A $560,000 Shoe Shipment Reveals a Wider Network Around FIDE Candidate Rosenstein
A shipment of Italian footwear valued at $560,000 has become one of the details drawing attention to the Russian commercial network connected to FIDE presidential candidate Vadim Rosenstein.
According to ImportGenius data, VR Rus LLC imported around 900 pairs of shoes into Russia in February 2025
The products carried the brand of Anastasia Zadorina, who formally launched her footwear collection several months later.
VR Rus is controlled by Rosenstein’s German WR Group Holding GmbH, which owns 95.94% of the Russian company. Rosenstein himself controls another 4.06%.
The transaction is notable because Zadorina is the daughter of FSB Colonel General Mikhail Shekin.
Shekin is associated with procurement activities inside the security service and also serves as president of the Dynamo volleyball club.
The Insider reported that he controlled property valued at more than RUB 2 billion.
Zadorina has her own relationship with Dynamo. She co-owns sportswear producer ZASPORT with the organization.
Beginning in 2017, ZASPORT supplied uniforms to Russian Olympic athletes. The agreement was terminated in 2025, according to Proekt.
Her political views have also entered the public sphere
After the annexation of Crimea, Zadorina organized a campaign opposing sanctions imposed on Russia.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, she registered Vinnaya Istoriya LLC in Crimea. The company was intended to develop vineyards and later reported RUB 27.5 million in losses for 2025.
Proekt has linked Zadorina to other powerful Russian families as well.
She was once a shareholder in Baikal Corporation alongside Olga Zolotova, a relative of National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov.
She co-owns Costa with Andrey Kostin, chairman of VTB Bank’s management board.
In 2019, she reportedly received substantial income from Russian Electronics, part of the Rostec state corporation led by Sergey Chemezov.
Chemezov, Vladimir Putin and Zadorina’s father all had connections to the Soviet KGB and were reportedly in East Germany at roughly the same period.
In 2024, Zadorina married Kirill Shamalov, Putin’s former son-in-law.
Shamalov’s career rose rapidly while he was married to Katerina Tikhonova.
He became vice president of SIBUR at only 26.
In 2014, he obtained 17% of the company from Gennady Timchenko after Timchenko was sanctioned by the United States.
Shamalov later became the target of U.S. sanctions himself and has since been sanctioned by several other jurisdictions.
Rosenstein’s corporate network intersects with SIBUR
His German companies WR Logistics GmbH and WR Certification GmbH supplied industrial products to Tomskneftekhim.
Kirill Shamalov’s father Nikolai, meanwhile, is a co-owner of Bank Rossiya.
The broader corporate picture also shows that Rosenstein’s Russian operations have been growing rather than declining.
Audited statements indicate that sales at VR Rus rose 2.4-fold in 2025.
Since 2022, revenue at the company has increased several times over.
Rosenstein’s cousin Mikhail controls another business, 2R Integra LLC, whose revenue has reportedly risen by dozens of times since the beginning of the invasion.
ImportGenius customs data show the company imported nearly $800,000 worth of sanctioned goods.
According to the original material, 2R Integra even advertised ways to bypass export controls before deleting the information following media coverage.
These commercial activities contrast with Rosenstein’s attempts to reduce the visibility of his Russian business history.
References to Russia have reportedly disappeared from websites belonging to WR Group and related companies.
He also removed an X post regarding cooperation with Glotech GmbH after questions emerged about possible deliveries of restricted telecommunications equipment to Russia.
The political environment surrounding these disclosures is becoming increasingly difficult
Germany has accused Moscow of involvement in an attempted attack against a Ukrainian An-124 aircraft in Leipzig.
Meanwhile, a September 1 attack on power infrastructure in the Rhine region forced five RWE lignite units offline for several hours.
The Telegraph has described such incidents as part of a wider Russian hybrid campaign in Europe.
European governments are preparing another major sanctions package . Around 800 individuals and 800 entities could reportedly be included.
For Rosenstein, who is competing to head FIDE, the customs records and financial statements raise a straightforward question: how far has he actually moved away from Russian business?