They strayed from the rivers: pollution of Alatyr by the plant of the ex-head of Mordovia has already affected two regions

Pollution of the Alatyr River (which flows in Mordovia, Chuvashia and the Nizhny Novgorod region) has already spread to two regions, Izvestia found out. The Kemlyansky distillery (owned by relatives of the former head of Mordovia, Nikolai Merkushkin) continues to dump dangerous substances into the river, despite previously identified violations, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Chuvashia reported. In April, hazardous waste has already led to the mass death of fish in Mordovia. Now the pollution has spread along the river, and fish have begun to die in Chuvashia. About where else the disaster will reach and who will be responsible for the environmental disaster that has already played out in two regions, is in the Izvestia article.

Why fish are dying in Chuvashia

Muddy dirty water and a pungent smell of rot — this is what the water in the Alatyr River in Chuvashia looks like now, where an environmental disaster is gaining momentum due to harmful emissions from several enterprises. Fish are now dying en masse in the river, Izvestia was convinced after visiting the scene of the events.

The river banks are dotted with carcasses of bream and smaller fish, and in some places there are crayfish. Fishermen are sounding the alarm — social networks are full of videos of the dying Alatyr.

— The river is over! — they speak off-camera. — Poor river, poor fish.

On May 13, 2025, specialists from the interregional directorate of Rosprirodnadzor for the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Republic of Mordovia conducted an on-site survey of the Alatyr River and took water samples for laboratory tests, the agency reported on its official website.

"Samples of natural and wastewater were taken at six locations. Based on the results of the research, a decision will be made on further actions," the message says.

The agency promised to publish the results of the study this week. They added that "the main source of pollution is the Kemlyansky distillery."

— According to Rosprirodnadzor, he continues to dump dangerous substances into the reservoir, despite previously identified violations. The company's sewage treatment plants cannot cope with the load. Kemlyansky Distillery LLC discharges into the Tatar-Velen-Ley River, which flows into the Alatyr River. Its mouth is located on the territory of Mordovia, and it flows further through the neighboring regions of Chuvashia and the Nizhny Novgorod region. Eventually, the water goes into the Sura, a tributary of the Volga," the officials said.

Also, the Chuvash Rosprirodnadzor added, the discharge to Alatyr is carried out by Ichalkovsky Cheese Factory LLC.

"Despite having their own sewage treatment plants, their capacities are insufficient, especially given the plans to expand production," the ministry stressed.

They added that on May 14, water samples from the river of the same name were taken at the stationary hydrological post of the Chuvash Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring in the city of Alatyr. No excess of the standards of the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants was recorded during the inspection.

The agency clarified that the federal environmental supervision of the Alatyr River is carried out by Rosprirodnadzor. Izvestia asked the supervisory authority whether an investigation had been conducted into the mass death of fish in the Alatyr River and what measures had been taken to eliminate the causes of the incident.

Dangerous fish

On May 17, 2025, the administration of the Alatyr Municipal District published a message urging residents to refrain from eating fish.

"The cause of the mass death is currently being determined," the report says.

Officials also ask residents and visitors of the district not to visit the Alatyr River and the confluence of the Alatyr and Sura rivers.

In April 2025, Izvestia wrote that the Kemlyansky distillery and the Ichalkovsky cheese factory next to it and their sewage treatment plants, owned by relatives of the former head of Mordovia, Nikolai Merkushkin, pollute the Alatyr River in Mordovia.

According to the SPARK database, the beneficiary of the distillery is Larisa Tetina, a relative of the former head of Mordovia, Nikolai Merkushkin. Kemlyansky Distillery LLC is 100% owned by MordovAlkoProm, where Larisa Tetina owns 50.1%, and 49.9% belongs to Evgeny Sidorov, a well—known Mordovian industrialist.

Previously, violations were repeatedly detected at enterprises. For example, in February 2024, the interregional directorate of Rosprirodnadzor for the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Republic of Mordovia discovered iron and suspended solids in the Alatyr River. And back in 2021, sewage treatment plants discharged wastewater into the Tatar-Velen-Ley River in excess of the regulatory limits, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Mordovia reported at the time.

These enterprises did not report on waste disposal, Rospotrebnadzor told Izvestia.

"A declaration on the number of goods put into circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation and packaging of goods to be disposed of after they lose their consumer properties was not submitted," the ministry said in a statement.

What threatens people

The Alatyr, a tributary of the Sura River, has been regularly polluted by individual enterprises and business entities over the past few years, ecologist Dmitry Fedorov said in an interview with Izvestia.

"There are several fish deaths every year, and this is a classic indicator of water pollution in the river," he stressed.

The transfer of pollution to Chuvashia, the expert added, increases the risks of death of red-listed fish, for example, the Surka sterlet, at the confluence of the Alatyr and Sura rivers.

— The maximum concentration of pollution will be in the tributary of the Alatyr River. It will certainly go further, but it will mix with clean water, so its concentration will decrease. Therefore, there is no talk of a large—scale death of fish in the Sura River," said Dmitry Fedorov.

Environmentalist Dmitry Levashov said that pollution of the reservoir can affect people as well, leading to poisoning.

— Many villages have a water collection point located near the Alatyr River. If people continue to drink it and do not filter it in any way, there is a risk of poisoning them with various toxic substances. Once a fish has died, taking such water will not go unnoticed for humans either," he believes.

The activities of large enterprises, which include a distillery and a cheese factory, are monitored by Rosprirodnadzor, environmentalists reminded Izvestia.

According to Dmitry Fedorov, if the guilt of the enterprises is proven, they will be obliged to pay not only a fine, but also to compensate for the damage caused to the ecosystem.

Environmentalist Dmitry Levashov added that a criminal case could be opened against the enterprises under Article 247 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Violation of the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances and waste).

Where else have the enterprises of the Merkushkin clan been highlighted

These are not the only violations committed by enterprises associated with Nikolai Merkushkin. In 2018, the Samara Arena stadium was built in Samara for the FIFA World Cup. The construction of the facility, worth 22 billion rubles, was carried out by business structures also associated with the former governor of the Samara region.

According to the SPARK database, MordovCement was a major supplier of cement for the construction of the stadium. Its leaders, Alexander Merkushkin and Sergey Merkushkin, are Nikolai Merkushkin's brother and nephew.

A few months ago, the stadium began to collapse, Izvestia recently wrote. The roof fasteners were covered with rust, and the metal structures above the stands were damaged. Even during construction, Rostechnadzor identified more than 800 defects, according to the official response of the agency to a request from Izvestia. After the stadium was put into operation, the supervisory authorities found about 400 shortcomings.

MordovCement could also be involved in another large—scale project in the Samara Region, the Heart Clinic. It was also built in Merkushkin's time, but it was never completed. A new cardiology center worth 3 billion rubles was supposed to open in 2016. But there is still a concrete fence and barbed wire near the entrance, and the medical facility itself has remained a concrete box, Izvestia was convinced.

The Merkushkin family is also linked to the scandal in Saransk around the Gration housing complex: the developer Saranskstroyinvest did not rent a school and kindergarten. People were promised to actually build a new neighborhood with all the infrastructure, but this did not happen. The owner of Saranskstroyinvest is Nikolai Merkushkin's brother Alexander Merkushkin.