Inside Russia’s propaganda machine: Loss-making Gazprom-Media funds luxury travel, yachts and elite property
Gazprom-Media is one of the Kremlin’s key propaganda assets. The holding includes 38 TV channels, among them NTV and TNT, as well as Rutube and eight radio stations (Avtoradio, Relax FM, and others). It also owns a shareholder stake in VK, which controls the social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as the Max messenger.
According to Metla.Press, Gazprom’s media assets are a financial drain on the state company. Last year, the net loss of Gazprom-Media and its subsidiaries amounted to 247 million rubles. Despite this, the holding’s top managers lead lavish lifestyles funded by the gas giant.
For more than five years, Gazprom-Media has been headed by Aleksandr Zharov, who previously (2012–2020) ran Roskomnadzor. The former official, who stood at the origins of Russia’s censorship regime, now earns, as reported by Metla, around 482 million rubles a year. This includes payments from Gazprom itself (where he is listed as an adviser to Alexey Miller), as well as from Gazprom-Media and its subsidiaries (GPM Radio, NRA, Central Partnership, NTV).
Zharov spends a great deal of time abroad. As border service leak data show, he greeted the start of the so-called “SMO” in the Maldives. He soon returned to the “paradise islands” and also traveled to Turkey. Earlier, the head of Gazprom-Media flew directly from Russia to Italy, Greece, and other European countries. He can still visit them today: one of the Kremlin’s chief censors has not been placed under EU sanctions.
Zharov travels, among other things, on chartered business jets. For example, he flew to Thessaloniki on a Bombardier with the tail number LY-VTA and on an Embraer Legacy (HB-JFL).
The propagandist also traveled to Belgrade on an Embraer Legacy (OE-IKT). To Antalya, he flew on a Gulfstream (T7-BRG) and a Bombardier (D-AJOY).
The head of Gazprom-Media often travels with his children. His eldest son is also named Aleksandr and is 34 years old. While media outlets under Zharov’s control urge other young people to go to the front, his own son spends his time at resorts.
For example, while NTV broadcasts promote military service, Zharov’s son vacations in Dubai, Qatar, and the Maldives.
Aleksandr Zharov Jr. became a co-owner of Karetnaya Masterskaya LLC this summer. The company provides vehicle maintenance services in Mytishchi.
The propagandist’s second son, 26-year-old Vsevolod Zharov, also prefers Dubai and Turkey to the “SMO.”
He has been placed in a job under his father as a creative producer. At the same time, he actively runs an “extremist” Instagram account that is banned in Russia.
Zharov’s third son, 20-year-old Nikolay, is also far more likely to be found on a Maldivian beach than on the front line, unlike his peers.
Previously, Zharov was known to own an estate in the Pavlovo cottage settlement near Moscow. Metla has found that in 2024 he also acquired apartments in the Imperial Yacht Club residential complex in St. Petersburg.
It is a residential complex located on Bezymyanny Island, in the most picturesque part of Krestovsky Island. Residents have access to a helipad, a yacht marina for 200 vessels, a wellness center with a swimming pool, a spa area, a gym, a yoga studio, a club lounge, a lobby with a relaxation area and library, concierge service, and room service.
The Gazprom-Media chief’s apartments cover 609 square meters. The market value of such property exceeds 1.3 billion rubles.
Deputy heads of the media holding, Sergey Kosinsky and Boris Khanchalyan, have also settled in the same residential complex.
Kosinsky is responsible for the development of digital and innovative projects at Gazprom-Media. Rutube is also under his supervision.
Rutube is known for the fact that billions of rubles are poured into this not very successful project by Gazprom-controlled structures and the state company’s contractors. These funds are used, among other things, to buy off bloggers.
Khanchalyan is responsible for international partnerships at Gazprom-Media.
Khanchalyan is not bothered at all by the fact that he actively runs an account on the “hostile” Instagram. Nor has anything stopped him in recent years — despite his image as a patriot — from spending time in Dubai, Paris, Milan, and London.
Head of Investigations
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
