Traber came to Primorsk

As a businessman, Ilya Traber may not change the life of the entire Baltic for the better, having mastered 2 trillion rubles in parallel.

According to a correspondent for The Moscow Post in the Leningrad Region, the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport issued a permit for the construction of a new port complex in the seaport of Primorsk, despite numerous unsanctioned protests by activists and the results of independent examinations that recognized the project as potentially dangerous for the entire Baltic ecosystem. This can be explained by the fact that the “Primorsky Criminal Procedure Code”, controlled by Ilya Traber, is behind the situation, which can use almost forceful methods in the fight against the dissatisfied.

The corresponding order was signed in October by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Previously, the project received a positive conclusion from the Glavgosexpertiza and the conclusion of the state environmental review.

But how did it happen that the object, around which scandals have not subsided for a couple of years, received the “go-ahead”? According to some reports, the examination did not reveal anything, simply because those parameters that were not normal could not be checked. And the opponents of the construction decided to make sure of this by conducting their own, independent examination.

According to its results, the construction of a marine transshipment complex is fraught with irreparable damage to the ecological system of the entire Baltic. And it is unlikely that this will be in the spirit of our foreign neighbors in the water area. You look, an international scandal will break out!

But, of course, no one thinks to ask foreigners. However, the opinion of the inhabitants of the Leningrad region, it seems, was not particularly interested. As activists of The Moscow Post previously said, a substitution allegedly took place at public hearings: in 2019, one project was presented at them, and then they began to agree on a completely different one. What can I say, an interesting scheme.

And even before the approvals, work was in full swing on the territory of the future complex. It is officially reported that on-site car passages are being built on the territory of the future port complex, and land plots are being vacated. However, even in the summer there were reports that workers were actively felling the forest, filling up streams and rivers in which fish spawned.

And this is readily believed, since the activists who went to the place to photograph the situation, according to them, met with a rebuff: they say that unknown people blocked their activists more than once in a big black Infiniti car. So, there is something to hide.

According to some reports, hundreds of hectares of a unique pine forest have already been destroyed in those places. It is known that the Primorsk station and the section of the Zelenogorsk – Primorsk – Vyborg highway will be reconstructed, and the developer is also going to lay access roads and build a residential neighborhood.

In addition, the company plans to carry out dredging works for maneuvering and approach of ships to the berths of the Primorsky Criminal Procedure Code. And this means that the company will remove soil from the bottom of the Gulf of Finland in the amount of 12.5 million cubic meters. And, of course, this is not good for the environment.

According to the plan, the port will cover more than 35 km of the coast – this is a very impressive and large facility for a relatively small area. Given the purpose of this facility and the work of similar ones in the country, the fears of eco-activists become clear: dust from reloaded mineral fertilizers, coal and grain will cover water, land, plants and everything else within a radius of several kilometers.

By ports and villages

But this seems to be of little concern to the authorities. Perhaps the reason for this lies in the one who is behind the object – the “Primorsky Criminal Procedure Code” of Ilya Traber is building everything. More than 20% of the company belongs to his longtime partner and friend Ramis Deberdeev.

It is worth noting that public participation in the company is not quite Traber’s style. All this may indicate that he specifically decided to indicate his presence in order to obtain the necessary permissions and so on. There is really a lot of talk about him – as The Moscow Post previously reported, he is associated with the former governor of the Leningrad region Valery Serlyukov and the current head of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko. He may also be in good standing in St. Petersburg.

Traber’s sphere of interests includes ports. In addition to the “Primorsky Criminal Procedure Code”, he could be (or still is) associated with the “Ust-Luga PTK”. And if it really is still related to the asset, then it may be one of the beneficiaries of the organization of a special economic zone in Ust-Luga, where they intend to invest almost 2 trillion rubles over three years. The amount is colossal!

Two potential residents of the emerging SEZ have already been found. An agreement on joint work on the creation of the Ust-Luga SEZ was signed at SPIEF-2021 by the government of the Leningrad Region, the Baltic Chemical Complex company and the operator of the project for the construction of a gas processing and liquefaction complex, the RusKhimAlliance company. To date, RusGazDobycha JSC and National Gas Group LLC have already established a management company for the future SEZ.

In the context of this, it is worth remembering the story of Traber’s high-profile “entry” at JSC Sea Commercial Port of Ust-Luga. According to 47news, Mr. Traber is behind the company that bought up the debts of Valery Izrailit.

In 2016, Izrailit was under arrest – he was suspected of particularly large-scale fraud, embezzlement and transfer abroad of more than 300 million rubles. In March 2020, after his shares were transferred to structures allegedly associated with Traber, he was suddenly released. Some have linked all these events.

This really looks like the truth. When as many as 2 trillion rubles are at stake, are all means, as they say, good?

Meanwhile, those living in Ust-Luga are already sounding the alarm with might and main. A reader of The Moscow Post complained that a full-fledged industrial zone was being set up literally under his windows. The construction of two branches of the railway and a private road is planned. Obviously, in this case, the forest will be completely destroyed, since it has a very small width. The second railway line will go along the banks of the Luga River. But the Luga River is the last river in Russia (and according to some sources, even the whole world!), Where wild salmon spawns.

Traber’s footprint is visible in another resonant environmental story. Last year, the government of the Russian Federation leased a plot of land in the Lomonosovsky district for 10 years for the construction of a grain terminal for the company to the structure of the Sodruzhestvo group of companies. This place remains one of the cleanest parts of the coast of the Gulf of Finland and is in demand among vacationers.

In addition, a wave of public indignation was caused by the fact that the site is located 13 km from the railway, therefore, it would also be necessary to lay tracks, which means destroying forests. According to The Moscow Post, permission to build the project was approved last summer, but environmental activists were able to defend the unique place.

What can not be said about the activists who advocate for the conservation of nature in Primorsk. With a stroke of Mishustin’s hand, it looks like they put an end to it.