Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Former Soviet children’s resort is expanding, thanks to Kremlin investment. But locals are outraged by what they say is an illegal land grab. The Moscow Times reports Once a dream destination for children from across the Soviet Union, the huge Crimean children’s camp Artek is one of the Kremlin’s most prized projects in the region Read moreIn a campaign to reclaim the land, a grassroots protest movement of a kind rarely seen in Russia has taken the grievance to the courts “We tried to appeal to Putin over people’s heads He has been known to stand up for the rights of minorities,” said Yury Skorik Gurzuf resident and unofficial leader of the protests Artek occupies an area larger than Monaco, camp director Alexei Kasprzhak noted in a special edition of the Russian history magazine Diletant But Gurzuf residents say only 208 hectares ever belonged to the camp were added and illegally signed away when the new Crimean authorities handed Artek over to Russia the land is known as known as Gurovskiye Kamni It slopes down from Gurzuf’s central road to a small pebble beach that has been a favoured spot for decades They say Artek previously leased Gurovskiye Kamni under an agreement with the local authorities the area was never built on and visitors were allowed to come and go as they pleased when the territory was under Ukrainian rule locals claim – have started patrolling the camp’s borders and barring access to anyone without a special permit “It’s about time [the residents of Gurzuf] get used to the idea that in a place where children are vacationing, it is inappropriate to walk your dog, drink beer under every shrub and build campfires,” Kasprzhak told Moscow-based tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets Artek’s prohibitive policing is too restrictive “We want to be able to look at the Black Sea not through a gate [and] not past guards or policemen Everyone should have free access,” one resident said The Russian prime minister visited the camp for its 90th birthday celebrations in June Photograph: Government.ru‘Not our job’The camp’s management and the protesters agree on one thing: the fate of Gurzuf’s residents should not lie in Artek’s hands “[The issue of residents’ access to the coast] is not Artek’s problem but that of the town’s municipal authorities,” Kasprzhak said The anger among Gurzuf’s residents reflects the resentment felt by many Crimeans at seeing their seafront steadily swallowed up by resorts and other businesses. Despite a slump in visitors since the annexation, Russian news channel RIA Novosti has projected 125bn roubles will be spent by tourists in the peninsula this summer With the landbridge to Ukraine sealed by border guards, sanction-hit Crimea is looking to Russian visitors to keep its hotels full. In March Crimea’s tourism minister Yelena Yurchenko said the region was expecting to welcome 4.3 million tourists – “most of them from Russia”. Read moreResidents say that local authorities have been too scared to pick a fight with the Kremlin-favoured camp since it came into Russia’s possession “Artek is a hefty figure on the chessboard They’re scared they will lose,” Skorik said brought in just months after the annexation has big plans for the Russian resort The camp’s projected attendance turnover for 2020 is 40,000 teenagers Moskovsky Komsomolets reports – roughly double the amount number of visitors recorded in 1990 a year before the fall of the Soviet Union in every grade of every Russian school there will be at least one Artekovite,” Kasprzhak wrote in his article for Diletant Outlining his plans to build a second school the camp’s director said it could become “an alternative to traditional schools” that will enable teachers and students to experiment with new teaching techniques and technologies To complete its ambitious development plan But with a natural barrier in the form of the Ayu-Dag mountain to the camp’s east Artek has little room to grow other than west – toward Gurzuf residents have seen little to no benefit from the 22bn rouble injection of state funds meant to resuscitate Artek “[Artek] will become a little piece of heaven But what about those of us right next to heaven?” Skorik asked Founded in 1925, the camp’s stated aim was to “educate the citizens of a socialist society”, and is described by historian Margaret Peacock as the most popular of all Soviet summer resorts Read moreBut with no sign of a direct intervention by the Russian president Skorik says that he and his supporters are now taking the matter to court A lawsuit will be filed against the federal body that registered Artek as owning 218 hectares of land instead of 208 hectares “any day now” Artek’s management has promised to allow residents access to the contested area until the next summer season – a concession Gurzuf’s residents see as a sign of future victory A version of this article originally appeared in The Moscow Times The will of the Russian oligarchs to own vineyards in Crimea and produce wines under their own trademarks was first implemented even before the occupation of Crimea by Russia became the first owner of Crimean vineyards and Crimean wine producer Ukrainian companies controlled by him leased lands of the state enterprise “Gurzuf” The occupation of Crimea opened many opportunities for Russian oligarchs and top-officials to buy agricultural lands and expropriated vineyards and wine production factories It is also worth recalling those marauders who were the first to take precious “Massandra” lands immediately after occupation It is remarkable that citizens of EU countries help new “owners” to launch their vineyards and factories It is clear that they violate Western sanctions and the Ukrainian legislation “Alekperov’s” Chateau and the first sale of “Massandra” lands the land plot (total area 36,4306 hectares) near Gurzuf was sold at the “auction” in accordance with the “Decree of the Council of Ministries of the Republic of Crimea” The land plot was owned by the state enterprise “Gurzuf” only 576 USD per 100 square meter of precious lands The land plot was bought by Moscow based LLC “Elias” (LLC “Elias” The name of the LLC was changed to “Grineko” on March 31 The investigation of the Center for Journalist Investigations established the connection between LLC “Elias” and Vagit Alekperov Marina Romanicheva was the founder of “Elias” She was also the co-founder of LLC “Center for Consulting and Outsourcing “Our Future” Another co-founder of the Center was “Our Future” Foundation for Regional Social Programs” founded by oligarch Vagit Alekperov Alekperov calls it “my foundation” in the presentation video The connection of the first buyer of “Massandra” lands with the oligarch was not a surprise for those who knows the history of wine producer Château Côtes de Saint-Daniel Its vineyards are located near Alekperov’s dacha (he told about vacations there in his interview) LLC “Vinogradniki “Medvedi” acquired ownership of “biomaterial” (grape bushes) by court decisions but failed to privatize land plots of state owned enterprise “Gurzuf” where they were planted The sale of “Gurzuf” lands was forbidden by the moratorium on privatization of agricultural lands whereas the property complex of “Massandra” was protected from privatization by the special legislation The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea initiated criminal investigation about illegal alienation of “Gurzuf” land plot on December 9 2015 when the occupation regime of Crimea prepared the decision about the sale of land The investigation has been about illegal acquisition by public officials of “the Council of Ministries of the Republic of Crimea” of agricultural lands located on the territory of occupied Crimea (part 5 of article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) Though the Center for Journalist Investigations uncovered names of the formal and real beneficiaries of the transaction the investigation has been never completed and not submitted to the court JSC “Upravlauschaja kompania “Business Investitsii” UK) acquiring shares of Karpaty Chemical B.V The latter owned 100% of shares of “Karpatnaftokhim” “Graf’s Chateau” and the first stealing of “Massandra” lands occupants “lost” 13 hectares of vineyards when the stolen property of “Massandra” was transferred to the Office of the President of Russia Those lands bordered the territory of 5-star hotel complex Mriya Resort & Spa Mykola Boiko, the General Director of “Massandra” fired by occupation authorities told the Center for Journalist Investigations that he has been at the hospital abroad when Crimea was seized he found out that occupants stole from “Massandra” the vineyard of elite Muscat Blanc located near the hotel complex Mriya Resort & Spa “My problems began when 13 hectares of land were stolen in April It was leased by Zelenski Nikolai Aleksandrovich And Herman Osakrovich is there… (Herman Graf the Head of the Board of “Sberbank Russia” – ed.) once Graf went to his balcony and thought: “Why are here vineyards not belonging to me I should make them mine!” Those lands were simply given to him I wrote official letters but failed and ran into serious problems I will tell you the great secret: the future of “Massandra” was determined before this case…” What is Herman Graf involved into this story “Sberbank Russia” owns hotel complex “Mriya Resort & Spa” through LLC “Garant-SV” (tax number 9103007830) and its founders LLC “Auktsyon” and “Gamma-S” The Ukrainian subsidiary of “Sberbank Russia” launched its construction before the occupation of Crimea Vladimir Putin held the meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and met with members of the State Duma in the half-completed complex He recognized the use of the Russian armed forces during the pseudo-referendum at the meeting The Yalta International Economic Forum (YIEF) is conducted each year in Mriya Resort. It is the largest Crimean investment event with propaganda forums of the “friends of the occupation of Crimea” the USA imposed sanctions on Mriya Resort & Spa and its direct owner LLC “Garant-SV” PHOTO: Vladimir Putin and German Gref in Mriya Resort & Spa It is known that “Sberbank Russia” refused working in occupied Crimea as it was afraid that the US government would impose more severe sanctions than 2014 restrictions Herman Graf was criticized by Russian “ultra-patriots” for his “non-patriotic” pragmatism It is surprising that “Sberbank Russia” decided to enter the viticulture and wine production on lands expropriated from “Massandra” The “Council of Ministries of Crimea” and LLC “Gorizont-servise” (its founders are “Garant-SV” and “Auktsyon”) signed an agreement about investment project “Creation of Wine Tourism in the Republic of Crimea” on June 15 The “project on planning and land management of the territory located to the south of sanatorium-recreation complex “Mriya Resort & Spa” has been developed within the agreement It was ordered by LLC “SB Development” (Moscow subsidiary of LLC “Gamma-S”) and developed by LLC “Proektny Institut “Genplan” (Simferopol) The construction of entertainment complex “Vinnyj Park” [Wine Park] was initiated in 2018 It was planned that the complex would occupy the area of 22 825 square m near Opolznevoe village and would include the wine production The internal yard was supposed to have the artificial lake and the tower 50 meters high The vineyards would occupy the largest part of the park (yearly harvest was estimated at 46,8 tons of the wine grapes of three types) COVID0-19 pandemics postponed the opening of “Wine Park” (from autumn 2010 to spring 2021). It is likely that it will be launched in April. In accordance with the website of the Park the initial project was significantly changed Total area of the Park expanded to 30 hectares whereas the area of the vineyard was reduced to 7,5 hectares Multifunctional space with immersive program will plunge guests into specific atmosphere when the insight into secrets of wine making will turn into free creative dialogue… Local inhabitants told the Center for Journalist Investigations that two types of red grapes were planted: Cabernet and Mourvèdre It was reported that another vineyard (with Pinot grapes) was planned in Sebastopol zone as Sebastopol climate was better than Gurzuf one new owners destroyed 13 hectares of Muscat Blanc and replaced them with 7,5 hectares of the new vineyard expensive palm trees and 200 years old olive trees were planted on the remaining territory of the Park… “Westarbaiters” at the service of Russian oligarchs in Crimea “SB Development” also mentions its project partners – LLC “Podzemproekt” (Moscow) and Italian architectural bureau Archea Associati (Florence Happy Thomas Doll is sitting on the barrel of wine amid vineyards His left hand holds a bottle of white wine whereas his right hand – a glass of Kokur He is the Chief Winemaker in Mriya “Wine Park” Thomas Doll came to Crimea in 2011 as the invited wine consultant of the wine production “Alma Valley” (Viline village It is owned by another well-known Russian – Andrei Kostin the Head of the Board of “Vneshekonombank” the first wines under “Alma Valley” trademark were produced in 2013 The German consultant did not leave Crimea even after its occupation by Russia Thomas Doll became the member of the jury of “international wine competition” conducted in Yalta on the basis of “Massandra” (already being the object of Western sanctions) Thomas Doll left the team of Andrei Kostin’s wine producers (Russian expert Andrei Grigoriev headed it) and started working for Graf’s wine production Russian media “Ludi ROSTa” published an interview with Thomas Doll as the Chief Winemaker of “Wine Park” project on November 30 2020 (the media is the project of “Partia ROSTa” [Party of Growth] by Boris Titov Russian business ombudsman and owner of “Abrau Durso” company) Doll describes the technology of grapes processing and informs that the project of wine production facilities was developed by Italian architect Marco Casamonti whereas another Italian Marco Casamonti together with Giovanni Polazzi and Laura Andreini founded architectural bureau “Archea Associati” the bureau implemented numerous large-scale architectural projects – from wine factories in Italy to sports complex in Tirana (Albania) and the Museum of Ceramics in Liling Marco Casamonti is the ordinary professor at the department of architectural planning of the architecture faculty of the University of Genoa He is the editor of the international architectural journal “Area” published by his bureau he spoke at the Sankt Petersburg architectural exhibition in 2013 Mr. Casamonti seems to be successful architect, scholar and professor. However, he had serious problems with Italian prosecutors, in accordance with the Italian media La Repubblica. In April 2017, the newspaper published detailed article about scandal Casamonti was involved He violated the law when he combined the work of the university professor with the work of architect and consultant in business projects University students complained he ignored his duties as professor and did not deliver lectures informed the damage brought by Casamonti’s behavior in 1999-2006 amounted to 689 thousand Euros He had to pay 976 thousand Euro as the compensation Alberto Antonini is last but not the least from “Westarbaiters” working for Russian oligarchs in Crimea He is one of the best world enologists and consultants on wine production He graduated from the University of Florence and received PhD from the University of Bordeaux and University of California in Davis Antonini possesses family wine production near Florence He has worked as consultant for wine producers from Argentina to Armenia for dozens of years Antonini consulted the personnel of “Wine Park” and his consultancy has been very important for the project it seems that this fragmented information can be sufficient for making conclusions about the work of citizens of EU countries in Crimea sanctioned by the EU…  Crimean “privatization” or expropriation of stolen property can take on various forms There are many people willing to participate when lucrative objects are at stake (like “Massandra”) Architects and wine producers with worldwide reputation owners of the large Russian business and rank-and-file local officials dreaming about career promotion – they are all involved into illegal transactions The “Wine Park” is the monument of the Russian stupidity wine cellars and 100 thousand visitors per year? Everything seems to be possible for Russian marauders critical deficit of the fresh water and international isolation…  Teenagers have lunch at the Artek international children centre in Gurzuf Central African Republic:  Russia is promoting a competition for teenagers in the Central African Republic with the prize a holiday in a Soviet-era youth camp in Russian-annexed Crimea is offering the vacation to the winners of the best poetry and drawings head of primary teaching at the ministry of education Their vacation will be in Artek -- a vast holiday camp built during the Soviet era for the Young Pioneers the regime's rough equivalent of the Scouts It is located on the shores of the Black Sea on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula Winners "will go from September 20 to October 15," said Selonkoue The date was chosen "because the temperature is still fine in Russia at that time of year." Russia has been deepening its involvement in the mineral-rich CAR one of the world's poorest and most volatile countries It is supplying weapons and training to the CAR army and providing close protection for President Faustin-Archange Touadera and has sent field hospitals to towns in the north of the country It is also working with Sudan to try to forge a deal among the warring milita in the CAR which control most of the country's territory