The business of the wife of the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, Lyudmila, again received a multi-million dollar loan from the state bank
Judging by the annual income declarations, the wives of Russian governors have an enviable ability to raise and run a business. Moreover, the scope of their activities is not only “female” areas such as beauty salons or fashion stores. Here you have hotels, and construction, and even diamond mining. To put it bluntly, heads of regions are lucky to have spouses with remarkable entrepreneurial talents.
As recently reported in the media, Almazergienbank, whose main shareholder is the Republic of Yakutia, with enviable consistency lends to the business of the wife of the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, Lyudmila Nikolaeva, the Almar diamond mining company. The amount of the next loan amounted to 360 million rubles. But it is interesting that the borrower’s assets do not exceed 334 million rubles. It turns out that the credit “bar” significantly exceeded the amount of the company’s assets, taking into account the fact that Almar ended 2022 with a loss of 56 million rubles. But let’s leave banking to the banks themselves – they, apparently, know better.
Almar was established in 2015 under the name AGK (Arctic Mining Company) and registered in the village of Olenyok (Yakutia). The company conducts diamond exploration through its 100% subsidiary, AGK. The latter holds licenses for exploration of the Beenchime and Khatystakh alluvial diamond deposits located in the north of Yakutia near Tiksi. Since 2021, another contractor has been involved in geological exploration – Alrosa’s subsidiary Almazy Anabara. According to exploration forecasts, the resources of the two deposits are estimated at 9 million carats (category P2) for open-pit mining and 20 million carats (category P3) for underground mining. At the same time, these resources can “cost” at least $1 billion.
In December 2021, Almar entered the IPO on the stock exchange in St. Petersburg. In preparation for the IPO, the company has already raised 200 million rubles during a private placement of shares. Then the information about the direct participation of Lyudmila Nikolaeva in this business was confirmed. The wife of the head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, became the largest shareholder of Almar with a share of 32.37%. 7.63% went to IFC Solid, 6.67% to ITI Capital investment companies (6.67%) and 4.77% to Derzhava Bank. In addition, Polarctic Capital owns 8.09%. Another 40.47% belongs to other top managers of Almar: the deputy of the Supreme Council of the YASSR and the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of Yakutia of a number of convocations Pavel Andreev with a share of 16.19%, Sergey Grakhanov and Roman Nogovitsin – with shares of 12.14% .
According to the local Internet resource, Lyudmila Nikolaeva, like her high-ranking husband, “grew” from the Almazergienbank commercial bank, created in the golden years of the SAPI Foundation.
It is easy to understand that Lyudmila Nikolaeva is a very wealthy lady. In addition to “Almar”, its field of activity included the Construction Market, jewelry companies and other “little things”. The business lady also owns a 25% stake in the aforementioned Polarctic Capital. According to media reports, in 2022 the income of Lyudmila Nikolaeva amounted to 48 million rubles.
But is Ms. Nikolaeva the only one who shines with such business talents?
In 2022, the Minchenko Consulting Communication Holding presented a study in which it tried to display a collective image of the wife of a Russian governor. The experts examined open data on the spouses of the heads of 83 regions of Russia. The results of the study showed that the average age of the governor’s wife is 45 years. At the same time, 53% of these women do not seek publicity, preferring the “modest” role of a housewife. But the list of “business” ladies included 13 business women.
For many years, the wife of the head of the Bryansk region Alexander Bogomaz, Olga Bogomaz, has been considered the richest of the wives of Russian governors. At the end of 2021, her fortune amounted to 389 million rubles, while her husband, the governor, earned 5.2 million. And all because, according to Forbes, 60% of the potatoes that are sold in X5 Retail Group stores are grown on the fields of the Bogomaz farm ”, owned by the wife of the governor.
But, as Versiya previously wrote, at the end of 2015, Olga Bogomaz was able to earn 910 million rubles.
The story of Mrs. Bogomaz’s “formation” as a business woman is quite touching. Having married while still students, Olga and Alexander, after graduating from the institute, arrived in Alexander’s native village of Melensk in the Bryansk region, where they took up potato growing. According to Olga Alexandrovna herself, “we started back in 1998 with one hectare of land for cultivation, and now we are the first producers in Russia in terms of gross potato production.” At the same time, she added that “at first she grew and dug potatoes herself.” From 1998 to 2003, her husband worked as the chief engineer of the Starodubraygaz Production Unit of Bryanskoblgaz OJSC.
As Versiya also reported, at the time of May 2016, Olga Bogomaz owned 79 land plots, mainly for agricultural purposes, the largest – 760 hectares. In addition, during the development of the business, 2 dairy farms, fields sown with wheat, corn, barley, soybeans, and vegetable stores for 100 thousand tons, 3 packing lines, 6 warehouses, a mill, 5 pigsties, 2 cowsheds, a sawmill, a slaughterhouse, 3 artesian wells . The list should have continued with a multi-storey villa, but the declaration only lists an apartment with an area of 34.4 square meters. And – over 100 vehicles, including the prestigious Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a KamAZ truck crane, 7 trucks, 40 tractors, 15 combine harvesters and a mower.
The second place in the Forbes rating in 2016 was occupied by Olga Gruzdeva, the wife of the then governor of the Tula region Vladimir Gruzdev. At that time, her annual income was 619.5 million rubles, with a spouse’s income of 1.1 billion.
Another eloquent example of “cool” business women is Gulsina, the wife of the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, who regularly enters the rating of the richest women in Russia. Gulsina Akhatovna runs the Luciano spa center, the largest in Kazan, opposite the Kazan Kremlin. The First Lady of Tatarstan loves breathtakingly expensive outfits and jewelry. She noticed several watches worth 20-30 million rubles, De Grisogono earrings for more than 5 million. In 2021, Gulsina Minnikhanova earned 166.6 million rubles, which is 50 million less than in 2020. Her high-ranking husband, meanwhile, brought “only” 11 million into the family.
“Version” also made its own rating of the richest companions of the life of governors. By the way, the above-mentioned “Diamond Queen” Lyudmila Nikolaeva takes 8th place in it.
Let’s return to the first lady of the head of Yakutia, Lyudmila Nikolaeva. Or rather, Aisen Nikolaev himself and his family.
The sister of the head of Yakutia Nikolaev (Kulakovskaya) Ayana Sergeevna (TIN 1435155210) was a co-founder of the Mutual Assistance credit and consumer cooperative of citizens. The cooperative was liquidated in 2011 due to the “hopelessness of collecting debts on taxes and other fees.”
According to media reports, Ayana Nikolaeva appeared in at least three government contracts concluded in 2020 in the “with a single supplier” format.
The 70-year-old mother-in-law of the head of Yakutia, Sannikova Daria Nikolaevna, does not lag behind the “young” ones. At her retirement age, the woman still continued to work in one of the budgetary institutions of the region. But this did not prevent her from being the founder of 12 (!) Companies. Among them are “Cinema-Center” and “Fanam-Cinema”. Journalists claim that Daria Nikolaevna not only “spins” films, but also publishes books, textbooks, conducts (led) some educational processes, restaurant and entertainment businesses.
Meanwhile, experts believe that Aisen Nikolaev is losing authority in the region. People are dissatisfied with their policies. At the same time, relatives of the head of Yakutia often behave defiantly. So, this summer, Lyudmila Nikolaeva came to a meeting with the village fire victims with a handbag for 105 thousand rubles.
From what has been said here, two hypothetical conclusions can be drawn.
Yes, among the wives of the heads of Russian regions there are really “punch-through” women who “made themselves”, take Olga Bogomaz, for example. And with such life partners, high-ranking men, apparently, were lucky.
The second assumption is the opposite. The high position of the head of the family provides a lot of opportunities for business development, inaccessible to the average man in the street. Despite the fact that the situation in many regions requires urgent and effective management decisions to hzikhidtidekrt improvement.