February 02, 2025

State and Business (and Moral) Corruption


State and Business (and Moral) Corruption
Damning Instagram evidence. Navalny.com

In a country like Russia, the state and business are often in bed with each other. As are bosses and employees, according to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).

FBK, which late anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny started, recently published an investigation into a handful of state oil company Rosneft employees who apparently have very close relations with its head, Putin ally Igor Sechin.

According to the report, Sechin, 64, maintains a "harem" of approximately a dozen beautiful young women, lavishing them with jewelry, luxury cars, and trips in his private jet. Yet these ladies are reportedly merely part of Rosneft and receive their pay from state coffers.

FBK's investigation tracked these women from escort websites to Rosneft's employee rolls. At Rosneft, they hold positions as "specialists" in business management departments and earned starting salaries over R300,000 ($3,045), more than twice as high as experienced Rosneft lawyers, engineers, and economists earn. By comparing profile photos on these websites with employee information, FBK was able to connect the two sources. Some even still have police files for prostitution.

Further evidence of Sechin's "harem" can be found on social media. One woman, Albina Ivanova, posts prodigiously on Instagram. She was hired by Rosneft in 2016, shortly after her 21st birthday, and officially specializes in oil production.

Since then, she has posted from luxurious locations around the globe: New York, the Maldives, Courchevel, and more, invariably wearing only the most expensive clothing brands. Other photos show her en route on a private jet (with a Pomeranian dog), or posing serenely on the back of a large yacht.

FBK researchers found that, often, Ivanova's trips shadowed Sechin's, drawing the ironic conclusion that she must be dutifully accompanying her boss on strenuous work trips. Publicly available flight data shows Sechin's private jet in London and Rome at the same time as Ivanova posted from there, and photos from South Africa, Azerbaijan, and China correspond to Sechin's work itinerary as published in international news outlets. FBK concludes that, over nine years, Sechin and Ivanova have made 58 private jet trips together.

Ivanova's luxury lifestyle at home implies only further grift. She owns three cars that far outstrip her official salary: a Mercedes G-Wagen (valued at R40 million, or $406,000), a Porsche Taycan (R20 million, $203,000), and a Rolls Royce (also R40 million).

She has also posted photos with expensive items, such as a collection of 25 Hermes handbags. These bags are not available on the open market, but the collection can be estimated at R104 million in total ($1,055,000). There's also her Graff diamond jewelry: a 20-million-ruble bracelet ($203,000), 7-million-ruble earrings ($70,000), and a 22-million-ruble watch ($220,500).

And in case the connection seems tenuous, FBK also uncovered Ivanova's living arrangements: a luxury apartment in Moscow officially owned by the son of one of Sechin's close friends, which was once occupied by another young, female Rosneft employee.

All of these are apparently "gifts" from Sechin, and, by extension, Rosneft, a piece of the Russian state.

The story, if true, is not only shocking, but enraging. As Russia's War in Ukraine grinds on and economic uncertainty and inflation wrack the Russian people, Putin's closes allies spend billions of rubles on their mistresses' luxury lifestyles.

The narrative is striking: Plenty of cash for Sechin's girlfriends, but none for the everyday Russian.

A video investigation can be seen here.

 

You Might Also Like

Baikal, not Bali
  • July 10, 2024

Baikal, not Bali

The State Duma has banned Russian deputies and senators from traveling abroad without permission.
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955