Lukashenko’s “money bag” delivers Putin’s wines to Belarus
In 2024, the company Vinnyi Dom brought more than 11,000 bottles from Putin’s wineries to Belarus. It is linked to Sergei Teterin, a businessman close to Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The deliveries included the white wines “Azyur” and “Solnechny Vecher”, as well as the red wines “Arena” and “Vechernitsa”. The Krinitsa and Usadba Divnomorskoye wineries produce these wines. Both wineries are associated with the Russian leader and are located near the famous “Putin’s Palace” in Gelendzhik.
The company Vinnyi Dom, which brought wine to Belarus, was founded in December 2020. It supplies foreign spirits (such as the popular German brand Jägermeister).
Vinnyi Dom is 75% owned by Yauhen Liventsau, a director of the Teterin-owned BelPakSnab company. Biarkom, which is also linked to Teterin’s business partners, holds the remaining 25%.
Yulia Sannikava heads the company. She was a former employee of BelGlobalGarant, another Teterin company.
A letter in Buro’s possession also proves the connection between Sergei Teterin and the Vinnyi Dom company. In it, Sergei Teterin appeals to the head of the Minsk City Executive Committee, Uladzimir Kukharau, to take “action” regarding the company.
The letter is dated 04.01.2021. Eight days later – on 12.01.2021 – the Minsk City Executive Committee granted Vinnyi Dom a licence for “wholesale trade and storage of alcoholic products, non-food alcoholic products, non-food ethyl alcohol and tobacco products”.
Putin’s wine, produced at Usadba Divnomorskoye, has been served to Aleksandr Lukashenko several times during his meetings with the Russian dictator. It first appeared on the two autocrats’ menu at a 2019 gala dinner at Putin’s official residence, Bocharov Ruchey. After that, the wines of Usadba Divnomorskoye were reportedly served in the meetings between Putin and Lukashenko, at least in the years 2022 and 2024.
Teterin is not the first Belarusian businessman to decide to import “Putin’s wines” into the country. Previously, the wines were supplied by Tadeum, a company owned by Yury Chyzh’s son Uladzimir. He brought about a thousand bottles from Usadba Divnomorskoye to Belarus in 2020 and 2021. However, demand was low, and the price was too high, so the wine ended up in the premium range. It was sold in Minsk wine shops at about 80 Belarusian rubles per bottle in 2020-2021.
Russian investigative journalists have repeatedly reported links between the Krinitsa and Usadba Divnomorskoye wineries and Putin and his entourage.
In 2023, the Russian publication The Insider mentioned that the assets of these two wineries were valued at 17 billion Russian rubles (about 184 million euros at the time).