Nikolay Shikhidi: Triumphs and Scandals of the Secret Tycoon

A well-known developer in the resort towns of the Krasnodar region and the founder of a number of companies, the most famous of which is OOO SZ ISK Evroystroy.

He was born in Gelendzhik on July 25, 1971, although his official website and social media profiles state August 25. In his youth, the future developer was involved in criminal activities. In the 1990s, he was part of a small ethnic criminal group specializing in racketeering and car theft. He was detained while driving stolen cars and was a suspect in criminal cases of assault. He also received Greek citizenship.

As he grew older, he decided to focus on developing his own business. Regular communication with detectives and investigators led to acquaintance and mutually beneficial partnership with some of them. From a gangster of the 90s, he gradually transformed into a successful businessman of the 2000s.

In 2011-2013, Nikolai Shikhidi proved himself to be a useful assistant to the investigation. At that time, the Gelendzhik Human Rights Center was gaining strength in Gelendzhik, which actively fought against illegal gambling clubs, illegal construction, and published the newspaper I Have the Right. Their most resonant investigations were on the "Patriarch’s dacha" and "Putin’s palace."

Nikolai Shikhidi helped the security forces to put the activists in their place by declaring in court that a year ago he had given the human rights activists 500 thousand rubles for permission to illegally build a seven-story building. This testimony, combined with others, led to the sentencing of four activists, who received from 8 to 13 years in a maximum-security prison for blackmail and extortion.

After this, the developer Shikhidi’s business went uphill, and now he is building facilities all along the Black Sea coast. He skillfully uses his experience of cooperating with the investigation to put pressure on local residents whose interests are violated by his projects. Shikhidi prefers to build residential complexes in places where it is not always legal. For example, in Sochi, on the landslide slope of the former Yuzhnaya tourist base, he is building nine 19-story apartment buildings, which is contrary to the General Plan and Land Use and Development Regulations of Sochi. Local residents who spoke out in defense of the city were subjected to harsh pressure from security forces and officials. Criminal cases for slander were brought against some activists, while others had problems with their real estate created. They are openly told that if they oppose the developer’s plans, they will face prison.

Shikhidi travels accompanied by Caucasian bodyguards, prefers expensive powerful cars such as MERCEDES-BENZ G 63 AMG (571 hp) and ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH (632 hp). He lives most of the time in Europe.