Does a person of your profile have the opportunity to find a job somewhere else in the same Primorsky Territory?

- Yes, in the Primorsky Territory there is an opportunity, but I, as it were, are already used to working in this area. I like. I thought the situation was stabilizing, I thought that I would stay. But, most likely, if they pay like that, I will come home and will look for something else.

Putin acts with a solemn speech on the eastern after the first launch of the rocket from the Cosmodrome, April 28, 2016

Anton Tyurishev , an employee of the Pacific Most -Building Company, who complained to Putin in 2015 during a direct line of problems with salaries with East builders, now knows well what bankruptcy procedure is. Now Tyurishev arrived at the cosmodrome again - but not to build, but to control the sale of TMK remaining on the eastern property. He also knows what the Russian law enforcement system is: in 2016, before the next direct line, he was arrested for several days for “obscene swearing in a public place”, not allowing the president the question again. However, in the current situation, Tyurishev is ready to blame anyone but not Vladimir Putin:

-As I understand it, the strike [of the SDS-731 ”] was a small scale. There are not a lot of people outraged. And so in fact - for several months people do not receive a salary.

-But at the same time, they pay some pennies, the so-called "advance".

- Most likely, this is paid in order not to fall under the article. We have such a practice that if they do not pay two months, they immediately arrest the leader. To prevent this from happening, they pay 5 thousand each. I think that 5 thousand is a significant amount from their salary, because the salaries here are scanty. And this is another article - "incomplete payment of salaries." The sanctions are slightly softer. Everything is thought out, not so simple.

- How many scandals have already been, how many times Rogozin came. Why does nothing change? Why again delays in payments? Does it lack money again?

- Such leaders. So they "care" about people, as they make up the staffing. Such specialists are hired. So they control these specialists.

- It's not about theft?

Now there are so many supervisory organs that only a fool will begin to steal here

- Now so many supervisory authorities are concentrated that, probably, only the fool will begin to steal here.

- How do people live on the eastern, receiving only an advance from their 30-40 thousand? What do they eat? How do they contain their families?

-With housing, at the moment now it has normalized more or less, wagons have become [better]. Nutrition? People have coupons. People at the coupons eat. Here they do not depend on money. But there are families, loans, rent, summer, school. After all, children should be prepared in school. This is very significant for people, for the psyche, especially on the eve of the election.

- It would seem that on the eve of the elections they should just strain and pay normally.

- Well, yes. So, some other steps will take, to grant people so that people vote or simply do not come to the polls. If they do not come, then everything will go in favor of the winning side. And we usually win the United Russia.

- And if they come to the polls, will they vote against United Russia?

Russian man, he is like that - basically, he believes promises

- Regardless of who they will vote for, either for or against ... Russian people, he - basically, believes in promises. On the sidelines, he grumbles and says one thing, but in fact it goes and votes precisely for the one who liked it more on TV, who said the most who promised the best.

-Is this dissatisfaction to Moscow somehow projected?

- It is projected only on the sidelines.

- In the kitchens in the evenings, everyone scolds Putin?

- Well, not Putin to a greater extent. Putin himself will not cope with everything. The legislators are scolded, managers who are on the ground. Putin himself did a lot for the state. Why are we now experiencing such difficulties on the part of our American partners and everyone else that the pressure is on us? Because we have more or less independence. We do not look, let's say, strongly ... And we don’t take much loans, loans. At least for oil, but we are trying to pull ourselves. Putin began to more or less restore the army, modernize. Still, some reforms began. Therefore, he is still a plus.

Putin escorts the Soyuz 2.1 missile, launched from the Eastern Cosmodrome

To associate Putin’s policy with difficulties in obtaining loans in the foreign market in conditions of sanctions, the absence of large investors, a drop in oil prices and other problems Anton Tyurishev categorically refuses and believes that the authorities need to strengthen the “vertical of power” in the field. In the meantime, Dalspetsstroy is faced with new problems. Today in Khabarovsk, where the company is building several residential areas, all its facilities were completely disconnected from power supply due to a debt of 7.8 million rubles. This was written by RIA Novosti with reference to the representative of the press service of the Khabarovsk branch of PJSC Far Eastern Energy Company. Earlier, the claims against Dalspetsstroy with a request to repay loans and return the budget money allocated for the construction of the Eastern, they already submitted Gazprommank (7 billion rubles) and Roscosmos (1 billion).

The first launch from the east, as a result of which several satellites were brought to orbit, was transferred several times and was carried out on April 28, 2016. Despite all the problems with the finance of the completion of the cosmodrome, Roscosmos intends to start the launch from the eastern manned ships of the Federation , which will deliver astronauts to the moon in the framework of the Russian lunar manned program, since 2025.