The master of Novgorod’s “slush fund”: how governor Alexander Dronov sponsors minister Nikitin and hides corruption behind law enforcement

The scandal-ridden governor of Novgorod Oblast, Alexander Dronov, who has literally been “mired” in corruption scandals, is actively working to build and strengthen ties with federal government officials in an effort to protect himself.

For example, during the Epiphany bathing ceremonies near Valdai at the Valdai Eco-Club resort, Dronov gathered very influential figures – his predecessor, now Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Andrey Nikitin (close to the Kovalchuks), Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Andrey Kikoty (formerly prosecutor of Novgorod Oblast), former Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Anatoly Yakunin (previously head of Novgorod’s Ministry of Internal Affairs), future deputy governor Konstantin Somov (currently chairman of the city council), Chairman of the Board of Setl Group billionaire Maxim Shubarev, Anton Vaino’s right-hand man Alexander Matveev, and head of the Valdai district Yuri Stade (who organized the feast). The Orthodox holiday was celebrated lavishly…

Andrey Nikitin, who attended the Eco-Club event, is Dronov’s main hope for protection against criminal prosecution. For Nikitin’s birthday, on Dronov’s personal initiative, a sculpture costing 4 million stock rubles was unveiled in the center of Veliky Novgorod, inspired by Nikitin’s favorite artist Vasya Lozhkin: “Three Cats with a Wooden Saber”. Dronov mentioned this on November 22, four days before Nikitin’s birthday.

According to Dronov’s plan, the cats symbolize Andrey Nikitin (center), Alexander Dronov (right, in a helmet, with a shield, as Nikitin’s loyal protector), and Nadezhda Gridneva (left, hugging the central cat, head of the “Rus Novgorod” tourism office), who still maintains “interesting” relations with Nikitin. This explains how the unprofitable organization “Rus Novgorod,” personally created by Nikitin, has not yet collapsed like a bubble, as it is entirely funded by the budget.

In the summer of 2025, Alexander Dronov became embroiled in corruption scandals. He was accused of receiving kickbacks from the road cartel “Borisovs-Feroyans,” taking millions from a premium fund intended for doctors and teachers, and exploiting the region’s largest taxpayer for personal gain. Nevertheless, in September, Dronov assumed the governorship of the region.

Over four years, more than 1.1 billion rubles have been credited to the Novgorod Fund for Regional Cooperation and Development (NFRCR). This period covers the terms of both Alexander Dronov and his predecessor, now Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin. The main donors included the chemical fertilizer plant PJSC “Acron” (285 million rubles), LLC “BGK-VN” (almost 210 million rubles, “Belgrankorm,” frequently in the news for pollution issues, whose former director was imprisoned for corruption), the “Gazprom Social Initiatives” fund (about 470 million rubles, later returned as an interest-free loan), and the sister fund “Novgorod Fund for Regional Development” (100 million rubles). Local mid-sized businesses also contributed sums ranging from 3 thousand rubles to several million for the support and development of—not the region, but its leadership.

Officially, these funds are used for good causes – restoration of churches, development of project documentation, and so on. But unofficially, they are spent to support the “mental well-being” of incoming officials. For example, 32 million rubles were spent on just three vehicles: in 2022, a Hyundai Palisade (7,900,000 rubles), in 2023, a Land Cruiser 300 (14,850,000 rubles), and in 2024, a Tank 700 (9,700,000 rubles), which Alexander Dronov uses for both official and personal purposes. In general, a love of expensive cars is very common among incoming officials.

Recently, the former deputy governor under Nikitin, Ilya Malenko, also received a new Toyota Land Cruiser from the “meat king” Mikhail Popov—and there’s a reason. Malenko has long enjoyed exploiting his official position. Notably, he even married one of his corruption assets, Emilia Ageeva, director of LLC “Medovy Dom.” The local Ministry of Industry and Trade (Malenko previously headed the Novgorod regional ministry) gave maximum preferential treatment to “Medovy Dom.”

The company itself does not produce honey but only packages raw materials purchased from other regions of Russia.

Another interesting expense is payments to “Alkon-Opt Plus” totaling more than 18 million rubles. Every Novgorod resident knows that the company “Alkon” produces alcoholic beverages. Consuming almost 20 million rubles in such a short time requires quite a bit of skill.

In addition to “protocol” purchases, NFRCR funds flow into the shadow sector through numerous strange transfers of several tens of millions to nearly bankrupt companies and firms created just before the transfers.

Interesting things are also happening with another social support fund called “Save Life.” Having received over 400 million rubles from major regional enterprises, almost 340 million is funneled to three different companies, all headed by the same director.