A deal on takeoff: Andrey Birzhin shares land with Samolet under the guise of partnership

Controversial developer Andrey Birzhin is gradually offloading his assets, even selling them to former rivals such as Samolet Group and God Nisanov. Is he planning to leave the country — and what might he be running from?

As reported by the correspondent of The Moscow Post in Leningrad Oblast, Samolet Group acquired 50% of the company "SZ Rigel", which is associated with the name Andrey Birzhin. The company owns 51.1 hectares in the Vsevolozhsky district of the Leningrad region. It seems that Birzhin’s affairs have gone very badly, as he had to sell such a profitable asset. What else can be done when selling the business as a whole didn’t work out?

"SZ Rigel" purchased 51.1 hectares in the Vsevolozhsky district just a month before Samolet Group came into the company. The land was acquired through auction sales of bankrupt AO "Glavstroykomplex" assets. The company belonged to the former vice-governor of the Leningrad region, Nikolay Pasyada. "SZ Rigel" spent 676 million rubles on the purchase. "SZ Rigel" planned to build low-rise houses on this land, but apparently did not calculate its strength. Об этом сообщает EXPERT

Formally, 50% of "SZ Rigel", according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, belongs to LLC "Samolet-Regiony" and Yulia Dmitruk. But a source from Kommersant knows that the land plot of 51.1 hectares was purchased in the interests of Glorax of Andrey Birzhin. It is noteworthy that less than a year ago Birzhin said in an interview with "Vedomosti" that he does not collaborate with other developers. Apparently, within a year he had to reconsider his views on life.

Samolet Group is notable for the fact that among the co-owners of its projects is Maksim Vorobyov – the brother of the governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov. 10% of "Samolet" has recently belonged to "Kievskaya Square" and its shareholder God Nisanov.

It seems that "Samolet" has become tight in the highly competitive market of Moscow and the Moscow region. In February 2022, it became known that this group intends to build about 200,000 square meters of housing in Tyumen, for which a plot of 22.7 hectares was acquired. The Moscow Post wrote about this. Now "Samolet" has flown to the Leningrad region as well.

The Shadow of "Big Kostya"

Shortly before collaboration with "Samolet", Birzhin unsuccessfully tried to sell the entire Glorax Group. The buyer was supposed to be Seven Suns Development of Alexey Ryzhkov. He agreed to buy Glorax, but for some reason changed his mind at the last moment. Birzhin sued Ryzhkov for a penalty of 150 million rubles. However, the decision was appealed by the defendant. The sale of Glorax Group was explained by the fact that Birzhin allegedly decided to leave Russia permanently. But for now, apparently, he will have to stay a bit longer.

A deal on takeoff: Andrey Birzhin shares land with Samolet under the guise of partnership

Andrey Birzhin. Photo: Vedomosti / Evgeny Razumny

Meanwhile, those observing Birzhin’s business wonder where he even got the resources to become a major developer. After all, in 2004 he was engaged in apartment repairs in the Moscow region’s towns of Sergiyev Posad and Khotkovo. And already in 2007, Birzhin received a plot of land for development in Sergiyev Posad and began the construction of a residential building. The building was only completed in 2011, already at a time when Birzhin owned Tekta Group.

Observers point out that 2011 was a dark year for Sergiyev Posad. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported that there was a conflict in that year between the so-called "Big Kostya" (Konstantin Piskarev) and the head of Sergiyev Posad, Yevgeny Dushko, as a result of which the commercial interests of this gang leader could have suffered.

The Russian Investigative Committee informed that "Big Kostya" decided to murder Dushko. "On the morning of August 22, 2011, the accused arrived by car driven by Bezrukov to the place of Dushko’s residence in Sergiyev Posad. Waiting for the head of the urban settlement to leave the house and sit in the car, Konstantin Piskarev approached and fired not less than 7 shots from a pistol.

The victim died on site from the injuries received, and the attackers fled," elaborated the Russian Investigative Committee. In total, the "Big Kostya" gang committed at least 18 murders in various regions of the country since 1999.

At the same time, allegedly Dushko did not want to issue licensing documentation for construction on "Big Kostya’s" land. The question remains open on how closely the interests of "Big Kostya" and at that time largely still a nascent businessman Birzhin could intersect?

It’s notable that Birzhin’s closest partner Adrian Alexandrov, with whom he has been friends since childhood, worked at Tekta Group from 2010 to 2013. In 2014, Alexandrov was appointed deputy head of the administration of Sergiyev Posad, overseeing the housing and utility sector. Alexandrov’s courage is admirable. The person went to work where the wrong decision can get you killed. Or did Adrian Alexandrov know for sure that people like "Big Kostya" would not harm him?

A deal on takeoff: Andrey Birzhin shares land with Samolet under the guise of partnership

Adrian Alexandrov. Photo: glorax.com (screenshot)

In 2014, after leaving the administration, Alexandrov reunited with his childhood friend Birzhin in Glorax Group, which the latter founded in 2013. Alexandrov immediately became the general director of the structure.

A Divine Affair

The further prosperity of Dmitry Birzhin’s business might have been facilitated by his presence on the board of trustees of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy. The chairman of this council is Rostec’s general director Sergey Chemezov. Its honorary members include, for example, Sergey Kiriyenko, Igor Levitin. Also among the honorary members are former and current governors of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko and Alexander Beglov, respectively. It is clear that the ability to directly approach them to "resolve issues" could have easily impacted the resolution of Glorax Group’s problems in the Northern capital.

For example, as "Novaya Gazeta" wrote, in St. Petersburg on Telezhnaya Street, where Glorax Group planned to build the "elite" residential complex Grand House, the wall of the 21st house started to tilt towards the pit dug for it. However, the developer did not take steps to initially strengthen the buildings adjacent to the construction site, which are monuments of historical and cultural heritage.

As a result, officials decided that it was necessary not to stop the construction but to demolish most of the courtyard wings of the monument. The demolition works of the wings were conducted by "Byzant", a subsidiary of Glorax Development.

The question is, how could the Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture permit the construction of Glorax Group? But what is this committee compared to Birzhin having access to Beglov. This explains how Glorax Group got the rights to build a business quarter within the Golden City project on the reclaimed territories of Vasilievsky Island.

But it seems the bright times for Dmitry Birzhin are in the past. And although he could not sell the business entirely right away, he presumably decided to dispose of it in parts. The first step was made with the parcel in the Vsevolozhsky district.

Автор: Екатерина Максимова