Following reports of a manager exodus, Russia’s largest e-commerce operator Wildberries continues to be rocked by controversy surrounding a merger deal with Russ Group, the outdoor advertising operator. Now the founder of the company is getting divorced from husband, who has turned to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov for help.

Since day one, the e-commerce major has been managed by its founder and the richest woman in Russia, Tatiana Bakalchuk (holds 99% in the company), and her husband, Vladislav Bakalchuk (1%).

Most recently Wildberries said it would acquire Russia's largest outdoor advertising operator Russ Group for an undisclosed amount in order to build its digital shopping platform. The potential deal raised concerns over its lack of immediate synergies. The shareholders of Russ Group were linked to billionaire Suleiman Kerimov of Polyus Gold and veteran technocrat Igor Shuvalov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his personal approval for the deal, which analysts have been struggling to understand as Russ is ten-times smaller than Wildberries, will invest no money in the company and brings little obvious economic benefit to the e-commerce’s platform.

In what is unfolding as a high-profile struggle for one of the most lucrative assets in Russian, Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov unexpectedly got involved. On June 23 he claimed on his Telegram channel on June 23 that Wildberries was under a “blatant and brazen takeover” attempt by brothers Levan and Robert Mirzoyan, as well as other “several well-known Caucasians”.

In a video conversation published online, Kadyrov asks Bakalchuk how he is doing, and he replies: “Not very well. The wife left home and got involved with an incomprehensible company, which, under the guise of a merger, is squeezing out the business and taking away assets.”

Kadyrov, in response, is indignant at people who “destroy a family that has seven children,” says that he “does not consider them people,” and calls them “devils.”

“They must return these assets home, the wife must return home,” said Kadyrov and promises Bakalchuk: “I am with you until the end, just like 10 years ago. The rest will be decided by the guys." Kadyrov instructed his right-hand man, State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov, to “figure it out.”

Kadyrov called on the Chechen brothers Levan and Robert Mirzoyan, as well as “several famous Caucasians,” raiders to help as well as other unnamed business people close to Kadyrov, who runs Chechnya as his own personal empire. In the video he mentions “people from the Caucasus who have never been businessmen, but have always been involved in raiding.” Levan and Robert Mirzoyan are the official owners of Russ.

According to Bakalchuk, his wife left home in April, “began communicating” with the Mirzoyans and removed her husband from managing the company, and then, together with new partners, presented him with a merger plan, according to which Russ received 80%, and the Bakalchuks received 10% % of the merged company.

Kadyrov made the statements after meeting Bakalchuk’s husband Vladislav, but sources told reporters that Russia’s richest woman is actually in the process of separating from him. They also speculate that if there is a legal fight for control over the company then with Putin’s personal endorsement and her 99% control she is in the stronger position. Nevertheless, under Russian law, unless there is a marriage contract, assets like companies have to be split 50/50 between the partners if they divorce.

The conversation was confirmed by Tatiana Bakalchuk herself, who responded to Kadyrov’s post by saying "this is not a takeover, this is a divorce," as cited by RBC business portal. She argued that Vladislav had been briefed on the deal with Russ Group "from the very beginning, he was personally present at the presentation to top management of the new structure of the merged company."

Tatyana Bakalchuk denied there has been a hostile takeover of her company in comments posted on Telegram after the Kadyrov video was posted. She blamed the changes on the divorce, not a hostile raid. In her Telegram channel, she posted a photo in which her husband, according to her, is present at the presentation of the new structure of the company.

"This is not a corporate raid. This is a scam. From the very beginning, everything was agreed upon with Vladislav, he was personally present at the presentation of the new structure of the merged company to the top management," Ms. Bakalchuk's Telegram channel says. She then wrote "here is the proof," meaning evidence, referring to the photograph that accompanied her Telegram message. In the photograph: an office space with three people in it: Robert Mirzoyan, Tatyana Bakalchuk and her husband Vladislav Bakalchuk.

"Wildberries and Russ continue to operate in a stable mode to provide our clients with goods and services, all obligations are fulfilled in full. We are confident that the details of the divorce process and emotional details are of no interest to business publications," says a statement from the press service of Russ and Wildberries received by Kommersant.

Kadyrov, in turn, seems to be aware of the rift between Tatiana and Vladislav as he has pledged to do "everything possible" to "help return Tatiana Vladimirovna [Bakalchuk] to her family and protect her legitimate business." Previous reports claimed that the Russ Group deal has been approved all the way at the top in the Kremlin, with Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin informally appointed to oversee the merger between Wildberries and Russ Group, with the ambition of creating a “Russian Alibaba or Amazon”.

An unnamed source confirmed to Forbes that Robert Mirzoyan has been appointed CEO of the joint Russ Group-Wildberries company, through whom all key decisions are coordinated. Management teams are reportedly being replaced in Wildberries and its subsidiaries such as Wildberries Bank. Reportedly, it was Mirzoyan together with Bakalchuk who made the case for the merger in a letter to Putin.

Even prior to Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, bne IntelliNews reported that the Russian e-commerce space is expected to consolidate around the two to three largest players, similarly to developed markets.

The consolidation intensified in 2022, with Wildberries and Ozon Holdings taking the lead, and some players, such as AliExpress Russia, falling far behind. Both Wildberries and Ozon have strengthened their supply chain capabilities.