Albert Alikovich Avdolyan (born November 8, 1970) is a Russian investor, businessman and philanthropist. Founder of

Yota Yota () is a Russian mobile virtual network operator. Formerly, Yota was a Russian mobile phone brand and mobile broadband manufacturer. Yota was a trademark of Skartel LLC. Yota later suffered bankruptcy due to a lawsuit. Garsdale Services I ...

company, which became the first LTE operator in Russia. Core assets: A-Property Company, ELSI, “New Home” Fund, Yakut Fuel and Energy Company.

Business and investments

Establishment of Yota

In 2007 Albert Avdolyan, together with Sergey Adoniev, co-owner of Telconet Capital Fund, established

Scartel Yota () is a Russian mobile virtual network operator. Formerly, Yota was a Russian mobile phone brand and mobile broadband manufacturer. Yota was a trademark of Skartel LLC. Yota later suffered bankruptcy due to a lawsuit. Garsdale Services I ...

Telecommunications Company. In 2008 the company was the first in Russia to launch wireless Internet access using

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

technology under Yota brand. The network was deployed in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. In 2009 Yota became available in

Ufa Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. In 2011 the company became the first LTE operator in Russia. In 2012 Megafon and Skartel formed Garsdale Services Holding. In 2013 Albert Avdolyan and Sergey Adoniev withdrew from the capital of Garsdale by selling their own shares to the Holding (Telconet Capital Fund owned 13.5% of Garsdale shares)^.

Hydrometallurgical Plant

In the fall of 2018 Albert Avdolyan entered the capital of a group of enterprises for the production of mineral fertilizers and ligatures (including the Hydrometallurgical Plant, Southern Energy Company and Intermix Met), which is located in the city of Lermontov, Stavropol Territory. In 2017 the Hydrometallurgical Plant suspended its work due to the debts of the previous owners. In 2018 a new investor restructured the debts of the enterprise and repaid wage arrears to the plant’s staff. The plant was restarted on November 14, 2018. The enterprise carried out modernization^] and increased annual revenue. Subsequently, the group of enterprises was named Almaz Group. The hydrometallurgical plant was named Almaz Fertilizers, Southern Energy Company was renamed Almaz Energo, and Intermix Met became Almaz Tech. In 2022 Albret Avdolyan left the fertilizer business, selling it to Almaz Group management. According to the businessman, over the three years since the restructuring of unique enterprises has been completed, nothing threatens them. This was the reason to sell the asset.

Yakut Fuel and Energy Company

In 2019 Albert Avdolyan’s A-Property entity became the owner of Yakut Fuel and Energy Company (YATEC), which was controlled by

Ziyavudin Magomedov Ziyavudin Gadzhievich Magomedov (, born 1968) is a former Russian oligarch whose rapid rise in wealth between 2008 and 2010, followed by his sudden arrest in 2018, has been widely linked to the rise and fall of the so-called "Medvedev clan". ...

. In 2018 Yakut Fuel and Energy Company began to experience financial difficulties. The company’s total debt as of October 2018 amounted to RUB 14 billion with EBITDA of RUB 3 billion^. On January 16, 2019 the Arbitration Court of Yakutia introduced a monitoring procedure for the company for a period of four months, until mid-May. In September 2019 the Board of Directors of YATEC approved an agreement on the assignment of the company in favour of A-Property¹ Today, the company is safe from bankruptcy, and A-Property is the majority shareholder, which owns 20.16% of the ordinary shares of YATEC, PJSC. The new management of YATEC announced plans to invest more than RUB 4.7 billion in industrial safety, ecology, maintenance and repair work and renovation of gas production infrastructure^. Today, the company’s shares are traded on the

Moscow Exchange The Moscow Exchange (MOEX; , ) is the largest exchange in Russia, operating trading markets in equities, bonds, derivatives, the foreign exchange market, money markets, and precious metals. The Moscow Exchange also operates Russia's central secur ...

, and the company’s capitalization exceeds RUB 100 billion.

Elga Coal Deposit

In early 2020 Albert Avdolyan, representing his A-Property Company, acquired 51% of shares in Elgaugol, LLC, Elga-Doroga, LLC and Mechel-Trans-Vostok LLC, from

Mechel Mechel () is one of Russia's mining and metals companies, comprising producers of coal, iron ore in concentrate, steel, rolled steel products. Headquartered in Moscow, it sells its products in Russia and overseas, and is formally known as ''Public ...

, PJSC. These companies are the operators of the Elga coal deposit, one of the largest

coking coal Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stoves ...

deposits in Russia, which is located in the southeastern part of

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...

. As soon as the debt remaining from the previous owner to the VEB RF was repaid, the team of Albert Avdolyan began to implement an investment program that provides for an increase in coal mining by nine times, and processing by ten times, as well as expanding the carrying capacity of the Elga-Ulak railway. In December 2020 A-Property exercised an option to purchase 49% of the Elga project from

Gazprombank Gazprombank (), or GPB (JSC), is a private-owned Russian bank, the third largest bank in the country by assets. Since November 2014, Nikolai Shamalov#Yuri Shamalov, Yuri Shamalov's Gazfond is its largest shareholder. Gazprombank is one of the m ...

and became the owner of 100% of the assets of the Elga coal complex.

ELSI Coal Company

In July 2022 A-Property Development of Albert Avdolyan completed the consolidation of the shares of Sibanthracite group. In August 2022 A-Property announced the merger of coal asset management into a single company Elga-Sibanthracite Management Company, LLC (ELSI). This new company Elga-Sibanthracite Management Company, LLC entered the top three Russian coal mining companies in terms of coal mining and transportation. ELSI’s assets are located in the

Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Sakha may refer to: * Sakha Republic, a federal subject of Russia * Sakha language, or Yakut, a Turkic language * Sakha people, also Yakuts, a Turkic people * Sakha scripts, writing systems for the Sakha language * Sakha, Egypt, a town also known ...

, the

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

and Primorsk Krai,

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka River, Iskitimka and Tom ...

and

Amur The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer Manchuria, Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ...

Oblasts. The Elga Coal Complex in the

is a group of companies that extract, process, transport and sell

. The company assets in

and

Oblasts include Razrez Kolyvansky, JSC, Razrez Vostochny, LLC, Razrez Kiyzassky, LLC and Razrez Verkhneteshsky, LLC. In

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

there is the largest deposit of the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

- the Ogodzhinskoye deposit. Port Vera is located in the Primorsk Krai. The projects owned by the company in the

include Port Vera and the Pacific Railway.

Pacific Railway

The Pacific Railway (PR) is an infrastructure megaproject o
ELSI coal company
The railway line will pass through the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Khabarovsk Territory. It will connect the Elga coal deposit with the Port Elga offshore coal terminal near Cape Manorsky on the coast of the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

. The length of the PR will be 531 km. Within the framework of the project, 1 intermediate depot and 18 rail junctions will be built. Taking into account the rail junctions and depots, the “track miles” of the railway track will be 626 km. This is a record value for private railways in the Russian Federation. The railway facilities are expected to be put into operation in 2026. The company currently supplies coal to customers via its own Elga-Ulak railway line, which links the deposit with the Baikal-Amur Mainline. As a result of its modernization in 2022, the length of this railway artery has grown to 386 km, and the throughput capacity has increased fivefold. After the construction of the PR and the completion of other ELSI infrastructure facilities in the Khabarovsk Krai, the total length of the railway owned by the company will be about 1,200 km. The daily traffic on the PR will be 18 pairs of freight trains, the freight traffic will be provided by a rolling stock of 15 locomotives and 1.2 thousand wagons. Investments in the creation of the Pacific Railway are estimated at RUB 146.6 billion. The project is implemented at the investor’ own cost and expense. The PR facilities are constructed in difficult climatic conditions and at a great distance from settlements. The implementation of such project is comparable to the start of construction of such facilities as the BAM or the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

Wealth

In 2024 he ranked 1143rd among the world's billionaires.

Charity

In 2013 Albert Avdolyan founded a Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Disabled Children, Orphans and the Seriously Ill Childre
“New Home”
with the aim of building an educational complex with a village for foster families �
Point of the Future
�� in

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

. “Point of the Future” will be the first multifunctional educational complex in Russia for orphans and disabled children. The “Point of the Future” includes a comprehensive secondary school for a thousand students, a centre for social and psychological support, a settlement for families with foster children and a kindergarten. Accommodation in the village and schooling are free. 10 cottages have been built by August 2020. The project worth RUB 6 billion is a personal initiative of the founder of “New Home” Fund, Albert Avdolyan, which was supported by the head of the fund’s board of trustees

Sergey Chemezov Sergey Viktorovich Chemezov (; born 20 August 1952) is a Russian oligarch and politician who served as CEO of Rostec Corporation, a state-owned defense conglomerate. A former KGB agent and high-ranking general, Chemezov befriended Vladimir Puti ...

(head of the state corporation

Rostec Rostec, formally trading as State Corporation "Rostec", fully the State Corporation for the Promotion of the Development, Manufacture, and Export of High Tech Products "Rostec" and formerly Rostekhnologii, is a Russian State corporation (Russia), ...

). In 2022, the construction of the second educational complex of the “Point of the Future” in the

began under the guidance of “New Home” Fund. The first pile into the foundation of the educational complex was solemnly driven on October 11, 2022. Other charitable initiatives of Albert Avdolyan include the largest private contribution to the fund to help flood victims in Krymsk, assistance to flood victims in

, repayment of loans of 78-year-old local historian Svetlana Pshennikova for the publication of a book about fellow countrymen who died in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

Personal life

Albert Avdolyan is married and has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avdolyan, Albert 1970 births Living people Russian technology company founders Russian philanthropists 21st-century Russian businesspeople Businesspeople in telecommunications Russian energy industry businesspeople Russian investors