Vladislav Bakalchuk, co-founder of the Wildberries marketplace, is attempting to prevent a controversial merger between the leading e-commerce platform and the Russ Group of Companies filing a complaint with Russia's intellectual property authority, Rospatent, Kommersant reported on August 9.

Bakalchuk sent a letter seen by Kommersant from the law firm IQ Technology, addressed to Yuri Zubov, head of Rospatent, objecting to the merger.

The firm represents Bakalchuk’s interests and is requesting that Rospatent review the legality of applications submitted by Wildberries LLC for the transfer of rights to several trademarks. The letter names 29 of the company's intellectual property assets, including the main domain of the marketplace and the rights to the program used for automating courier work.

Wildberries and Russ Group, Russia's largest outdoor advertising operator, announced their merger on June 18. According to Vedomosti, Tatyana Bakalchuk, Vladislav Bakalchuk’s wife and owner of 99% of the shares, was set to become the CEO of the newly merged group of companies, while Russ Group's head, Robert Mirzoyan, was to take on the role of chief executive officer.

The deal has raised eyebrows as Russ Group, an outdoor advertising firm, is ten-times smaller than Wildberries, which is the largest retail company in Russia of any kind, and analysts say that it contributes nothing of value to the marketplace’s operation. The deal has been complicated after the couple announced they are getting divorced. Under Russian law the divorcee is entitled to half of the divorcer’s assets.

The Kremlin seems to be manoeuvring to take control of, or increase its influence over, the largest Russia internet companies: the equivalents of Facebook (VK), Amazon (Wildberries), and Google (Yandex). Billionaire Senator and Kremlin insider Suliman Kerimov has also been linked to the deal.

In July, Wildberries and Russ Group registered a joint venture, RVB LLC, with Wildberries LLC holding a 65% stake and Russ Group's main legal entity, Stinn LLC, owning the remaining 35%.

Vedomosti reported that Vladislav Bakalchuk has hired lawyers to challenge the transfer of domain names associated with Wildberries LLC to the new company, RVB LLC. Vladislav Bakalchuk currently owns only 1% of the marketplace. Alexander Logunov, co-owner and managing partner of IQ Technology, confirmed that he represents Vladislav Bakalchuk's interests in this matter.