Ilya Berdnikov, who previously worked at Russia’s Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo), has become CEO of Auchan Retail Russia. Berdnikov took up the post on Sept. 19 — two days after Vladimir Putin placed the French retailer’s Russian business under the temporary care of JSC L.E.V. Management.
As The Insider previously found, a week before the decree JSC L.E.V. was headed by former Ministry of Internal Affairs general Andrei Krayushkin, while the JSC itself was still listed among the ready-made shell companies available for purchase for 450,000 rubles ($5,340) — with the option to replace the CEO and complete the deal “same-day.”
The business outlet Kommersant reported Berdnikov’s appointment, citing Auchan’s press service. The previous CEO, Asya Balabai, will remain with the company as executive director.
Berdnikov held the post of executive director at Rosimushchestvo starting from December 2024, the paper writes, citing information from his social media accounts. Previously, he worked at the X5 retail group, the Georgian winemaker Askaneli, and the Canadian construction company Bothwell Accurate Co., and also developed the startup SolidRobots in Canada.
A Kommersant source in the retail market claims that previous CEO Balabai will in fact continue to run day-to-day operations, while Berdnikov will oversee the company. L.E.V. Management head Andrei Krayushkin, meanwhile, will manage the overall process without a formal job title at Auchan.
On Sept. 17, Putin placed the Russian assets of Auchan and Nestlé (along with those of several other companies) under the temporary authority of L.E.V. Management. The Insider found that L.E.V. Management was registered only in October 2024, with charter capital of 15,000 rubles ($178). In 2025 it had no revenue, posted a net loss of 15,000 rubles ($178), and had an average headcount of one employee.
On Sept. 10, one week before Putin’s decree, Andrei Krayushkin — the former first deputy head of Russia’s Main Directorate for Migration Affairs and a police major general — became CEO of L.E.V. Management.
After the assets were transferred, L.E.V. Management said it intended to keep Auchan operating as a single retail chain and to ensure that stores continued running without interruption. No leadership changes have yet been reported at the other companies placed under L.E.V.’s management. At Lemana PRO (formerly Leroy Merlin), the temporary administrator promised to preserve the existing management system and current senior leadership. Nestlé’s Russian division also continues to operate under executive director Denis Voityuk.
The mechanism for placing foreign assets under temporary management has been in effect in Russia since April 2023. Formally, the foreign owner retains ownership rights, but the structure appointed by Russian authorities receives broad powers to manage the assets. This scheme was previously applied to the Russian businesses of Danone and Carlsberg, which subsequently lost control of their companies in Russia.
