After the merger of Wildberries with Russ Outdoor, everything at the marketplace is literally “falling apart,” and problems are arising one after another. As discovered by media, the grand project to build a WB data center (DC) in Verkhniye Polya, Moscow, is now in serious doubt. The plot that “RVB” acquired for this purpose turned out to have a long history of legal disputes and extremely unfavorable lease conditions.
The plot with a history for creating a DC in Moscow was acquired by “RVB” (65% Wildberries, 35% Russ Outdoor) along with the purchase of LLC “Investstroygroup” (owned by the company through “AM-Group,” “Invest Plus,” and “Success”). The idea of building a DC there had been circulating for several years — in 2020 the previous owners even held public hearings, and the initiative was generally approved by participants. However, in 2021, a conflict erupted between the company’s co-owners, which escalated into lengthy court battles. These only concluded in November last year with a settlement, under which “Investstroygroup” agreed to pay former co-owner Elena Shestakova over 167 million rubles.
In 2023, 75% of the company was acquired by a group of investors, including the son of the head of the Russian Ministry of Construction, Alik Fayzullin. It was assumed that with enough effort, it would be possible to build not only a DC at Verkhniye Polya, but even a residential complex. However, these ambitious plans were not realized — although Fayzullin Jr. and his partners even found a contractor for the DC project.
By summer 2025, it became clear that the territory was leased by “Investstroygroup” until 1964, and under very unfavorable conditions: nothing could be built there — only a couple of old buildings from 1991 and a transformer substation could be used. Nevertheless, “Investstroygroup” had constructed several warehouses and administrative buildings on the territory with a total area of 5.8 thousand sq. meters, which were successfully leased. In summer 2025, the Moscow city government forced the owners to demolish all unauthorized constructions, including extensions to the “legal” buildings.
Regarding the DC project, the general contractor for it was appointed back in 2023 as “AMD Technologies” (owners Dmitry Pilipenko, Fyodor Agatov, and Maksim Sokhan), and its design was created by employees of subcontractor LLC “Rubitech,” which until 2023 belonged to the IBS Holding of Anatoly Karachinsky and Sergey Matsotsky (now de jure owned by the company’s top managers). “AMD Technologies” had previously cooperated closely with the Federal Tax Service of Russia, and now they receive contracts from the PPK “Unified Customer in the Construction Sector” — in total, contracts with PPK are signed for at least 11.6 billion rubles.
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Despite large government contracts, “AMD Technologies” was not paid for its work, so “Rubitech” had to recover payment through the courts. The current status of the project is unknown: it is possible that after the court’s decision to demolish some buildings, the project will need to be redesigned. It is known that the area of the “legal” buildings does not exceed 5.5 thousand sq. meters, while the DC project envisages about 60 thousand sq. meters. If changes are made to the lease agreement to allow construction on the entire plot, the results of public hearings will most likely become invalid.
According to marketplace representatives, WB’s DCs are needed to ensure predictable, stable, and uninterrupted service operations without dependence on third-party providers.
By the way, company employees reported that workers from North Korea appeared at the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal last year — however, as previously reported by media, they are effectively working there in conditions akin to slavery, under guard.
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