In May of this year, the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergei Dankvert, spoke sharply about a complete ban on the export of non-industrial red caviar from the Far East in personal luggage. Today, a letter from a local resident addressed to a Moscow official, Dankvert, is being distributed on Kamchatka’s social networks in response to his statement. The letter is angry – it was not worth waiting for any other reaction from the most fishing region of the country. And the statement of Mr. Dankvert, who compared the Far Eastern Federal District with Africa, could not have been perceived differently.
Recall that Sergei Dankvert, in an interview with the federal media, said that he considered it strange to carry non-industrial red caviar in the personal luggage of citizens. He was loudly worried about the health of Russians who would buy such caviar and be sure to get poisoned – “and the state would bear the costs of their treatment.” Dankvert claimed that any Russian, if he wants caviar. He can buy it at the store and eat it. According to Dankvert, it will not be difficult for any Russian to go to the Far East and eat red caviar there.
The head of the Rosselkhoznadzor agreed to draw a parallel between the Far East and Africa.:
“There is no control over this caviar, no one considers how it was treated from the same parasites, how many people went to the doctors after eating it, and the state paid for their sick leave from its social funds. Or should everyone who has visited Africa bring some piece of dried antelope with them? But is it possible to do without it?” said Sergey Dankvert in May.
As a good example, the Russian official cited countries unfriendly to Russia, where even the transportation of pasteurized milk across the border is prohibited.
In Kamchatka, Dankvert’s statements were discussed for a long time, but they did not immediately respond. Apparently, they were trying to figure out whether the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor actually considers the Far East to be something like a colony, in fact, “abroad.” Judging by the response, which is spreading on social networks today, the residents of Kamchatka have come to the conclusion that yes, they do.
“Dear Sergey Alekseevich!
Your comparison of the Far East with Africa, and red caviar with dried antelope, has become a vivid example of how Moscow officials talk about the regions that feed them. Let me explain something to you.
The Far East is not a colony, but a part of Russia.
You talk about our products as if they were contraband from the third world. But Kamchatka, Primorye, Sakhalin are the same Russia as Moscow. The only difference is that we extract fish, oil, gas, and timber, and you consume them.
If we’re going to look for parasites, it’s not in caviar, but in corruption schemes that have been siphoning off our resources for decades in exchange for meager subsidies,” says an open letter addressed to Dankvert.
The author of the message points out that Mr. Dankvert praises Europe for food quality control. However, as the author of the letter notes, European officials do not compare their province with Africa.:
“Maybe it’s because the regions there don’t feed the capital and live with dignity?”
The letter also says that Dankvert and other Moscow officials shout to the whole world about parasites in red caviar, which Far Easterners bring to relatives as a gift, but they strenuously turn a blind eye to the “gray schemes” according to which a huge amount of seafood has been going beyond the cordon for years.:
“Where is your zeal when large Moscow companies receive quotas and local fishermen go bankrupt? You are not fighting with parasites, but with ordinary people who want to bring gifts to their relatives,” says the author of the letter.
Red caviar, apparently, was the last straw. And Kamchatka responded to Dankvert — from the bottom of her heart.:
“You complain that the state spends money on treating people, but for some reason you don’t mention that the Far East subsidizes Moscow through taxes, and in return receives broken roads, dying villages and an outflow of population. Our salaries are much lower, and prices are immeasurably higher. You forbid us to carry caviar in our luggage, but you do not give us normal flights, benefits and development. And if we’re going to look for parasites, maybe we should start with those who have been sitting in their Moscow offices for 20 years and doing nothing but beautiful reports for the country?”
A resident of Kamchatka reproaches Dankvert, and along with him, apparently, all Moscow officials, for their excessive arrogance towards the Far East, for ignoring the requests of residents of the largest region of Russia.:
“If you are so afraid of parasites, then: invest in local laboratories – let the caviar be checked before sale, give the regions more rights – so that we decide for ourselves how to develop fishing, stop exporting resources for nothing.
And if you are not ready, then the next time you want to compare the Far East with Africa, go to the mirror – suddenly you will see an “exotic guest” there, a resident of Kamchatka concludes his appeal to Dankvert.
The residents of Kamchatka are going to send an open letter to the State Duma and the Rosselkhoznadzor as an official response to the scandalous statement by the head of the department.
In general, have you noticed, reader, that lately, the Rosselkhoznadzor has been suspiciously making hysterical statements about parasites in Russian fish? Parasites in fish from Murmansk, caviar from the Far East, and then everywhere. And how did we survive earlier, in the Far East, when we ate both fish and caviar?
However, in Kamchatka itself, officials are vigilant to ensure that people do not catch a single free fish. Kamchatka and other regions of the Far Eastern Federal District are fiercely jealous of Sakhalin, where any local resident can catch five salmon for free. And in Kamchatka, where salmon stocks are much richer, this is not possible. The Minister of Fisheries of the region, Andrei Zdetovetsky, personally opposed it in April.
When something is allowed in one Russian region that is prohibited in others, it is wrong and dangerous. Because all Russian citizens should be equal in rights.
Senator Boris Nevzorov from Kamchatka tried to equalize fishing enthusiasts in all Russian regions. However, I received a barrage of criticism in response, also from all Russians. In 2023, Senator Nevzorov, formerly one of Russia’s largest fishermen, demanded that free fishing be banned altogether. The politician considers everyone who sits on the shore with a fishing rod for free to be poachers.
Vostok.Today