The domestic partner of Russian President Vladimir Putin's elder daughter was named head of a pipeline company set to service a Kremlin-connected tycoon's ambitious liquefied natural gas (LNG) project just months after Putin himself publicly backed the initiative, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit has found.
The investigative unit, Systema, found that Yevgeny Nagorny, who has a child with Putin's daughter Maria Vorontsova, in December 2023 became general director of a subsidiary of the private energy company Novatek that appears set to play a key role in a major LNG project in Russia's north.
Novatek is owned by Russian gas magnate Leonid Mikhelson, who has pushed for development of the project, called Murmansk LNG, which is slated to have an annual capacity of 20.4 million tons and whose development had faced resistance from state energy giant Gazprom.
Gas for the project is to be transported by Murmansk-Transgaz, the Novatek subsidiary that Nagorny was tapped to lead in December 2023. His appointment came just three months after Putin expressed support for the LNG project, which is currently in the EU's crosshairs as a potential sanctions target.
Previous investigations by RFE/RL and other media outlets have revealed how Putin's daughters and their spouses have landed lucrative contracts and jobs linked to the energy sector and Putin's own inner circle.
A 2022 investigation by Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, and Meduza found that Nagorny had traveled the world with Vorontsova and that the two had a child together in 2017, the year Nagorny joined Novatek.
A graduate of a Moscow theater school, Nagorny had previously worked for the Russian state arms conglomerate Rosoboroneksport and later as a senior specialist with EuroChem, a leading Russian producer of mineral fertilizers.
Leaked data from a Russian online food-delivery service shows that Maria Vorontsova also uses Nagorny's last name.
Mikhelson's long-term partner in Novatek was Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of Putin. Mikhelson has frequently lobbied Putin for decisions that would benefit Novatek, ranging from export access to special auction conditions.
Novatek is also a sponsor of the Acrobatic Rock and Roll All-Russian Federation, where Putin's younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, has held senior positions. The company also backs the Innopraktika Foundation, which Tikhonova heads, and Mikhelson sits on its board of trustees.
Help Wanted
News about Mikhelson's Murmansk LNG project first surfaced in the media in May 2023 amid significant challenges faced by Novatek.
Unlike Russian oil, Russian gas was not directly targeted by Western sanctions after Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But Novatek's business suffered significantly due to Western restrictions on access to its industrial resources and technology.
A key issue for Novatek was the Western ban on supplying powerful gas turbines to Russia crucial for LNG production, while a shortage of icebreakers due to Western sanctions also presented challenges for Mikhelson's gas business.
The Murmansk initiative was aimed at improving the outlook for Novatek, envisioning construction of an LNG plant using Novatek's own proprietary technology utilizing primarily Russian components. Instead of gas turbines, the plant is set to draw electricity from the Kola nuclear power plant, and icebreakers will be unnecessary because the Murmansk port does not freeze.
The only remaining obstacle was to finalize an agreement with Gazprom, which competes fiercely with Novatek for natural gas exports, even as it holds a 10 percent stake in Mikhelson's company.
Historically, Russian gas exports have been reserved for Gazprom, but Novatek -- together with state oil giant Rosneft -- has succeeded in getting the monopoly lifted for some projects.
Mikhelson wanted to bypass Gazprom to export the Murmansk gas and by using Novatek's gas for his plant, while Gazprom itself wanted to produce LNG in Murmansk.
Novatek needed Gazprom's approval to connect the Murmansk plant to Russia's Unified Gas Supply System, requiring the construction of a new gas pipeline.
The project's cost, estimated at up to $4.3 billion, would have been an additional burden for Gazprom, which was already facing losses due to a decline in gas exports.
The project, initially seen as Mikhelson's lifeline, seemed heavily reliant on Gazprom but offered little incentive for the gas giant. Despite this, Mikhelson remained resolute and did not abandon the plan.
And in September 2023, the billionaire received the public blessing for the project from Putin, whose daughter's domestic partner, Nagorny, would soon be tapped to work on the initiative.
Putin's Blessing
On September 4, 2023, Putin held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian resort city of Sochi, followed by a meeting on the Murmansk LNG project involving Mikhelson and senior officials. While details of the discussion were not made public, the broad conclusions of the meeting soon became clear.
Speaking at an economic forum the following week, Putin advocated for a pipeline agreement between Novatek and Gazprom, and Mikhelson announced the start of the pipeline construction the same day.
Novatek also signed an agreement to supply electricity for the plant. Despite Gazprom's objections, the State Duma, at Putin's request, permitted Mikhelson to independently sell gas from Murmansk.
Murmansk-Transgaz, which Novatek established in May 2023 and has been led by Nagorny since December 2023, will be responsible for transporting gas to the new plant and will assume construction of the pipeline, whose capacity has twice been revised by the Russian government.
Systema reached out to Nagorny for comment via the messaging app Telegram. While the app showed that the message had been read, Nagorny did not respond.
Novatek also did not respond to a request for comment.
Following a directive by Putin, meanwhile, the Russian government has included Murmansk LNG into its national energy strategy.
