Nikolay Tokarev is a Russian businessman and oligarch. He is the president of the Russian pipeline company Transneft.
Nikolay Tokarev’s Personal Life
Nikolay Petrovich Tokarev ( Nikolay Tokarev ) was born on 20.12.1950 in Karaganda, Kazakh SSR, USSR. He married Galina Alekseyevna Tokareva (Galina) who was born on Sept. 24, 1951 in China .They have a daughter Maya Nikolaevna Bolotova (Born : 18.01.1975, Karaganda, Kazakhstan ) who is wife of Andrey Bolotov Yurievich ( Born : Dec. 10, 1972 ). They have two children , Igor Andreevich Bolotov ( Born : Oct. 21, 1999 , Moscow) and a daughter Ekaterina Andreevna (Born : April 22, 2003 ). SInce 2014, Andrey Bolotov has Cypriot citizenship.
In 1973, Nikolay Tokarev graduated from Karaganda Polytechnic Institute (KarPI) (Russian: Карагандинский политехнический институт (КарПИ)) with a degree in Electrification and Automation of Mining Works.
During a two-year period from 1978, Tokarev pursued his education at the Moscow Higher School of the KGB, concurrently with Sergei Naryshkin, who was enrolled in the French section of the institution. Coincidentally, Vladimir Putin, another KGB student, resided across the corridor from Naryshkin during this time. In 1980, Tokarev successfully completed his training at the eighth faculty of the Higher School of the KGB.
Nikolay Tokarev: A KGB Officer with Ties to Putin and Chemezov
Nikolay Tokarev, a former KGB officer, served in Dresden, East Germany, during the 1980s. His phone number was listed in the Stasi phone book under the alias “Major Tokarew,” and it was the same number as the one listed for “Hptm. Tschemesow,” believed to be Sergei Chemezov.
In Dresden, Nikolay Tokarev met and formed an alliance with fellow KGB officers Vladimir Putin and Sergey Chemezov, who were under the supervision of KGB boss Lazar Matveev. When Putin arrived in Dresden in 1985, Tokarev, having arrived two years earlier in 1983, was considered a senior comrade and took Putin under his wing. Their relationship developed into a close friendship.
While Vladimir Putin returned to Leningrad in 1990, Nikolay Tokarev remained in Germany for another year. He was transferred to Berlin to “monitor the behavior of employees,” suggesting a continuation of his intelligence duties.
From 1993 to 1996, Tokarev shifted his focus to business, heading the department of external relations at the Russian-German Leasing Company, a subsidiary of Sberbank. This move marked a transition from his KGB career to the corporate world.
Between 1996 and 1999, Nikolay Tokarev worked for the state Presidential Property Management Department, where Putin served as deputy chief in 1996 and 1997. This shared professional experience further solidified their connection.
Nikolay Tokarev’s Leadership in the Oil Industry
Following his stint at the Russian-German Leasing Company, Nikolay Tokarev embarked on a successful career in the Russian oil industry. From 2000 to 2007, he served as the President of Zarubezhneft, a state-owned oil company with a global presence. Zarubezhneft was a state firm involved in oil exploration and production abroad .During his tenure, Tokarev oversaw the company’s expansion into new markets and its growing production capacity. Zarubezhneft is a major state-owned oil company with a global presence. Tokarev played a significant role in expanding Zarubezhneft’s operations and production.
Nikolay Tokarev’s Ascent to the Helm of Transneft
In 2007, Nikolay Tokarev’s career trajectory took a remarkable turn as he assumed the position of President of Transneft, the world’s largest oil transport company by pipeline volume. This appointment marked a pivotal moment for Tokarev, placing him at the forefront of the Russian energy sector.
Nikolay Tokarev served at Transneft from 1999 to 2000 in the foreign economic block and foreign projects department before heading Zarubezhneft.
He has since overseen Russia’s largest oil supply and transport deal with China and continues to conduct high-profile pipeline negotiations with Turkey, Bulgaria and other European countries as Russia moves to build alternative supply routes.
Nikolay Tokarev said that Transneft plans to pump 463 mln tons of oil through its system in 2023, as well as export 42 mln tons of oil from the Far Eastern port of Kozmino.
Achievements Of Nikolay Tokarev
- Order of Honour (2001)
- Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 4th Class (2006)
- Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 3rd Class (2010)
- Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” 2nd Class (2013)
- Order of Friendship of the people
- Degree medal “For Merits in Fuel and Energy Complex Development” I
- “Honourable oil industry worker of Russia”
- “Honorary worker of fuel and energy complex”
Nikolay Tokarev Controversies
A 2004 UN report by Paul Walker’s commission investigating fraud in the UN Oil for Food program revealed that companies owned by Putin’s allies, Gennady Timchenko’s Gunvor and Zarubezhneft under the leadership of Nikolay Tokarev, had engaged with Saddam Hussein’s regime. The report indicated that these companies were involved in the sale of oil worth approximately $500 million.
In November 2010, Aleksey Navalny, a minority shareholder in Transneft, released an investigation alleging unjustified expenditures of $10 billion by the company during the construction of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline. Tokarev attributed Navalny’s actions to an “information campaign” against Transneft. Navalny requested that Tokarev provide copies of the minutes of the Board of Directors’ meetings to verify some of his claims, and the court upheld his right as a minority shareholder to do so. However, in a May 2011 interview with the Izvestia newspaper, Tokarev stated, “We are not providing anything to the crooks and are not going to do it.”
According to some experts, Transneft is used to finance the business of the Summa Group, controlled by the Dagestan oligarch, and, as it is believed, the “wallet” of Dmitry Medvedev, Ziyavudin Magomedov.
Between 2014 and 2016, Transneft incurred significant losses, primarily due to unfavorable derivatives trading and investments in the banks Vneshprombank and Interkommerts Bank. These losses totaled over 80 billion rubles and 19 billion rubles, respectively. Additionally, in 2014 and 2015, the company’s overall losses amounted to over 100 billion rubles, surpassing the total dividends paid throughout its history by a substantial margin.
A 2016 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) uncovered extensive connections between companies owned by relatives and associates of Transneft’s CEO and enterprises that provide services to the state-owned company. Notably, Tokarev’s daughter, Maya Bolotova, who applied for Cypriot citizenship in 2014, listed her Cypriot address as the office of Ronin Europe, a subsidiary of the Ronin Group specializing in trust capital management and collaborating with Transneft’s pension fund. In 2015 alone, Ronin Europe managed 64 billion rubles, with Russian state-owned companies, including Transneft, serving as the primary source of these funds. Additionally, members of the Tokarev family own valuable properties in Croatia and Latvia, which have not been declared as required by law.
The consequences of Tokarev’s actions, along with those of other Putin allies in the management of state-owned companies, have been squandered opportunities and billions of dollars diverted from the Russian people. This wealth has made its way into offshore tax havens, opulent real estate in the Mediterranean, and funded the clandestine operations of intelligence and security agencies both within Russia and abroad. It is crucial to acknowledge that dismantling the KGB’s grip and holding the current regime accountable will pave the way for genuine, not just rhetorical, economic growth, enhanced prosperity, and improved living standards for millions of Russians, as well as bringing peace and stability to Europe.
