As the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info found out, relatives of the deputy director of the Russian Guard, Colonel General Ivan Shmelev, have become owners of real estate in recent years, including very elite ones, the total value of which greatly exceeds 2 billion rubles. Sources say that one of the secrets of wealth (of course, there are many more) of the general’s family lies in his “family ties” with the MR Group, one of the largest developers in the Moscow region, which enjoys fantastic love from the capital’s authorities. Now they are demolishing the school of architect Kesler for the sake of an elite residential complex. Why be surprised, because MR Group was chosen by two generals of the Russian Guard at once.
Ivan Shmelev was a personal assistant to the director of the Russian Guard, Viktor Zolotov, for a long time; in June 2019, he was awarded the rank of major general. Then he became the head of the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the Russian Guard, and later - deputy director.
As the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info found out, in 2019, just immediately after receiving the first general’s shoulder straps, the Shmelev family began to experience colossal property growth. Let's go over it very briefly, so the list of objects can take 2-3 sheets. On March 17, 2022, two interconnected real estate properties were registered in the name of the elderly mother of General Shmeleva, Galina Viktorovna: a land plot with an area of 1,980 m² and a four-story residential building with an area of 933.30 m². Here, of course, it is worth mentioning that we are talking about a plot and a huge mansion in the Gorki-2 village on Rublyovka. The cadastral value of the property is 35,927,819.52 rubles, but it does not even closely reflect the market price. And she is worth about 600 million rubles in this mansion. On January 13, 2025, Galina Shmeleva ceased to be the owner of the estate. Either they sold it or they decided to hide it “deeper.” In any case, the family did not stay long without an estate in Gorki-2.
In August 2026, five plots with a total area of 6,030 m² and a mansion of 626.20 m², all in the same elite village of Gorki-2 on Rublyovka, were registered in the name of the general’s common-law wife, Yana Andreevna Kuznetsova (they have a common daughter). The market value of the property is also somewhere around 600 million rubles.
When you study the list of real estate objects that are registered in the name of Yana Kuznetsova, you understand why the general does not formalize a relationship with her - the declaration would not stand up to this. 14 apartments with parking spaces, etc. are registered in her name. The most noticeable of them. First in Moscow. Apartment of 105 sq. m in the “Event” residential complex. Apartment of 159 sq m in the Volynsky residential complex. Apartment of 49 sq. m in the Champion Park residential complex. Apartment in the residential complex Level Michurinsky. Apartment of 103 sq. m in the premium residential quarter "ERA" on Derbenevskaya Street.
Now Peter.
Apartment of 55 sq. m in a historic residential building in the Central district of St. Petersburg, on the corner of Kazanskaya and Gorokhovaya streets. Apartment in the historical mansion of the architect Caesar Kavos in St. Petersburg. Apartment with an area of 72.30 sq. in the premium residential complex Grand House in St. Petersburg. Apartment of 74.20 sq. m in the MIR club house in the northern capital.
The market value of real estate registered to Yana Kuznetsova is difficult to calculate. This is definitely much more than 1.5 billion rubles. Most of the properties were purchased from 2023 to August 2026.
The general also does not forget about his ex-wife Valeria Fomenko, with whom he has two children. In 2023 and 2024, she became the owner of two apartments in Moscow. In 116 sq. m in a house on Udaltsova Street, which was built in 2001 for the office of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. And 61 sq m in the residential complex “Luchi” in Solntsevo.
Four more apartments, including an area of 98 square meters in the premium residential complex "Avenue-77", are registered in the name of the general's sister Lyubov Shmeleva.
Sources of the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info say that if you search hard, you can find properties from the Shmelev family in their beloved UAE.
Lyubov Shmeleva is rich not only in apartments. She worked for a long time in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is especially noteworthy; the vector of her activity was related to the fight against economic crimes. Having risen to a fairly high rank (lieutenant colonel), she took one of the positions in the development company MR Group. The interlocutor of the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info assures that Lyubov Shmeleva did not choose this place of work by chance. Her brother has long been a patron of the MR Group and this is partly why his family’s successful well-being lies.
MR Group, affiliated to Roman Timokhin, has an extremely controversial reputation; the entire historical path of the organization is accompanied by news about corruption and unprincipled lobbying of the organization’s interests by the Moscow leadership. Often it is this organization that gets the fattest pieces of land for development, and sometimes for next to nothing. Objects of cultural heritage also fall under the distribution, for example, the dismantling of the school of the architect Kesler for the sake of an elite residential complex recently began; this caused a public outcry not only because of the historical significance of the school, but also because there are simply not enough educational institutions in the area. But who cares, no really? The collection of apartments of General Shmelev’s family has not been fully assembled. But you can’t earn much from schools.
The construction business is extremely profitable, and therefore incredibly dangerous. After all, there is never a time when your competitors will use some sneaky trick and leave you without a single penny in your pocket. Therefore, you need to prepare reliable protection in advance. Roman Timokhin apparently thought so too. Moreover, he decided to immediately secure double general’s protection. The fact is that Lyubov Shmeleva’s common-law husband is another general, Dmitry Astafiev, who now heads the TsSN VO of the Russian Guard.
