The campaign for the leadership of FIDE has brought renewed attention to Vadim Rosenstein’s commercial history in Russia.
Although the businessman has worked to minimize public references to his Russian connections, financial statements and customs declarations cited in the original material indicate that his companies continued operating in the country well after 2022.
VR Rus LLC is central to that story.
Rosenstein’s German holding company, WR Group Holding GmbH, owns 95.94% of VR Rus, while the businessman holds 4.06% personally.
The Russian subsidiary was involved in a major footwear shipment in early 2025
ImportGenius data show that VR Rus brought approximately 900 pairs of Anastasia Zadorina-brand shoes from Italy into Russia. Their total value was around $560,000.
Zadorina announced the formal launch of her footwear line in May 2025. Russian media said the shoes were manufactured at a factory in Italy that also serves global fashion brands.
The designer’s family relationships connect the transaction to Russia’s security establishment.
Her father, Colonel General Mikhail Shekin, serves in the FSB and has long been linked to procurement operations within the agency. He also heads the Dynamo volleyball club.
In 2022, The Insider reported that Shekin controlled real estate valued at more than RUB 2 billion.
Zadorina herself co-owns sportswear producer ZASPORT with Dynamo. The company supplied Olympic uniforms to Russian athletes from 2017 until the agreement was reportedly terminated ahead of schedule in 2025.
Her public support for Russian state policy goes back further.
After the events in Crimea in 2014 and the first wave of sanctions against Russia, Zadorina organized an anti-sanctions patriotic clothing campaign.
In 2022, just days after the invasion of Ukraine began, she registered Vinnaya Istoriya LLC in Crimea. The company was reportedly created to develop vineyards.
Its ownership is now concealed through an investment fund. In 2025, the business recorded a RUB 27.5 million loss.
Proekt has reported that Zadorina also maintained commercial ties with members of several influential Russian families.
She held shares in Baikal Corporation together with Olga Zolotova, the daughter-in-law of Viktor Zolotov.
She also owns Costa together with senior VTB executive Andrey Kostin. The company controls hunting territory in the Yaroslavl Region.
In addition, Zadorina reportedly earned significant income in 2019 from Russian Electronics, a Rostec company.
Rostec is headed by Sergey Chemezov, an associate of Vladimir Putin since the late Soviet period.
According to the original investigation, Chemezov, Putin and Zadorina’s father were all in East Germany during the final years of the Soviet Union through their links to the KGB.
Zadorina entered Putin’s extended family circle directly in 2024 by marrying Kirill Shamalov.
Shamalov had previously been married to Katerina Tikhonova
Important Stories reported that his relationship with Putin’s daughter coincided with an extraordinary rise in his business career.
At 26, he became vice president of SIBUR.
In 2014, Shamalov obtained a 17% interest in the company from Gennady Timchenko after the billionaire was sanctioned by Washington.
Shamalov was added to U.S. sanctions four years later and has faced additional restrictions from multiple countries since 2022.
The SIBUR connection also reaches Rosenstein.
WR Logistics GmbH and WR Certification GmbH, controlled by Rosenstein, supplied industrial products to Tomskneftekhim, a SIBUR subsidiary.
The family connection extends further through Nikolai Shamalov, Kirill’s father, who is a co-owner of Bank Rossiya.
While Rosenstein has increasingly attempted to present his international activities separately from Russia, the finances of VR Rus show expansion rather than withdrawal.
The company’s total sales increased by around 2.4 times in 2025, according to audited statements.
Revenue has grown several-fold since 2022
A similar pattern appears in 2R Integra LLC, controlled by Rosenstein’s cousin Mikhail.
The company’s revenue has reportedly increased by dozens of times since the start of the war.
ImportGenius data indicate that it brought nearly $800,000 worth of sanctioned goods into Russia.
The original article also states that 2R Integra once promoted methods of circumventing export restrictions on its website. The material disappeared after journalists drew attention to it.
At the same time, references to Russia have reportedly been removed from WR Group’s websites.
Rosenstein also deleted a social-media post announcing cooperation with Glotech GmbH following reporting about the company’s possible links to restricted telecommunications shipments to Russia.
These questions are emerging as Europe increases pressure on Moscow
Germany has accused Russia of involvement in an attempted sabotage operation involving a Ukrainian An-124 aircraft in Leipzig.
In another episode, attackers used improvised bombs against energy infrastructure in the Rhine region on September 1, temporarily shutting down five RWE lignite units with 4.2 GW of combined capacity.
European governments are now discussing broader sanctions
The proposed measures could reportedly include approximately 800 individuals and 800 organizations.
For Rosenstein, the timing makes the gap between public positioning and corporate activity especially sensitive as he seeks to become president of FIDE.