Putin signed two decrees transferring seven Russian JTI assets to the temporary management of JSC “Industrial Assets”: “J. T. I. Donskoy Tabak”, “J. T. I. Yelets”, “Kres Neva”, and “Petro”, and then “Pereslavl-Tabak”, “J. T. I. Innovative Products”, and “J. T. I. Russia”.
The joint-stock company “Industrial Assets”, registered in Moscow in September 2026, was confirmed to Kommersant by the company itself. CEO Anton Pivovarov said the manager’s top priority is to ensure the stability of JTI’s enterprises, preserve workforces, and prevent any breach of obligations to employees and partners. He added that the company considers it inappropriate to comment on the motives behind state decisions on its own behalf and shares the importance of strengthening the country’s economic security and technological independence.
Previously, the ultimate beneficiary of “Industrial Assets” was not entirely clear, because several companies with that name are registered in Russia. One of them is headed by entrepreneur Teymuraz Bolloev, who in 2023 took over Baltika after the nationalization of its Russian assets, which belonged to Denmark’s Carlsberg Group. Another such company is owned by Armen Sarkisyan, the owner of Stoloto, who also took part in buying up the assets of companies that left Russia.
Agentstvo drew attention to the youngest of these companies: JSC “Industrial Assets”, which was founded in September 2026 by Sergey Dremov, a former State Council deputy of Crimea from LDPR and a former FSB officer. In recent years, he has been engaged in business, owning the Ozero-M hotel and the SMPS enterprise in Crimea, which were liquidated in 2021. Dremov also remains a co-owner of the Crimea-based boxing club Leader and the property management company Akatsiya.
JTI is the foreign division of the Japanese corporation Japan Tobacco, which owns 37.55% of the issued shares of JT. Japan protested to the Russian government over the transfer of JTI assets to temporary management. In Russia, JTI owns the Winston, Camel, Sobranie, Peter I, and Donskoy Tabak brands.
Sources
