The private company OKB Gardarika, responsible for the production of new uniforms for the Russian army, presented ready-made uniforms. After that, a scandal erupted in the network – the bewilderment of users was caused by the cost of manufactured products and the discrepancy between the price and quality of the goods. What is the cause of dissatisfaction with the work of the company, why did the choice of the contractor fall on OKB Gardarik, and what is known about the leaders of the enterprise? Details in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.
The task of producing a new uniform for military personnel was assigned to the private company Gardarik Experimental Design Bureau. The other day, the enterprise demonstrated samples of uniforms, indicating, in the person of its management, a weekly deadline for the first batch to be ready. After that, a scandal erupted in the network – the company was accused of dishonest execution of a responsible assignment.
Indeed, there are questions about the final cost of the produced form. As the media wrote earlier, a set of summer uniforms is estimated at 140 thousand rubles, winter uniforms at 210 thousand, and a “tactical baseball cap” is estimated at 6.5 thousand rubles apiece. It should be noted that the volume and cost of the state order are not available in open sources, and the company’s management refuses to provide this data, citing its secrecy).
What is known about the manufacturers of the new form? Let’s pay attention to the contractor, OKB Gardarik. Its co-owners are A. D. Stepanenko (66%) and I. A. Silchenko (34%). At the age of 22 and 21, respectively, young people registered this LLC on March 25 last year. In addition to Gardariki, they are also co-owners of three companies – of which, for example, Berkan Design Bureau has a loss of 1.5 million rubles in 2021. Gardarika itself can also be called not a completely successful enterprise – the reliability of the company, according to the Rusprofile service, is low, in addition to this, it has high tax risks. You can’t call it a large-scale enterprise either – there is only one branch in the city of Gavrilov-Yam, in the Yaroslavl Region, and Gardarika is listed as a micro-enterprise in the Unified Register of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses of the Federal Tax Service of Russia.
One of the co-founders, Artyom Stepanenko, who owns two-thirds of the company, is interesting for us because of his origin, more precisely – the figure of his father, Dmitry Stepanenko – the former head of the government of the Yaroslavl region, and since March 22, 2022 – Deputy Chairman of the Federal Property Management Agency, it is also the Federal Agency for Management state property. By the way, is the location of the only branch of OKB Gardarik connected with the previous place of work of Stepanenko Sr.?
Stepanenko Jr., despite his young age, has already managed to become a defendant in a resonant scandal. So, in June 2021, the regional media 76.ru published a story about an accident involving Artyom Stepanenko. Then another MGIMO student crashed a Tesla Model S car, the cost of which is 7.7 million rubles. In pursuit of the goal of finding out how a young man got a car whose value is almost equal to the annual salary of his father, the journalists studied the family income declaration, which will be discussed in more detail below.
Now a few words about Stepanenko Sr. Prior to taking the post of head of the Government of the Yaroslavl region, he was engaged in the hotel business, for example, he was on the board of directors of Azimut Hotels, and was also the founder of Alliance Hotel Management LLC.
The time of Dmitry Stepanenko’s “hotel” business also includes the establishment of useful connections by him – for example, acquaintance with Igor Chaika – an entrepreneur and, concurrently, the son of the former Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. Previously, they were colleagues in the apparatus of the Government of the Moscow Region, then they began to work together in the Yaroslavl Region, where Chaika Jr.’s company received a state contract for the disposal of municipal solid waste – in other words, garbage.
With the activities of Dmitry Stepanenko as head of government, a scandal is connected with the transfer of a number of territories for the construction of summer cottages and recreational facilities. The dissatisfaction of the residents of the region was caused by the fact that new buildings could appear on the territory of the Pleshcheyevo Lake National Park, which could seriously damage the unique nature and cultural wealth of the region. Eco-activists demanded to revise the general development plan, pay attention to the huge amount of archaeological material located in these lands, and also prevent illegal development of a valuable natural area.
It was Stepanenko Sr. who was involved in various projects for the development of vast and previously undeveloped areas. Among the developers of such programs is the now liquidated company POSH – from its pen came out, for example, plans to build an extensive network of recreational buildings, including in areas that are not quite appropriate for this purpose.
As mentioned above, Stepanenko Sr. was on the board of directors of Azimut Hotels – one can only speculate on the extent to which the hotels subordinate to him are his direct property. However, in connection with a resonant accident, journalists became interested in the official’s income declaration. It managed to find an extensive list of movable and immovable property, the owner of which is Stepanenko Sr. Thus, the family owns a vast land plot with an area of 2.3 hectares (2317 sq. m.), a house with an area of 457 sq. m., as well as shares in apartments. Among the movable property, we managed to find a Mercedes ML500, Mercedes-Benz S400, Lexus LX 570 and a snow and swamp vehicle. The existing collection is explained by the presence of “previously accumulated funds”, as well as a loan subsequently taken.
In addition, his income has grown significantly despite the problems associated with the coronavirus – from 3.75 million in 2019 to more than 9 million rubles a year by 2020.
Yes, a joke with them, family ties. Where the “firewood” comes from is already clear. If they suddenly ask where the state money has gone, they will answer – “Oats are expensive today.” And if you dig deeper … But let’s not talk about sad things. Apocalypse has not yet been “appointed”.