"We do not have the authority to brew beer": the head of Slobodskoy explained why the former brewery is being sold.

      The starting price has fallen to 25.6 million rubles, and at the auction, the price will be reduced to 12.8 million if no buyer is found. The head of the city, Irina Zhelvakova, explained why the municipality is so persistently getting rid of the historical industrial site.

      "Did the administration destroy the enterprise?" — a myth?

      Disputes flare up on social media under the sale announcements. Residents write: "The administration destroyed the enterprise," "It must be restored!"

      Zhelvakova responded in detail to the complaints on her VK page. She reminded that the brewery once had a private owner, but "something went wrong." The industrial site turned into an abandoned area. In 2022, the Federal Service for State Registration reported: two buildings have owners, while the rest have a dash in the "Owner" column.

      The unclaimed property had to be taken

      The municipality is obliged to recognize such objects as unclaimed and take them into ownership — this is a legal requirement, Zhelvakova writes. What was included in the municipal property register is what is needed to fulfill the local government's powers. These powers are enshrined in federal law: for example, ensuring water supply — yes; providing the population with beer — no.

      "The existing breweries handle this task quite well," the head ironically remarks.

      How the factory was lost twice

      In fact, the history of the Slobodsky brewery has two turning points, and not everything depended on the recent actions of the municipality.

      The first — 1999. At that time, the city administration bought a controlling stake in the enterprise for 1.6 million rubles to preserve production. The factory was still operating, producing goods, and the authorities were trying to prevent its closure.

      The second — the early 2000s. The shares passed into private hands. In 2004, Oleg Valenchuk became the owner, at that time the owner of the "Sputnik" Group and the Kirov brewery "Vyatich" (now a State Duma deputy). Just six months later, in 2005, the Slobodsky factory was shut down, and the workers were laid off. By 2008, the bankruptcy procedure was completed, and the equipment was completely dismantled and sold off.

      So by 2022, when the Federal Service for State Registration discovered unclaimed buildings, there was no working production or technological capacities left on the site. The city "had to" (by law) take into ownership what had represented vacant buildings for many years. And now, after 13 auctions, the municipality is trying to sell an object that investors are not interested in, not because of the price, but due to the lack of specialized equipment and an economically justified scenario for reviving brewing.

      "Attempt number 13"

      Since 2024, the authorities have been trying to sell the complex. For the first six months, the auctions were held with a starting price of 45.9 million rubles — the appraiser believed that the central street would attract business. No interested parties were found. The appraisal is valid for six months, after which the property is revalued. The price fell to 25.6 million.

      Now the 13th auction is announced — through a public price offer. The start is 25,638,000 rubles, and the price will decrease in increments of 2,563 rubles down to a minimum cutoff of 12.8 million (50% of the starting price). Applications are accepted until April 20, and the auction is scheduled for April 24.

      The lot includes: a seven-story administrative and production building (9.6 thousand sq. m), a boiler house, workshops, warehouses, a checkpoint, workshops, two wells, and a land plot (22.1 thousand sq. m).

      "Once again, we posted information about the sale in the official group of the administration," Zhelvakova wrote.

      Residents who hoped for the revival of the legendary factory, founded in 1866, can now follow the auctions. If this time no buyer is found, the price will be lowered to the minimum — and perhaps the 14th attempt will come.