News
Publish date: September 9, 1998
News
Sevmash yard opened its doors to the employees on Tuesday, September 8, after being completely inactive for four days. Last week, on September 3, all the employees at Sevmash were dismissed on a compulsory leave. The administration of the yard had reportedly made the decision for fear of social unrest.
The general director of the yard, David Pashaev, returned from Moscow earlier this week, where he had tried to obtain funds to cover the wage arrears to the employees. The federal government remained indifferent to the request, while Yury Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow, promised to transfer enough cash to Severodvinsk to cover one month’s worth of salary backlog.
Sevmash yard is primarily engaged in building and decommissioning of nuclear powered submarines. The plant is currently building three nuclear-powered submarines: a forth generation strategic Borey-class submarine, a Severodvinsk-class "multi purpose" prototype submarine, and one Akula-class submarine. During the last years, the yard has been working on domestic and foreign commercial contracts, focusing mainly on equipment and installations for the oil and gas industry.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.