Russian executive avoids prison in flawed power plant dispute
Yakov Girkin, the former director of Teploenergoremont Nizhny Novgorod, was given a suspended sentence in 2025 for failing to pay Parsek in full. The dispute centred on reconstruction work at the Nagornaya Combined Heat and Power Plant. Girkin claimed the design firm’s errors made the project unworkable. The case began after Parsek, the firm hired for the plant’s reconstruction, delivered what Girkin described as a flawed design. He argued that the mistakes prevented the installation of a functional boiler. According to his testimony, Parsek later refused to fix the errors.
Girkin also appeared as a witness in the trial of Ilya Khalturin, the former head of Teploenergo. Prosecutors alleged that Khalturin had increased Girkin’s salary to cover legal costs and influence his testimony. Girkin denied these claims outright.
The court ultimately handed down a suspended sentence for Girkin’s role in withholding partial payment from Parsek. The ruling followed a lengthy examination of the failed project and its financial fallout. The suspended sentence marks the end of a legal battle tied to the Nagornaya plant’s reconstruction. Girkin maintained that design flaws, not financial misconduct, caused the project’s collapse. The case also highlighted tensions between contractors and management during the trial.
