A titanium plant in the Crimea will suspend work due to acid emissions. "We take out all the children"

MOSCOW, 5 Sep— RIA Novosti, Irina Khaletskaya. More than a week ago, residents of the Crimean city of Armyansk discovered that all metal objects were covered with sticky rust. People began to complain about a sore throat and feeling unwell, social networks filled with photos of fallen yellow leaves on the street, children in respirators with a red rash on their faces.

The townspeople are sure that the reason is emissions from the Crimean Titanium plant. Concentration harmful substances in the air in the north of the peninsula exceeded the norm. On Tuesday, September 4, the head of the republic Sergey Aksyonov, local and federal officials arrived here. A decision was made to take all the children to a sanatorium. The plant was stopped for two weeks, although they deny any involvement in the incident. There is another problem: "Crimean Titan" - city forming enterprise, therefore, it is impossible to simply close production and leave thousands of people without work.

Rash, burns, metal in throat

Residents of Armyansk are forced to stay at home with the windows closed even on hot days, so that the pungent smell does not penetrate the premises. They go outside only when necessary, and in a respirator and not for long, otherwise dizziness and nausea will begin. Elena Tikhaya told a RIA Novosti correspondent that the situation in the city deteriorated sharply on August 23: a release of harmful substances occurred at the local Crimean Titanium plant, after which the surroundings began to look like an exclusion zone.

“It’s been impossible to breathe since six in the morning. Today we talked with a young woman in the store, her child has a terrible allergy - spots on her body, coughing. When she takes a strong antihistamine, everything goes away. The windows and doors of the house are closed, but the hood and stove are covered with a strange coating. Everything metal on the balcony rusted. My child had a condition similar to poisoning: fever, nausea, weakness, headache. They drank polysorb, but nothing helped. It became easier only when we left the city, "says Elena.

Similar stories are posted on social networks, there are photos of rashes, and rust, and an oily coating on the highway, which is dangerous to drive on. There are a lot of visitors in medical institutions. There are no longer enough masks and respirators in pharmacies. The Ministry of Health of the Republic officially confirms: an increase in the number of visits to clinics in Armyansk has been recorded, the diagnoses are mainly allergic.

Local resident Irina Kuzmina told RIA Novosti that for several days on the way to school, her son finds the corpses of cats: "There are too many of them, so this is hardly a coincidence. Perhaps they died due to poisoning."

"Everything is in oil"

At the end of August, a group of specialists from the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic was sent to Armyansk, regional government Rospotrebnadzor and the prosecutor's office under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Crimea Igor Mikhailichenko. Environmentalists and officials said that nothing threatens the health of citizens, the problem is being solved. Days passed, but people continued to complain about the deterioration of their health. As Elena Tikhaya clarifies, the city authorities up to the last claimed that the emissions were within the normal range.

“The roads were watered in the early morning, but when the asphalt warmed up a little in the sun, evaporation began. And there was nothing to breathe. People, if possible, took their children out of the city to their relatives, kindergartens have been half empty for a week now. , symptoms reappear. All surfaces are like oil. Where to go? I don’t know, "complains the interlocutor.

RIA Novosti phoned specialists of the republican department of Rospotrebnadzor. At the reception of the head of the department, they explained to us that all information is published on the official website. The last entry dated September 1 says that the concentration of harmful substances in the city is normal. Rospotrebnadzor could not provide an up-to-date comment, because "there is no press service, all specialists are on the road in Armyansk."

"No Panic"

After numerous complaints on social networks and publications in local media, a whole troop of officials arrived in Armyansk. The head of the region, Sergei Aksenov, met with residents, spoke with the head of the federal Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, and representatives of other control agencies. On his Facebook page, he said that on September 4, the concentration of sulfur dioxide for the first time exceeded the norm, but "there are no grounds for introducing an emergency regime, there is no panic, nothing threatens the life and health of citizens."

Despite the refusal to declare a state of emergency, the head of the republic ordered all children to be quickly removed from the city, as well as two nearby villages, and announced a two-week vacation. This was done, according to Aksyonov, in order to "work out all the algorithms of actions." An operational headquarters has been created to coordinate the efforts of departments. This, in particular, concerns the issue of sending children to sanatoriums.

"Everything will be at the expense of the state," the leader promised. It is already known that the sanatoriums, which are part of the Solnechnaya Tavrika state enterprise, are ready to receive 3,000 children and accompanying persons from Armyansk. They will be settled in three districts of the republic. Entrepreneurs also got involved: the chairman of the Association of Small Hotels of Crimea, Natalia Parkhomenko, said on Facebook that, if necessary, private traders would help with accommodation.

"Titanium"

The Crimean Titan plant is located about five kilometers from the city, not far from the border with Ukraine. It is one of the largest companies in Eastern Europe producing titanium dioxide, which is used for the manufacture of paints and varnishes, plastics, rubber, rubber, paper. Red iron oxide pigment, sulfuric acid, iron vitriol and other dangerous substances are also produced here.

To date, the plant is not just the only large, but the city-forming enterprise of Armyansk. Nearly five thousand people work in its workshops, which is half of the employed residents of the city. In 2014, Titan began to re-profile, change the supply chain of raw materials, which affected revenue and wages. Andrey Osintsev, an employee of the plant (his last name was changed at his request), says: “The salary is constantly delayed, not critical, but for several days, a week for sure. Employees who cannot leave the city are actually in a trap, since it is unrealistic to find an alternative source of income. The salaries are not that high, but at least something. And the management of Krymsky Titan knows that if the plant is closed, about five thousand people will lose their jobs, which means that the situation in the city will be difficult. This gives them carte blanche."

According to Andrey and other employees with whom we managed to talk, a dried-out acid trap is to blame for the emissions. "It used to be fed from the North Crimean Canal, but now this source is closed. The concentration of sulfur dioxide is exceeded. When the wind blows, you can smell of hydrochloric acid", - said the worker of the plant Alexei Prosviryakov (surname changed).

As Aleksey says, today his main headache is not work, but the health of his children, because of the release of chemistry, small residents of Armyansk complain of nausea, dizziness, burns and burning sensations in their legs.

Now "Crimean Titan" is in the stage of bankruptcy according to the statement of VTB. The debt to the bank is 2.5 billion rubles. In 2017, Aksyonov stated that the regional government would support the enterprise: the plant management only needed to maintain the average level of wages and jobs. At the same time, the head of the region instructed to form a "road map" to pay off the company's debt for gas.

It was not possible to get a prompt comment from the representatives of the plant at the time of publication of the publication, no one answers the calls in the reception. The official site of "Titan" is under reconstruction and does not work.

What's next?

Although the plant has not officially acknowledged its responsibility for emissions (according to the administration, the so-called sticky coating contains chlorine ion, which is not used in the Titan technology), the head of the republic ordered the plant to be shut down for two weeks. According to Aksyonov, the company's management promised that all employees would receive their monthly salary in full.

Now the Crimean government is urgently looking for a source of water to fill the sump. Sergei Aksyonov said that the authorities are considering two options to combat harmful emissions: "First, we determine the composition of the water from the Karkinitsky Bay for the content of chlorides, what interaction can be with the acidic environment that has accumulated so as not to worsen the situation. If the composition of the water is suitable for solving this situation, we fill it."

He clarified that the acid tank can only be filled fresh water. This will take up to five months - the reservoir is designed for 30 million cubic meters. The second option, Aksyonov added, is treating the sump with special compounds: "Slaked lime or something else. What substances are needed, chemists will report within three days."

He called the situation non-standard and said that no one intends to hide real information from the population.

The president of the Russian Union of Chemists (RSKh), the former director of Crimean Titan, Viktor Ivanov, has his own vision of the problem. He explained to RIA Novosti that in the current situation, the plant is not really to blame: failures in the operation of the enterprise or technological process was not, so the administration denies its involvement in emissions quite rightly.

"But upon detailed analysis, it turned out that in the last four years, Titan stopped the production of mineral fertilizers, for which it was used, in particular, sulfuric acid. As a result, more acidic waters were discharged into the reservoirs. Due to the abnormal heat, the water from the sedimentation tanks evaporated, the concentration of sulfuric acid increased. There was a reaction of sodium chlorine from the Sivash brine (Lake Sivash. - Ed.) with acid - chlorine and soda were formed. Chlorine began to evaporate, the wind carried it to Armyansk. It was impossible to predict this," Ivanov said.

According to him, nothing can be done except to raise the water level in the reservoir. The President of the RSH suggested that for this it would be possible to stretch a pipe from the Karkinitsky Gulf through the Perekop (Turkish) Shaft, which is about five kilometers.

“If the North Crimean Canal had been opened now, nothing would have happened. And now we have to build a bypass. There are no other options. But we cannot close the plant, because this is the only enterprise in Russia that produces titanium dioxide. We consume more than seventy thousand tons per year. If you stop "Titan", you will have to buy in other countries," the expert summed up.

P.S.: As it became known on the evening of September 4, the Department of the Investigative Committee for Crimea opened a criminal case on the fact of violation of the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances after the emission of fumes from the plant into the atmosphere.

Moscow. 4 September. site - The Crimean authorities, due to the excess of the maximum permissible concentration of sulfur dioxide in the north of the peninsula, will stop the work of a large chemical plant, a branch of Titanium Investments LLC in Armyansk, for two weeks. This was announced by the head of the republic Sergei Aksyonov to journalists on Tuesday.

"Tonight, due to temperature changes, for the first time the maximum permissible concentration of sulfur dioxide exceeded the norm. In agreement with the management of the Titan plant, I decided to stop the enterprise for two weeks. Second: as a precautionary measure, all children of the school, preschool age send them to rest in our Crimean sanatoriums," Aksyonov said, noting that nothing threatens the health and life of citizens, and this is being done for precautionary purposes, until decision algorithms are developed.

He also said that the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova arrived in Crimea.

Residents of Armyansk since August 24 in social networks on yellow coating, similar to rust, which covered car parts, fences, gas water heaters, keys, utensils and metal jewelry. In addition, the leaves on the trees turn yellow and fall prematurely. Some of the townspeople report rashes and vomiting in children, and also complain of itching and sore throats.

According to the Armenian branch of Titanium Investments LLC (a large chemical plant for the production of titanium dioxide), there were no emergency situations at the enterprise.

In Krasnoperekopsk, adjacent to Armenian, there are the Brom enterprises and the Crimean soda plant. They denied their involvement in the appearance of a strange rust.

Rospotrebnadzor deviations in air and soil samples taken this week in the north of Crimea.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean government Igor Mikhailichenko recently stated that the cause of the fallout of a chemical substance in Armyansk was the evaporation of the contents of an acid accumulator used by a branch of Titanium Investments. According to him, this "was facilitated by a prolonged increase in air temperature, a long absence of precipitation, as well as a decrease in the water level in the acid storage." The administration of the plant may be held administratively liable.

Titanium Investments LLC (Moscow) was registered in June 2014. In the summer of the same year, the property of the Crimean Titan plant (Armyansk, Crimea) was transferred to him for a long-term lease. Now this enterprise is called "Armenian branch of Titanium Investments LLC".

According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Titanium Investments LLC belongs to the Cypriot Letan Investments Limited, which is also known as the founder of the holding company of Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash Group DF International GmbH (Austria).

At the same time, in 2014, the Ukrainian PJSC "Crimean Titan" was re-registered from Armyansk to Kyiv, then Group DF renamed it Ukrainian Chemical Products.

text Xenia Zolotareva. Ekaterina Levitskaya, Nicole Jamal

The work of the enterprise was suspended for two weeks. Sulfur compounds were released into the atmosphere due to a sharp drop in air temperature

The work of the Crimean Titan plant was suspended for two weeks, the head of Crimea saidSergey Aksyonov. “This morning I talked with the head of Rosportrebnadzor of the Russian Federation Anna Popova<…>working groups arrived from all control departments. Based on the results of the meeting, I, in agreement with the management of the Titan plant, decided to suspend the production of the plant for two weeks. The management of the enterprise supported this initiative and promised that all employees would receive a monthly wages in full, ”says his official statement on the website of the administration of the republic.

August 23 in Armyansk, where the plant is located, appeared bad smell, an oily coating of a yellow tint has formed on open surfaces. Local residents began to complain of a sore throat and irritation of the nasal mucosa. According to the Crimean administration, at the same time, daily control measurements of air, water and soil began, which did not show an excess of the concentration of harmful substances. The maximum allowable concentration of sulfur dioxide for the first time exceeded the norm this night, due to a sharp diurnal temperature drop. According to preliminary data, the cause of the release was evaporation from the factory oxygen accumulator.

In connection with the chemical contamination of the territory, the authorities of the republic decided to introduce a two-week vacation in educational institutions Armyansk and neighboring villages: Perekop, Pyatikhatka and Filatovka. According to the Minister of Education, Science and Youth of Crimea Natalia Goncharova, schoolchildren from 2 to 11 grades, accompanied by class teachers and medical workers will be sent to children's camps in Evpatoria, Bakhchisarai and Saki regions. “If children have brothers or sisters in other classes, they will not be separated - they will end up in the same boarding house or health camp. If the teacher's child is studying at another school, they will also be sent together. Pre-school children and first-graders will be sent to sanatoriums with their mothers,” the press service of the republic’s administration quoted the minister as saying. In total, almost four thousand children will be sent to camps and sanatoriums.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Igor Mikhailichenko, in Armyansk, laboratory samples of water, soil and air were taken again. “Today, Rospotrebnadzor specialists took laboratory samples of water, soil and air again, they were sent to the laboratory in Moscow, in the evening we are waiting for the results of the studies,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The Crimean Titanium plant is a branch of a large Russian titanium dioxide producer - Titanium Investments LLC. According to IAS Seldon Basis, the company was registered in Moscow in 2014. The director of the company is Alexander Emelin. The main activity is the production of pigments and dyes. At the end of 2016, the company's revenue amounted to 7.5 billion rubles, the loss was 231 million rubles. Titanium Investments LLC is 100% owned by the Cypriot Letan Investment Limited LLC. According to open sources, every fourth resident of Armyansk works at the Crimean Titan plant.

At the meeting operational headquarters in Armyansk, they developed possible technical solutions for the elimination of harmful fumes from the plant's acid accumulator. One option is to fill the tank with water. “We need to determine how this water will interact with the acidic environment so as not to worsen the situation. If the examination is positive, then you need to use this water. However, this may take a long time,” Sergey Aksyonov commented on the decision. Second possible way- treatment of the acid accumulator with special chemical compounds. final decision will be accepted within three days.

It was the chemical plant that was blamed for the release chemical substances, which caused mass disease of people on the peninsula and the mainland.

Ten days ago, residents of the occupied Crimean Armyansk woke up in another city. There was darkness all around, it was impossible to breathe, the leaves turned yellow. It was obvious that something had happened, but no one understood what exactly, according to the TSN.Tyzhden story.

“I went to work in the morning and almost suffocated. Secondly, even at night I heard acid in the apartment. I got up and put on a mask,” says one of the local residents.

Photo gallery Inhabitants of Crimea and Kherson Oblast endure another day at the Crimean Titan plant (4 photos)

For the last 40 years, in Armyansk, which lives near the Crimean Titan plant, everything was fine, but 2 weeks ago, the city, which ended up in the occupied part of Ukraine, was covered with a chemical cloud, the clubs of which, along with the wind, were blown to the south of the Crimean peninsula.

“It blows acid and the haze is terrible in the morning. There’s nothing to breathe. It’s just bitter. You can feel acid on your lips. You can’t take anything. Your throat starts to tickle, your stomach,” says Tatyana Ivanova, a resident of the village of Preobrazhenka, in the Kherson region.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand how people nearby feel. The so-called head of the Russian-annexed Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, came to put out the panic in Armyansk. Of course, he urged the locals not to believe their eyes and feelings. According to him, there is no threat to health. Now, according to the Crimean authorities, everything is fine too. But the Crimeans are not very loyal to the bravura posts of the authorities on Facebook.

“I declare clearly and clearly: nothing threatens the life and health of citizens,” Aksyonov wrote on his page, but locals they don't believe him.

“All the metals that are in apartments and on the street were oxidized: blenders, microwave ovens, clothes dryers… Is there a threat to life and health? Metals are oxidized! What happens to people then?” writes one of the Facebook users. “Tell my father, whose greenery fell off during the night and the roof rusted. And who has been throwing up for the third day,” another one replies.

The cause of chemical emissions could be the so-called acid lake or. This enterprise, by the way, belongs to Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash and is quietly working in the occupied Crimea. So, this plant produces titanium dioxide, which is used in many sectors of the economy. For example, in baby powders. This plant has a sump where sulfuric acid waste, in particular spent sulfuric acid, accumulates. This sump must be filled with water. If the concentration of water suddenly begins to decrease, then sulfuric anhydride flies into the air.

“Today, I breathe a little better, but still, there’s a sore throat, my eyes itch. That’s exactly what it is. For example, my blood pressure jumps all the time. My head hurts,” says local resident Antonina Roshchina.

An expert in pharmacology and toxicology, Dr. medical sciences Natalya Kostinskaya.

"The fact that the clouds are in the form of rust, which is why the leaves are like this, is, of course, due to sulfuric anhydride because it reacts with water to form sulfuric acid. And this sulfuric acid - it just pours on people. Therefore, these masks that are put on, they do not save. Even if they are wet, it immediately combines with gas, because sulfur dioxide is a gas, and that same sulfuric acid is formed. You can't breathe sulfuric acid because it's poison," she said.

According to her, this acid in the future can cause baldness and blurred vision.

"This sulfuric acid further causes baldness, blurred vision, a slow toxic effect, and already on the 11th day the toxic effect of dioxides and salts is greater than at the time of the lunge. Therefore, it was not by chance that they raised a fuss not on 25, 24 (August - ed.) When this happened ", and later. People began to feel worse after 10 days. They began to concentrate these poisons in their bodies," the expert emphasized.

Poison affects everything living and non-living in the same way. People in the Armyansk region lost their entire crop. They talk about dead cattle and birds. During the night, all metal instantly rusts. Therefore, despite beautiful words- Children were evacuated from the three regions of Crimea closest to the plant.

But on September 5, the wind changed and brought everything to the Kherson region. The first, which began to sound the alarm. And then residents of the surrounding villages began to complain about their poor health. There was no need for laboratories - in the gardens and yards everything immediately turned yellow. The heaviest is the chemical wind. Therefore, they began to be taken out in an organized manner deep into the mainland from the affected villages. Parents stay at home.

"Two children have signs that may be caused by a factor chemical pollution. I say right away that there is no threat to life," said Viktor Korolenko, director of the Health Department of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

This sump of the Crimean plant, as the authorities of the annexed Crimea assures, dried up due to the blocking of water in the North Crimean Canal by Ukraine. But Ukraine blocked the water a few years ago. Why didn't anyone stop the plant if it couldn't work? And if so, where did the water go? Ukrainian officials claim that the last blow to the plant was a projectile hitting the septic tanks at the time. Then the water disappeared completely. Although this is only a version.

What is really going on in Armyansk? What is the cause of the ecological catastrophe? Who is being threatened toxic emissions Crimean chemical enterprises? And will Armyansk be suitable for human life? We are talking about this in the studio of Radio Krym.Realii with the head of the Association of the Hospitality Industry of Ukraine, the ex-Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Alexander Liyev.

What happened now, the old-timers of the city will not remember before.

- As a former resident of Armyansk, I know that in the "chemical" region (Armyansk - Krasnoperekopsk - the north of Crimea) several tens of thousands of people work at chemical plants. I myself was a director and one of the shareholders of OAO Brom in Krasnoperekopsk, and we got used to different kind emissions. And Armyansk is located in such a way that, thanks to the wind rose, quite frequent emissions from the sulfuric acid shop of the Titan plant reached the villages of Krasny Chaban (now the village of Preobrazhenka, Kherson region, - KR) or the village of Perekop, but they usually did not reach the city itself. What happened now, the old-timers of the city will not remember before. I know this accumulator well, and I remember that in the heat they regularly irrigated it, created special curtains, I was surprised: does this really help? But work was being done to dilute the acid content. Now I called up several dozen people, asked questions, and the plant's technologists say that the catastrophe is connected with the acid accumulator and that it has not been diluted with water for a long time, as it was before.

The consequences are physiologically noticeable for people - on the mucous membranes and skin - within a radius of 25 kilometers. It can be seen from the plants that something unusual is happening. It can be seen on cars and on metal objects. For example, the metal fence of my grandmother, who lives there, turned bright red overnight. What other consequences will be, we will have to study for a long time. And how else will the fauna react? There are many rare steppe animals and insects. In general, this is a big problem.

– First emission reports toxic substances appeared on the night of 23rd to 24th August. And the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine took place only on September 6. At the same time, a message came that the checkpoints would be closed. 37 employees of the Ukrainian border control service applied for medical care. Is there really no special equipment in such areas that should respond to emissions? And why did it take the Ukrainian authorities two weeks to respond?

Our government appreciated that this topic attracts the attention of Ukrainians, and this made it necessary to convene a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council and, in general, show their reaction

- The Titan plant is located in Armyansk not because there are raw materials for it or the sale of its products. The plant has previously fallen into various collisions due to the fact that it is located at the junction of two administrative regions Ukraine - Kherson region and Crimea. There were even discussions on changing the administrative borders. And certainly it is not adapted to work in conditions when the Crimea is a gray zone, and the plant is located on the collision line. It is obvious that there is a silence about the problem, and the old Soviet and Putin theme is to show that "everything is fine with us." The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities also smacks of politics and the upcoming elections. And thank God that in Ukraine public opinion dictates to the authorities, and not as in Russia - the authorities dictate to society. Our government appreciated that this topic attracts the attention of Ukrainians, and this made it necessary to convene a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council and, in general, show their reaction.

- Russia had more levers of influence on the situation, monitoring tools, but it was said that everything was in order, that no one was to blame for the excess concentration of the substance, nevertheless, after two weeks, they decided to take the children out. Can this be considered a repetition of what happened with Chernobyl in 1986?

Any foreign commission can ban the operation of factories, because this is a powder keg

- It is difficult to comment on everything that the occupiers are doing there. This is most often the execution of the Kremlin's directives, and the Kremlin does not dig very deep. Our human rights group “February 20” helped the Crimeans a lot, and we raised the issue with the Ukrainian government about the necessary actions. Both the Titan plant and the Crimean Soda Plant are heavily dependent on the Ukrainian energy system, and on resource base, including from water, from the North Crimean Canal. They are part of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov ecosystems. These factories, as I said, are incapable of operating in the gray zone. Firtash earns money by creating risks for people in the southern part of the Kherson region and the northern part of the Crimea - this is about 500 thousand people. It is necessary to talk about it, to involve foreign experts. I think that any foreign commission can ban the operation of factories, because this is a powder keg.

- What should Kyiv do? Demand the closure of the Titan, or, as some suggest, hide pride and turn on the water so that the plant can come to life?

The monitoring mission has every reason to visit there, because the situation concerns two seas of international importance - the Black and Azov

- We need a monitoring mission. She has every reason to visit there, if only because the situation concerns two seas of international importance - the Black and Azov. In addition, I am an adherent of the idea that we should maintain ties with Crimea and through these ties keep Crimea in the orbit of Ukraine. Those who do not believe in the return of Crimea are in favor of cutting off the ends, digging a ditch, building a wall - and "so that you all die there." I consider such people more separatists than those who were in Crimea. I believe in the return of Crimea. If one day the circumstances were such that it became possible to capture him, they can develop in such a way that we can return him.

We must be ready to take advantage of such circumstances. Maintaining ties with Crimea means supplying both water and electricity. I consider the de-energization of Crimea to be absolutely illiterate. What are these strange methods in modern country that aspires to Europe? What prevented the President Poroshenko make the following statement: “Dear Crimeans. Today we have electricity consumption in the Crimea is 100 units. Of these, 40 units are consumed by the population, and 60 units are consumed by firtash and military complexes of Russia. With today we supply you only 40% of electricity per day. And when your electricity is turned off, know that it is not we who cut it off, your fellow citizens who understand that you are occupied, it is your occupiers who cut you off? There was an opportunity to supply food. Ukrainian products are better, cheaper, tastier and more familiar to Crimeans. We could repackage it, label it, even deliver it in yellow and blue packaging. Then the Crimeans would have a referendum every day when they should decide whether to buy high-quality Ukrainian yogurt or Russian disgusting at twice the price.

Evacuation of children from Armyansk. September 4, 2018

– The Russian information field is controlled by the Kremlin, and not everyone in Russia is aware of the scale ecological disaster in Armyansk. But sooner or later this information will leak out. Will the influx of Russians to the peninsula decrease?

– Crimea took in Peaceful time 1 million 200 tourists from Russia. In my opinion, these were people who really loved Crimea. For me, the image of such a tourist, which we have always been waiting for in the Crimea, is Yuri Shevchuk, soloist of the group "DDT". He said that going to the Crimea is not tourism, but a pilgrimage. After the occupation, such Russians stopped going there. The flow was replenished by people who come not of their own free will, but on vouchers that they are given free of charge, and there are about 700,000 such people annually.

Such a tourist ecological problems in the Crimea will not stop. But the increase in the tourist flow, which he spoke about Aksenov, it is hardly worth predicting - both because of the ecological catastrophe, and because of the fact that in Crimea the military equipment. Adequate, normal Russians now do not see Crimea as a safe zone for recreation. They do not see it as an effective investment either. Therefore, there are no systemic investments. There are several companies that have taken something away for free, painted and whitewashed - but this is not an investment. Even interesting, tasty projects are not funded. That is, Russian money does not go to Crimea.