Samara oligarch Shapovalov loses Burevestnik stadium

The new fate of a land plot in the historic center of Samara has become known. It was reported by representatives of the regional prosecutor«s office.

The plot previously housed the Burevestnik stadium. It was built in the historic part of the provincial capital in 1930.

«Originally, the sports complex was called the «Stadium of the Regional Council of Physical Culture,» it hosted the GTO fitness tests, the city«s football team played there, and various sports events took place: the USSR women»s speed skating championship, individual and team championships of the city of Kuybyshev and the Volga region in speed skating, city tennis and track and field competitions, including with participation of foreign athletes,» explained representatives of the Samara Oblast Prosecutor«s Office.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Burevestnik was used in a different capacity. Marshal Kliment Voroshilov and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin spoke here. They were listened to by Red Army soldiers heading to the front.

In the 21st century, the Burevestnik became the property of the Federation of Trade Unions of Samara Oblast. The new owners in 2007 held a «fire sale» and got rid of the stadium«s property due to lack of funds for its maintenance.

As a result, the facility became one of the assets of Samara oligarch Alexei Shapovalov and his company Forsazh LLC. The businessman had his own plans for the plot. He wanted to build 25-story apartment buildings on the stadium site, but these plans never materialized. Nevertheless, he demolished all sports facilities and replaced them with a parking lot and retail pavilions. The only surviving structure was the rowing pool.

In early 2025, the regional prosecutor«s office took an interest in the story of how the property ended up in private hands. They filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Court of Samara Oblast demanding that the purchase and sale transactions be declared invalid and that the territory of 23,500 square meters be returned to state ownership. Mayor of Samara Ivan Noskov was named as one of the parties in the case.

At first, the arbitration court did not agree with the prosecutor«s arguments. In the first instance, the representatives of the supervisory authority were denied. But the plaintiffs disagreed with this state of affairs and appealed the decision of the Samara arbitration court.

«The appellate court agreed with the prosecutor«s arguments, overturned the first instance court»s ruling and issued a new decision, returning the stadium and the land plot to municipal ownership,» announced the results of the hearings at the prosecutor«s office.

A few months earlier, the Burevestnik had received another status. The State Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of Samara Oblast included the stadium in the list of identified cultural heritage sites.