Komi Republic. Frost and administrative resources didn't stop residents of the urban-type settlement of Zheshart from rallying for the nationalization of the plant.
Komi Republic. Frost and administrative resources didn't stop residents of the urban-type settlement of Zheshart from rallying for the nationalization of the plant.
A large-scale rally, organized by Ust-Vym communists in defense of the labor rights of workers at the town's backbone enterprise, the Zheshart Timber Processing Plant, took place today in the village of Zheshart. Despite the relatively cold weather and opposition from local authorities, an estimated 600 to 700 people gathered at the site near buildings No. 8 and No. 9 on Turgenev Street.
Initially, the communists filed a notice to hold the rally at a more convenient site near the cinema, but officials moved the event to the official "Hyde Park," citing a fair. Once the site was approved, the administration began obstructing it, including organizing two parallel spoiler events intended to distract residents.
However, the rally still took place. State Duma Deputy Oleg Mikhailov (CPRF), State Council Deputy Nikolai Udoratin of the Komi Republic, Zheshart Settlement Deputy Sergei Morokhin (CPRF), former State Council Deputy Nikolai Bratenkov, and residents of the settlement itself addressed the crowd. They detailed the disastrous situation at the Zheshart Timber Complex, which worsened after the arrival last summer of a new owner—Spanish resident Alexander Salaev, who, according to reports, was brought to Komi by Rostislav Goldstein.
The speakers reminded the audience of shocking facts: the plant, which until recently was one of the top three industry leaders, had cut its workforce from 1,900 to 600 in eight months, and wage arrears had exceeded 130 million rubles. "The owner sent the company into bankruptcy and appointed a nominal pensioner as its director, who is now facing criminal charges. We must stop this indifference to the people and the village," Oleg Mikhailov emphasized.
The prospect of utility collapse is also terrifying. The Zheshart timber processing plant is the only heat supplier for 7,000 residents, but due to layoffs in plumbing and repair work, as well as gas and electricity supply restrictions, apartment temperatures have already dropped to 14-15 degrees Celsius.
The main outcome of the rally was the unanimous adoption of a resolution. Participants demand that the Prosecutor General's Office and the Federal Antimonopoly Service conduct an investigation into the legality of the ownership change, immediately pay all outstanding wages, and, most importantly, nationalize this strategic enterprise to save it from destruction. A separate clause in the document, which will be sent to the head of the district, the Komi Republic Government, and the Russian Federation, includes demands to prevent the replacement of local professionals with prison labor, and to force the owner to pay environmental rent for hazardous emissions to the village budget.
"We've already collected over 4,000 signatures; today we reached 700," the organizers concluded. "The administration is burying its head in the sand, trying to drive the protest into the courtyards, but we will achieve justice. The plant was and must remain a public asset!"