Deceased businessman Artur Nikitin's heirs sue over estate division

Two sons of late Chelyabinsk businessman Artur Nikitin have filed lawsuits against the family company. One demands 159 million rubles (approx. $2.12 million at current rates) while the other challenges loan deals worth 122.3 million rubles (approx. $1.63 million).

Feb 14, 2026

The legal battle involves claims and counterclaims over company shares and loans within the late businessman«s family.
Source:
Ilya Barkhatov, Natalya Laptsevich

The heirs of prominent Chelyabinsk businessman Artur Nikitin, who died in 2023, have taken their dispute to court. The case involves hundreds of millions of rubles. The relatives are contesting a general meeting decision of the company «Stroysvyazural 1» and the issuance of loans, while also demanding payment of their share in the family business. Details of the new saga concerning the division of assets among wealthy Chelyabinsk residents are in this report by 74.RU.

On New Year«s Eve, December 30, former director and co-owner of Stroysvyazural 1 LLC, Artem Nikitin, filed a lawsuit to recover 159.3 million rubles (approx. $2.12 million at current rates) from the family company. According to court documents, this sum represents the value at which Artur Nikitin»s son assessed his share in Stroysvyazural 1 LLC.

The press service of the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region reported that the statement of claim was left without procedural movement.

«The court set a deadline for eliminating the circumstances that served as the basis for leaving the application without movement—no later than February 12, 2026,» the court clarified.

Stroysvyazural 1 LLC is one of the main companies of shopping complex builder Artur Nikitin. It was registered in December 2002 in Chelyabinsk and specialized in constructing residential and non-residential buildings. According to the Rusprofile service, the company«s owners are three children of Artur Nikitin and the daughter of his business partner: Artur Nikitin (younger son)—58.64%, Anastasia Nikitina—12.37%, Elizaveta Nikitina—3.19%, and Ksenia Kiyasheva—1.06%. Until April 17, 2023, the main owner of Stroysvyazural 1 was Artur Nikitin himself. The company»s director since May 6, 2025, has been Igor Bulatov (previously the head was Artem Nikitin). In 2024, the company«s official revenue grew by 64% to 99 million rubles (approx. $1.32 million), with a net loss of 48 million rubles (approx. $640,000).

Artem Nikitin is currently not listed among the founders of Stroysvyazural 1. However, from 2009 to 2025, he was a co-owner of the family company, holding between 0.7% and 60.8% of the charter capital (in different periods). Until September 2025, Artem Nikitin held 13.03% of the company. Furthermore, from February 2022 to May 2025, Artem Nikitin managed Stroysvyazural 1 LLC.

After the New Year holidays, another son of Artur Nikitin applied to the court. Oskar Nikitin-Parker (represented by his legal guardian Vestalia Parker) demanded that the decision of the extraordinary general meeting of Stroysvyazural 1 LLC participants dated June 7, 2024, be declared invalid. He also sought to invalidate four transactions with a total value of 122.3 million rubles (approx. $1.63 million). These are loan agreements between Stroysvyazural 1 LLC and the current co-owners of the company:

Artur Nikitin—for 75 million rubles (approx. $1 million);
Artem Nikitin—for 30 million rubles (approx. $400,000);
Anastasia Nikitina—for 15 million rubles (approx. $200,000);
Ksenia Kiyasheva—for 2.3 million rubles (approx. $30,700).

Oskar Nikitin-Parker asks the court to oblige the borrowers to return the received loans to the family company.

«The statement of claim was left without movement. The court set a deadline for eliminating the circumstances that served as the basis for leaving the application without movement—no later than February 19, 2026,» reported the press service of the Arbitration Court of the Chelyabinsk Region.

Artur Nikitin was an iconic figure in Chelyabinsk business in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was among the city«s wealthiest businessmen and served as a city council deputy for several years. He gained fame as the builder of major shopping complexes—»Sinegorye«, »KS«, »Nikitinsky«, and »KUBA«. In 2014, the entrepreneur sold »KS« due to debts and also sold off parts of the departments in the Nikitinsky shopping complex. He was also a co-owner of the companies »Stroysvyazural1«, PJSC »ChChZ Molniya«, »Dialog-Holding«, and the owner of the »Kaslinsky Machine-Building Plant« software company and the »Sports School«. Ahead of the failed 2020 summits, Nikitin promised to finish a long-delayed construction project—a sports and hotel complex on Vasenko Street. Later, the city administration seized the property through the courts seized the property, and ultimately the long-suffering unfinished building was sold at auction for 40 million rubles (approx. $533,000).

In recent years, the entrepreneur lived in Germany and died in August 2023. We previously told the story of how Artur Nikitin built his business empire and what he owned in a detailed article.