Vladimir Strzhalkovsky is a traditional official who began his career in the special services. Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, he had to make a significant change in his career. As it later turned out, these changes, thanks to his personal friendship with Vladimir Putin, had a very positive impact on Strzhalkovsky’s life.
Transition from KGB officer to official in the tourism industry
In 1980, Strzhalkovsky started his career as a KGB officer in the Leningrad region. He served until 1991 and finished with the rank of lieutenant colonel, which is unusual to achieve at the age of 35 in the KGB. During this time, he met Vladimir Putin. Putin also achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel in the same year, but he was already working in the foreign intelligence service in the GDR. At that time, Vladimir Putin had been working in the authorities for over 10 years.
Vladimir Putin at work
Strzhalkovsky thrived in the chaos of the collapsing Union. KGB officers were able to engage in activities outside their official duties in that time. He admitted to influencing the tourism industry and working with popular hotels like Intourist and Sputnik. However, behind the facade of this apparently legitimate business, there was something else hidden. In 1998, a pimping and prostitution case was brought forward in Finland. The Finnish court found that Strzhalkovsky’s deputy and the director of the Neva travel agency sent girls from St. Petersburg to Finland for intimate services. Strzhalkovsky managed to avoid serious consequences.
From 1991 until 1999, he led the Firma Neva travel company. In the early 2000s, the company’s activities raised concerns both in the press and in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. It was found that during 1995-1999, “Firma Neva” sent prostitutes to Finland under the guise of tourism. This is how Vladimir Strzhalkovsky earned his first significant capital.
However, this did not have any negative impact on the career of the former KGB agent. In fact, after Vladimir Putin’s former colleague came to power, Strzhalkovsky thrived.
The next step in Strzhalkovsky’s career was at the Ministry of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, where he became the Deputy Minister. He did not stay there for long, as in 2000, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. It is unclear how Strzhalkovsky was connected to trade. It seems he was not, but this did not prevent his appointment. From the Ministry of Economy, Strzhalkovsky moved to head the Federal Tourism Agency, where he successfully worked until 2008.
Going on a business trip
The further appointment of Strzhalkovsky is very surprising. In August 2008, he became the CEO-Chairman of the Board of Norilsk Nickel. Obviously, it's not possible to get such a responsible position without experience managing a large organization. But this doesn't apply to Strzhalkovsky. His success is purely due to old connections. Despite not achieving particularly impressive results in four years, he was still given a massive $100 million severance package when he left as CEO in 2012. Even for the most profitable Russian companies, this amount is unheard of. Normally, top managers of large corporations might receive a severance package of $10-15 million, but $100 million is unprecedented. He officially received this huge sum for his "special role in the company's fate."
But fate smiled on the ambitious ex-KGB officer once more. Strzhalkovsky's next job was as Vice President of the Bank of Cyprus Public Company Limited. Again: there's a stark contrast between the official and banking sectors, but it didn't stop Strzhalkovsky from working in this role for 2 years, and then moving to another bank – Rosselkhozbank, which was led by Dmitry Patrushev at the time. Patrushev had a history of mismanaging the bank. During his leadership, Rosselkhozbank accrued a huge loan portfolio that he couldn't repay.
Dmitry Patrushev
Thanks to additional state funding, the bank miraculously didn't go bankrupt. But how long will this last? Strzhalkovsky and Patrushev both actively participated in depleting the bank's funds. After they left the financial institution, a large deficit was discovered, but no one was held accountable.
Transitioning from business to sports
Strzhalkovsky's journey as a KGB agent didn't end there. In 2016, he became the chairman of the Dynamo sports club. It was here that Strzhalkovsky first encountered serious legal issues. A year after his appointment, law enforcement officers conducted a search at the Dynamo office. The investigation suspected club officials of embezzling funds totaling 2 billion rubles. During the inquiry, financial documents and contracts were seized. However, nothing came of the searches and announcements from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Influential connections prevented Strzhalkovsky from being implicated. But in 2019, he was forced to step down as chairman.
elite life
It's evident that officially, due to his work in the public sector and top companies, Strzhalkovsky is a multimillionaire. However, he lives a lifestyle that even some billionaires can't afford.
In 2014, the trend among the Russian elite was to invest in land plots in their home country. This may be due to the initial sanctions against the Russian elite and the fear of investing in foreign assets that could later be confiscated. Gelendzhik became one of the most prestigious places in Russia. Many wealthy individuals started building country houses here. Strzhalkovsky was no different. He built a house next to his partner in Rosselkhozbank, Dmitry Patrushev.
Houses of Patrushev and Strzhalkovsky
It is interesting that the land plot, together with the building on it, is registered in the name of Wanda Strzhalkovskaya, the daughter of a businessman. At the time of registration of real estate, she was 9 years old. We will not fantasize how a 9-year-old child could buy a land plot and build a house on it, everything is clear here. The land plot of Strzhalkovsky costs about 20 million rubles, the house is about 110. Therefore, the total amount of the project is at least 130 million rubles.
But this is still the tip of the iceberg. The main thing is under water or, as in our case, on the water. Vladimir Strzhalkovsky is the happy owner of the Ragnar yacht. According to open sources, a yacht of this type costs about 600 million dollars. It has everything from huge lounges to indoor pools. In addition, the yacht is equipped with a helipad, jet skis, boats and so on. That is, it has absolutely everything for relaxation.
Yacht “Ragnar”
But the question is: where does she come from in Strzhalkovsky? It is clear that he is not a poor man, but even all his official earnings for life could not afford to buy such an expensive yacht. It’s already intractable about her maintenance, which costs several million dollars a year.
In March, Strzhalkovsky’s yacht got into an unpleasant situation. Most of the Russian oligarchs tried to withdraw their floating funds from European ports so that they would not be arrested. Some have succeeded, some have not. As for Strzhalkovsky, worrying about the fate of his ship, he also ordered the crew to withdraw the ship from Europe, although no sanctions were imposed on him. After calling for refueling in the Norwegian port of Narvik, local merchants refused to sell fuel to the crew members, arguing that the 47-meter vessel belongs to a person close to Putin. The situation had to be resolved by third forces, which nevertheless helped to refuel the ship and quickly leave the “unfriendly” country.
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So far, Strzhalkovsky manages to get out of the water dry, and does not shine anywhere. But several times in his biography he was close to responsibility for many committed deeds. Perhaps luck will turn away from the former KGB officer, and he will get what he deserves. k1
