A new wave of nationalization How the Russian authorities are seizing private assets, one court ruling at a time
Since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, around 200 companies in Russia have faced the threat of nationalization — and only a few of those targeted have managed to avoid it. In the latest moves, the Moscow Region Arbitration Court froze the assets of billionaire Dmitry Kamenshchik, owner of Domodedovo, one of the country’s largest airports. A few days later, the Moscow Arbitration Court transferred the assets of Raven Russia, the nation’s largest warehouse operator, to the state. Meduza examines the arguments prosecutors are using in court to nationalize businesses and breaks down some of the most high-profile cases.
Illegal privatization
Asset: Solikamsk Magnesium Plant (SMZ), one of the world’s oldest and Russia’s largest magnesium producers.
Estimated value: Around 10 billion rubles ($100.5 million).
Owners: Sergey Kirpichev, Pyotr Kondrashev, Timur Starostin, Igor Pestrikov.
Notable detail: In violation of Russia’s Civil Code, company shares were seized even from good-faith investors who had purchased them on the Moscow Exchange.
The claim: The plant’s workforce illegally privatized the company in 1992. The Prosecutor General’s Office argued that the deal had been approved by the Perm Region Property Management Committee, even though only the Russian government had the legal authority to do so. The defendants took control of the enterprise only in 2016 and insisted they had done so in good faith. However, the court ruled that the privatization violations were “ongoing in nature.”
Current status: Minority shareholders continue to challenge the seizure, while prosecutors have reportedly offered them compensation for damages. The plant was transferred to Rosatom, Russia's government-owned atomic energy corporation, which is now investing in developing its production. One of the shareholders is on Russia’s international wanted list for attempted embezzlement and has fled abroad. His associates, including top managers, are in prison.
Corruption-linked property
Asset: Rolf, one of Russia’s largest car dealerships.
Estimated value: 60 billion rubles ($602.3 million).
Owner: Former State Duma deputy Sergey Petrov.
Notable detail: This isn’t the first case against Rolf. In 2019, the authorities opened a criminal case against Petrov under a rare provision of the Russian Criminal Code, accusing him of illegal foreign currency transactions. Petrov claimed it was an attempt at a corporate raid.
The claim: In 2022, prosecutors alleged that Petrov had managed the company while serving in the State Duma and ordered him to pay 20 billion rubles ($200.7 million) — the entirety of what they deemed illegally obtained profits. In 2023, President Vladimir Putin placed the company under temporary state management through the Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimushchestvo). The Kremlin said the move was based on “economic feasibility and the international economic climate.” In 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office filed another lawsuit to nationalize Rolf, arguing that Petrov had acquired it in violation of anti-corruption laws.
Current status: The new owner of the business is Umar Kremlev, the head of the unrecognized International Boxing Association, whom the investigative outlet Proekt has linked to the head of the Presidential Security Service. Sergey Petrov has vowed to challenge the nationalization.
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Extremism
Asset: Global Spirits, a major alcohol holding company producing the vodka brands Khortytsa, Morosha, and Pervak.
Estimated value: 15 billion rubles ($150.6 million).
Owner: Ukrainian businessman Yevhen Cherniak.
Notable detail: Cherniak has been charged in absentia in Russia for allegedly aiding the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In Ukraine, however, he is suspected of financing Russian aggression.
The claim: In 2022, Cherniak announced he had cut ties with Russia. But the Prosecutor General’s Office alleged that he orchestrated sham transactions to “keep financial flows intact,” placing Russia-based assets under the control of trusted associates who, authorities claim, used them for “illegal activities.” In 2023, Russia charged Cherniak with financing terrorism in an amount exceeding 1 billion rubles ($10 million). This charge became the legal basis for a lawsuit to seize the holding, though Cherniak’s defense argued he no longer owned the business.
Current status: All seven of the group’s Russia-based enterprises have been nationalized. Creditors are now seeking to bankrupt the factories. Cherniak has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list and has not contested the asset seizure. Meanwhile, those who bought his Russian business in 2022 ended up in prison after investigators intercepted a phone call in which one partner allegedly offered the other the opportunity to exempt his son from military service in exchange for a $10,000 bribe.
Foreign control over a strategic sector
Asset: Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
Estimated value: 300–350 billion rubles ($3–3.5 billion).
Owner: Dmitry Kamenshchik; the Prosecutor General’s Office also lists Valery Kogan as an owner.
Notable detail: This marks the authorities’ third attempt to seize the asset. In the 2000s, Rosimushchestvo argued that its privatization was illegal. In the 2010s, authorities criticized its complex ownership structure, which involved offshore companies.
The claim: Prosecutors cite a law on foreign investments in companies deemed strategic to national defense and security. Under this law, gaining control of such an asset requires government commission approval and clearance from the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
The Prosecutor General’s Office alleges that Kamenshchik and Kogan hold foreign citizenship and that their company has a foreign creditor, but they concealed this from regulators. Since April 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office has been authorized to request the complete confiscation of a business for violating this law. Leaks suggest that the authorities are also accusing the pair of embezzlement.
Current status: The court has seized the property and company shares, while barring the owners from “destabilizing the work of providing air transport services.” It also ordered that a representative from Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) be granted access to the enterprise. Neither Kamenshchik nor the company has yet commented on the charges.