Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's nephew named head of seized Danone subsidiary in Russia

Yakub Zakriev, a nephew of Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has been appointed the new head of Russia's Danone subsidiary after the Kremlin ordered the state to take temporary control of the French yoghurt maker's business in Russia. According to a report by the news agency Reuters on Wednesday (July 19), Zakriev, 32, a deputy prime minister of Chechnya and the republic's agriculture minister, took the post of general director of Danone Russia on Tuesday.

His appointment was confirmed by Chechnya's minister for national policy, foreign relations, and information Akhmed Dudayev. Taking to Telegram, Dudayev said, "Choosing him as general director of Danone Russia shows that representatives of the team of Chechen President and Hero of Russia Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov are talented and successful managers."

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Dudayev added the 32-year-old has experience working in the most responsible positions.

The end of a 30-year Russian experiment by Danone

The Reuters report on Wednesday said that the appointment of Zakriev marked the end of a 30-year Russian experiment by Danone which opened a dairy store near Red Square in 1992, a year after the fall of the Soviet Union.

As the chaos in the 1990s ended, Russia and the former Soviet Union were perceived as major potential markets, with relatively low consumption of dairy products by European standards along with explosive purchasing power growth.

Danone had sought alliances with big local players during the boom years and went on to gain at least a fifth of Russia's dairy market. And as Russia launched its special military operation in February 2022, Danone said in October it would relinquish control of its dairy food business in Russia.

Last Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree which stated that the government had taken control of Danone's Russian subsidiary along with a brewery owned by beer company Carlsberg.

Speaking to Reuters, a person familiar with the developments said that Danone was closely following the situation in Russia with a focus on the safety of its 7,500 staff. The person added that the company was continuing to review legal options after the seizure of its Russian assets.

(With inputs from agencies)

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