Stroygazmontazh

Stroygazmontazh was initially founded in 2008 by Russian businessman and oligarch Arkady Rotenberg after he purchased five companies under the control of Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom. Rotenberg is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has led to the S.G.M. Group and other firms under Rotenberg's control winning a number of Russian government contracts.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/world/europe/putins-friend-profits-in-purge-of-schoolbooks.html|title=Putin's Friend Profits in Purge of Schoolbooks|website=The New York Times|date=1 November 2014|accessdate=20 January 2018}}

By January 2019, Arkady Rotenberg through his Stroygazmontazh LLC and his companies, along with Nikolai Shamalov and Yuri Kovalchuk through their Rossiya Bank have become the most important investors in Russia's development of the annexed Crimea.{{cite news |last=Васильев |first=Андрей (Vasiliev, Andrey)|url=https://theins.ru/korrupciya/137605 |title=После Ротенберга хоть камни с неба. Как Крым стал прибыльным бизнесом для друзей Путина |trans-title=After Rotenberg, even stones from the sky. How Crimea became a profitable business for Putin's friends |language=ru |work=Insider |date=25 January 2019 |access-date=20 November 2020 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129180253/https://theins.ru/korrupciya/137605}} Stroygazmontazh built the Crimean Bridge, commencing in February 2016. The road bridge was opened in October 2018, and the rail bridge opened in June 2020. In 2019, the company's revenue amounted to 194 billion rubles.{{Cite web |title=ООО "Стройгазмонтаж", ООО "СГМ" |url=https://www.rusprofile.ru/id/133458 |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=www.rusprofile.ru |language=ru}}

In early November 2019, Rotenberg's shares in the company were reportedly sold to Gazstroyprom—an infrastructural firm under the administration of Gazprom—for a total of ₽75 billion ($1.18 billion).{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/09/27/russias-gazprom-buys-out-its-biggest-subcontractor-a67475|title=Russia's Gazprom Buys Out Its Biggest Subcontractor|website=The Moscow Times|date=27 September 2019|accessdate=17 January 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-sanctions/blacklisted-russian-businessman-rotenberg-sells-gas-pipeline-firm-spokeswoman-idUSKBN1XH2VJ|title=Blacklisted Russian businessman Rotenberg sells gas pipeline firm: spokeswoman|website=Reuters|date=7 November 2019|accessdate=17 January 2020}} Stroygazmontazh had been a subcontractor of Gazprom for some time, and had collaborated in building 320 kilometers of onshore pipelines for the Nord Stream 2 project.{{cite web|url=https://www.upstreamonline.com/weekly/nord-stream-2-award-for-stroygazmontazh/2-1-402295|title=Nord Stream 2 award for Stroygazmontazh|website=Upstream|date=23 August 2018|accessdate=17 January 2020}}

{{Main|Crimean Bridge}}

File:Opening of the Crimean bridge (2018-05-15) 03.jpg

In 2016 and 2017 it was reported that Stroygazmontazh, with evident ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, had won a contract in January 2015 to construct the Crimean Bridge providing a two-track railway link, and a four lane automobile and truck, link between Russia and Crimea by crossing the Kerch Strait, and that it had proceeded to begin construction.{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1c266a70-8160-11e6-8e50-8ec15fb462f4|title=Bridge to Crimea: Putin strives to complete a 'historic mission'|website=The Financial Times|date=23 September 2016|accessdate=15 November 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-bridge/sanctions-tight-margins-sap-appetite-for-rail-link-to-putins-bridge-idUSKBN1501X0|title=Sanctions, tight margins sap appetite for rail link to 'Putin's bridge'|website=Reuters|date=16 January 2017|accessdate=15 November 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://themoscowtimes.com/news/putins-friend-to-construct-russo-crimean-railway-56826|title=Putin's Judo Partner Awarded $285M Contract For Crimea Railway'|website=The Moscow Times|date=18 January 2017|accessdate=15 November 2017}} The Russian government stipulated that Stroygazmontazh was to complete the railway link by August 1, 2019, and fully complete all works on the bridge by December 1, 2019. Stroygazmontazh had never built a major bridge before.{{citation| url=https://www.engineering.com/BIM/ArticleID/17007/Europes-Longest-Bridge-Spans-Troubled-Waters.aspx |title=Europe's Longest Bridge Spans Troubled Waters |first1=Emily |last1=Pollock |date=6 July 2018 |publisher=Engineering.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013090024/https://www.engineering.com/BIM/ArticleID/17007/Europes-Longest-Bridge-Spans-Troubled-Waters.aspx|archivedate=2018-10-13}} Because of the risks of EU sanctions applied in July 2018,{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/six-russian-companies-added-to-eu-sanctions-list-over-kerch-strait-bridge/29400657.html|title=Six Russian Firms Hit With EU Sanctions Over Kerch Strait Bridge|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=31 July 2018|accessdate=17 January 2020}} no international insurance company was willing to underwrite the potential $3 billion loss if the project went wrong—thus, a small Crimean insurance company underwrote it. Stroygazmontazh commenced construction in February 2016. The road bridge was opened in October 2018, and the rail bridge opened in June 2020.

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Category:Construction and civil engineering companies of Russia

Category:Companies based in Moscow

Category:Construction and civil engineering companies established in 2008

Category:Russian companies established in 2008

Category:Russian entities subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions

Category:Arkady Rotenberg