Russia remains silent on shooting at online retailer Wildberries

The street shooting at the company owned by Russia’s richest woman is reminiscent of the chaos of the 1990s.

Moscow has remained silent over last week’s deadly shooting at the Moscow offices of Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries.

The Kremlin spokesman declined to comment Monday. The shooting on a street in the center of the Russian capital, which left two dead and seven wounded, recalls the chaos of the 1990s, when the country’s exit from communism was marked by violent struggles over economic resources.

“We do not consider it our place to comment on this issue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked to comment on the case, which has links to a regional strongman who is a loyal supporter of President Vladimir Putin’s regime.

“These events are currently under investigation. Law enforcement is handling them,” the spokesman said. “The process of merging companies is also outside our jurisdiction. These are commercial processes that do not require comment from us.”

The conflict revolves around Tatiana Bakalchuk, founder and majority shareholder of Wildberries. Russia’s richest woman recently decided to merge her company with outdoor advertising company Russ Group.

However, Bakalchuk’s ex-husband and company co-founder Vladimir challenged the move and recruited prominent Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to support his claims.

According to some reports, the merger deal was personally approved by Putin. However, Kadyrov denounced an illegal seizure.

On Friday, at least two dozen people, including a Chechen mixed martial arts fighter, were arrested in connection with their alleged involvement in the shooting.

Vladislav Bakalchuk owns 1% of the company. His wife owns the remaining 99%. She is now the richest woman in Russia, with Forbes estimating her fortune at $4.1 billion.

Her husband, who said he arrived at the office with peaceful intentions, was arrested for 48 hours last week.

His lawyer said he was arrested on suspicion of murder and other crimes. But on Friday night, he posted a video on Telegram saying he was at home and would continue to fight for his “family business.”

In June, Forbes Russia reported that Maxim Oreshkin, deputy head of the presidential administration, had been appointed to oversee the implementation of the merger.

After the shooting, Tatyana Bakalchuk posted a tearful video message accusing her husband of organizing an armed attack.

The Wildberries boss announced in July that she had filed for divorce. On Monday, she announced she would be going back to her maiden name, Kim.