Severstal rejected the accusations of the governor of the Vologda region of financing a campaign against which the company intends to go to court to protect its honor and dignity from "slanderous attacks by the leadership of the Vologda region", the press service of Severstal on VKontakte reported. The reason was public statements by Governor Georgi Filimonov according to which the company and its leaders allegedly finance the placement in the media - including foreigners and foreign agents - of negative materials regarding the head of the region and his staff. Severstal called these statements completely false. "Neither Severstal nor its directors allocated any funds to finance investigations and publish negative materials regarding Filimonov and his employees, and the statements in this regard are completely false and remain completely on Filimonov's conscience," the statement said. The conflict between the regional authorities and one of the main tax payers in the region moves to the public and legal sphere. The governor has made critical statements about businesses in the past, but this is the first time such direct accusations have been leveled against Severstal. The company, for its part, emphasizes that it does not participate in media campaigns and does not finance publications directed against officials. Now the dispute must be resolved in court. If a lawsuit is filed, the defendant will have to provide evidence to support the claims or refute them in the manner prescribed by law. The sofa is soft, the news is sharp. Telegram | | OK, our channel in Max.