All 14 members of the Board of Directors of “Gazprom” have relatives who work (or have worked) in public administration or state-controlled businesses. Most of them — 12 in total — have relatives who, at some point, were employed in the structures of the Gazprom giant. The independent Russian publication “Project” documented this situation in a comprehensive study on nepotism in Russia.
Ostentatious luxury. One of the most evident cases of conflict of interest is represented by the family of Gazprom’s vice president, Vitali Markelov. After being appointed to the company’s leadership in 2012, his son, Maksim Markelov, was hired at the “Gazprom Invest” branch. The young man proudly announced on Instagram that he was appointed “like a boss”, wearing a shirt with this message.
▪️In 2018, journalists from the “47news” publication in Saint Petersburg revealed the opulent lifestyle of Markelov Jr., using his Instagram photos (under the pseudonym gazmaxik). He appeared next to a Rolls-Royce in front of a casino in Monte Carlo, behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, or in the cabin of a private plane. Subsequently, this arrogance was brought up directly at a press conference with Vladimir Putin.
▪️According to data leaks, Maksim Markelov left “Gazprom Invest” in 2020. He is now the deputy director at Aleksei Repik’s company “R-Stroi”, a firm involved in the reconstruction of the city of Mariupol — destroyed by Russian troops.
Alexei Miller’s family. Members of the family of the general director, Alexei Miller, also work in Gazprom’s structures:
▪️Until 2019, the daughter of his life partner, Svetlana Kuznetsova, worked at “Gazpromneft”.
▪️Her husband, Alexandr Kuznetsov, runs two Gazprom-affiliated companies and is, at the same time, the deputy director at “Gazstroiprom”, the company’s main construction contractor.
▪️Oksana Kolokolova, the wife of Mikhail Miller (Alexei Miller’s son from his first marriage), works in Gazprom’s administrative branches.
Putin’s relatives. Another member of the Board of Directors is Mikhail Putin, the second cousin of the President of Russia. A professional psychiatrist-narcologist, Mikhail Putin became the head of Gazprom’s Medical Directorate in 2004, and in 2018 he joined the company’s leadership.
▪️For his appointment, Gazprom even organized an extraordinary assembly, with a single point on the agenda: “About Putin M.E.” The Kremlin tried to claim that Mikhail and Vladimir Putin are not close, but the press demonstrated the opposite — the president had close relations with his cousin’s family.
▪️Mikhail’s son, Denis Putin, worked from 2022–2024 as a “main expert” in Gazprom’s export department, then he was hired at “Sibur”, another company close to the state.
Other top managers. The “champion” in the number of relatives employed at Gazprom is Oleg Aksiutin, vice president of the Council. His wife, daughter, son, and daughter-in-law all work in the company’s structures.