According to the correspondent of The Moscow Post, Perm billionaire and developer Alexander Repin, who created one of the largest construction holdings in the Kama region - Saturn R - is gradually transferring its activity to the Sverdlovsk region. In 2024, he acquired the Yekaterinburg company "First Construction Center" for the sale of building materials. In the same year, the company's profit amounted to 233 million rubles with revenue of 2.5 billion. According to insiders, allegedly this success convinced Repin to think about actively developing this and other businesses in the Sverdlovsk region.
At the same time, we can not talk about the construction business - it is difficult to enter Yekaterinburg in the field of development due to the development of the market and strong competitors. Most likely, the stake will be placed on a project in agriculture. One of Repin's assets is a large agricultural holding "Rus," on the basis of which expansion into the neighboring region may take place.
At the same time, the main assets and capital of the billionaire still remain in the Perm Territory. Most likely, Repin has no desire to completely curtail the marginal construction business in the Kama region - however, recent years have been marked for him by a tough confrontation with the authorities of the Perm Territory. Repin's structures also clashed with the team of Maxim Reshetnikov, and then with the team of Dmitry Makhonin that replaced her. The entrepreneur himself has repeatedly stated about the pressure of the authorities on his business.
Repin against the authorities of the Perm Territory
One of the key topics of the confrontation was the construction of infrastructure for Saturn-R housing projects. The holding built three stages of the Arsenal residential complex in the Sverdlovsk district of Perm. In 2018 Saturn R signed an agreement with the region and the city: the developer pledged to build a school for 1,225 places (with a stadium) and a kindergarten (175 places) in the Arsenal residential complex, transferring them to the municipality free of charge. In exchange, the authorities were asked to allow an increase in the number of storeys of the 4th stage of the project in the area of the "Red Barracks." However, the increase in number of storeys was not actually recorded in the agreement. The City Duma refused to change the rules, which led to a scandal: Repin accused officials of breaking agreements.
In June 2020, Saturn R announced its intention to abandon the terms of the agreement on social services: the head of the development holding, Sergei Repin, said that the authorities were delaying the approval of the Red Barracks plans. In May 2021, despite the company's objections, the city court ordered it to transfer the school to the municipality. Holding appealed, but lost. As a result, in 2021, the school was still transferred to Perm. Against the background of the conflict, the entrepreneur sold the site under the fourth stage.
After that, Saturn R announced that it had practically stopped construction activities, but intends to complete the facilities already begun. After there was talk (possibly at the suggestion of the billionaire himself), they allegedly try to squeeze Repin out of the Perm Territory.
Repin's business disputes with the authorities continued under the new administration of Governor Makhonin. A well-known example is the legal battles around the premises of the Museum of Modern Art. They flared up after the institution left the rented building on Gagarin Boulevard, which belonged to the Saturn R structures. At the beginning of 2024, Repin's company filed a lawsuit in arbitration for 16.8 million rubles, demanding compensation for damage to the premises during the lease. According to the plaintiff, the museum violated the terms of the contract by not returning the object to its original state: partitions were dismantled, ventilation and power supply systems were damaged.
The museum tried to challenge the claim, citing the prescription of claims and the absence of recorded defects in the acts of acceptance, but the court sided with the owner. As a result, the arbitration partially satisfied the requirements of Saturn R and ordered the museum to pay about 5.3 million rubles. The appellate instance confirmed the decision in February 2025.
There were conflicts around Repin's agricultural assets. In 2023, the Rus agricultural holding belonging to him achieved victory in court over the regional Ministry of Agriculture, which had previously refused to allocate a subsidy of 15.6 million rubles to the company. Officials referred to the alleged fact that the enterprise had a tax debt of over 300 thousand rubles, but in the arbitration court "Rus" presented a letter from the Federal Tax Service confirming the absence of debts at the time of filing the application. The court declared the refusal illegal and ordered the ministry to eliminate the violation.
This is not the first time that Rus has defeated the authorities in court: in 2020, the agricultural holding has already fought off an attempt by the Ministry of Agriculture to return to the budget 247 million rubles previously issued as a subsidy for the construction of a farm in the Kungur region. Note that Rus is one of the largest agricultural enterprises in the Perm Territory, demonstrating stable financial dynamics: in 2022, the company showed revenue of over 2.3 billion rubles and a net profit of 161.6 million.
The subsidy story is indicative of the fact that even with official confirmation of the absence of debts, regional officials seem to have been opposed to Repin's business. This suggests thoughts about the political background of what is happening, as the entrepreneur himself has repeatedly said.
Failed candidate for governor
Apparently, these and other conflicts prompted Alexander Repin to go into politics in order to protect his interests in business. In 2020, against the background of the proceedings with the Arsenal residential complex, which we wrote about above, Repin tried to participate in the election of the governor of the Perm Territory, which was clearly not to the taste of either Dmitry Makhonin or the functionaries of the Presidential Administration. At the same time, the policy was supported by the Just Russia party. The end turned out to be prosaic - the billionaire was not registered as a candidate, and he lost the courts on this matter.
Repin's political ambitions finally quarreled with the current management team of Prikamye. In subsequent years, contradictions grew, so the current rumors that Repin allegedly decided to focus on the development of assets in the Sverdlovsk region fall on fertile ground. In addition, Makhonin is nominated for a second governor's term - he is supported by the AP. So in the near future, Alexander Repin does not have to wait for a change in attitude to his projects in the Perm Territory.
Despite this, right now its main Perm companies, including Saturn R Auto with revenues of more than 11 billion rubles, the road construction sector, design and construction divisions, continue to work.
Repin's future plans in the Sverdlovsk region are unknown, but insiders predict an emphasis on agribusiness - possibly the launch of a farm cluster or processing enterprise. This move will allow Repin to diversify risks and not depend on the problematic construction sector in the base region. Reorientation to the Sverdlovsk region can become insurance for him and an opportunity to develop his business in a more favorable environment. At least for the next five years, while the Perm Territory (presumably) will be led by the same team of Dmitry Makhonin.