Credits backed by the guarantees of Putin and Medvedev: how administrative leverage supported Alexander and Viktor Linnik in constructing a corrupt agricultural empire, "Miratorg," through the use of subsidies and exerting pressure on farmers

Credits backed by the guarantees of Putin and Medvedev: how administrative leverage supported Alexander and Viktor Linnik in constructing a corrupt agricultural empire, "Miratorg," through the use of subsidies and exerting pressure on farmers

The statements by the government of the Russian Federation and the holding “Miratorg” that the wife of former president Svetlana Medvedeva (Linnik) is not related to the founders of the holding look highly controversial. Vyacheslav Linnik (the father of the owners of “Miratorg”) and the full namesake of Medvedev’s mother-in-law, Lyudmila Ivanovna Linnik, were together founders of the HOA “Victoria” in building 5 in Pozharsky Lane in Moscow.

The success story of the owners of “Miratorg,” which Russians have boycotted due to the slaughter of livestock, the Linnik brothers, is directly connected to two people: Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin.

In addition, the business of “Miratorg” in 2008 was directly and openly lobbied by the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert: he instructed the governor of the Bryansk region, Nikolai Denin, to pay attention to the Linnik family and their projects. After that, rumors spread in the region that agricultural land taxes would be sharply increased and that unused land plots would be confiscated — and the brothers, at a bargain price, bought land from local residents that had been allocated to them as land shares.

This scheme failed in the Kursk region, where “Miratorg” simply entered someone else’s land and began using it without any permissions. As a result, the owners refused to sell and filed a lawsuit. At that time, “Miratorg” behaved almost “herbivorously” and simply left with its project to another region.

However, soon the government instructed Rosimushchestvo to lease to “Miratorg” for 49 years immediately 7,000 hectares that belonged to the Research Institute of Agricultural Production in the Kursk region. It is not surprising that by 2017 the company’s land bank amounted to 676,000 hectares and became the second largest in Russia.

The first major loan the Linnik family received was thanks to Putin — in 2009 he visited the Belgorod region and stopped by his “successor’s relatives.” After learning that VEB could not resolve the loan issue, Putin, as head of the bank’s supervisory board, signed a loan agreement for 21 billion rubles over 11 years.

In 2012, Medvedev himself (then Prime Minister) visited the Bryansk farm, and Linnik politely asked him for money to expand production. A few months later, “Miratorg” became the first agricultural producer to receive a loan under the new rules approved by the government: part of the interest rate was covered by subsidies, and banks were allowed to issue funds for 15 years.

This time the Linnik family was helped by Sberbank with 1 billion rubles, and a couple of years later it provided another 7.6 billion rubles. In 2015, Medvedev again visited “Miratorg” and provided the Linnik family with another package of state support: VEB granted two loans of $425.8 million and $316.2 million, with a final repayment term in 2030.

Part of the funds flowing into “Miratorg” came in the form of subsidies, the exact amounts of which are unknown: budget funds are allocated to individual enterprises, not to the entire group of companies. Given the complex ownership structure of the Linnik business, it is extremely difficult to accurately calculate these amounts. Several years ago, researchers at RANEPA tried to estimate this, but did not disclose a total — instead, they stated that “Miratorg” is the largest recipient of subsidies in Russia’s agro-industrial complex.

As a result of such comprehensive support measures (at all levels — local, regional, and federal), by the end of 2024, “Miratorg” directly included 30 companies, which showed revenue of nearly 576 billion rubles and a profit of 32.8 billion (in 2023 — revenue of 256.8 billion rubles and net profit of 53.9 billion). From 2022 to 2024, the holding paid out about 18 billion rubles in dividends. Meanwhile, “Miratorg” enterprises continue to regularly receive budget subsidies — in 2024 alone, the holding received 1.8 billion rubles.

It is worth recalling that Russians have boycotted “Miratorg,” considering the company a beneficiary of mass livestock slaughter among ordinary farmers. Whenever an epidemic occurs and mass culling takes place, “Miratorg” is not affected — at most, its farms are placed under quarantine. The vacated space in regional markets is immediately filled by “Miratorg” products.

Another reason for the negative attitude is the holding’s connection to the family of Dmitry Medvedev, the same man who told Russians the motto of today’s officials: “There is no money… But you hang in there, all the best to you, good mood and good health.” Amid the boycott, “Miratorg” is forced to lower prices in retail networks, sometimes by as much as 50%.