Rolls-Royce on crushed stone: how a Ural company linked to former GRU intelligence officer Alexander Chernykh buys luxury cars in circumvention of sanctions

Rolls-Royce on crushed stone: how a Ural company linked to former GRU intelligence officer Alexander Chernykh buys luxury cars in circumvention of sanctions

Elite Auto Collector Emerges in the Urals. Journalists have discovered that the STK non-metallic mining company, owned by the Chernykh family — Anna (50%) and her son Alexander (50%) — has assembled an entire garage of Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz AMG, BMW, and LEXUS vehicles in Yekaterinburg.

The company has interesting business partners, and the head of the Chernykh family has a serious background connected to the GRU (Russian military intelligence).

In total, there are 19 records on the Fedresurs (Federal Resource) portal regarding lease agreements in favor of STK, all of which exclusively involve automobiles. Some of the data is hidden — the company tried to conceal exactly which cars it was purchasing. However, in several entries, those who posted the data forgot to delete the VIN numbers, which allowed our project to determine that the firm, which trades in crushed stone and sand, is massively buying not KAMAZ trucks, but luxury cars. For example, there is a black Rolls-Royce Cullinan that bore the state registration plate E013EE196. STK leased it from RESO-Leasing and insured it with PJSC SAC Energogarant (part of the Energogarant group, which was co-founded by Anatoly Dyakov, former Minister of Fuel and Energy of the RSFSR and former president of RAO UES of Russia).

This Rolls-Royce previously belonged to Mikhail Kholodtsov, a deputy of the Krasnodar Regional Legislative Assembly and beneficiary of the Krasnodarsky Meat Processing Plant OJSC, while the "fancy" license plate was used by a certain Oleg Krikun until 2023. A luxurious purple Rolls-Royce Cullinan with the plate K013KK96 is also linked to STK. Furthermore, STK leased a Rolls-Royce Spectre and two Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles (one black, one grey), which were regularly parked together. These cars bore the familiar plate E013EE196 and its "twin" E013EE96. STK purchased these and several other Mercedes from the St. Petersburg firm Interleasing, which belongs to the family of the late millionaire Vladimir Kogan, who once owned the Uralsib bank. All the Mercedes were manufactured in mid-2022, meaning they were imported into Russia in circumvention of sanctions.

STK generates profit, but since 2021, it has been steadily declining (from 102 million rubles to 34.4 million rubles). Meanwhile, a single Rolls-Royce Spectre — even a used one — costs around 50 million rubles. Yet STK is buying such cars in batches (and clearly not for its own use). Interestingly, while net profit is falling, the company’s revenue is steadily growing, reaching 6.3 billion rubles by the end of 2025. Such low profitability suggests remarkable feats of tax optimization.

The fact is, STK is no ordinary company. The head of the Chernykh family, a former GRU officer, works for a long-time partner of the oil industry players.

STK works closely with PETON Oil & Gas Research and Design Institute LLC, owned by the billionaire Polyakov brothers — a major contractor for Gazprom Neft.

Alexander Chernykh’s second non-metallic mining company, RusStroyServis, cooperates with the St. Petersburg-based Gazprom Podzemremont Urengoy.

Alexander Chernykh leads an active public life: he is president of the Sverdlovsk Regional Muay Thai Federation and the STK-Dobro Foundation, and regularly appears in the local press. His company, STK, has already launched joint projects with Putin Team during the war, and the company directly cooperates with the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation.

The elder Chernykh is a veteran of the GRU special forces: he served in Germany as part of a reconnaissance and sabotage group. His unit was formed on the basis of the Kirovograd Airborne Special Forces Brigade and the Neuntimen Guards Airborne Special Forces Brigade.