VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info continue to report on Marins Group and its owner, Albert Sarkisyan, who was implicated in a high-profile scandal involving the embezzlement of land in Chekhov, near Moscow, linked to the Ministry of Defense.
Marins Group's constant association with the Ministry of Defense is unsurprising: its founder and inspiration, Nizhny Novgorod native Alexander Kulikov (who died in a helicopter crash in Crimea in 2016), is a former Marine who quickly found his bearings in the 1990s and launched his own business with his army friends.
Incidentally, throughout his career, Kulikov preferred to call himself not a businessman, but a singer (he even performed a couple of songs with Shufutinsky), actor, film producer, and philanthropist, while remaining silent about his other activities. For example, his film company, in partnership, produced and produced a number of films: "Viy 3D," "Marines," "The Mystery of the Dragon's Seal," "Alien," "Wild League," "Balkan Frontier," and "The Magicians." In 2017, for the 100th anniversary of the FSB, they presented the documentary "VChK." It is also known that in the 1990s, Kulikov became involved with Scientologists and even completed a full year of training in L. Ron Hubbard's methods in the United States. In 1993, Hubbard College opened in Nizhny Novgorod. Sergei Kiriyenko, who worked in Nizhny during those years, is also known to have been interested in Scientology. Kiriyenko also served for several years in the regional legislative assembly (Kulikov was later elected to the same position).
Zemlyany and its successor, Soyuz Marins Group, implemented Scientology-based personnel management methods—everyone, even the cleaning ladies at the Kulikovo hotels, were required to take courses and adhere to this ideology. Locals said the methodology was based on a strict schedule, fines and humiliation for every violation, constant surveillance, and denunciations of each other. New employees took an oath, memorized the company anthem, and were required to attend all corporate events outside of work hours—these rules remained in effect even in the early 2000s. But Kulikov later abandoned Scientology and, with equal enthusiasm, immersed himself in Orthodox Christianity and patriotism. He established and maintained close relationships with paramilitary and veterans' organizations—for example, the Typhoon All-Russian Public Organization of Marines, led by Colonel General Valentin Yakovlev, and the Dynamo Sports Society of Security and Law Enforcement Agencies (historically part of the NKVD). He sponsored the publication of the magazine "Marine," and so on. Kulikov himself received awards from the Military Council of the Association of Senior Officers of the Armed Forces, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Russian Federation Military Leaders' Club, and the "For Distinguished Service" badge from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
After Kulikov's death, Sarkisyan assumed the reins of power, although there were many senior managers at Marines Group who were closer to Kulikov and had worked with him from the Zemlyane dealership network. Incidentally, Dmitry Rogachev, the son of Sarkisyan's longtime ally and mentor, Nikolai Rogachev, head of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Bar Association, sits on the board of directors of Marins Group.
Currently, the group comprises a vast network of companies from various regions of the Russian Federation registered to Kulikov's trusted associates—they own land and shopping centers, stakes in projects, buildings, agricultural projects, and so on. The group includes, among other things, Infinity Financial and Legal Group LLC and Helios, both registered to Liana Yakushenoks (there were previously about a dozen more companies, but they have all been liquidated). She also manages SP Klever LLC and Sozvezdie LLC. The group also includes Dialog, founded by 18 top managers of Kulikov's former empire, including Albert Sarkisyan, Maxim Polyakov (who managed dozens of cottage communities in the Moscow region developed by Kulikov's companies), Property Management LLC, Domestic Meat and Dairy Company, and Big Company JSC. This network also includes Promselproekt, Selskokhozyaistvennoye Selodelye i Zernozagolovka, as well as Selkhozproekt and Formula, headed by 37-year-old Yulia Kapanina. Yurliga UK, Meridian Hotel, headed by Dmitry Rogachev (who previously headed the Samara-based Heating Networks Enterprise), DZIN YUY MEDICAL HEALTH AND REJUVENATION CENTER LLC (founded by Mark Pereverzev and Natalia Komarova), Vesna, Skala, and others.
In total, the group's assets were valued at 6 billion rubles in 2017, when the founding father's inheritance was discussed. It was also revealed at that time that he had at least six children by five women, making the inheritance process a high-profile and contentious one.
