Game over for Lesta The Russian government is nationalizing the country’s most profitable gaming studio following an ‘extremism’ conviction over Ukraine fundraising
On June 3, 2025, a Moscow court designated Malik Khatazhayev, head of Lesta Games, as a participant in an “extremist organization.” The ruling strips Lesta of all its assets, which the state will confiscate and likely hand over to new owners. Prosecutors base their charges against Lesta Games on a campaign to raise money for Ukraine, even though the fundraising was conducted by Wargaming, a different company that had divested from Russia. Meduza examines the verdict against Lesta Games and how the company’s owners are trying to save it.
Developers started abandoning Lesta Games after its case began in April 2025
Malik Khatazhayev shares his new “extremist” status in Russia with Victor Kislyi, founder and CEO of Wargaming, which owes its fame, especially in Russia, to the multiplayer game World of Tanks. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Wargaming announced that it would divest from Russia and Belarus. It later transferred these assets to Lesta, which had spun off from the company.
As a result of this separation, Wargaming continued its operations outside of Russia and Belarus, supporting and developing its flagship products: World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Tanks Blitz. Meanwhile, in Russia and Belarus, Lesta assumed the same responsibilities, renaming the games and charting its own course. “Mir Tankov” (World of Tanks), “Mir Korabley” (World of Warships), and Tanks Blitz are now distinct games, evolving on their own trajectory. In effect, Wargaming and Lesta now manage completely different projects, operating in separate orbits.
In late April 2025, a Moscow court granted a lawsuit from the Prosecutor General's Office and froze the company’s three main assets: Lesta, Lesta Games Agency, and Lesta Games Moscow. The ruling followed a handful of media publications accusing Lesta’s old parent company of sending money to the Ukrainian military — stories with headlines like “The Most Military Game World of Tanks Against Russia's Special Operation” and “Wargaming Launched a Charitable Project with Ukrainian Content in Games to Raise Money for Ambulances.”
Wargaming did launch charitable initiatives to support Ukraine, among them “WargamingUnited,” in collaboration with the United24 crowdfunding campaign. One of these initiatives raised more than $1 million. However, Wargaming launched this initiative in October 2023 — months after its separation from Lesta. The Russian studio issued a statement emphasizing that it has no involvement “with other games or projects of a similar nature.”
Meanwhile, journalist Dmitry Filonov, who covers startups on his Telegram channel The Edinorog (The Unicorn), pointed out that the management of Lesta Games passed to a company called Lesta Hong Kong Limited from September 2022 to September 2024 — meaning Khatazhaev’s initial stint in charge lasted only a few months.
Filonov also discovered that Lesta Hong Kong Limited was registered with 1,000 shares, but an additional share was later created and acquired by Vladimir Kislyi, the father of Wargaming’s CEO. That single share was transferred to Khatazhaev only in November 2023. “So during the [WargamingUnited] fundraiser, Wargaming and Lesta shared a co-owner — Vladimir Kislyi,” Filonov explained.
Malik Khatazhayev insists that he hasn’t been in contact with Viktor Kislyi or maintained any business relationship with him since August 2023. Wargaming's press service confirmed this.
According to Lesta, “this single share was issued to allow Wargaming to oversee the separation process. The issuance of the share was purely technical and did not affect corporate control over the company. Its sole purpose was to halt or reverse the separation if it deviated from the plan or the process was breached.”
After the asset freeze, Lesta representatives issued a series of social media posts, asserting the company’s “full compliance” with Russian and Belarusian laws and expressing hope that the court would rule in its favor. “We are confident that justice will prevail, and we ask for discretion to avoid complicating the proceedings,” one post read.
On May 21, 2025, representatives of four Russian IT associations published an open letter asking President Vladimir Putin to prevent Lesta’s “forced nationalization” and evaluate the legality of the Prosecutor General's Office’s actions. In the document, the industry figures also revealed that developers had already begun to flee Lesta, “threatening the company’s collapse.”
“Immediately after the administrative case was initiated, [Lesta] received more than 200 resignation letters from key IT specialists,” the open letter stated. “The most skilled employees are already receiving offers from foreign companies (with full relocation packages on the table).”
On June 3, Lesta reported more than 2,200 employees on its payroll.
Lesta’s extremism designation stems from allegations that it siphoned money to Ukraine's military
Following a closed hearing on June 3, 2025, the court nevertheless designated Malik Khatazhayev and Victor Kislyi as participants in an “extremist organization” and granted the authorities’ request to nationalize the company’s assets. However, the ruling mentions only two of the three frozen LLCs: Lesta (the company’s main asset) and Lesta Games Agency (its publishing division).
A source in law enforcement confirmed to the newspaper Kommersant that alleged support for Ukraine was the reason for the verdict against Khatazhayev and Kislyi. “They funneled their profits into foundations dedicated to arming Ukrainian forces,” the source explained.
According to the news agency TASS, the Prosecutor General's Office focused its case on Lesta Hong Kong Limited, which Lesta says was created to oversee its separation from Wargaming. “During the breakup between Wargaming and Lesta LLC, money from both companies was funneled into a Hong Kong offshore. Prosecutors suspect this offshore entity served as a conduit for funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” a source in law enforcement told TASS.
A Kommersant source added that the court’s decision will not affect users who play “World of Tanks” and other Lesta games, nor will it lead to the closure of these projects. Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee, also promised as much, writing on Telegram: “There’s still an appeal coming up in this case, but regardless of the outcome, users of ‘World of Tanks,’ ‘World of Warships,’ and other Lesta Games products have nothing to worry about. They cannot be charged with supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces or extremism for making in-game purchases.” Gorelkin also added that Lesta’s nationalized assets will likely be transferred to “an appropriate Russian enterprise” in the future.
On May 22, Kommersant published an article on its website (and later deleted it) suggesting that investment fund GEM Capital might be interested in buying Lesta’s assets. A source told the newspaper that representatives had already approached Khatazhayev in late 2024 with an offer to buy out the business, but he turned them away. GEM Capital has denied rumors that it might now acquire Lesta’s frozen assets. The day after deleting the article, Kommersant posted an updated text and later unpublished that story as well.
Lesta is currently considered one of the most successful gaming companies in Russia. According to the analytical agency Smart Ranking, it led the local gaming market in revenue for 2023. The company earned more than 19 billion rubles ($222.3 million), while second-place Astrum Entertainment earned only 10 billion. According to documents submitted to the court, Lesta’s total assets are currently valued at 135 billion rubles ($1.7 billion).
Lesta tried to win over officials with ‘patriotic’ credentials
Wargaming has not yet commented on the court’s decision. Meanwhile, Lesta published a long open letter, once more attempting to showcase its patriotic credentials — notably its creation of a series of propaganda films called “Our Side Speaks.”
The authors of Lesta’s letter describe the backlash against the company for refusing to “take a position” in the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Lesta representatives counter that they “didn’t want to cheapen their genuine charitable work by turning it into some quick publicity stunt.” The company further stated that it sought to avoid excessive public visibility for its support of the Russian Armed Forces due to concerns about potential foreign sanctions.
To support their claims, Lesta representatives presented grateful testimonials from military personnel, the “Officers of Russia” organization, and State Duma deputy Alexey Zhuravlev. Additionally, the company shared several receipts confirming the purchase and delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces recently occupied several towns.
Lesta has maintained this line of defense for the past month and a half. So far, it isn’t working. The company’s lawyers have already announced that they will appeal the Moscow District Court’s ruling, but the chances of success appear slim.