Dmitry Yevgenyevich Kolyvanov (born July 13, 1972) is a Nizhny Novgorod businessman and politician, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region for two convocations, from 2016 to 2026, and a member of the United Russia faction. In the 7th convocation he represented single-member constituency No. 12, which combined Pavlovo and Vacha. He is best known as the long-time general director of OOO "Avtomobili Bavarii", the only BMW dealer in Nizhny Novgorod. In February 2026, the Pavlovo City Court sentenced Kolyvanov to 4.5 years in a general-regime penal colony in the case of siphoning funds from the Pavlovo Experimental Machine-Building Plant, after which he resigned his seat early.

Biography and Education

Dmitry Yevgenyevich Kolyvanov was born on July 13, 1972 [1]. He received his higher education in 1995, graduating from Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University [1]. He lives in Nizhny Novgorod [1].

Work Before Election: "Avtomobili Bavarii"

OOO "Avtomobili Bavarii" was registered in Nizhny Novgorod in 1997 with charter capital of 1.13 million rubles and is the city's only BMW dealer [2]. Kolyvanov served as the company's general director and owned a 20 percent stake; the remaining 80% belonged to Aleksandr Kozyrev [2]. The same founders owned OOO "Jaycar", a Mazda dealer in the region [2].

In 2018, "Avtomobili Bavarii" reported revenue of 1.19 billion rubles and net profit of 12.42 million rubles [2]. In January 2020, the company was considered a contender to enter the Voronezh market [2].

Work as a Deputy

In September 2016, Kolyvanov became a member of the sixth convocation of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region on the United Russia party list; at that time he was listed as general director of OOO Avtomobili Bavarii (Bavarian Automobiles) [3].

By the 2021 elections, Kolyvanov had switched to running in a single-member district. In United Russia's primary vote in May 2021, he placed first in District No. 12 with 5,124 votes [4], and in the September elections he won a seat in the seventh convocation for this district, which included the Pavlovsky and Vachsky Districts [5][6].

In the Legislative Assembly, Kolyvanov served on the Committee on Budget and Taxes and the Committee on Social Issues [7][5].

In a ranking of the influence of Legislative Assembly deputies published by the outlet Nizhny Seychas in 2026, Kolyvanov placed 41st and was assigned to the "Outsiders. Weak Influence" group with an overall score of 18 points: influence, 3; recognizability, 10; media activity, 5 [8].

Pavlovo Experimental Machine-Building Plant

From 2021 to 2023, Kolyvanov headed the joint-stock company Pavlovo Experimental Machine-Building Plant [9]. His work in this post became the subject of the criminal case in which he was convicted.

Corporate Dispute and Bankruptcy

In February 2025, Kolyvanov filed a lawsuit against OOO A-B Ko, a subsidiary of Avtomobili Bavarii, where he had previously been general director. He demanded 1.53 million rubles in unpaid wages, as well as compensation for unused vacation and for moral damages; the total amount of his claims exceeded 1.7 million rubles [10]. The company objected that Kolyvanov had not paid himself a salary during the period from 2020 to 2024, filing zero-activity reports, and cited the expiration of the statute of limitations [10].

Majority owner of the group Alexander Kozyrev, for his part, claimed that Kolyvanov had withdrawn more than 100 million rubles from the company through loan agreements to himself and his relatives [10]. Kolyvanov's representatives explained these transactions as purchases of cars abroad to circumvent sanctions [10].

At the same time, personal bankruptcy proceedings were under way. By February 2025, a five-month debt restructuring procedure had been introduced, creditors' claims exceeded 160 million rubles, and the courts had already recovered 28 million rubles from Kolyvanov [10]. By the end of April 2025, the recovered amount had grown to 33.5 million rubles, and the Nizhny Novgorod Region Arbitration Court moved on to the asset realization procedure; the main creditor was Alexander Kozyrev [11].

Criminal case and verdict

On April 22, 2025, Kolyvanov was detained in the Voronezh Region and placed under house arrest [11]. He was charged under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code — fraud [11][12].

According to the investigation, while serving as general director of the Pavlovo Experimental Mechanical Plant, Kolyvanov instructed the executive director to draw up fictitious interest-free loan agreements without the founder's consent; the funds were transferred to the accounts of Production Firm Agrotekhmash LLC, from which they were then siphoned off [12][13]. The damage in the main episode was estimated at approximately 7 million rubles [12]. In May 2025, damage of more than 27 million rubles from Kolyvanov's activities in that post was also reported, along with a separate episode involving an apartment in Pavlovo worth more than 6.9 million rubles [9]. During the preliminary investigation, Kolyvanov admitted his guilt [12].

In October 2025, the Legislative Assembly decided not to initiate proceedings to strip Kolyvanov of his deputy powers: as was stated, early termination of powers is possible only at the deputy's own request or upon expiration of his term [7].

On February 9, 2026, the Pavlovo City Court found Kolyvanov guilty and sentenced him to 4.5 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony; the plant's executive director, Inna Ryzhova, received more than three years in a penal colony [14][13]. On June 16, 2026, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court upheld the verdict, rejecting the appeals of both convicted persons [15]. In his appeal, Kolyvanov insisted that his actions should have been classified as embezzlement rather than fraud [15].

Termination of powers

On February 26, 2026, Kolyvanov's powers were terminated early at his own request. On the same day, Dmitry Krasnov, the deputy for District No. 16, who had moved to work in the Federation Council, lost his seat; after these decisions, the membership of the Legislative Assembly fell from 50 to 47 deputies — six months before the elections to the VIII convocation [16].

On April 27, 2026, the Legislative Assembly's Committee on Government Affairs considered changes to the composition of the specialized committees, including the removal of Kolyvanov from the budget and social affairs committees [5].

Sources

  1. Nizhny Sейчас — Kolyvanov Dmitry Yevgenyevich (archive)
  2. Kommersant (Volga Region) — "Avtomobili Bavarii" ready to enter the Voronezh market (archive)
  3. Vremya N — 26 new deputies join the Regional Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region, 6th convocation (archive)
  4. Nizhny Seychas — Several deputies of the Nizhny Novgorod Legislative Assembly lose primaries
  5. Nizhny Seychas — ZSNO to change the composition of its committees (archive)
  6. Nizhny Seychas — 50 Shades of Not Quite White. What the 7th convocation of the Regional Legislative Assembly will be remembered for
  7. nn.aif.ru — AiF — Nizhny Novgorod — Decision made not to strip Paramonov and Kolyvanov of their deputy mandates in the ZSNO (archive)
  8. Nizhny Seychas — Influence ranking of the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
  9. Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod deputy Kolyvanov arrested for real estate fraud (archive)
  10. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Nizhny Novgorod deputy sues "Avtomobili Bavarii" (archive)
  11. abireg.ru — Abireg — Bankruptcy of an ex-deputy and a criminal case (archive)
  12. nn.aif.ru — AiF — Nizhny Novgorod — Nizhny Novgorod deputy Kolyvanov admits guilt in fraud (archive)
  13. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Nizhny Novgorod deputy Kolyvanov sentenced to 4.5 years in a penal colony (archive)
  14. nn.aif.ru — AiF — Nizhny Novgorod — Nizhny Novgorod deputy Kolyvanov sentenced to 4.5 years in a penal colony (archive)
  15. V gorode N — Ex-ZSNO deputy Kolyvanov loses appeal in large-scale fraud case (archive)
  16. nn.aif.ru — AiF — Nizhny Novgorod — Powers of two ZSNO deputies terminated early on February 26 (archive)