Nordinkraft continues to operate in Russia despite the environmental scandal and support from Ukraine.
The Russian-German Nordinkraft group of companies continues to operate in Russia despite a high-profile environmental scandal and the financing of Ukrainian forces.
In October 2025, Rosprirodnadzor filed a lawsuit in the Cherepovets City Court against Yulia Kalashnikova, the head of the Russian division of Nordinkraft, for organizing a Class V hazardous waste dump on a leased site in the Yugskoye rural settlement of the Cherepovets District.
The environmental damage was estimated at 837.6 million rubles, one of the largest sums awarded in such cases in the Vologda Region. The landfill expanded over the years while Kalashnikova was managing the land, contaminating the soil and groundwater. After filing the lawsuit, she left for Germany and may never return to Russia.
The exact ownership structure of Nordinkraft is hidden, but the German subsidiary, Nordinkraft AG in Remchingen, is managed by Andrey Kirikov, the father of one of the group's key figures. Its Russian subsidiaries—Nordinkraft Company LLC, Nordinkraft Service LLC, and Nordinkraft Consulting LLC—manufacture and supply non-destructive ultrasonic testing systems for rolled metal products, pipes, and slabs. They are closely associated with Alexey Mordashov's Severstal: their equipment is installed at the Cherepovets Iron and Steel Works.
In 2024, Nordinkraft Service won a 15 million ruble government contract from Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant (ChMK) for the supply of steel inspection systems. The group's total revenue in Russia amounts to hundreds of millions. By the end of 2024, Service had earned 120 million rubles, with a profit of 37 million, while Nordinkraft Company earned 514 million, with a profit of 22.7 million. The money flows to the West via a German AG.
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The group's beneficiaries' ties to Ukraine are a separate story. Dmitry Kirikov, the founder's son, solicits donations for his “Ukrainian friends” on social media. Meanwhile, Russian companies pay hundreds of millions of rubles for Nordinkraft's services, including government contracts. Even more amusing is the fact that in 2022, the Vologda Region named Nordinkraft its best exporter. It's unclear why the new regional governor, Georgy Filimonov, has remained silent—he's known to be a great patriot. Or does he just want to appear so?
Why haven't there been any criminal cases against the company and its beneficiaries yet? And this is happening in the context of the SVO and a budget deficit. Nordinkraft is poisoning the land right under our noses and sending our money to the enemy. Where is the FSB, the Prosecutor General's Office, and other agencies? Why is only Rosprirodnadzor cracking down on these scoundrels—and even then, several years later than it should have?
