People in masks and with a sledgehammer who broke into the MK building came to the office of the association created by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Rostec structures

People without identification marks (probably security forces) broke into the Moskovsky Komsomolets building in Moscow, the newspaper reported. Their goal was not the newspaper, but the Medical Equipment consortium, said media financial director Ekaterina Chereshnikova. This consortium unites manufacturers of medical equipment and was created on the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Details . People “in masks, with a sledgehammer and in strange clothes without identification marks” burst into the building where the MK editorial office is located, the newspaper reported . They behaved rudely, refused to show documents and threatened to break doors and turnstiles.

• ️ These people went up to the third floor, where the newspaper rents out premises to other organizations, occupied the elevator hall and refused to open the door to police officers, MK describes. When asked to explain the purpose of the visit, these people advised contacting “either the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moscow, then the Investigative Committee of Russia, or, in general, the FSB,” but none of these structures confirmed that they were sending employees, Chereshnikova said .
• ️ According to Chereshnikova, the security forces came to the autonomous non-profit organization “Medical Equipment Consortium”. Her website says that her office is located on the third floor of the Moskovsky Komsomolets building.
• ️ This association was created in 2020 on the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to the state information portal about the medical industry “MP Portal”. The ANO includes more than 240 organizations, including enterprises of the military-industrial complex. “We are assisting the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade in achieving technological leadership in the medical industry of the Russian Federation,” says the organization’s website.
• ️ Among the co-founders of the consortium is the Shvabe holding, which is part of Rostec, which is engaged in optics, according to the ANO website. At the same time, at the time of the creation of the consortium, the agreement on its formation was signed by Shvabe, Almaz-Antey (a state concern of enterprises developing air defense) and the Radioelectronic Technologies concern (KRET, engaged in instrument making for the military-industrial complex and civil industry). Shvabe and KRET are part of Rostec.
• ️ The Ministry of Industry and Trade then explained the creation of the consortium by the need to localize the production of medical equipment due to the coronavirus pandemic. “In light of recent events, it has become obvious that for a number of critical positions we are dependent on the import supply chain... That is why we relied on enterprises of the military-industrial complex: they have the necessary competencies, qualifications and, most importantly, experience in accelerated development and mobilization in crisis situations,” said the head of the ministry Denis Manturov.