The Kremlin’s shadow car collection: how the owner of “Stoloto,” Armen Sarkisyan, used lottery millions to supply luxury cars for FSB generals and corrupt officials to drive

The Kremlin’s shadow car collection: how the owner of “Stoloto,” Armen Sarkisyan, used lottery millions to supply luxury cars for FSB generals and corrupt officials to drive

The media continue to examine the “Kremlin stables” hidden behind the names of LLC “FSUE Autobaza No. 1” and LLC “FSUE Autobaza No. 2.” The deeper we analyze this garage for the elite, the clearer it becomes: this is not about two companies with similar names, nor about a banal “car service for the rich” and officials.

It’s a complete system through which you can buy a car, register it so that the real owner is not visible, transfer your favorite license plates from one vehicle to another, insure everything through leasing and affiliated companies, and, if necessary, transfer the car to a nominee, a relative, a contractor, a personal driver, or even a stranger. And then return it.

Typically, the scheme works like this: a high-ranking official names a cool car they’d like to drive, and soon it appears in the "stable." The purchase is financed either by the stable’s owner, Armen Sarkisyan, or by hired businessmen. Most often, these are contractors for the official’s department. The car might be given the official’s favorite license plate or simply a nice one from the "stable’s collection." Often, these license plates are simply transferred from car to car. Every official wants a new "toy" after a year or two, so the luxury car then goes to lesser heroes—the contractors who paid for it, or producers, plastic surgeons, and so on. People from the Kremlin elite’s inner circle. Traffic police cars are always on duty at the "stable" to escort the official in his "swallow." If the official isn’t entitled to FSO protection, two private security companies are stationed at the stable, whose officers escort the official in their fancy cars. Identifying all the officials using the "stable" is a nearly impossible task. They rarely make mistakes, usually using their preferred personal numbers, insuring their cars under a personal driver, or being caught on surveillance cameras driving a luxury car.

According to a collection of leaked data from various sources, no fewer than 60 unique vehicles are associated with "Autobaza № 2" alone. And the list speaks for itself. The stables included 28 premium Mercedes, 7 Rolls-Royces, 5 Bentleys, 3 Cadillacs, at least two Aston Martins, an Aurus, as well as a Porsche, Range Rover, Land Cruiser, and other expensive vehicles.

The core of the fleet is the Mercedes S-Class, Maybach, GLS, and V-Class, followed by the Rolls-Royce Wraith, Ghost, Phantom Coupe, Cullinan, Bentley Flying Spur, Bentayga, and Continental GT. But there are also license plate donors: old Zhigulis, Volkswagens, Passats, Almeras, and other vehicles whose role, judging by everything, is no longer to drive, but to maintain the pretty plates.

In this story, the numbers are often more important than the cars themselves. P007PP, P008PP, P004PP, A007MO, A008AA, A100MO, T003TT, T007TT, the numbers 057, the series 013, and also X555XX—all of them live the lives of their owners, changing cars, passing from family to family, from a motor pool to a nominee, from a nominee to an official, from an official to a relative, from a relative to a contractor.

As we’ve previously reported, the same circle of organizers is behind both car depots. This includes Stoloto owner Armen Sarkisyan, his assistant Natalya Konstantinova, as well as related companies of the S8 Capital holding, Technological Company Center JSC, and others.

Lottery money, vehicle repairs, and maintenance were channeled through the same structures, and Avtobaza № 2 itself has contracts with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise PPP (Presidential Property Management Department). The same story also involves Umar Kremlev’s associates, Gazprom-Media, the Mazaraki ritual clan, current government officials, and many others.

One of the most revealing stories is the story of a 2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith, which was registered for a long time to "Avtobaza № 2." The license plates A006MP and A008AA repeatedly appeared on this car.

The first number had previously been spotted on cars linked to funeral industry moguls Yuri Kushnir and Roman Molotkov, subjects of Ivan Golunov’s investigations. Both of these figures, one way or another, are linked to the Mazaraki family—confidants of Alexei Dorofeyev, head of the FSB for Moscow and Moscow, and other generals.

The second license plate is even more interesting. According to leaked data, A008AA was used in the 2000s on the personal Volkswagen Golf of Svetlana Medvedeva, Dmitry Medvedev’s wife. The plate was later transferred to a Rolls-Royce from the stables, and when the luxury car became obsolete for the passenger, it was registered to Evgenia Pushkareva, but the driving rights were given to Anna Mazaraki, Valerian Mazaraki, Lev Mazaraki, and their driver, Dmitry Yanakov.

The denomination is the same, but the users are completely different. Almost the entire fleet operates according to this exact scheme: a formal holder is needed for paperwork, but the actual owners drive the car.

Another Rolls-Royce, a 2017 Wraith, is no less interesting. It was initially sold through Avtobaza № 2 and later registered to TD Saransk Kabel Optika LLC. The identity of this company is crucial in this story. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE), the company’s CEO is Vladislav Zelenko, the founder (previously publicly, later hidden) is Sergey Sapozhnikov, and the remaining 1% belongs to Optikenergo itself.

Sapozhnikov himself is no stranger to the Optikenergo group. And Zelenko’s phone number is listed as "Sapozhnikov’s deputy." This is no longer a random legal entity temporarily registered to an expensive toy, but a very specific organization. The holding company itself and its associated companies are suppliers to major grid companies, including Rosseti.

The same car also featured the P007PP stable’s signature series. According to leaked insurance and border databases (a Rolls with these license plates was driven to Abkhazia), the license plate is used by Irakli Arshba, the son of State Duma deputy Otari Arshba.

The P008PP adorned another Rolls-Royce. The license plates featured Armen Sarkissian himself and his wife, Ekaterina Ordzhonikidze, the daughter of former Moscow Deputy Mayor Iosif Ordzhonikidze. He oversaw foreign economic and investment affairs, as well as the hotel and gambling industries.

According to the publication "Proekt," Ordzhonikidze chairs the board of directors of the company "Vysotka," which owns the "Ukraine" Hotel.

Another figure associated with the Hotel Ukraina is Vasily Tsuglevich, who was identified as the insurer of the Bentley from "Avtobaza № 2." There is almost no information about him online, but there is a mention in Petr Aven’s book "Berezovsky’s Time."

Yuri Shefler (a bigwig in the alcohol business) recalled that in the early 1990s, when he was selling computers, he was assisted by Vasily Tsuglevich, the commandant of the Plekhanov Institute dormitory, through which foreigners passed and whom Shefler instructed to obtain and deliver equipment.

Vasily Tsuglevich insured a 2022 Bentley Continental GT from 2022 to 2023. During those years, the luxury car was registered to OOO FGUP Avtobaza № 2. A characteristic detail: he favors the 013 series, not just the A013AA (which was installed on his Bentley stablemate), but also other variations (C013CC, P013PP) on other cars.

Tsuglevich’s phone number is listed by users as "Vasily Ukraine," "oligarch," "philanthropist," "from Friedman," and there are numerous entries that link him to deputy Alexander Sidyakin, or one entry like "investment advisor to the head of the Republic of Belarus."

Another car from "Avtobaza № 2" is a 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the privileged license plates X555XX (with different regions: 97 and 777). Initially, the car was insured by the autobaza, and then until 2025, the Rolls-Royce was registered to Lyudmila Dzhambulatova. Since 2021, Magomed Gagiev has also appeared on this list.

Lyudmila Dzhambulatova is the wife of Zaurbek Dzhambulatov, a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Main Directorate for Economic Security and Combating Corruption. After leaving the police, he settled into the energy sector and spent many years in charge of security at Gazprom Energoholding and MOEK. Magomed Gagiev is her brother, the man who was once considered MOEK’s main contractor.

The "stable" cars were used not only by officials and their children, but also by people who worked on their family and medical needs. One striking example is a 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which was initially sold through "Avtobaza № 2" and later found its way to Timur Khaidarov. This is the same celebrity surgeon who operated on the wives and families of influential clients.

Another example is a 2019 Audi A8. According to leaks, the car belongs to "Avtobaza № 2," and Sergey Trokhov is listed as the insurer. Users list him as Nikita Stasishin’s driver. Stasishin is the Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation and the son of Yevgeny Stasishin, a police general and head of the Transport Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Northwestern Federal District.

A similar situation occurred with a 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The car was registered with JSC Technological Company Center and Avtobaza № 2 itself, and a certain Sergey Korzh was identified in the accident. According to user databases, he is listed as the driver of renowned producer Nikolay Solomentsev. He is a senior figure at Gazprom-Media, the first deputy general director of GPM KIT, and a producer on numerous Gazprom projects.

Another 2015 Mercedes-Benz S600, with the license plate A100MO, was parked behind both depots and eventually ended up in the hands of Rigel LLC. The company’s director is Avtandil Sikharulidze, brother of Levani Sikharulidze, a partner of Denis Manturov, the Minister of Industry and Trade’s son. He also owns the CafeMilano restaurant on New Riga Street, along with Emin Agalarov.

In the leaked documents, Avtandil Sikharulidze’s place of work is listed as "Rolf," a structure controlled by Umar Kremlev.

The 2018 Audi A6 is no less interesting. Initially, the car passed through Armen Sarkisyanentities—S8 Trade LLC and Technological Company Center JSC—then was on the books of the Favorit bookmaker, and only after that was it acquired by Avtobaza № 2.
A separate line is dedicated to "women’s" cars, linked to the "stables." A Porsche Taycan Turbo S first passed through a car depot, then ended up in the hands of actress and producer Anna Alexandrova, the common-law wife of renowned director Roman Prygunov, who worked with Yankovsky, Kozlovsky, and others.

Another Mercedes S-Class, after being sold to a carpool, went to beauty blogger Ksenia Shipilova. She is said to be a close friend of restaurateur Arkady Novikov.

There are also traces of people connected to the Moscow region’s "contracting gold" in this park. The 2021 Bentley Bentayga W12 Speed was listed as belonging to "Avtobaza № 2," and the insurer was Rost LLC, a notorious landscaping contractor in the Moscow region. The company’s director is Nadezhda Barilo, a former official (she served as deputy head of Krasnogorsk).
It’s worth noting that, before Rost LLC and Zhukova, both Bentleys had the license plate T007TT—the family license plate of Sergei Dankvert. One of the "stable’s" regular customers is Sergei Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor. The official’s favorite license plate, T007TT, has migrated between a Bentley Flying Spur, a Bentayga V8 Diesel, a Bentayga W12 Speed, and other cars. Long ago, Dankvert bought his mother, Emma Dankvert, a Mercedes E 280, on which he also had this license plate.

It turns out that priority belongs to the federal official, who regularly receives new supercars through "Avtobaza № 2." After the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, the cars are passed around.