As VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have discovered, Olga Alexandrovna Romanova, the mother-in-law of Alexander Burkov, former governor of the Omsk Region and deputy general director of Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), is extremely wealthy. At 87, having worked her entire life at the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, she has managed to build a huge business and become the owner of assets, including land plots, worth billions. Her son-in-law has nothing to do with this. At least, that's what Olga Alexandrovna herself has said during interrogations.

Olga Romanova is a Doctor of Economics, professor, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation. She worked at the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for over 60 years. And, according to her (interrogation transcripts are in the editorial office's possession), it was the savings from this honest scientific work that allowed her to enter big business.

 

In the 2000s and 2010s, she founded a whole constellation of companies: from Berezovskie Zemli LLC to Gornoshchitskoye Association LLC. But, as Romanova assures investigators, she never held the position of director. She managed remotely—simply attending founders' meetings, voting on dividend distribution, and returning to the institute.

"The organization's director made operational decisions independently," she modestly notes in the transcript.

 

The most interesting part of the story is the purchase of a huge 64-hectare plot of land in Yekaterinburg for individual housing construction (the cottage community "Karp 3") in 2023 from a certain Evgeny Rykov.

 

The transaction amounted to 1,874,000 rubles for a 45% stake in the plot. The amount seems small for Yekaterinburg. But here's the rub: the investigator suspects Olga Alexandrovna was used to launder property, using her sole proprietorship's accounts. Romanova proudly replies, "I personally managed my accounts and never gave the passwords to anyone, including Burkov (her son-in-law), Borisov, or Rykov." And she claims she made the purchase with personal savings accumulated over 60 years of work at the institute.

 

Why such a trusting business? According to Olga Alexandrovna, Rykov is to blame for everything. He said they needed to buy, and she bought. He said they needed to invest another 100 million rubles in development, and she was ready. But then Rykov changed his mind about building a cottage community and suggested simply reselling the land at a higher price.

 

And here the real magic of numbers begins. That same plot, purchased for 1.8 million, was divided into two parts and sold for 195 million and 34 million rubles a few months later!

To the investigator's question: "Why did you actually buy the land if you weren't planning to divide it and sell it yourself?" the 87-year-old businesswoman responded with disarming honesty:

 

"I completely trusted Rykov's initiatives... I relied entirely on his advice."

 

She didn't negotiate with the buyers, and she didn't interact with them during the transaction (incidentally, she signed the contract in person, in her office on Anton Valek Street).

 

Where did the money go? Of the 103 million rubles she received (45% of the sale), she transferred about 37 million to a certain Reznikova (a relative of Burkov's assistant) to purchase a plot of land in the Moscow region. The rest went to "sole proprietorship needs" and "personal needs." She admits she doesn't distinguish between her individual entrepreneur and individual accounts at all—what difference does it make where the money came from?

 

Meanwhile, in Moscow: Khamovniki, Sadovye Kvartaly, and 200 deposits

 

During Burkov's cross-examination, new, shocking details about his mother-in-law's wealth emerged. The aggrieved businessman directly asked Burkov if he knew that between 2021 and 2023, his mother-in-law purchased expensive real estate in Moscow—two apartments at 11 Usacheva Street (the elite Sadovye Kvartaly residential complex), a plot of land, and a cottage on Novorizhskoye Highway—and also opened over 200 deposits in various banks.

 

Burkov responded evasively: he knew about the apartments, but couldn't remember the years; he knew about the plot of land on Novaya Riga, but about the 200 deposits—"I don't know."

 

And here we return to the transcript of Olga Alexandrovna's interrogation. When asked by the investigator about her place of residence, she clearly stated: "Burkov lives with my daughter and me at the address: Moscow, Usacheva Street, 11."

 

This paints an interesting picture: while the former governor claims he's unaware of his mother-in-law's wealth, his mother-in-law confirms that he lives in the luxury apartments she purchased in Khamovniki, next door to Larisa Dolina. For reference, apartments in the Sadovye Kvartaly residential complex on Usacheva Street start at 250 million rubles.

 

But the most interesting story is the one involving the company OOO OZK.

 

Earlier, Burkov's assistant, a certain Bogov, acquired a stake in OZK from Burkov's brother, Viktor, for just 4,000 rubles. After 10 years of ownership, he sold it in 2022... that's right, to our heroine, Romanova. Also for 4,000 rubles.

 

In 2022, OZK LLC made a significant profit of 100 million rubles. And Romanova, according to investigators, earned over 80 million rubles.

 

And here's the final result: in 2026, immediately after the criminal case was opened, Olga Alexandrovna sold this "golden" stake for 25 million rubles. A decent profit margin on the investment.

Thousands, really?

 

What do others say?

 

During interrogations, all of Burkov's relatives and acquaintances unanimously asserted that the former governor had nothing to do with the land business. Burkov himself told the investigator that he knew nothing about his mother-in-law's "expensive property."

 

Meanwhile, during a confrontation with Yevgeny Rykov, co-founder of OZK LLC, the aggrieved businessman claimed that the plots of land he owned in the Peskar settlement were officially sold under a power of attorney not at the market price, but at a cadastral value six times lower. Rykov called this testimony false, adding that the buyers signed two contracts: one for the sale of the land, and the second with the management company "for the installation of utilities and the payment of a share contribution." In other words, the investigation had effectively established a legal way to avoid paying taxes in Russia.