Shalva Pavlovich Chigirinsky annual report. Alexander Chigirinsky vs Viktor Rashnikov: what the developer accuses the billionaire of

Vladimir Baburin: Our guest is the President of the Moscow oil company and the head of the Moscow development company Shalva Chigirinsky.

Questions will be asked by journalists Dmitry Babich, magazine "Russia Profile", and Erlen Bernstein, online publication "Russian Development Portal".

And, according to tradition, first, briefly about the biography of our guest today. Shalva Chigirinsky was born on July 1, 1949 in Kutaisi, Georgia. Graduated from Moscow State University medical school named after Sechenov, since 1991 he has been implementing projects for the reconstruction and construction of real estate, including architectural monuments in Moscow. Since 1997, the chairman of the board of directors of the ST-group company also headed a group of companies created to implement real estate construction projects, mainly for business purposes, in Moscow. Since 1999, the director of the British company CB Energy has carried out projects in the field of petroleum products supply, also mainly in Moscow. Member since 1998 supervisory board, and since July 2000 - President of the Moscow Oil Company. Mr. Chigirinsky is considered one of the most influential and wealthy people in modern Russia, owns a network of gas stations in Moscow. His construction companies receive the largest orders from the Moscow government. There are still things that they talk about, and some even write, but now, at least in my biography, I don’t want to talk about this, because I personally don’t consider these to be facts of the biography of Mr. Chigirinsky, although the questions, maybe I or my colleagues will ask.

Shalva Pavlovich, did I do anything wrong? Or is there anything you might want to add?

Shalva Chigirinsky: You, journalists, as always, tell half-truths. But, thank God, when half the truth is already a big victory. I recently read something about myself that, believe me, even with a rich imagination a writer would not have been able to figure it out.

Vladimir Baburin: And which half of what I said is not true.

Shalva Chigirinsky: I didn't say it wasn't true, but there are some inaccuracies. For example, I did not graduate from Sechenovsky Institute, I left the fourth year. This is also half. Where you got the idea that I finished, I don’t know. As for my influence - “most influential” - I would understand this word somehow differently. What does “most influential” mean? Why am I influencing this?

Vladimir Baburin: I think we will try to figure this out during our conversation.

Shalva Chigirinsky: In the area of ​​your business - maybe development - yes, that's for sure. As for the oil industry, we appeared on the market later than everyone else and are still in the structuring and creation stage.

Vladimir Baburin: However, BP gas stations are considered the best in quality.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Well, these are BP gas stations, not our gas stations. I am, so to speak, a minority shareholder there, I have 25 percent plus one share.

Vladimir Baburin: No, so little.

Shalva Chigirinsky: At the MPZ - at the Central Fuel Company, which I head, but I do not own it.

Vladimir Baburin: Fine. Then let's start with the development business. By the way, there is also a problem: such a business did not exist in the Soviet Union, and now there is not even a word like this in Russian, it’s a developer’s tongue-breaker. But how do you say in Russian - a person who implements real estate programs?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Software developer. As a film producer.

Vladimir Baburin: Not really either Russian word. I want to start the conversation then with the fate of the rather legendary Moscow Rossiya Hotel. This was discussed heatedly Last year, and finally the Moscow mayor's office made the final decision that the Rossiya Hotel should share the fate of the already demolished Moskva and Intourist, and a modern hotel complex would be built in its place. And then there were publications that, in response to the objections of sober-minded officials that it was impossible to leave the capital simultaneously without three major hotels and ruin the tourism business, people who consider themselves knowledgeable said in a low voice to journalists: “That’s what Chigirinsky himself decided.” Shalva Pavlovich, how true is this? Why are you so demonized? Your ill-wishers claim that, contrary to all the rules, you were present at meetings of the commission that determined the fate of Rossiya and considered options for a tender for new construction. Is it true?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Well, let me ask a question. Who told you all this?

Vladimir Baburin: I took this information from the Internet.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Okay, so you use:

Vladimir Baburin: I have not used the Kompromat.ru website.

Shalva Chigirinsky: No, well, okay. Then one more question for you. Do you like the Rossiya Hotel?

Vladimir Baburin: For me personally, no.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Should there be such a building in Russia at all, in Moscow? I am also against two objects in Moscow. Well, there are many objects that need to disappear. I was told that they even want to demolish the Palace of Congresses (which would also be correct, from my point of view) - although this is a good, comfortable building, and it serves its purpose, just as the Rossiya Hotel serves the function of a 1-2-star hotel . This is a good monument, I would say, of minimalist architecture, but I don’t think it should be in the center of Russia.

Vladimir Baburin: Let's return to the issue of the tender commission meeting. Were you really there?

Shalva Chigirinsky: No. Of course not. Moreover, I don’t even communicate with architects. Since the competition was announced, I haven’t been anywhere at all. The only thing I did was I visit the site and think about how this project is being implemented and how to win this competition. And I am aware that this will happen. The most difficult thing is the demolition of the hotel and the implementation of a new project, taking into account the colossal historical layer that has been there for centuries. In this place there was a Romanov court, in this place there was the first English court, practically the first English embassy, ​​a representative office in Russia was there since the 15th century. That is, we need to do, and if we become winners in this competition, we need to do colossal archaeological research. We are now deliberately not talking to archaeologists, not talking to anyone who can influence the decision of the competition. And I understand perfectly well that they will accuse me of winning this competition because I am friends with Luzhkov, and so on.

Vladimir Baburin: Shalva Pavlovich, nevertheless: I think that let’s call them your ill-wishers, who constantly push the issue of your company.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Why ill-wishers? Competitors. I'm sorry, why in the United States now, when I'm following the election campaign, is there terrible mud-slinging going on at each other - and there it's considered political struggle, competition, whatever, but here we call it completely differently? There are competitors, they also want to get in and win this competition.

Vladimir Baburin: Fine. But attention is drawn to the fact that your company received projects for the Moscow Hotel and Intourist:

Shalva Chigirinsky: Nothing like that, I’m not at the Moscow Hotel.

Vladimir Baburin: Absolutely not?

Shalva Chigirinsky: I did a development project for the Moscow Hotel. I want to explain to you because you are poorly informed. I have not been involved in the Moscow Hotel project for more than a year now. The Moscow development company was supposed to make a development project, it developed this project. We were never investors there, we were not winners of the competition. We completed our work - the project turned out great - and left, that's it.

Vladimir Baburin: Does Moscow City supervise MDK?

Shalva Chigirinsky: No. At Moscow City, MDK has one site - the so-called “Tower of Russia” - this is the most complex, most expensive and most unprofitable project.

Vladimir Baburin: Is it correct to say that your company is simultaneously searching for investors, is itself an investor, a customer, and also acts as a contractor?

Shalva Chigirinsky: No, we have never been contractors and never will be. We are classic developers, and we provide a so-called development package. This includes searching for an idea, finding a site, developing the concept itself, the project itself, project management, construction management, the project itself, marketing leasing, leasing, financing and subsequently - management of the constructed property. We hire contractors.

Erlen Bernstein: Question about these three hotels. Then I'm interested in yours:

Shalva Chigirinsky: What's the third one?

Vladimir Baburin: "Intourist", "Moscow", "Russia".

Shalva Chigirinsky: I have nothing to do with Intourist, I have nothing to do with Moscow.

Erlen Bernstein: But this is a fact of your biography.

Vladimir Baburin: And you have nothing to do with “Russia” yet.

Shalva Chigirinsky: I don’t have anything to do with “Russia” yet, yes.

Erlen Bernstein: He knows, as it turned out, the information that is voiced suffers from many inaccuracies. And I wouldn't like to talk about it.

Shalva Chigirinsky: But you are not original in this sense. You are often inaccurate - I mean Radio Liberty.

Vladimir Baburin: That’s why I ask: is this true, is this true? It's not often that I get to talk to you.

Erlen Bernstein: You are a developer - this is important to me now. The developer, whom I have the right, it seems to me, to ask: how do you feel about the fact that Moscow, its center, will be depleted of hotels for some time?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Didn't understand.

Vladimir Baburin: There will be no three hotels in the center of Moscow.

Erlen Bernstein: There will be no three large hotels. This means that it will become more difficult for those who are used to settling in the center to settle in the center.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Understood.

Erlen Bernstein: How do you, as a developer, feel about this? Regardless of what happens next, and regardless of what business relationship you have with it.

Shalva Chigirinsky: I believe that I have the most direct connection to this. And the developer must not only deal with his object, but he must see this object in the context of the block, the city, if you like, even the whole country. If we talk about the Rossiya Hotel project:

Erlen Bernstein: This is exactly my question.

Shalva Chigirinsky: : This is a state-wide project, so the government is suitable.

Erlen Bernstein: It was always a face.

Shalva Chigirinsky: If you think that the Rossiya Hotel was a face, then perhaps it was the face, so to speak, of Soviet power and the electrification of the entire country. But now we live in a different country at a different time.

Erlen Bernstein: Which takes on a different face, right?

Shalva Chigirinsky: I think so. Last time, if you remember, we talked about this topic, I said that Russia is such a new formation that, from my point of view, has nothing to do with the Soviet Union, except that Russia was a vassal of its own empire, and it managed to break free from the Soviet Union. I believe that in the Soviet Union, Russia was the most disadvantaged member of this federation, because Russia received less wealth than all the other 14 republics. Well, that’s another topic, but I’ll now return to “Russia”, “Moscow” and “Intourist”.

"Intourist" is already under construction, there is a plan for the implementation of this project, by 2007 the hotel will stand on this site. There is a construction boom in Moscow. By the way, it is also connected with oil, naturally. Construction proceeds when there is money, as the well-known lady told you from a well-known joke. And when there is money, Moscow is built. When there is a need, when a city is in demand, the city changes its face, it turns from the capital of the Soviet of Deputies, and has already turned in many ways into the capital of Russia - a large state, rich in oil, rapidly developing. Therefore, the needs of both the population and guests are different. We are, so to speak, in an evolutionary space, and if you compare (you probably followed, traveled around Moscow) with what it was 10-15 years ago, then today we are in a completely different city. A city of a different class, let's say. Today Moscow can already be compared with the major capitals of Europe, with New York, at least in terms of energy. And Moscow’s desire (and I believe that Moscow is the heart of Russia) to become a major global economic center requires the removal of certain facilities that are already hindering the development of the city. This is the general answer to your question.

The private answer to the question is that at both one and the other site, when we were designing the Moscow Hotel, the key question for me was and will be the question of the accessibility and attractiveness of the object. The issue of parking is the most pressing and key today. We plan to make at least a couple of thousand parking spaces under the hotel.

Erlen Bernstein: Underground?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Underground.

Erlen Bernstein: What will happen on top?

Shalva Chigirinsky: The historical environment will be recreated on top, let’s say. This is at the Rossiya Hotel site. And in order to finally answer the question about the hotel, I am not a member of the Moscow government, but I know that several dozen hotel construction projects, including 3-star ones, are being implemented in Moscow. A few dozens!

Erlen Bernstein: In the center?

Shalva Chigirinsky: And in the center as well.

Dmitry Babich: Shalva Pavlovich, from the point of view of an ordinary person, what is happening with construction in Moscow, as a person who is not very rich, frightens me a little - these huge real estate prices. You are absolutely right, Moscow has become a city of a different class, but in the end sometimes one gets the impression that very expensive objects are being built, very expensive housing is being built. You are absolutely right that construction takes place when there is money. But there is also a social question: will there be housing, will these facilities be accessible to a significant part of the population? Or what happened to the center of Moscow will happen. The center of Moscow now is a place where only very wealthy people feel good. This is a place where there have been no normal grocery stores for a long time; say, there are gambling houses, casinos, and so on. So when will real estate prices start to decline, and will they, from your point of view?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Do homeless people live in social apartments in the center of New York and Paris? The center of any city or major capital is populated by rich people. Everything in the center is more expensive in any city in the world. Do you want to return to a proletarian city, yes, where in the center there are factories, factories, workers with red flags? Is this what you want, I don’t understand? More than five million meters are being built in Moscow, and they are being sold out. This means there is a market, there is demand. Eat expensive apartments, there are cheap apartments. In Moscow you can find an apartment to suit any budget.

Erlen Bernstein: Oh, excuse me: Shalva Chigrinsky: Why, you can buy an apartment in an old building quite cheaply, and such a market exists in Moscow. People are moving out of old apartments and selling them. In the same Khrushchev buildings you can buy a cheap apartment, then they will resettle you, and you have the prospect of getting another apartment. What to do, there is a market, there is demand, everyone wants to be in Moscow. This is a big problem, but it is already a globally Russian problem. If such attractiveness as in Moscow existed in other cities, then there would not be such an influx, such demand in Moscow. And since Moscow has a higher standard of living, higher salaries, the city itself is more comfortable to live in: Cities also compete with each other, for some reason everyone wants to be in Moscow - which means Moscow is better if they come here. If there were no shops here, if there were no jobs here, then no one would come here.

Dmitry Babich: True, poor people in Moscow still live on the streets.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Don't people live on the streets in New York? And we did not see poor people on the streets of New York, we did not see poor people on the streets of Rome, on the streets of Paris, but on the streets of Moscow we see them.

Dmitry Babich: Tell me, the practical question is: will real estate prices decline?

Shalva Chigirinsky: It all depends on the market.

Dmitry Babich: Is it true that they have now reached their peak?

Shalva Chigirinsky: This is what I don't know. There could be a disaster, I believe, if supply exceeds demand. That’s why there is still a speculative real estate market: many people buy an apartment and wait to sell it at a higher price later. And if this critical mass accumulates, then there may be a collapse. But I think it's too early to talk about it.

Vladimir Baburin: Shalva Pavlovich, but still, in my opinion, it is not very correct to compare Moscow with London, with New York, because London, New York, European cities - they were originally built in such a way that rich people lived in the center, and people the poorer ones lived in poor neighborhoods, on the outskirts. In Moscow, it just so happened (there were 70 years of Soviet power, and there is no escape from this), there are many, for example, communal apartments in the Zamoskvorechye area. So, as I understand it, you advise people who live in communal apartments in Zamoskvorechye, in old houses, but in places that are located in expensive areas, to sell these apartments and buy cheaper ones on the outskirts?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Historically, communal apartments arose as a result of the expropriation and robbery of one part of the population by another part of the population. And in general in normal countries (for example, in Poland), in Western countries There is:

Vladimir Baburin: : restitution law.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Yes, there is a law on restitution. That is, they were taken away from the owners who lived in these apartments.

Vladimir Baburin: In Russia there is no law on restitution, people live like this, where they live, they live in these communal apartments in the center of Moscow.

Shalva Chigirinsky: The market fairly regulates this situation. Some people get 2-3 thousand dollars per square meter, which comes from a 20-30 meter room. Some businessmen are engaged in this resettlement, this process is underway, this is a market process, and this is normal. They do this everywhere. By the way, they resettle in the West too, and in London there are old apartments that are resettled, then the wooden floors are demolished and everything is rebuilt. And in Paris this is done everywhere. If you have been there, we may have noticed: now many houses are being occupied, some developers are buying them out, and residents are moving to other apartments.

Erlen Bernstein: Or even cities.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Or even cities, because Paris is an expensive city and they go to cheaper places. You can go to live in Tver, and living there will be 3-4 times cheaper or 5 times cheaper than in Moscow. And that's okay, I don't see anything wrong with it.

Vladimir Baburin: We talked about real estate, and now I would like to talk to you about oil affairs, as the president of the Moscow Oil Company. Naturally, in the competence in which you yourself want to talk about it. Russia is the largest oil-producing power. However, gasoline, for example, in Moscow costs about the same as in the United States, even a little more, and, for example, a little lower than in one of the Spanish provinces, which is called Canary Islands. Why is this happening and how true are the conversations about a cartel agreement between oil owners?

Shalva Chigirinsky: The price of gasoline, I think, is the lowest in Russia. I think that Russia is a leader in the world in terms of gasoline prices, in terms of how much it:

Vladimir Baburin: In relative numbers.

Shalva Chigirinsky: In relative numbers. If you take European countries, then Russia differs significantly in price.

Vladimir Baburin: Well, in continental Europe it is twice as high.

Shalva Chigirinsky: We expected high prices for gasoline, we expected high prices for oil, because gasoline is made from oil, and if oil is high, if Russia’s export potential grows asymmetrically with the growth of production (that is, the growth in production is also large, but the expert potential grows even faster - The Baltic pipeline has been introduced, oil is exported by all means, both by rail and the pipeline system is developing) - this is one of the factors for rising prices on the domestic market. This is one of the main factors, there are other factors.

Vladimir Baburin: Indeed, you are right, the relative price of gasoline in America is 2 dollars per gallon - the same 15 rubles per liter as in Russia. In Europe it is about 1 euro 20 cents.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Already more than 2 per gallon in the United States.

Vladimir Baburin: Yes, and in the Spanish province of the Canary Islands the price of gasoline is about 60 euro cents per liter. You did not answer about the possibility of a cartel agreement.

Shalva Chigirinsky: In Moscow, I believe, it is simply impossible. There are a huge number of players in Moscow, Moscow is surrounded by oil refineries, so Moscow, apparently, has the most low prices in Russia for gasoline. Moscow has an advanced competitive market for petroleum products. We cannot go ahead and raise prices like this, because there is always the opportunity for other competitors to dump and increase sales volumes. The price always depends on the volume of sales: if you sell high, but not enough, that’s bad; It is better to sell more, but at a reasonable price. Therefore, in Moscow, supply and demand are balanced, on the one hand. On the other hand, there are hundreds of competing entities.

Vladimir Baburin: If we calculate the relative price of gasoline (the cost of a liter of gasoline - and the average salary in Moscow or Russia, starting from Khodorkovsky and ending with the last unemployed), then, probably, in Russia, in Moscow, there will be the highest price for gasoline?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Why? In St. Petersburg the price is higher.

Vladimir Baburin: In Russia and in Moscow, I mean - if you compare Russia with the rest of the world, the relative price of a liter of gasoline to the average monthly salary.

Shalva Chigirinsky: I don’t know how you calculate the average monthly salary. We have an average monthly salary, but we also have a black market for salaries, and you are well aware of this. In Russia, unfortunately, there is still a transparent economy, and it:

Vladimir Baburin: I am not talking about that. It’s just that the average Russian earns several times less:

Shalva Chigirinsky: Well, how do you know how much the average Russian earns? I know several average Russians who earn pennies and drive Mercedes. We don't know how much average Russians earn. If you know, tell me, I would be curious to know.

Vladimir Baburin: That is, you question even the assertion that in Russia average income population is lower than in Western Europe and the United States?

Shalva Chigirinsky: I'm not saying lower. Maybe they are higher. For example, Moscow is a very rich city (look at the quality of cars in Moscow). And if you take the average salary of a Muscovite, then you may end up with some kind of Bangladesh, but in reality this is far from the case.

Erlen Bernstein: Russia is believed to be very rich natural resources, in particular - oil. It is known that Russia’s oil wealth lies in the most unfavorable places for its development, exploitation, transportation, and so on, that the Russian oil industry was created by the Gulag. It seems to me that it has not yet been proven that it will be profitable in market conditions. Already in latest issues newspaper headlines: “The fuel and energy complex is becoming an obstacle to development.” The fuel and energy sector has already shown zero development over the past months: production is falling, exploration is not being carried out, deposits discovered by prisoners are depleted. What do you, as a specialist directly related to the oil industry, think about this, Shalva Pavlovich?

Shalva Chigirinsky: At least I don't think as much as you think. Production in Russia is growing, and this is a fact. It will continue to grow - that's also a fact. It will continue to grow until a decision is made to keep production at a certain, sufficiently high level. Today Russia has already reached the level of 10 million barrels per day, in my opinion, this is the leader in production in the world today. This happened, by the way, contrary to the forecasts of journalists, who said that the fuel and energy complex in Russia was dead. Nothing like this happened, contrary, among other things, to the forecasts of Western experts. Russia has achieved unique rates of production growth:

Erlen Bernstein: Not reaching the level of the 90s, not significantly reaching.

Shalva Chigirinsky: But in the 90s there was Azerbaijan, there was Kazakhstan, and now everything is destroyed.

Erlen Bernstein: There was Samotlor.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Samotlor was destroyed by the Soviet regime, with the electrification of the entire country. The fact is that now the Russian fuel and energy complex is developing successfully, and if this were not so, Western companies would not be coming here. There are major Western companies that have entered Russian market, - this is British Petroleum, Exxon, Shell, Total Fina. Now a large stake in LUKoil has been bought by Konaka. Almost everything largest companies are represented in Russia to one degree or another, and this process is increasingly dominating the oil industry today, which is good. On the other hand, Russian oil majors, in particular LUKoil, have begun expanding into other oil markets.

Vladimir Baburin: Even in American.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Including there, which is also good. And I would not ignore this trend, even as a journalist.

Vladimir Baburin: Dmitry, please, your question.

Dmitry Babich: In Moscow, the number of cars is growing exponentially, and the way Russians are structured (maybe this is a legacy of the Soviet Union) is that we care little about the environment. We first of all solve our separate, individual problems of movement, and to think about ecology, as the Germans or the British think, we have not yet developed such thinking. As far as I understand, now there will be a huge parking lot on the site of the Moscow Hotel, and the same thing will probably happen on the site of other objects that will be demolished. Don’t you think that the center of Moscow might even become uncomfortable at some point due to overcrowding? big amount cars? Isn't the solution, on the contrary, to restrict entry into the city center, as, say, they are now doing in London?

Shalva Chigirinsky: This is still an experiment, and it has not yet proven anything to anyone. But I think the question is correct. It is impossible to drive through the center, and some measures need to be taken. What measures these should be is another question; there may be many of them. Ecology in Moscow is most important factor, it is also connected with various measures that the Moscow government is taking. For example, the withdrawal of enterprises is underway very actively, because automobile transport- this is not the biggest scourge of Moscow’s ecology, oddly enough. As for solving the transport problem, this is the construction of roads - as you noticed, this is happening in Moscow. In Moscow, the creation of entire road complexes is actively underway.

Vladimir Baburin: And more finishing touches.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Completion of what?

Vladimir Baburin: Completing the construction of roads, the same third transport ring - it was first built, and then completed.

Shalva Chigirinsky: It exists, you can drive along it, oddly enough, just like along the ring road. There are many other interchanges that Moscow is currently building. Moscow will build tunnels and passages for outbound routes to the region. A magnificent highway is being built towards Vnukovo. There is still a rapid construction of parking lots, underground and above ground, in various areas. But, unfortunately, the growth rate of transport is unprecedented, it is many times over.

Dmitry Babich: But there won’t be a building in place of the Moskva, there will only be a parking lot?

Shalva Chigirinsky: I don't know, I'm not involved in this project. I don't know. I did a project with the Moscow Hotel, where there was a large volume - if I remember correctly, 216 thousand square meters, 1200 parking lots, 3 public areas, a hotel, office buildings, and retail premises were designed there. It would be a magnificent complex. It was properly balanced, correctly designed.

Vladimir Baburin: Shalva Pavlovich, you started your business in the mid-90s.

Shalva Chigirinsky: In the late 80s.

Vladimir Baburin: And somewhere in the 90s you already met, in particular, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. I don’t know how mutually beneficial this cooperation of yours was, but they wrote that Menatep Bank lent to structures close to the mayor’s office, and you, using your connections in the mayor’s office, somehow helped Mr. Khodorkovsky. I won’t even ask if this is true or not. In fact, if it was so, I don’t see anything wrong with it. What do you think today about the case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, what is more there - really politics, or maybe it is a competitive struggle, competitors want to take away his business, and politics is a secondary matter, or both, or is it pure politics? And how serious damage can the “Khodorkovsky case” cause to Russia?

Shalva Chigirinsky: If you don't mind, I'll just tell you the truth, on the one hand. On the other hand, I will tell you my opinion on this matter. The truth is that Khodorkovsky, like me, was a member of the business community in the late 80s and early 90s. It was a time of turbulent, chaotic capitalism, and then the Menatep Bank was developing, with which we had no relations. Bank Menatep at an early stage was not a financial institution at all, and in general not a single bank in Russia was a financial institution. This issue is still lame; our banking system is still in a fairly rudimentary state as financial institution. Naturally, we met at some evenings and meetings, but we never had anything to do together. We have never taken any loans from Menatep Bank. We had no relationship or business with YUKOS. We were negotiating about some kind of interaction, even about them buying us, our company, because YUKOS is a rapidly developing giant, and was and is, by the way. Personal relationship with Khodorkovsky: I would say that during the entire time of our acquaintance, if I talked to him for six hours, then that would be a lot. That's all.

As for the fact that he went to prison, I believe that any businessman in Russia, and not only in Russia, but in any country, can go to prison. And they end up in prison. For example, a developer friend of mine, quite close, Alfred Taudman, owner of Sotheby's, served a year in prison quite recently, at the age of nearly 80, and was released. He doesn't agree with this, he's very unhappy about it. He is one of the outstanding businessmen of the United States of America, and not a single program, not a single article in our newspapers about “why did you imprison Taudman” (or Mrs. Hensley, for example, or some other people from Emron (?) , who are now behind bars), in our press, in any case, I have not seen. That is, the reaction is completely paradoxical to the fact that a person was imprisoned. Well, they imprisoned a man - and they can imprison me if I break the law. Any person can be imprisoned, why is this considered a political act in Russia? This is not Fouquet - Khodorkovsky - who was imprisoned in the 17th.

Vladimir Baburin: You answered completely.

Dmitry Babich: I would like to continue this topic a little. The fact is that if you read Western newspapers, you get the impression that something terrible is really happening in the Russian fuel and energy sector: YUKOS is losing capitalization, someone is being imprisoned, everything is very bad, the investment climate is not good. However, what you say sharply contradicts this picture. Who do you think needs it then - to create such an image of Russia and to highlight the negative aspects that exist in our oil and gas sector, and to obscure the fact that, as you say, this sector is actually developing rapidly?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Well, here I would throw a stone at Russian government, because they themselves are not involved in the image of Russia, that’s all. Each state must take care of its image, and if it does something, it must think what other countries will think about it. In Soviet times, the image of the Soviet Union was maintained. That is, it was the so-called “evil empire,” but there were quite competent demagogues who different parts the world supported this image, and there was a certain layer of the population in all countries of the world who loved the Soviet Union, who believed that Soviet Union- this is the standard of freedom and so on. Because back then they were busy with image. Now no one is involved in the image of Russia, no one needs it.

Vladimir Baburin: You said the word “freedom,” but how would you assess the situation with freedoms in Russia now? After all, this is a thing that really needs to be handled very carefully. On the one hand, economic freedom allowed you, as a businessman, to run your own business and earn good money, which would have been completely impossible under a totalitarian state (at best, you would have been a shop worker, you would have earned much less money and received a much longer sentence) . On the other hand, economic freedom is also connected with freedom of speech, which is really necessary, really needed, for example, by businessmen who are forced to become public people. Part of the journalistic workshop (I don’t know what to call them, so I have to call them journalists) gives them a lot of trouble: they pry into your personal life, write about your family problems, sometimes even make up something, and sometimes even if they write the truth, then it’s your personal business, but they still come in and say “freedom of speech.” What would you say about the current state of freedom in Russia?

Shalva Chigirinsky: Firstly, I do not agree that you cannot make money in totalitarian countries. I think Saudi Arabia, for example, a totalitarian country - there are rich people there, they earn a lot of money. China, from my point of view, is a totalitarian country when compared with Russia: in power is the Communist Party, the Leninist Central Committee and the leader personally. But for some reason no one talks about this.

Russia went through a terrible genocide that the communists committed in Russia. In addition to the genocide, in addition to the loss of 100 million or better part of the population, in Russia, for four generations, human training was carried out, that is, “Homo Sovieticus” was brought up. And freedom - first of all, it seems to me, this is the internal state of a person and, if this is a society, this is the internal state of citizens - so people want to be free or they want to have a leader and follow him. Now, in the post-Soviet period, Russia has tried, tasted freedom, we had free media. NTV is freedom - Gusinsky's organ? So he wants - he turned his organ in one direction, he wants - he blackmails one, individual person and makes broadcasts about him.

Erlen Bernstein: The same can now be said about any publication.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Yes exactly. If it wants, this body attacks the state, the country, the government, the president, anyone. I don’t consider this civilized freedom, this is already anarchy, this is already the freedom that borders on anarchy.

What do we have now? I think that now none of the democracies in the world can be called an ideal democracy, because the world is now in a state of war, it is a sluggish conflict. There are no borders in this war, but the war is going on. I would not dramatize the situation, this does not mean that tanks are coming and guns are being fired, but there is a constant and growing demarcation between terrorism and the civilized world.

I was recently in the USA, and I felt certain infringements of democracy there. You come to a disco, for example, and they search you. A rather humiliating thing, however, citizens calmly tolerate all this. As for our metropolis, Moscow, registering citizens is considered a violation of democracy. Entry into the United States is not only about registration, but about fingerprinting. This is a most humiliating, but understandable security measure. By the way, I understand this, I cannot say that I support it, but I understand it. American services that are responsible for the safety of the population have such colossal budgets that cannot be compared not only with other services, but also with the budgets of other countries. The CIA budget can be compared to the Russian budget, yet they allowed such a failure.

That is, we are in a situation where a bunch of people, due to some kind of ambition, motivation does not play a role, may want to dictate the will of the whole world. I have never been a supporter of war, but I am a supporter of tough measures to combat terrorism and destroy not only the consequences (and we are fighting the consequences, unfortunately), but also the causes of this war. For example, everyone knows where the roots of terrorism are and in which countries they exist. And everyone knows that these countries are very far from democracy; the medieval regime is thriving in these countries. However, the Western press ignores this. They chose, so to speak, a “whipping boy” - this is Russia: they imprisoned one person, here is the “YUKOS case” in Russia, terrorism and so on.

Until recently, by the way, Russia was accused of violating democracy in Chechnya, before September 11. Until the Americans understood what terrorism was, they somehow did not separate terrorism and the struggle for freedom. Because terrorism, in the right version for American propaganda, was associated with a freedom fighter, but in the unnecessary version, he was a terrorist. When we move away from these double standards, then we will understand what is happening in Russia. Russia is defending itself today, and, as always, perhaps clumsily. There is a collapse of democratic institutions - it is obvious, we cannot say that this is not happening, I would be lying. But this happens against the background of self-defense, against the background of protection, that is, the motive is clear. The same thing is happening in the United States. This is not a curtailment of democracy - what we see is paranoia: wherever you go, everywhere you are scanned, checked, and so on. This is no longer democracy.

Vladimir Baburin: This was the last question, because our program is coming to an end. And according to tradition, I ask journalists to briefly answer the question: what was the most important thing in this almost hour-long conversation with Mr. Chigirinsky.

Erlen Bernstein: For me, the most important thing was that Mr. Chigirinsky positively assessed the development of our fuel and energy complex, with which I strongly disagree. But the framework of our conversation does not allow us to answer or expand the discussion (it is not intended). I'm just recording disagreement, that's all.

Dmitry Babich: I was very interested in the conversation with Shalva Pavlovich precisely because he stands out from all the stereotypes. We have two stereotypes in Russia: either you are for Soviet power - and then you defend your native government from attacks regarding YUKOS, or you are against Soviet power - and then you must hate Russian state in its current form. Shalva Pavlovich is an original and free person, who stands out from both of these stereotypes. And secondly, I was deeply impressed by the phrase that a rich person can go to jail in any country, not only in Russia. This, I would say, is a truth that they don’t really like to tell us, but which, nevertheless, obviously exists.

Vladimir Baburin: I looked at how I ended the program 5 years ago with Mr. Chigirinsky, and I ended it with the words: “Unfortunately, we were not able to get answers to all the questions that interested us, although in many ways, I think, we ourselves, journalists, are to blame for this, who failed to put the squeeze on our guest when he elegantly moved away from the topics offered to him and began talking about what was more interesting to him at the moment.” The same thing happened today. I will later compare the texts of these two programs. I hope that today it was more interesting for both us and Svoboda’s listeners, because the most important thing, as it seemed to me in our conversation, is that Mr. Chigirinsky is the same person with a sense of his own inner freedom, which he probably values ​​most. I would not like his own assumption to come true, as his colleague Babich just said, that in Russia they can imprison any rich person.

Shalva Chigirinsky: Not only in Russia, everywhere.

Shalva Chigirinsky. Reference

Chigirinsky Shalva Pavlovich born on July 1, 1949 in Kutaisi, Georgian SSR. Until the 4th year he studied at the First Moscow State Medical Institute named after Sechenov. Registered at the address: Moscow, Maly Patriarchy per.. no. 5, building 1, apt. 39, formerly: st. Tverskaya, house 8, bldg. 2, apt. 74. Passport 45 98 No. 675714, issued by the 5th police department of the Central Administrative District of Moscow in 1999.

Chigirinsky is one of the most prominent businessmen in Moscow, who has gone from an icon speculator to a businessman who is a business partner of the Moscow Government.

In the 1980s, Chigirinsky was engaged in the antiques trade. At this time, he was unsuccessfully developed by the KGB of the USSR as one of the largest smugglers in Russia. In 1987, he emigrated from the USSR and worked in Spain and then in Germany.

According to available information, Chigirinsky earned his initial starting capital, in addition to transactions with antiques, and on large-scale dubious property transactions, incl. real estate withdrawn from Germany by the USSR Group of Forces.

There is reason to believe that support in the establishment of Chigirinsky’s business after his return to Russia was provided by Valery Borisovich Kheifits, born in 1939, Criminal authority, a thief in law, repeatedly brought to criminal liability for smuggling, theft and fraud.

Among entrepreneurs, Chigirinsky is characterized negatively. Entrepreneurs who know him personally say that Chigirinsky will “walk over corpses” in order to achieve his goals. In communication he behaves self-confidently and impudently. In private conversations he likes to boast of his connections in the Moscow Government.

Permanent business partners Chigirinsky, primarily for the ST Group group of companies, throughout for long years were:

Vitaly Maschitsky, owner and head of Rosinvestneft LLC. Maschitsky - a native of Irkutsk, a former policeman, secretary of the Komsomol organization regional department Traffic police Had connections in the criminal environment. According to information from 1996, V. Maschitsky lived in the same house with the lawyer of the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and M. Mamiashvili. Maschitsky became Chigirinsky's partner in ST Group in 1997. At that time, the main owners of ST Group were Shalva Chigirinsky, his brother Alexander, Vadim Milshtein and their partner Vyacheslav Basati. According to Maschitsky, his Rosinvestneft invested $74 million in Chigirinsky’s projects.

Milshtein Vadim Mikhailovich, b. in 1939. The son of NKVD General Milshtein, one of Lavrentiy Beria’s deputies, who oversaw the “political direction” in the work of the security agencies during the period of repression. Doctor of Historical Sciences, Candidate of Economic Sciences. Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the oil company Evikhon, former member Supervisory Board of the Moscow Oil Company, former member of the Board of Directors of Sibir Energy plc. Director of several companies included in ST Group. Co-owner of ST Group. Vice-President of the East-West Bridges Foundation for International Cooperation.

Basayev (after the events in Budenovsk - Basati) Vyacheslav Beksultanovich and Basayev Kazbek Umarbekovich - immigrants from the Caucasus. It is known about Basati that he lived in Yevgeny Primakov’s apartment, and Kazbek Basayev is one of the authorities of the Ossetian diaspora in Moscow.

There is reason to believe that in the oil business Chigirinsky relied on the capabilities of the “Georgian” group and the “Solntsevskys”, in particular, he enjoyed the support of one of the leaders of the “Solntsevskys” - Jamal Khachidze (a native of Kutaisi). At one time, Chigirinsky transferred part of the gas station to the control of the Gein Oil company, which was controlled by a group of Kutaisi “authorities” under the leadership of “young Kvezho”.

Various connections helped Chigirinsky reach such Moscow leaders as Ordzhonikidze, Bakirov and a group of people from the Caucasus close to them within the Moscow government, and then directly to the Moscow leadership. Today, Chigirinsky and the above-mentioned persons are no longer connected by business, but by much closer and more complex relations. At the same time, he communicates very harshly even with some of his former patrons. Thus, some sources believed that it was Chigirinsky who was behind the assassination attempts on Ordzhonikidze. At least, it was he who was considered by law enforcement agencies as one of the suspects after the second attempt.

Shortly before the assassination attempt on Joseph Ordzhonikidze, Chigirinsky received a contract for the reconstruction of the Intourist and Moscow hotels, which were supervised by Ordzhonikidze. Sources in the capital's mayor's office claim that Chechen businessman Umar Dzhabrailov also planned to take on these projects, and the issue of his winning the tenders was considered almost resolved. One way or another, Chigirinsky was summoned for questioning by the Moscow prosecutor's office in the case of the assassination attempt on Ordzhonikidze, and then was forced to abandon the project to reconstruct the Moscow Hotel. In turn, immediately after the assassination attempt, Umar Dzhabrailov began to quickly lose weight in the capital’s construction business.

According to available sources of information, for many years the so-called “Georgian” and “Chechen” groups have shown the closest interest in the oil refining business in Moscow. Georgian “authorities” (Kuchuloria, Ioseliani, Kitovani, etc.), together with representatives of the Chechen diaspora (Baisarov), seek to control a significant part of the capital’s oil business. In this regard, it should be taken into account that Chigirinsky’s connections include:

Mardakhiashvili Teimuraz Shalomovich (nephew of Chigirinsky) – vice-president of MNGK;

Kheifits Valery Borisovich (mentioned earlier);

Karchava Teimuraz Otarovich (11/30/2004 was detained for attempting to bribe the deputy director of a department of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation).

Today, information is being verified that Chigirinsky and a group of persons associated with him, existing on the basis of the Moscow Oil and Gas Company and using production capacity Moscow Oil Refinery (MRP) are transferred to offshore bank accounts of various companies controlled by it, including Hitchens Global S.A., Tatik Inc. and Mantrak Invest Inc. (British Virgin Islands), multimillion-dollar sums received from the payment of excise taxes according to the “Baikonur” tax scheme approved by Chigirinsky, for the use of which tax claims in the amount of $135 million for 2001 have already been confirmed against the Moscow Oil Refinery.

In particular, it is noted that Hitchens Global is a subsidiary of Bennfield Limited, owned by Chigirinsky, through which he owns a large stake in the British Sibir Energy, and Mantrak Invest is associated with MNK, controlled by Chigirinsky, through an agency agreement with the MNK Trading House "

Finally, it is necessary to point out that Forbes magazine classifies Shalva Pavlovich Chigirinsky as one of the richest citizens of Russia. Distinctive feature Chigirinsky are the unprecedented security measures around him.

Chigirinsky Shalva Pavlovich(born July 1, 1949, Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, USSR) is a Russian and Israeli businessman. Businessman's older brother.

Graduated from the Moscow State Medical Institute named after Sechenov. In 1987 he emigrated to Spain, then to Germany, where he was engaged in real estate activities. In 1989, together with the German entrepreneur Ivot Stock, he registered the development company ST Group, later bought out his partner’s share and became the sole owner of the company. In the early 1990s he returned to Russia. Since 1991, Chigirinsky’s company began to carry out projects for the reconstruction and construction of real estate, including architectural monuments in Moscow. Since 1999, he has been director of the British company Sibir Energy, implementing projects in the field of petroleum products supply. Since 1998 - member of the supervisory board, and since July 2000 - president of the Moscow Oil Company.

In 1996, together with British Petroleum, he created the Petrolcomplex company to develop a network of gas stations in Moscow under the BP brand. Since 1999 - co-owner of the British company Sibir Energy. In 2000, with the participation of the Central Fuel Company, owned by the Moscow government (it includes the Moscow Refinery, Mosnefteprodukt and the Moscow Fuel Company), he began creating the Moscow Oil Company (later the Moscow Oil and Gas Company, MNGK). In 2001, on a parity basis with the Moscow government, he established the Moscow Development Company (MDK). In 2003, he took the post of general director, and in 2004, president of MNGK.

In 2007, Shalva transferred all development projects to the balance sheet of Russian Land Ltd. Chigirsky’s business empire reached its peak in 2008. According to Forbes magazine, Shalva Chigirinsky's assets were valued at $2.5 billion, and the value of his companies was close to $10 billion. The businessman owned 50% of one of the leading companies in the Moscow real estate market - Moscow Development Company OJSC. Its key projects were the construction of the Moscow City business district and 2 shopping center For German group Real Holding. The businessman also owned CJSC STT Group, whose projects included the Rossiya Tower in Moscow City and the Crystal skyscraper in Khanty-Mansiysk. In 2008-2009, Chigirinsky’s development business found itself in the midst of litigation over loans and the businessman lost it almost completely. In August 2010, Chigirinsky lost the last of his large development projects in Russia: under the terms of the concluded settlement agreement, the Sovetsky Hotel, owned by Chigirinsky, on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow was transferred to the structures of businessman Ruslan Baysarov.

In 2011 he moved to the USA. In March 2016, he was detained by police in Connecticut (USA) for having sex with an underage girl. Released on $50,000 bail. In February 2017, a Connecticut state court dismissed the charges against the businessman.

Divorced, has four children. Since 2011, he and his ex-wife have been waging a series of high-profile lawsuits against each other in Russia and the USA. Panchenkova is trying to obtain a decision from an American court to enforce in the United States the decision of the Simonovsky Court of Moscow from 2009, according to which the ex-husband must pay her an amount of about 354 million rubles as the difference in the division of property. The businessman does not agree with this and said that he has already paid the entire amount. In turn, he filed a lawsuit in New York court, demanding that Panchenkova return the valuables stolen from him in the amount of over $100 million.

Businessman Shalva Chigirinsky, owner of the Russian Land company, intends to build a complex of buildings of 250 thousand square meters in Moscow City, the Kommersant newspaper wrote on Monday.

Shalva Pavlovich Chigirinsky was born on July 1, 1949 in the city of Kutaisi (Georgia). Graduated from the First State Medical Institute named after. Sechenov.

In 1987, Chigirinsky emigrated from the USSR - first to Spain, then to Germany, where he was engaged in real estate activities. In 1989, together with the German entrepreneur Ivot Stock, he registered the development company S+T Group Handels GmbH. Co (ST Group).

Since 1991, Chigirinsky, as a co-owner of the company S+T Handels, GMBH, has carried out projects for the reconstruction and construction of real estate, including architectural monuments in Moscow. Later, having bought out his partner’s share, he became the sole owner of the company, which in November 2007 was renamed Russian Land.

Since 1997, Chigirinsky was the chairman of the board of directors of the ST Group company and headed a group of companies created to implement real estate construction projects.

In parallel with the development business, he in the 1990s. began to engage in the oil business. In 1996, the entrepreneur, together with British Petroleum, created the Petrolcomplex company to develop a network of gas stations in Moscow under the BP brand.

Since 1999, Chigirinsky has been the director of the British company Sibir Energy (Sibir Energy), which has been implementing projects in the field of petroleum products supply.

Since 1998, he has been a member of the supervisory board, and since July 2000, president of the Moscow Oil Company (MNK, later the Moscow Oil and Gas Company, MNGK).

In January 2001, he became president of the Central Fuel Company, which owned the Moscow Oil Refinery (MNPZ). In the same year, Chigirinsky established the Moscow Development Company (MDK) on a parity basis with the Moscow government.

In 2003 Chigirinsky became general director, and in 2004 - president of the Moscow Oil and Gas Company (OJSC MNGK). In the same year, Shalva Chigirinsky founded the ST Development company.

In 2007, he transferred all development projects to the balance sheet of Russian Land Ltd. Chigirinsky's company Russian Land owned 16 projects throughout Russia, the largest of which were the Rossiya tower in the Moscow City business center, the New Holland multifunctional complex in St. Petersburg, an entertainment center in the Nagatinskaya floodplain, the reconstruction of the Rossiya hotel and hotel "Soviet".

According to Forbes magazine in 2008, Shalva Chigirinsky's assets were estimated at $2.5 billion.

In the fall of 2008, Chigirinsky began having problems with creditors, as a result of which he lost almost all of his business.

In March 2009, at a meeting of MNGK shareholders, Chigirinsky’s powers as president were terminated.

In early April 2009, Sibir Energy announced that it had filed a lawsuit in the UK High Court with the intention of recovering $328 million from Chigirinsky.

In July 2009, Chigirinsky found himself at the center of new legal proceedings. On July 3, 2009, the High Court of London, at the suit of VTB Bank, seized the property of Shalva Chigirinsky in several countries, including Russia. The decision of the High Court of London indicated the specific property of Shalva Chigirinsky that was seized: the Hugh House mansion in London, the Maria Irina villa in France, the Sovetsky Hotel on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow, a land plot of 24.112 hectares on which the Rossiya Tower is being built, 50 % in the “New Holland” project, the Olympic Center on Krasnaya Polyana, personal apartments in Romanov and Maly Patriarchal lanes in Moscow, a personal collection of Faberge watches, money arriving in Chigirinsky’s bank accounts and his other assets in Russia (29 positions in total). There are several small projects left in the regions managed by the Snegiri company younger brother Chigirinsky, Alexandra.

Tax claims forced the businessman to leave Russia.

In the fall of 2010, it became known that cases of non-payment of taxes by MNEs and MNGKs, initiated in 2009, due to which Chigirinsky left the country, were terminated. He managed to resolve problems with both VTB (debt of 3.1 billion rubles) and the Adamant holding ($32 million). They received part of the assets.

As explained below, an arrest warrant for Chigirinsky was issued by the Connecticut Supreme Court in Stamford on March 7 on suspicion of two felonies, punishable by at least one year in prison. This is “risk of bodily harm to a minor” a) “impaired” and b) “unlawful contact with a person under 16 years of age.” Connecticut law defines such contact as “touching of a sexual nature on the intimate parts of the body (genitals, inner thighs, buttocks or breasts) of a minor under 16 years of age or causing a minor to have contact with the intimate parts of the offender.” The arrest warrant was issued “as a result of an investigation that began in connection with Chigirinsky’s alleged inappropriate contact with a female person under the age of 16,” and more detailed information not yet reported “based on state law providing privacy for victims of certain crimes.”

After the arrest of Russian Shalva Chigirinsky, he was released on bail of $50,000 in cash and ordered to appear in court on March 17, where he arrived with lawyer Audrey Felsen, and the next hearing in his case was scheduled for March 29. Felsen told a local newspaper reporter that her client “strongly and completely denies the charges” that were brought while he is fighting a lengthy civil lawsuit. The lawyer was referring to the three-year lawsuit between Shalva Pavlovich Chigirinsky and his ex-wife Tatyana Romanovna Panchenkova. The case is being heard in the same court in Stamford, where the 66-year-old defendant is represented by attorney Charles DeLuca and the 50-year-old plaintiff by Mark Sherman.

A bright man from the wave of the first cooperators

Shalva Chigirinsky was born in Kutaisi and brilliantly realized the “post-Soviet dream”, stepping from rags to riches. In Moscow, he trained as a doctor, but became interested in the much more profitable trade in antiques than in the 1960s and 70s. varying degrees a good half of the capital’s intelligentsia was engaged in creative activities. His first wife Tamara recalled that Shalva bought ancient icons from villages, and his friend, TV journalist Vladimir Solovyov, called Chigirinsky “one of the best specialists in icons in the USSR,” who “was persecuted by the KGB for the underground trade in antiques,” and “a very bright, enthusiastic person.” from the wave of the first cooperators.” In 1987, Shalva Pavlovich left the USSR for Spain, and from there to Germany, where, with the German Karl-Hanz Shtoko, he created a joint development venture “S+T Group Handels GMBH”, which operated in Russia and later became the sole property of Chigirinsky “ST Group” . And off we go, as they say, money to money. There is no need to recalculate the stages of Shalva Pavlovich’s career growth; they are well known, and, according to Forbes magazine, in 2008 he was “worth” 2.3 billion dollars, and his ST Group was valued at 10 billion.

Then things got worse for Chigirinsky, who was the 524th richest earthling and the 58th richest Russian. In 2008, he left Russia, and it was believed that he had escaped from creditors and tax authorities, although in January 2014, in an interview with the Russian TV channel Dozhd, he stated that he “left Russia... simply because he did not want a violent scenario for the development of events.” . Chigirinsky added that he would like to return, but “now I don’t see any prospects for myself in the country. But I’m not ready to go as a tourist.”

In the same interview with Dozhd, Chigirinsky said that he spends most of his time in New York, where he has a modest real estate investment business, and in Texas he has a small oil production company. According to the address of his residence in Greenwich indicated in the arrest warrant for Chigirinsky, there is a two-story mansion with 7 bedrooms and 7.5 toilets, with an attic, an extension and a swimming pool. The house was purchased by the current owner in July 2004 for $2,811,252, and is now worth almost 4 million, and for last month fell in price by almost 30 thousand. The previous owners of the mansion are four Americans and a certain Galina Kiryukhina, about whom there is no information on the Internet.

Call me “Your Grace”!

It is known about 50-year-old Tatyana Panchenkova that she was born in Moscow into a family of a dynasty of doctors and also became a doctor. She lived with her first husband, a diplomat, for 8 years in Washington and Geneva, and her first child was his, and her second husband, a businessman, helped her become a “businesswoman” and head a development company. Tatyana Romanovna is allegedly the “grand-great-granddaughter” of Count Sergei Yulievich Witte, the head of several ministries under Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II and the initiator of the restructuring of Russia from an authoritarian kingdom to constitutional monarchy. As Alexey Veselovsky, a correspondent for the Russian TV channel NTV, reported in November 2012, “in Connecticut they say that in her home she (Tatyana Panchenkova - Ed.) demands that the servants call her nothing more than ‘Your Grace’.” It is known that at the end of 2012, Tatyana Panchenkova sold an apartment with one bedroom and one toilet on the 10th floor of a condominium on East 67th Street in Manhattan for $1.46 million. It is known that in the same year Tatyana Panchenkova bought a new Porsche, indicating the same North Street in Greenwich as Shalva Chigirinsky, but house number 605. Finally, it is known that naturalized US citizen Tatyana Panchenkova registered in December 2014 as a voter of the Republican Party and indicated the address as house number 125 on Pecksland Road in the same Greenwich. This royal-looking mansion was built in 2001 and has an area of ​​14.5 thousand square feet with 7 bedrooms, 9 toilets, fireplaces, a swimming pool, a tennis court and a patio. 15 years ago the house was sold for almost $3 million, but is now estimated to be worth $10 million more.

There was no nobility in the Chigirinsky family, and in the light of recent events, his title can only be said in the words of a march from “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov: “His Excellency loved poultry and took pretty girls under his protection!!!” But Shalva Pavlovich’s real estate, in accordance with his capital and profession, is not pecked by chickens, but it does not lay golden eggs either. In April 2010, Chigirinsky contacted the Manhattan branch Supreme Court State of New York, demanding that the five-star Mark Hotel on East 77th Street terminate its contract and return the $4 million that Chigirinsky paid as a deposit for a “three-bedroom” penthouse he agreed to buy for $15.75 million. After a major renovation in 2008, 42 co-operative luxury apartments were created there, and among other advantages, the Mark Hotel became famous for spending several nights there with prostitutes former governor New York Elliot Spitzer. Shalva Chigirinsky’s lawsuit stated that he was promised “the best building in New York,” but he received housing with gross deficiencies. The defendant, real estate company Alexico, called the lawsuit Russian oligarch nothing more than poorly disguised belated doubts of the buyer.

“I wanted to kill, but didn’t know how to get rid of the corpse”

Chigirinsky and Panchenkova divorced in 2009, and live in different houses in Greenwich, with the children living with their mother. On February 1, 2012, Tatyana Romanovna celebrated the birthday of her daughter Irina, and, according to her, Shalva persuaded her to invite him. “At the table, he began to use obscene language and threaten me in front of the children, and I was very scared, knowing what he was capable of,” she later told the Russian news publication RBC daily. Panchenkova repeated the same thing in court and at the end of February received an “order of protection”, according to which Chigirinsky was prohibited from any contact with his ex-wife for six months, and he could meet with children only in the presence of a social worker, and the meeting with eldest daughter Irina could only take place with the approval of a psychologist.

Further more, and in October 2012, when the term of the “safe conduct” expired, Tatyana Panchenkova again went to court, this time with a claim in which she claimed that before, during and after their married life Shalva Chigirinsky subjected her to “cruel and barbaric physical, psychological and emotional violence,” expressed in beatings and “illegal imprisonment.” The case, I repeat, was not criminal, but civil, and the plaintiff’s demands were limited to material compensation for suffering. Panchenkova and her lawyer demanded $2.5 million from Chigirinsky as security larger amount, which they can receive at the end of a jury trial in their favor. In February 2013, at the next hearing, Tatyana Panchenkova told the judge that throughout the years of their life together, the respected Shalva Pavlovich behaved like wild animal, once tried to suffocate her with a pillow, and in 2001, when she was pregnant with their first child, he kicked her out of the house. Chigirinsky listened to the testimony ex-wife with an ironic smile, and Tatyana noticed that she did not see anything funny in her tragic fate. According to her, the morning after he tried to suffocate her with a pillow, Chigirinskaya admitted to his lawyer that he wanted to kill his wife, but did not know how to get rid of the corpse. In June 2014, Shalva Chigirinsky filed a lawsuit in the Manhattan Division of the New York State Supreme Court. ex-wife, accusing Tatyana Panchenkova of secretly selling their common property for a total of $120 million, secretly from him. The lawsuit states that what was sold was a diamond ring weighing 37 carats and worth $3.6 million; a ring with emeralds and a pendant with rubies, worth almost $2 million, as well as “a library of books on Russian history", precious Faberge items, oriental carpets, candelabra, furniture, vases and works of fine art. Her lawyer, Bruce Marks, called Chigirinsky's lawsuit a "far-fetched and vindictive" document filed in response to his ex-wife's lawsuit. The next event in the life of Shalva Chigirinsky was his arrest on March 10 of this year and suspicion of pedophilia. As they say, there was no sadness...