The sanatorium-health complex (SOC) “Kamchia” near Varna, which Russia could turn into a “cultural and humanitarian platform” for pursuing its interests in Europe, is built on a land plot acquired in one of the most scandalous state property deals on the North Black Sea coast. This is shown by a report prepared by the Varna District Administration in February 2010.
According to the content of the document, “SOC Kamchia” EAD whose sole owner is the Property Department of the city of Moscow, acquired in 2008 nearly 80 decares in the land of the village of Bliznaci, municipality of Avren, at the price of BGN 9.72 per sq. m. The price is such despite the fact that the terrain is located near the mouth of the Kamchia River and borders one of the largest and most beautiful beaches on the North Black Sea coast.
A reference with the prices of similar plots at that time shows that they were sold for several hundred Euro per sq. m. Thus, the land acquired by the Property Department of the Government of Moscow turned out to be part of the sold in the period 2005-2008 totally 873,215 sq. m of state forests with changed status. Some of them have passed into private hands at prices below BGN 2 per sq. m.
Everything about the deal – here.
The channel and the technology,
according which the Moscow Government has participated in one of the most anti-market transactions with state property in our country, become apparent after reference in the archives of the Commercial Register.
The company “SOC Kamchia” was founded in 2007. A year later Stanka Shopova joined the Board of Directors. Until 1989, she was chair-person of the Central Committee of the former communist youth organization DKMS and one of the closest associates of the communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. From 2011 to 2018, Shopova was chair-person of the board of directors of “SOC Kamchia”. As a manager and majority owner of the company “Russia Today Agency”, the same year Shopova bought a plot in the land of the village of Bliznaci, this time of 21 decares. The price is just under BGN 14 per sq.m.
The contract for the construction of the “SOC Kamchia” complex was signed by former Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova in September 2008 and approved by Sergei Stanishev’s government. In order to facilitate the realization of the Russian investment, with its decision the Bulgarian Government allocates BGN 7.7 million for the construction of a 10.5 km water main pipeline to the complex.
The children’s camp “Raduga”, built by “SOK Kamchia”, was opened
exactly on September 9, 2010,
and high-ranking Bulgarian and Russian guests attending the ceremony greeted each other with a “Happy Holiday”.
Until 1989, the day on which the communist coup in Bulgaria took place under Soviet occupation in 1944 was celebrated as the country’s national holiday.
The Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, arrived especially for the lavish opening ceremony of the camp in Kamchia and was hosted by Boyko Borissov, who recently took office in his first term as a Prime Minister.
How the camp “Raduga” – “The most beautiful on the Earth” was opened – here.
According to the data announced at that time, the funds invested in the “Raduga” health camp at the time of its opening were estimated at about 40mln Euro and its base had the capacity to accommodate about 1,000 children at once. In addition to school boys and girls, part of the base was able to accommodate World War II veterans.
Only a few months after the complex opened, however, Luzhkov, who has been repeatedly accused of corruption, was removed from office after losing the trust of Vladimir Putin.
The estimated value of the complex after its final completion in 2012 was to reach 120mln Euro. In 2016, however
the camp was surprisingly offered for sale
at auction announced by the Department of Competition Policy of the Moscow city authorities for about 66.5 million Euro (6.05 billion Rubles at the then exchange rate). The tender documentation described the sale of buildings, “designated as a separate resort town for year-round tourism with a capacity to accommodate up to 2,000 guests at a time. About 600 accommodation rooms with a total area of over 101 thousand sq.m are distributed in the hotel complex “Longoz”, children’s health camps “Raduga” and “Chernomorskii” .The offer also included a center for medical treatment and diagnostics “Zdravets”, holiday village “Pirin”, a training complex with a planetarium and others.
The auction for the sale of 100% of the shares of the sole joint-stock company “SOC Kamchia” was scheduled for April 19, 2016, but the auction was unexpectedly cancelled.
Only a few days after the deadline for bidding for the failed tender, the Electronic Media Council (CEM) announced in its decision that it had registered
“SOC Kamchiya” as a TV operator,
who intends to realize a cable broadcast of 18-hour polythematic program entitled “ТV Kamchiya”. Stanka Shopova was again named Executive Director of the TV channel.
A year later – in June 2017, “SOC Kamchia” turned out to be among the main sponsors of a free concert organized by Varna Municipality of “Putin’s favorite band “Lube” held in Varna. The members of the band are often advertised with photos in the company of the Russian president. They are known for their numerous participations in Russia’s open propaganda and political actions abroad and the shared nostalgia for communism in the former USSR . They supported the annexation of Crimea and openly shared their anti-liberal and homophobic positions.
In the context of the summarized facts about the establishment and the entire previous activity of the center “Raduga” near Varna
Russia’s intention to turn it into a “cultural and humanitarian platform”
to pursue their interests in Europe sounds quite logical.
The idea was suggested by Russian senators at the end of December last year, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia’s National Security Council would discuss “in the presence of President Vladimir Putin” the transfer of the property of the resort complex, as the situation around it “degraded” and there were even problems with its ownership.
According to the measures, to deal with these problems, prepared by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Moscow City Hall can transfer the ownership of the base in the “Kamchia” resort to the Russian Government and its maintenance can be covered by the state budget of Russia. “Deadlines have been set in June, but the bureaucratic machine is working slowly,” Lavrov added. “Under the chairmanship of the President, we will stimulate such a decision and I hope it will be implemented fastly because we believe that the situation is degrading very quickly,” he said in a speech before the Federation Council.
During this time
“SOC Kamchia” was accumulating debts
to the Municipality of Avren, on whose territory it is located. As of October 30, 2019 the unpaid building tax and garbage fee are about BGN 700,000. After the company paid BGN 217,000 at the beginning of this year, the rest of the debt was rescheduled, informed Emanuil Manolov, Mayor of Avren. However, it is not clear how much more this debt has increased so far.
