Kapashin Valery Petrovich biography family. “Clean ecology and modern infrastructure - instead of the “chemical” threat
On October 30, the Maradykovsky chemical weapons destruction facility will complete its work. And then he will start another - to decommission the facility. Only after this the huge complex will be ready to be handed over to the investor. The main intrigue is which one? The pulp and paper mill project - initially dubious - has, apparently, already disappeared. The name of the second interested party turned out to be unexpected - Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern.
"I know what you want"
Last week, the head of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Colonel General, arrived at the Maradykovsky CWD facility. Valery Kapashin. I came for a reason. According to the Colonel General, in the Kotelnich press “rumors are circulating and agitating local population" To reassure the latter, the press was called.
What do we have today?
In 2015, 4 facilities are closing on the territory of the Russian Federation - the Leonidovka chemical management facility (Penza region), the Shchuchye chemical management facility (Kurgan region), the Pochep chemical management facility (Bryansk region) and the Maradykovsky chemical management facility (Kirov region). There is only one facility left in all of Russia (and also, by the way, not far from us) - in the city of Kizner (Republic of Udmurtia). In turn, Maradykovsky specialists are interested in further fate their brainchild (and, accordingly, their jobs).
However, Colonel General Kapashin did not begin the briefing for the invited media with this:
“I'll tell you everything. If there are any questions, I will answer. But I don't think they will stay. “I know what you want,” he said from the doorway. And he explained that before this he had gathered people together on personal issues, but no one signed up: “they say you’ll say everything yourself now anyway.”
After which Valery Petrovich assured those present that the facility would continue to function after 2015. How? Now, within 5 years, the consequences of Maradykovsky’s activities will be eliminated - land reclamation, soil remediation, etc. By order of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance found funds for this from the poor Russian budget:
“As I said six months ago, the facility will remain. Only if six months ago I did not know in what form it would remain and what tasks it would perform, today I can confidently say that the decision was made by the President of the Russian Federation. A command was given to develop a plan and concept for decommissioning the facility. The Ministry of Finance found the money. We expect funding to range somewhere from 5 to 12 billion rubles for 2016. I’ll be happy with either 5 billion or 12 billion. We’ll just choose those events that won’t require huge expenses. What will this money allow? They will allow you to preserve objects in the condition in which they are now. Those people who should be fired (and this is 4098 people) all remain working in their places for the next 5 years. This issue is closed completely and irrevocably. Naturally, there will be no more than 4 shifts. It will be normal working week- from morning until 17-18 hours.”
In essence, everything remains as it was, including medical control. Today there are no toxic substances at the facility, but there are many metal products that have come into contact with toxic substances.
“Until we receive a certificate of conformity for each building and structure, and for the facility as a whole, we will not remove our facility monitoring system. We are also leaving all posts and mobile laboratories here so that there is no speculation from some segments of the population who are dissatisfied with everything,” Kapashin said.
Muddying the waters
“Speculation” and “dissatisfaction,” as well as rumors about the possible dismissal of employees, forced the head of the relevant federal department to go on an inspection raid.
Moreover, as it turned out, similar cases occurred at other chemical weapons destruction facilities, but in our country the panic mood turned out to be especially strong.
“I came to check the condition of the facility, shelf and warehouses. This is the first thing,” Valery Kapashin honestly told those present. — And secondly, I came to meet with the facility’s workers. Because through our control bodies I have heard rumors that some articles have appeared in the Kotelnich press that excite the consciousness of the population. I thought that all the excitement about the object should have ended by now. The many years of experience of “Maradykovsky” should already prove and show all the talkers who tried to disrupt the destruction process and cast doubt on our Russian technologies that nothing of what they say exists or can be. But they continue something. Of course, nowhere is calm, but the waters are most muddied here, as our control bodies reported to me.”
By the way, interesting fact. At every chemical weapons destruction facility, in almost every workshop, some kind of living creature lives (as part of biomonitoring). Maradykovsky has its own dovecote and ostriches (“the most sensitive birds,” Kapashin assured).
“I don’t know what else these people who are muddying the waters need, what other evidence that everything is clean with us? - Valery Petrovich is perplexed. “If there was something somewhere, I would have been removed a long time ago.”
However, in addition to directly managing facilities and dealing with rumors, the Colonel General also has to deal with “social affairs.” As soon as he arrived, “walkers” immediately went to him on the issue of connecting the village of Mirny to the gas pipeline feeding the facility.
Also for many Maradykovsky specialists there is the issue of housing. Many people have it as a service, where people live with almost entire families on “bird rights.” What will happen next when the plant closes (and it will close sooner or later when an investor comes) is a question that torments more than one head.
“I think that we will solve this problem within a year or two, and for everyone at once,” says Kapashin. — There will be a government decree defining the procedure for transferring ownership of service apartments and further privatization. I won’t deal with someone individually, “on call” or anything like that. And the calls, believe me, are coming.”
The biggest intrigue is, of course, the future investor. According to Kapashin, for each chemical weapons destruction facility “there are already several proposals.” There are as many as two at Maradykovsky.
Everyone has probably already heard about the first one. This is a pulp and paper mill. This project was advocated a year ago by the local authorities (whose balance, by the way, this facility will subsequently transfer to). Thus, in particular, the head of the Orichevsky district, Vadim Nurgalin, noted that it would be more profitable for the region to create a small pulp and paper mill on the basis of Maradykovo than to completely liquidate the facility for the destruction of chemical weapons. According to him, today the necessary infrastructure exists:
“There are facilities across Russia, and this is no secret, that are more expensive to liquidate and sanitize the territory than to transfer to the destruction of other types of weapons. Like in Udmurtia, for example. We are very interested in using this platform to the maximum. Today, discussions on the prospects for further use of the site in Maradykovo are being conducted at the level of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the government Kirov region offers options. In particular, the option of building a small pulp and paper mill was considered. It's about not about the giant associated with cellulose processing - this is precisely the most harmful production. It is quite possible to work on imported raw materials. How the Strizhevsky plant now works on imported lime. I consider this project very promising because it provides for an increase in the number of workers to 2 thousand. This is colossal. Moreover, the town’s infrastructure already exists there.”
In turn, Valery Kapashin believes that this is an “unreal proposal”:
“They need not so much our buildings and structures as the nearby territory. And our energy. Although, maybe it will pass? I don't know. Or maybe I have my own plans for this object? (Laughs). Who knows him better than me? I think there must be something closer to chemical production. We have strong laboratories and laboratory equipment here that should not go to waste.”
However, as a source in the regional government later explained, the idea of a “small pulp and paper mill” has already disappeared. There is another interested party and another project - from the state concern Almaz-Antey, which, however, “hasn’t decided yet whether it needs it or not”:
“The facility has another 5 years ahead. You understand that today no investor will invest anything here, the period is too long for Russian realities,” he shared with Business News. - Therefore, let's wait for the commission's decision, then it will make sense, according to at least, talk about something substantively.”
photo from http://www.ikirov.ru/
First person
Head of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons, Colonel General Valery KAPASHIN: “ Clean ecology And modern infrastructure- instead of the “chemical” threat”
On April 29, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction came into force. By signing this international agreement, the Russian Federation accepted a number of international obligations, the most important of which is the destruction of accumulated stockpiles of chemical weapons. Practical implementation These international obligations are entrusted to the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Directorate. - Editor's note). For almost two decades it has been engaged in these most important tasks for the state, carrying out the noble mission of cleansing the country’s territory from lethal weapons. The head of the Federal Directorate, Colonel General, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Valery KAPASHIN, talks about what has been done during this time and what remains to be done.
Valery Petrovich Kapashin was born on September 26, 1950 in the village of Runovshchina, Poltava region (Ukraine). In the Armed Forces since 1968. Graduated from the Saratov Higher Military Chemical Institute command school, Military Academy chemical protection.
In the army he held positions from platoon commander to head of the chemical weapons liquidation department, deputy head of the Russian Chemical Weapons Elimination Troops of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the liquidation of chemical weapons. From 2001 to the present - Head of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons.
Took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant as regiment commander. The regiment was awarded the pennant of the USSR Ministry of Defense "For Courage".
Awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree, "For Military Merit", Honor, Red Star, "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree, medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 2nd degree, more than 30 badges differences between ministries and departments of the Russian Federation.
Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, laureate of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Married, has a daughter.
— Valery Petrovich, August 22, 2012 The Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons turns 20 years old. Please tell us how it all began, what problems had to be solved at the initial stage when creating this fundamentally new structure for the state?
— The federal administration was not created in a vacuum. The basis for it was a team of professional officers who came in 1992 to the Chemical Weapons Elimination Directorate, created as part of the radiation chemical and biological protection Russian Ministry of Defense. Considering that at this time Russia was preparing to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention, this was a reasonable and timely step. After all, it was necessary to the shortest possible time after signing the agreement, within 10 years, destroy all accumulated stocks of chemical weapons, and this amounted to neither more nor less - 40,000 tons.
We were faced with a truly enormous problem. Let's take into account the fact that there has not yet been experience in destroying chemical weapons in industrial scale, there were no technologies for detoxifying toxic substances. It was necessary to build facilities, train specialists, and pass the necessary laws. The situation was complicated by the fact that there was a negative experience: in 1986, in the city of Chapaevsk Samara region, a plant was built to destroy organophosphorus toxic substances, but due to the lack of proper dialogue with the public, it was not put into operation. As a result, a lot of public money invested in the facility, as they say, went into the sand.
Of course, this unfavorable experience was taken into account, therefore, after the signing of the Convention, a great deal of work was done to create a legal framework. Over 400 regulations were adopted, including such important ones as Federal law of May 2, 1997 “On the destruction of chemical weapons” and the Federal Law of November 7, 2000 “On social protection citizens engaged in work with chemical weapons." This made it possible to transfer the problem of the destruction of chemical weapons into a legal framework and make it discussed in society and the scientific community.
Full-fledged work has begun to inform the public and, above all, the population living near chemical weapons storage facilities. Our facilities were visited by representatives of the public and funds mass media, more and more reliable information began to appear in newspapers and on television. As a result, the negative aura arising around the problem of the destruction of chemical weapons began to fade into oblivion, and an objective understanding of the need for a constructive solution to it came. After all, it’s no secret that the shelf life of many ammunition has already exceeded the permissible limit, and this represents a pressing threat today. We have special means and units that are engaged in the timely identification and destruction of emergency ammunition, and their number is increasing over time. But the problem of chemical disarmament can be finally and irrevocably solved only by completely destroying chemical weapons, while ensuring complete safety for the environment and people working at the facilities and living in the areas where they are located.
- When did active practical work for the construction of special facilities intended for the destruction of chemical weapons?
— We started construction in 2001. This was primarily due to the identification of the necessary cash from federal budget. Our first-born - a pilot Russian facility put into operation - was a plant in the village of Gorny Saratov region. Over the three years of work, from 2002 to 2005, over 1,143 tons of blister toxic substances were eliminated there. Then it was the turn of the facility in Kambarka, Udmurt Republic. Over four years of operation, from 2005 to 2009, 6,349 tons of hazardous substances were eliminated there. Both objects fulfilled their purpose with honor.
Currently, the process of destruction of chemical weapons continues at four sites. In September 2006, a facility for the destruction of chemical weapons was put into operation in the village of Mirny, Kirov Region, and in September 2008 - in the village of Leonidovka Penza region, in May 2009 - in the city of Shchuchye, Kurgan region, in November 2010 - in the city of Pochep, Bryansk region.
The share of chemical weapons destroyed in the period from 2002 to 2012 is over 60%. Behind these numbers is colossal work Federal Administration team - officers and civilian personnel.
— What is the Federal Administration today, what is its structure?
— Without exaggeration, I can say that the team of the Federal Directorate is unique. It has absorbed the experience and knowledge of many specialists: military personnel, scientists, engineers, designers, builders and representatives of other very different professions.
The organizational center of the Federal Administration is the headquarters and directorate of combat training and military service. This is a kind of organizational center for coordinating all activities aimed at maintaining high combat readiness and anti-terrorism security military units, for warning emergency situations, to prepare for the elimination of their consequences in the event of their occurrence. Staffing is also carried out at the headquarters, and we serve both by conscription and by contract. Primary objectives are also to improve the security and defense of chemical weapons storage and destruction facilities, ensure safe working conditions, maintain stable communications, etc.
It is also worth noting that officers of the combat training department and military service take part in activities to establish and implement international verification regimes for the destruction of chemical weapons at Russian facilities in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
The main burden of ensuring the process of operating the facilities lies with the management of the destruction and safe storage of chemical weapons. Activity of this department is aimed at carrying out a set of measures to ensure accident-free destruction and safe storage chemical weapons. The integrated security system is implemented using the latest scientific achievements, everything is done at a reliable level.
Another important area of the department’s activities is ensuring the safe storage of chemical munitions at specialized facilities of the Federal Administration. Happening constant monitoring their technical condition, routine maintenance is carried out and maintenance. Of course, emergency chemical munitions are destroyed in a timely manner.
The management (organization of construction and operation of chemical weapons destruction facilities) is responsible for the design and construction of chemical weapons destruction facilities. Here design and pre-project documentation is developed, and here it is agreed upon and approved. But this is not all that management does. His areas of activity include the acquisition and supply of equipment to construction sites, the organization of time and quality control in places of construction, installation and commissioning work, the organization of major and current repairs. Specialists from this department travel to sites to approve construction sites, support and coordinate construction work, technical supervision, etc. They have a great responsibility.
One of the important areas practical activities The Federal Office is involved in activities related to international cooperation in the field of chemical disarmament. The solution to this problem is entrusted to the department (organizations for interaction with states parties to the Convention). During the implementation of Convention 16 foreign countries, including Germany, USA, Italy, Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium, France, as well as the state association European Union and the non-governmental American foundation “Initiative to Reduce nuclear threat", provided practical assistance to Russia in the form of supplies of equipment, provision financial resources and provision of various services.
The implementation of international obligations in the field of chemical disarmament required large-scale scientific research. The task of supporting research and development work is assigned to the research center of the Federal Administration. Over the more than 10-year period of existence of this center, a full-fledged scientific team has been formed, which at a high level carries out the formation of scientific and technical policy in the field of chemical disarmament.
In addition to the seven facilities for the destruction of chemical weapons, the Federal Directorate is directly subordinate to the security and emergency response regiments. They are designed to ensure reliable security and defense of a chemical weapons destruction facility, as well as to eliminate the consequences of possible emergency situations. Total number personnel military units and subunits reaches about ten thousand people.
— Let's return to the question already raised above about how the population of the regions where chemical weapons destruction facilities are located perceives such a dangerous neighborhood. After all, this is one of the the most important problems, considering that the objects are located in the outback of Russia...
“I understand people’s concerns. During Soviet times, this topic was secret. Therefore, when in the early 90s of the last century the problem of the destruction of chemical weapons became public, for many people living in the Bryansk, Penza, Kurgan, Saratov regions and the Udmurt Republic it came as a real shock.
Due to my line of work, I spend a lot of time in these regions, meeting people living and working at our facilities. Direct communication with them allows you to look at the problem not only through the eyes of a specialist. I note that people's attitudes change noticeably in better side. There are very significant objective reasons for this.
Firstly, a public information system has been created and is functioning, thanks to which the population receives reliable information about the process of destruction of chemical weapons. At each of our facilities there are specially created public relations groups where a person can come and receive all the necessary information. The group’s employees conduct on-site events twice a month, the purpose of which is to bring necessary information. Hotlines are held annually for the population with the participation of representatives of district administrations, facilities and supervisory authorities. Any citizen can call and ask questions to the responsible persons. Site visits are organized for representatives of the media and “ round tables"and other events.
Secondly, the population receives tangible benefits from the implementation of the federal target program “Destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in the Russian Federation” in the form of the development of social infrastructure in their areas. Up to 10% of the cost of the property is allocated for these purposes. As a result, over the past years, a significant number of social infrastructure facilities have been built.
Let's look at the facts of what exactly has been done for the well-being of the population in the places where our facilities are being built. I think that visual examples will speak for themselves better than any words. Let's start with the Kambarsky district of the Udmurt Republic. There, a gas pipeline branch to the city of Kambarka with a length of about forty kilometers was laid, two 60-apartment residential buildings and a dormitory with a capacity of about one hundred beds, an administrative building for the department of internal affairs, and other facilities were built, street gas supply networks and a gas distribution substation were built.
5 residential buildings were built in the Kirov region apartment buildings, a school with a capacity of more than 500 students, the heating networks were reconstructed, water intake structures and main heating networks were built.
High and high gas pipelines were put into operation in the Penza region low pressure, wastewater treatment plants in the village of Zolotarevka, gasification was carried out in the village of Leonidovka, its water supply was carried out, the local road connecting these two villages was reconstructed, and they were installed with telephones. The regional center for children and teenagers with disabilities in the village of Kichkileika, palace water sports in the city of Penza.
Similar work on the construction and reconstruction of infrastructure for the population was carried out in the Kurgan and Bryansk regions, in the Kiznersky district of the Udmurt Republic.
The most important thing is that today we have experience in the trouble-free operation of six chemical weapons destruction facilities. This speaks of reliability Russian technologies destruction of toxic substances, professionalism of personnel and efficiency of the management system.
Summing up the work done, I would like to emphasize once again that thanks to the federal target program“Destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles in the Russian Federation” Russian regions not only get rid of chemical weapons, but also get modern infrastructure, a clean environment, jobs and hope for the future.
— What are the main tasks facing the Federal Administration in the near future?
— The fourth and final stage of the Chemical Weapons Convention is currently being implemented. In accordance with the current version of the program, approved by the Resolution Government of the Russian Federation dated December 9, 2010, the final deadline for the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles was extended until December 31, 2015.
In this regard, the construction of the last facility for the destruction of chemical weapons in the village of Kizner in the Udmurt Republic continues. Subject to sufficient budget funding, it is planned to put the facility into operation in the second quarter of 2013. There, it is necessary to destroy 5,744 tons of toxic substances sarin, soman, chemical agents of the V-X type, and lewisite.
Two sites - in the village of Gorny and in the city of Kambarka - have completed the destruction of toxic substances, so the implementation final stage will be carried out at the remaining five sites. In addition, the construction of buildings for the destruction of products continues. complex design at chemical weapons destruction facilities in the town of Shchuchye, Kurgan Region, the village of Leonidovka, Penza Region, and the village of Mirny, Kirov Region. There is not much time left until the end of 2015, given how many chemical weapons we still have to destroy. But everything is going according to plan. The main thing is that I am confident in my team. We employ real professionals, and they will definitely cope with all the assigned tasks.
Taking this opportunity, I express my sincere gratitude for the hard work of all veterans, military personnel and civilian personnel of the Federal Administration, chemical weapons destruction facilities and security and accident response regiments. Their work deserves high praise.
Interview conducted by Yulia KUZNETSOVA
A year ago, on September 27, 2017, Russia completed the destruction of all existing stockpiles of chemical weapons (CW). It was carried out as part of the implementation of international obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Convention).
However, idle speculation around the Russian chemical arsenal has not stopped; on the contrary, they are trying to inflate it with new strength. In the preamble to the latest “chemical” sanctions imposed by the United States a month ago, our country is required to undertake certain obligations “not to use chemical weapons in the future.” To figure out where the truth is here, to once again recall how Russian chemical weapons stockpiles were destroyed, and what fate awaits facilities built for the destruction of chemical warfare agents (CW), we are talking with the head of the Federal Directorate for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons (Federal management) Colonel General Valery Kapashin.
Valery Petrovich, so all or not all of the chemical weapons in Russia have been destroyed?
Once again, I declare with full responsibility that all existing stockpiles of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation were completely and irrevocably destroyed. We have a certificate about this issued by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.
And those who are again trying to present our country as not fulfilling its international obligations cannot but know about this.
Of course, they know everything perfectly well. All unfounded accusations or hints are derivatives of a policy that has been going on for many years double standards. The truth is that our country was initially one of the main initiators of chemical disarmament. Back in 1987, the Soviet Union unilaterally stopped the production of chemical warfare agents and closed some of their production facilities or repurposed them for the production of civilian products. Having agreed among themselves on chemical disarmament, it was Russia and the United States that gave the green light to the signing of the Convention in 1993. Even earlier, we opened all chemical weapons arsenals and their production plants to international inspectors. Foreign observers were allowed everywhere; it was impossible to hide anything in the early 90s, even if someone wanted to. Americans, as President V.V. put it. Putin, they felt like masters even in the holy of holies of our defense industry - in nuclear centers. Remember how some zealous Democratic politicians gave up all the secrets back then.
I repeat, all Russian chemical weapons have been destroyed under the continuous multi-level control of international inspectors. All technological lines for its production, means of delivering chemical ammunition, fuses of chemical ammunition were dismantled and also destroyed.
Unlike the United States, which stated that it will continue to destroy its arsenal of military chemicals for at least another 5 years.
The Americans had 25% less stockpiles of chemical warfare agents than we did. They started their work earlier industrial destruction, but will complete this process later. By the way, they did not believe that we would be able to fulfill our convention obligations so quickly without causing damage environment and people. But Russia has once again demonstrated that it has both technology and specialists capable of solving the most complex tasks modernity.
What are you, as a specialist, doctor of sciences, professor, who served all his life in the RCBZ troops, headed test site chemical weapons, can you talk about the accusations against Russia of a chemical attack in Salisbury, England?
We have enough worries of our own to be distracted by comments on these events, and this is not within my competence. However, my colleagues and I, of course, discussed the topic. I want to note a couple of facts. Firstly, no evidence of Russia’s involvement in them has ever been presented, not a single one, just words. Secondly, if military warfare had been used in a modern, crowded city such as Salisbury, the results would have been completely different. I don't even want to scare readers about what could be there. There would be no talk of any surviving cats.
How did the Federal Administration manage to destroy 40 thousand tons of military chemical agents without allowing a single case of them or their destruction products breaking into the environment?
Security was originally defined as main principle in our work. Please note that we even called our organization the Federal Office for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons. Carry out work in a leisurely manner, without resorting to using high temperatures(unlike the USA, where chemical agents were burned), unique two-stage destruction technologies developed by domestic scientists made it possible. Everything necessary to ensure safety was provided in advance; we spared no resources on this. Let me give you an example: when creating facilities for the destruction of chemical weapons, up to 70% of the funds were spent on security systems (not only environmental, but also technical, technological, anti-terrorism, information, etc.). The highest professionalism, courage and responsibility of our specialists also contributed to the completion of the task without emergency incidents. For 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, almost 5,500 days and nights, almost without days off or stops, working in several shifts, we destroyed most dangerous substances. Thank God and those people who did it, everything went, now we can say, exemplary. We coped with a difficult and dangerous task, without damaging the honor of the country and the authority of the radiation chemical and biological protection troops, from which the Federal Administration emerged. I am proud of my subordinates and happy that fate has given me the opportunity to command them.
How much did the chemical disarmament program cost the state?
About 320 billion rubles, but these funds cannot in any way be considered spent irrevocably. Of course, the main thing is that the danger of an unauthorized breakthrough of explosive agents due to depressurization of chemical munitions has been eliminated. All of them, in the amount of 4,353,067 units, had served warranty periods storage
It is also necessary to take into account that the money was used by domestic organizations: scientific, design, construction, industrial, medical, management and others. Many of them survived difficult times only thanks to our orders. Tens of thousands Russian citizens were provided with work with decent wages. Hundreds of infrastructure facilities have been built in the regions where chemical weapons are stored and destroyed: the Udmurt Republic, Bryansk, Kirov, Kurgan, Penza and Saratov regions. These include hospitals, schools, kindergartens, Houses of Culture and Sports Palaces, residential buildings, gas pipelines, overpasses, roads, water pipelines, power lines, etc. with a total value of more than 12 billion rubles. Finally, the established chemical weapons destruction facilities are modern high-tech industrial enterprises with the most advanced waste disposal workshops. They can and should be used in the future, establishing on their basis the production of products that are in demand on the market. So the program for the destruction of chemical weapons has given a powerful impetus to the socio-economic development of the regions and will have positive influence and on the development of the country as a whole.
Are there anyone willing to repurpose chemical weapons destruction facilities?
In order to fulfill the import substitution tasks set by the country’s president, business must build new enterprises, therefore, of course, it is ready to use those already created. So investors are showing increased interest in our properties, and some of their future owners have already firmly decided. In the first half of 2019, we transfer the first facility (Pochep in the Bryansk region) to the Moscow Endocrine Plant. Active substances for the manufacture of medicines will be produced there. Currently, such substances are purchased abroad.
At the Pochep facility, the destruction of chemical weapons was completed in 2015, and you will transfer them to the new owner only in 2019. What are the workers doing there during this period?
At all facilities that participated in the destruction of chemical weapons, we have to carry out work (and it is actively underway) to eliminate the consequences of their activities. In other words, bring all equipment and workshops into a guaranteed safe condition. This task is not as large-scale as the destruction of chemical weapons, but no less dangerous. Even microscopic residues of toxic substances in pipelines, taps, ripening reactors or some other parts of technological lines represent mortal danger. The work must be carried out by trained specialists; you cannot recruit people from the street. I think that in 2024-2025 we will transfer the last object to the new owner.
Thank you, good luck to you!
The conversation was conducted by P. Chachilo
In the photo, Colonel General V.P. Kapashin
To whom is war, and to whom mother is dear. Alas, this saying has been relevant for Ukraine for four years now. At a time when young people are dying at the front, some in our country are building their own well-being on blood. We are talking about businessmen who not only enrich themselves, but also help people directly involved in Russian aggression against Ukraine get rich.
“Alternate airfield” for the Russian general
One of these businessmen lives and “works” in the very heart of Ukraine - the Poltava region. Lev Orestovich Veriga is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the region. Together with his wife, he owns one of the best hotels in Poltava “Grand Alley”, the elite restaurant “Raffinato”, the equally elite bar “Nega”, one of the best entertainment venues in the city “Europe”, the VIP restaurant “Kazachka”, the restaurant complex “Kashtanovaya” alley" and many other objects. And everything would have been fine if the Verig family had built this business on their own. However, it turns out that behind this prosperity there is another person - a certain Valery Petrovich Kapashin.
Mr. Kapashin is Lev Veriga's father-in-law. However, this is not what attracted our attention to him. The fact is that Valery Kapashin is an active general in the army of the Russian Federation. Since the end of April 2001, he has served as head of the federal department for the safe storage and destruction of chemical weapons. On September 27, he personally reported to Vladimir Putin about the destruction of the last chemical munition at the Kizner facility. In a word, a very brave military leader of the army at war with us.
Poltava region for Valery Kapashin - small homeland. He was born not far from the regional center, in the village of Runovshchina. Probably, it is this fact that explains the fact that he chose the Poltava region as a “reserve airfield” - after all, his native place.
House-palace in Tereshki
I must say that this “airfield” in the village of Tereshki looks very respectable - several hectares of land, a mini-zoo where a lion and a lynx live, three checkpoints with paramilitary guards armed with machine guns and, of course, a luxurious house-palace. In a word, this is “Mezhyhirya”, a 15-minute drive from Poltava. Officially, all this belongs to Kapashin’s daughter, but local residents claim that during the construction of the estate they repeatedly saw the gallant general of the Russian Army, giving instructions to the builders.
Business under the double-headed eagle
Valery Karashin's son-in-law Lev Veriga does not hide his pro-Russian sentiments. In particular, in 2011, he volunteered to finance the “restoration of the original appearance” of the monument to the commandant of the Poltava Fortress Alexey Kelin. Let us remember that in its original form the monument was a pedestal topped with a huge double-headed eagle.
Then the public of Poltava did not allow this symbol of the “Russian world” to be erected on a pedestal. One of the reasons for people’s indignation was the information that the real sponsor of the project is not Veriga, but his father-in-law, Russian Army General Valery Kapashin.
“This is not an unfounded statement, I can prove it. Kapashin’s daughter and grandchildren live here. This is not the last figure in Russia. From there, through Kapashin, the local authorities received an order for the installation of a double-headed eagle in Poltava,” Vasily Kovalchuk, a member of the Poltava City Executive Committee, said then.
By the way, a year earlier Lev Veriga ran for the Poltava City Council from the Party of Regions. His election campaign was full of pro-Russian rhetoric. Largely because of her, he did not get into the city council - Poltava residents proved that they are patriots of Ukraine, and not of a neighboring country.
“Collaborators? No, we haven’t heard"
It would seem local government must in every possible way distance itself from such “prominent figures” as Kapashin and Veriga. However, in practice, everything happens exactly the opposite. The mayor of Poltava, Alexander Mamai, repeatedly awarded Veriga with certificates of honor as “the best businessman of the city.” In the same capacity, the mayor of Poltava appointed Veriga to the city council of entrepreneurs.
In addition, Mamai introduced Lev Veriga to the Poltava City Executive Committee - as one of largest businessmen cities. Is it worth mentioning that through the efforts of the mayor of Poltava, his father-in-law, a general of the army at war with us, was represented in the city executive committee in the person of Lev Verige?
Local authorities favor the Kapashin-Verigi clan in business matters. If the companies they own need land for the construction of new facilities, they allocate it. Do you need private land? Please! Among other things, this is also explained by the fact that Lev Veriga’s brother Igor is the head of the department of citizens’ appeals, organizational work and general issues in the Poltava City Executive Committee. In his declaration, Igor Veriga indicates that his family owns three apartments, two garages, three land plots and a dacha. In addition, Igor Orestovich owns two cars, holds deposits in two Ukrainian banks, and also keeps 20 thousand dollars, 5 thousand euros and 100 thousand hryvnia “under the pillow” - in cash. Agree, these are not bad assets for a government official whose annual salary was less than 160 thousand hryvnia.
Why does the head of the city not only keep a representative of the family of collaborators on the executive committee, but also in every possible way contribute to their prosperity on Poltava soil? The answer, I think, is obvious: there is serious money at stake. After all, in order to maintain a house with an indoor 25-meter swimming pool, a fleet of four luxury cars and other “amenities”, you need to be prepared for serious expenses. It is obvious that part of these expenses is covered by Russian money, which is personified in Poltava by the Kapashin-Verigi clan.
Igor GOLOVATYY
Udmurtia is home to 30 percent of all Russian chemical weapons, which must be destroyed by 2012. The Russian Federation fulfills its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The second stage of this work is associated with the commissioning of two facilities in 2006 - in Kambarka and the village of Maradykovsky, Kirov Region.Today in our “Living Room” - Head of the Federal Directorate for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons, Lieutenant General Valery Kapashin, under whose leadership all Russian objects on the destruction of chemical weapons.
Valery Petrovich, the plant in Kambarka will begin operating in the coming months. What is unique about this object?
Firstly, only one stage of lewisite destruction will be carried out there. The resulting reaction masses will be converted into dry salts and transported to Gorny, Saratov region. After their processing, technical arsenic will be obtained - a valuable raw material for the electronics industry. Secondly, the Kambar facility was built after we had developed the technology for destroying lewisite, mustard gas, double and triple mixtures at the pilot industrial facility in Gorny. Even in Russia's 1996 chemical weapons destruction program, it was assumed that if this technology showed good results, it would be used at the Kambar facility, where large reserves of lewisite are stored. We worked in Gorny three years, and no questions regarding technology arose. The destruction of toxic substances is under strict international control, and during this time there has not been a single case of emissions into the atmosphere.
As of today, the facility is almost ready. We are awaiting the order to create State Commission. There are some problems related to the equipment, but they should be resolved by November 25th.
How is it different? Russian system destruction of chemical weapons from the American? Is it true that our system is better?
Americans burn toxic substances in high-temperature ovens. Despite the high reliability of the combustion and cleaning system, they recorded 50 releases of toxic substances that occurred during furnace shutdowns. That's a lot. Now after local protests environmental organizations Americans are also switching on the technology we have been using since the beginning. It passed all the examinations and was tested back in 1994. Russia has developed a two-stage technology for the destruction of chemical weapons. At the first stage, complete detoxification of toxic substances is carried out. The reaction using special chemical reagents occurs under the supervision of specialists. As a result, toxic substances are converted into non-toxic products suitable for subsequent disposal. This process occurs periodically and allows the toxic substance to be reliably decomposed, preventing any emergency situation. At the second stage, the reaction masses are processed for use in national economy. As a result, a double barrier is created, guaranteeing not only the completeness of detoxification, but most importantly, the environmental cleanliness of the process.
Valery Petrovich, what will happen to the Kambar facility after the destruction of chemical weapons is completed?
According to my estimates, he will finish work in April 2008. In the third edition Russian program destruction of chemical weapons, adopted on October 24, 2005, stipulates that two years before the end of the facility’s operation, the leaders of the republic and the region must submit their proposals for repurposing the facility. As far as I know, now Viktor Ivanovich Kholstov (deputy head Federal agency in industry) there are already proposals from Udmurtia. I have no doubt that the prospects for the Kambara facility will be good, largely because the leadership of Udmurtia agreed with our proposals and the plant began not 12 kilometers from the storage facility, as was originally supposed, but inside the chemical weapons destruction facility itself. After the military completes the work and transfers the facility to the ownership of the republic, it is quite easy to repurpose it into commercial production, which will generate profit. With such an object, if it is managed properly, the area will not be in poverty.
The seventh and final one is due to start operating in 2009. Russian plant for the disposal of chemical weapons in Kizner...
The deadlines are very strict. In 2006, we must receive a positive conclusion on the feasibility study, and in parallel, the design institute must prepare working documentation. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation does not allocate money if it does not have feasibility study materials and working documentation. In November next year We already need to plan funds for the 2007 defense order. Ten percent of the amount allocated for the facility must be spent on social facilities. Today we have the act of selecting a site for the future construction of the facility. True, the site is located far from Kizner, and does not suit us, and in the future, I think, the republic and the region. We have sent our proposals to all supervisory authorities and propose another option: to locate an industrial zone in close proximity to the storage facility. This will eliminate the transportation of ammunition, there will be no need to build a terminal for loading containers with ammunition, the area of land plots for storage will be reduced, and there will also be less settlements and territories will fall into the zone of protective measures. After completion of the work, this facility can be used to organize some kind of industrial production.
Valery Petrovich, in your work a lot depends on mutual understanding with the head of the region. How do you like working in Udmurtia?
We have developed good friendly relations with both Alexander Volkov and Yuri Pitkevich. We met in 1997, when I was just appointed to the position Head of the Directorate for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons as part of the Directorate of the Chief of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces. Both the President of Udmurtia and the Chairman of the Government have long known this problem well and are aware of the situation. We easily find mutual understanding. Work problems arise, but they are solvable.
We have an order to carry out. fulfills all obligations under the convention thanks to the work of officers Federal Administration for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons. I'm proud of my people!
They write about you as a person who bears personal responsibility for the creation of facilities, safe storage, transportation and destruction of chemical weapons. What powers does this status give you?
Nothing special. The powers are determined by the resolution Russian government No. 87 of February 5, 2001. There is also a military charter in relation to each officer: I have the right to punish, encourage, present for an order, remove from office...
Are you a harsh boss?
You need to ask your subordinates about this. I am very demanding not only of myself, but also of my subordinates, but I am fair... I can understand everything, but I cannot forgive lack of performance! About 40 percent of the officers have been with me for a very long time, since they were lieutenants. I demand from everyone, and from them even more, you know. They served with me and Far East, and in Moscow. You probably wouldn’t go after a bad boss?
Is it difficult to get to your place of work?
All management vacancies are filled.
Valery Petrovich, is there hazing among the generals?
Do you have a hobby?
I really love fishing, but I don’t have time for it yet. In Udmurtia we managed to go fishing twice at the invitation of Alexander Volkov. A year ago, we went out with a small group and caught a boatload of perch!
We are meeting after the celebration of the Day of the Radiation and Chemical Defense Forces...
This is a great day, and for our The federal administration too - 95 percent of the officers come from the radiation and chemical protection troops.
What kind of toast do military chemists make on their professional occasion?
IN Federal Administration- for women, real wives of officers.
Thank God that chemical weapons have not yet been used anywhere. We will do everything to ensure that it is destroyed on time.
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