Moscow is moving forward with plans to use a U.S.-owned food production company that has been seized by the Kremlin to supply the Russian army, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. This development comes at a time when U.S. and Russian officials are negotiating potential resolutions to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and could strain the recently warming relations between the two nations.
The company, Glavprodukt, which manufactures canned goods, was taken under state control in October 2023 and is the only American-owned firm to be nationalised by the Russian government. The new management of Glavprodukt indicated in a letter to the Russian prosecutor general that maintaining stable production was essential for future supplies to the national guard and the Ministry of Defence.
Glavprodukt is now under the purview of Russia’s federal property management agency, Rosimushchestvo. However, both the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and Rosimushchestvo did not respond to inquiries regarding the future plans for Glavprodukt or details about its new management.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has highlighted that the treatment of Glavprodukt will be a critical issue in discussions surrounding the potential resetting of U.S.-Russia relations.
The company’s previous owner, Leonid Smirnov, based in Los Angeles, has faced accusations from Russian prosecutors about illicitly transferring around 1.38 billion roubles (approximately $17 million) out of Russia between 2022 and 2024. In March, the Moscow Arbitration Court ordered the seizure of Glavprodukt’s assets at the request of the prosecutor general’s office. A hearing related to the case is set for April 18. Smirnov has denied any wrongdoing, calling the proceedings a “Russian-style corporate raid” aimed at unlawfully appropriating his business.
The prosecutor general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the situation.
In recent years, several European companies have had their Russian subsidiaries nationalised under presidential decree, including Carlsberg and Fortum, while the Kremlin has warned that more asset seizures could occur.
Initially expected to be a swift operation, the invasion of Ukraine has extended into a prolonged conflict lasting over three years, resulting in increased defence spending by Russia and greater control over strategic resources. In 2022, Russia faced challenges in securing military supplies, including food.
The letter from Glavprodukt’s management reveals the potential beneficiaries of the expropriation, indicating that Rosimushchestvo appointed the new director general at the request of Druzhba Narodov, a food producer that served as the sole supplier to Russia’s national guard from 2019 to 2020.
Despite Glavprodukt’s prior inability to supply the Russian military, an investigation by the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund in 2018 documented that then-President Dmitry Medvedev approved Druzhba Narodov’s status as the national guard’s exclusive supplier.
Ownership details related to Druzhba Narodov are currently classified. However, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported in 2022, based on publicly available data from the EGRUL corporate registry, that entities affiliated with the agricultural holding ‘Agrocomplex named after N. I. Tkachev’ had acquired Druzhba Narodov. Although this information cannot be independently verified due to its current classification, shared email domains indicate a connection between Druzhba Narodov and Agrocomplex according to filings from Russia’s Spark corporate registry.
Druzhba Narodov and Agrocomplex have yet to respond to requests for comment. The holding company’s ultimate owner, Alexander Tkachev, is noted in the 2025 independent audit filings reviewed by Reuters. Tkachev has faced sanctions from the European Union since 2014 for his support of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and was appointed Russia’s agriculture minister the following year, also serving as the board chairman of the holding company.
Source : Reuters
