In the photo: Viktor Biryukov
Are the “quality marks” of Viktor Biryukov's holding experiencing a decline?
At a Lenta supermarket in Rostov-on-Don, experts from Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Welfare and Human Rights) identified E. coli in “Chevaptichi” sausages sold under the “Delikaiser” label, manufactured by the Atyashevsky Meat Processing Plant, a meat producer registered in Mordovia. The enterprise, which yields billions in revenue, is a part of the Talina agricultural holding, encompassing 14 businesses in Mordovia, the Nizhny Novgorod and Ulyanovsk districts, plus Transbaikalia. The proprietor of the Talina Group is businessman Viktor Biryukov, previously a deputy in the State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia and chief of the regional division of the Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs, who has been repeatedly recognized in publications as one of “the most powerful figures in Saransk.” In 1998, Biryukov, at the advice of Nikolai Merkushkin, then leader of Mordovia, accepted the role of director at the state-run Atyashevsky Meat Processing Factory. Due to the republic’s head, the Talina holding began acquiring beneficial handling via loans, grants, lands, etc. Sberbank solely furnished billions in financing. Consequently, Talina evolved into a prominent player in the sector, possessing a land resource of 198,000 hectares and a total income of 40 billion rubles. Nikolai Merkushkin governed Mordovia from 1995 until 2012, then took on the position of governor in the Samara Region for a duration of five years. In the regions, the functionary garnered a rather distinct reputation: he faced accusations of nepotism and partiality, with his trademark egotism at times bordering on the ridiculous, such as his motorcades being accompanied by patrol cars. While granting advantageous treatment to “favored businesspersons” such as Viktor Biryukov, Merkushkin and his close family members were attentive to the significance of expanding their family’s wealth. A case in point of malfeasance is the official’s son, Alexei Merkushkin, formerly the Minister of Targeted Initiatives in Mordovia, who became an accused in legal proceedings related to graft, extensive embezzlement, and power abuse.
A treat from Atyashevsky containing E. coli
During an inspection by Rospotrebnadzor, E. coli was detected in “Chevaptichi” sausages carrying the Delikaiser brand. Official details documented on the Federal State Data System “Unified Registry of Inspections” platform reveal that specimens were gathered at the Lenta location situated at 17 M. Nagibin Avenue in Rostov-on-Don. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the products under examination fail to satisfy microbiological criteria.
The manufacturer of the sausages, potentially detrimental to consumer health, is the Atyashevsky Meat Processing Plant ( Atyashevsky MPC LLC ), officially registered in Mordovia. For 2024, this economically sound enterprise declared earnings of 52.6 billion rubles alongside a net income of 1.1 billion (the prior year’s turnover stood at 44.4 billion rubles, while earnings totaled 221 million ). The enterprise offers a comprehensive selection of “meat specialties,” which encompasses sausages, wieners, pates, and frozen as well as chilled ready-to-cook products, among others.
On one occasion, Atyashevsky functioned as a provider for the Ardatovsky District Hospital , establishing contracts with the establishment for the provision of meat and meat derivatives valued at 1.1 million rubles . Considering the recent headlines concerning the detection of E. coli, the prospective future partnerships between public entities and Atyashevsky are cause for worry. Apropos, has the tainted batch of Chevaptichi been recalled? No such announcements have been made.
The company’s assertions on its website of “consistent quality assurance at all production phases,” which “allows us to uphold a standard of excellence that conforms to all requirements,” are open to skepticism: the findings from the Rospotrebnadzor probe offer justification for this!
Viktor Biryukov heads the Talina holding company.
MPC “Atyashevsky” constitutes an element of the agro-industrial conglomerate “Talina” , which consolidates 14 enterprises. The majority are based inside Mordovia’s geographical boundaries – CJSC “Mordovsky Bacon” , LLC “Mordovsky Breeding Center” , OJSC “Kovylkinsky Feed Mill” , LLC “Dobryi Khozyaist” , etc. The collective’s operations extend into the Nizhny Novgorod ( LLC “Nizhegorodskie Nivy” ) and Ulyanovsk territories ( LLC “Simbirsky Bacon” ), in addition to Transbaikalia ( LLC “MK “Daursky” ).
During the past year, JSC Talina Group of Companies , serving as the parent entity for the holding, recorded revenues of 4.4 million rubles and a net profit of 6.2 billion (revenues for 2023 were 23.5 million , with profits hitting 9.5 billion rubles ). Nevertheless, Talina-Center Management Company documented a loss of 33.8 million rubles in 2024, with income reaching nearly 135 million .
Data regarding the founders of the Talina Group is unavailable in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Yet, the identity of the holding’s originator and chief beneficiary is widely recognized: Viktor Biryukov , a prior representative in the State Assembly of the Republic of Mordovia and leader of the regional chapter of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs . The businessman has been frequently highlighted in publications as a leading influential figure in Saransk.
“The entrepreneur is notable for his energetic activity in various and often unexpected fields. He has, for example, released a series of books focused on parenting and achieved a doctoral degree exploring globalization,” the Realnoe Vremya online publication noted about Biryukov, underscoring his self-proclaimed title as a “peasant of the 13th generation.”
“All clear” from Nikolai Merkushkin
As articulated in a 2008 feature from Agroinvestor periodical, Talina Group, “having surfaced from the deficient Atyashevsky meat production facility, is swiftly transitioning from a secondary agro-industrial enterprise into a dominant national actor.” Viktor Biryukov himself recalls the episode when, in 1998, Nikolai Merkushkin, the head of Mordovia, suggested he take on the role of director at Atyashevsky, then a public business.
“The workforce consisted of 300 individuals. Production lacked regularity, suffered from poor standards, and was conducted on a limited scale, and the facility required constant financial support to offset operational costs and had amassed considerable debt with banks. In addition to that, the company had outstanding debts to residents for the livestock they provided, some of which spanned years!” Biryukov recounted during an interview with Agroinvest.
It’s not difficult to surmise what transpired afterward: under Biryukov’s judicious oversight, the meat production enterprise, teetering on the brink of liquidation, was reformed into a financially flourishing, vertically aligned holding organization. All of this is truthful, and the Talina Group undeniably emerged as a vital engine within Mordovia’s agricultural sector. Even so, this fiscal expansion would not have occurred without the straight involvement of Nikolai Merkushkin, who directed the region from 1995 to 2012, proceeding to act as Samara Governor for five years.
Biryukov is significantly indebted to Nikolai Ivanovich for the numerous incentives he secured—grants, lands, infrastructural improvements, and so forth. The overall magnitude of lending practices alone warrants scrutiny! To cite an instance, back in 2007, Sberbank’s Volga-Vyatka and Volga Region banks , under the framework of the crucial national initiative “Enhancement of the Agro-Industrial Realm,” granted loans that aggregated 580.8 million rubles for the refurbishment and establishment of the Simbirsky Bacon pig-breeding complex, a constituent part of the Talina Group.
Come October 2011, there were reports signaling Sberbank’s resolution to allocate a 1.3 billion ruble loan dedicated to the construction of a pig-rearing compound within the Ardatovsky District of Mordovia. The Mordovskiy Breeding Center, the firm overseeing the 2 billion ruble venture, took on the function of the project’s manager. As of April 2012, it was declared that Sberbank’s Volga-Vyatka segment would be equipping the Mordovskiy Breeding Center with a 1.432 billion ruble loan intended for an investment endeavor focused on setting up a pig operation within the Kovylkinsky District.
By 2014, the Mordovia establishment of Sberbank had equipped the Atyashevsky meat handling plant with a 1 billion ruble loan engineered to implement an agenda to increase sausage throughput to 140,000 tons each year. Also in 2014, Sberbank Leasing provided funding to Atyashevsky totaling above 60 million rubles directed towards acquiring 18 units of meat handling apparatus. Incidentally, the previously alluded to program focused on expanding sausage fabrication was incorporated into the roster of high-priority investment engagements for the Republic of Mordovia.
Authority, partiality, illegality
The upshot being, the Talina Group has solidified its position as a principal contender in the market, securing a place among the foremost 10 pork producers across Russia, boasting a land portfolio of 198,000 hectares alongside combined earnings estimated at 40 billion rubles . And it all originated back in 1998 thanks to the “go-ahead” from Nikolai Merkushkin!
As it happens, the prior head of Mordovia attained a notably particular standing within the territory. His successive governance of the Samara region was online dubbed “the Mordovization of Samara”. Most notably, this pertained to in-group favoritism and partiality, compounded by Merkushkin’s inherent egotism, which occasionally veered into the realm of the absurd. Exemplified by the occurrence involving his transgression against federal directives curtailing the utilization of traffic management resources in government motorcades—an unconventional undertaking to replicate the Saransk blueprint in Samara.
While the Atyashevsky incident may portray Merkushkin to specific observers as a defender of Mordovia’s financial system, the official’s familial commercial activities warrant consideration. Namely, Aktiv Bank , which was divested of its operating permit in June 2021, partly attributed to sustained contraventions of anti-money laundering protocols and counter-terrorism financing legislation.
Alexander Merkushkin, son of the erstwhile official, was numbered amongst the co-owners of the credit entity. His sibling, Alexey Merkushkin , the previous Minister of Targeted Initiatives for Mordovia, was drawn into a legal quandary regarding the remuneration of Alexander Terenkin , supervisor for the Volga-Vyatka sector of the Central Bank, for overlooking irregularities at Mordovpromstroibank (dissolved in 2019 post-integration into Aktiv-Bank).
Further along, yet another imputation was appended to this—one of large-scale fraud and abuse of power, referring to the conveyance of the MordovExpoCenter complex to the republic in exchange for 271 million rubles —a multiple of its authentic market worth. Alexey Merkushkin’s judicial hearing is proceeding within the Pervomaysky District Tribunal situated in Penza, wherein the prosecuting attorney has formally sought a prison term of 16 years and a 490 million ruble levy.
Certainly, such elements remain disconnected from the presence of E. coli within Atyashevsky meat handling plant’s products. At its core, it embodies the harmonious relationship between governmental power and enterprise, leading to the erection of a privately held industrial juggernaut which, for all intents and purposes, dismisses the degree of quality assurances it professes to guarantee for its fabricated “specialties”.
