Russian lumberjacks have increasingly turned to the domestic satellite network Gonets after the withdrawal of the American operator Globalstar, according to a report by TASS citing the press service of the Gonets Satellite System JSC, part of Roscosmos. The state enterprise emphasized that domestic loggers plan to rely on the homegrown satellite system for their communications needs.
The Kedr software and hardware complex facilitates communications with personnel and remote monitoring of high-value equipment. It was developed by Ilimsky LTUS LLC.
In the Trans-Baikal region a decision was made to unite a group of illegal loggers under a criminal banner. A member of the criminal logging network was found guilty of participating in a criminal community and of illegal registration of forest plantations by a criminal group, particularly on a large scale, under the Russian Federation Criminal Code. Prior to trial, the individual cooperated with investigators under a pretrial agreement. This cooperation led to 18 additional prosecutions for creating and joining a criminal organization and for related offenses. Since 2013, the group has carried out at least 33 offenses of illegal logging with damage estimated at 3 million rubles. Sentences for members ranged from five to fifteen years in a strict-regime penal colony.