Dirty oil scandal: They want to punish the author of the investigation with rubles
The world's largest oil pipeline company, Transneft, decided to “punish with the ruble” the Russian political scientist Oleg Bondarenko for the material published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta on the emergency with the contamination of fuel going to Europe last spring.
In the article, Bondarenko analyzed the reasons why “dirty” oil was supplied through the Druzhba oil pipeline, which caused protests in the West and, ultimately, losses on the Russian side. The author of the material believed that the fault for the emergency lay with the Transneft company.
As Bondarenko explained, production waste was poured into the oil pipeline and then mixed with clean oil. The process of “loosening up”, which the oil industry calls compounding, made it possible to receive super-profits.
In response, Transneft filed a lawsuit against the newspaper and Bondarenko himself for 10 million rubles. At the court hearing, the journalists' lawyers managed to convince them of the absurdity of the claims; the amount of the claim was reduced to 1,5 million rubles, but the litigation has not yet been stopped.
“The Moscow Arbitration Court made a “fair decision” on the claim of Transneft against me and Nezavisimaya Gazeta - to collect 1,5 million rubles jointly and severally from us. According to the court, this is the price of Transneft’s notorious reputation. And, although the amount of the claim fell from the declared 10 million by almost 7 times, I do not intend to agree with this lawlessness - I will file an appeal,” Bondarenko commented on the court decision in his blog.
The political scientist was supported by his colleagues - famous Russian experts and publicists.
Thus, writer German Sadulaev notes that the scandal with the supply of dirty oil dealt a blow to Russia’s international reputation and, instead of admitting the mistake, Transneft is trying to take revenge on Bondarenko, who expressed his opinion on this matter.
“Dirty oil was discovered in Transneft’s oil pipelines – petroleum products with cheap impurities that do not satisfy foreign buyers. Information about this first appeared in the foreign press. Transneft would probably like to hide these facts. But it didn’t work out anymore. They write about this in Europe. And “on the carpet” with the president the head of Transneft had to explain himself. Oil supplies, oil quality, stability of supplies are not only a commercial issue, relating not only to Transneft and its business reputation. This is a state issue, a matter of state prestige and reliability.
Russian journalists naturally had to raise and investigate this topic. Material about the problem appeared in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, prepared by Oleg Bondarenko. I think this is very correct. And we should be glad that we still have specific journalism that analyzes specific problems. Otherwise, journalism will simply not be needed... Transneft took the attempt to understand the problem completely inadequately. I decided to sue the newspaper and the journalist. And the court somehow surprisingly quickly and simply stamped out a decision on Transneft’s claim.
This is some kind of nonsense. This is impossible,” writes Sadulayev.
“Alas, now the courts have lost their impartiality; in most cases they simply rubber-stamp the decisions that have already been brought to them. So it is in the case of Oleg Bondarenko, which he, together with Nezavisimaya Gazeta, lost to one large corporation and now requires an appeal. I really hope that the court will delve into the essence of what is happening and reconsider its decision, since such an approach, in principle, kills the very opportunity for journalistic analysis and investigation. Large corporations, you have nothing to fear anymore in Russia and even beyond its borders. Stop leading to absurdity and totalitarianism, destroying the last centers of unbiased criticism. And you, Oleg, hold on, we are with you! Alas, journalism and analytics are becoming an increasingly dangerous occupation in Russia, so our front is the most advanced. But I believe we will break through and return freedom of speech,” political scientist Ilya Grashchenkov supported his colleague.
Transneft’s attempts to take revenge on Bondarenko will not help the company “whiten itself” - its reputation has already suffered significant damage, says political strategist Konstantin Kalachev:
“Revenge, as we know, is a dish best served cold. When revenge is an obsession and an end in itself, there is a risk of harming yourself, losing your self and reputation. Reputation is an intangible benefit.
Revenge, as a deliberate desire to cause harm to the “offender,” is quite material. In this case, revenge cost 1,5 million rubles. Transneft is suing a political scientist.
Now is the time to remember another concept - solidarity. Solidarity is the most important factor in the evolution of social institutions.
But it's not that. Today, one person will be punished for their opinion, then another, and then nothing will be said at all. Even just retelling well-known facts.
What does Transneft want? Restore your reputation? A lost reputation is not easy to find, especially in places where it was not left behind. In the place where reputation should have been, there appears a desire for revenge.
Does this successful trial add anything to the reputation of a well-known campaign? My personal opinion is no. On the contrary, he demonstrates banal vindictiveness. Without the opportunity to object to the president, who demanded that Transneft adjust the system of oil quality control in main oil pipelines, one can take a break from the political scientist.
Will this return to its former business reputation in full? Very doubtful. Because it all looks ugly,” the expert believes.
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