The Kremlin plans to use the American-owned food company Glavproduct, which it seized in October 2024, to supply canned goods to Russia's military, Reuters reported on April 17, citing internal documents.
Glavproduct, a canned food producer originally founded by Los Angeles-based businessman Leonid Smirnov, is the only U.S. company to fall under Russian state control since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
The asset seizure was needed to ensure stable production for future supplies to Russia's Defense Ministry and the National Guard, according to a letter from Glavproduct's new management to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office.
The letter, seen by Reuters, also notes that Rosimushchestvo, Russia's federal property management agency, appointed a new CEO at the request of Druzhba Narodov, a food supplier with ties to Kremlin security forces.
Druzhba Narodov previously served as the sole supplier to the Russian National Guard in 2019-2020, according to investigative reporting by Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The company is linked to former Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachov, who was sanctioned by the EU in 2014 over his support for Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Russian prosecutors accuse Smirnov of illegally transferring $17 million out of Russia between 2022 and 2024. The Moscow Arbitration Court froze Glavproduct's assets on March 12. A hearing is scheduled for April 18.
Smirnov, based in Los Angeles, denies wrongdoing and called the takeover a "Russian-style corporate raid." According to Reuters, Glavproduct had not previously supplied the Russian army.
The dispute is unfolding as Washington and Moscow continue backchannel negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Glavproduct's status would be part of broader talks to "reset relations" with Russia.
Since 2023, more than a dozen foreign companies, including Carlsberg and Fortum, have had their Russian subsidiaries taken over by decree.
In May 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the Kremlin to identify and seize U.S.-owned property and securities as "compensation" for Western sanctions.
As the war drags into its fourth year and Russia ramps up military spending, the Kremlin asserts greater control over strategic industries — including food production — to sustain its war effort.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
