Oleg Aleksandrovich Kondrashov (born November 23, 1967, in Gorky) is a Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneur and municipal administrator, the first head of administration (City Manager) of Nizhny Novgorod: he held this position from December 3, 2010, to July 2015.[1][2][3] Before his work in the administration, he was a co-owner of the Kristina and Tsezar retail chains and chairman of the board of directors of the PIR group of companies.[2][4] Since 2018 he has been living in the United States.[3][5] On April 20, 2026, the Moskovsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod sentenced him in absentia to ten years in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 340 million rubles on charges of bribery.[6][7]
Before the Administration
Kondrashov was born in the Prioksky District of Gorky, graduated from School No. 174 in 1985, was drafted into the Soviet Army in 1986, and served in the air-defense forces in the GDR; in 1992 he graduated from the Gorky Polytechnic Institute.[2]
He had been engaged in business since 1989, taking part in establishing the Kristina retail chain, the Kristina trading house, the Solos and Biblos boutiques, and the Arena sports store.[2][4] From 1994 he headed the Tsezar group of companies, which developed fashion clothing stores in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod; from 2002 he served as chairman of the board of directors of the Nizhny Novgorod restaurant group PIR.[2][4]
In 2005 Kondrashov was elected a deputy of the City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod, and in October 2009 he became general director of the open joint-stock company Nizhegorodskaya Sbytovaya Kompaniya.[2]
Head of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod
On December 3, 2010, at an extraordinary session of the City Duma, Kondrashov was confirmed as Head of Administration of Nizhny Novgorod — a position created when the mayor's functions were split between an elected mayor and a hired city manager, making it an entirely new role for the city. That same day he resigned his seat as a deputy of the fifth-convocation City Duma: 37 of the 39 deputies present voted in favor.[1]
Kondrashov held the position until the summer of 2015: in July, the City Duma rejected his report for 2014 and voted to terminate his contract early.[2][3] Legal disputes over that decision continued until the end of the year.
For five years I served as a deputy of the City Duma, and I am proud to have been elected from a single-member district where I was born, grew up, and still live today. This is a difficult decision for me. But it has to be done.
Criminal case
The first criminal case against the former head of the city administration was opened in 2014: investigators linked him to the sale of the municipal enterprise TEK-NN at a price that the prosecution deemed artificially low; the damage to the city was estimated at 173.5 million rubles.[3][6]
In April 2018, a case was opened on charges of receiving a bribe of an especially large amount. According to the investigation, between February 2012 and October 2013, Kondrashov and his deputy Vladimir Privalov received, through intermediaries, 17 million rubles from entrepreneur Mamuka Losaberidze in exchange for facilitating the allocation of land for a crematorium and the development of the funeral business. According to the investigation, the bribe was received for lobbying the construction of a crematorium at the Nizhegorodskoe Cemetery.[9] Losaberidze's statement was submitted in July 2015.[5][7] On 22 May 2018, the Nizhegorodsky District Court ordered Kondrashov's arrest in absentia for two months from the moment of detention or extradition, and he was placed first on a federal, then on an international wanted list: by that time he had left the country.[5]
Vladimir Privalov was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to eight years, and was released on parole in 2024.[7]
On 20 April 2026, the Moskovsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod found Kondrashov guilty of receiving a bribe of an especially large amount and sentenced him in absentia to ten years in a maximum-security penal colony and a fine of 340 million rubles; his assets were seized to cover the fine. Following the verdict, both sides filed appeals: Kondrashov's defense seeks to have the ruling overturned, arguing that the case rests entirely on the testimony of Mamuka Losaberidze, who allegedly extorted money from the former official himself; the prosecution, for its part, demands the additional confiscation of 17 million rubles — the sum classified as the bribe — or its monetary equivalent.
The defense's motion to transfer the case to a court in another region — citing alleged bias on the part of Nizhny Novgorod courts — was returned by the regional court, which found the arguments insufficiently substantiated. After the verdict was handed down in April 2026, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court began hearing the appeal; the defense attorneys' motion to transfer the case to another region — Mordovia or Chuvashia — was rejected.[9][8][6][7]
After his departure
Since 2018, Kondrashov has been living with his family in the United States, in the Miami area.[3][7] The verdict was handed down in absentia; his extradition to Russia has not taken place.[6]
From an interview with Vedomosti, 2005
Oleg Kondrashov spoke to the newspaper Vedomosti — Nizhny Novgorod about his first ventures, his move to Moscow, and the restaurant business in June 2005; the interview was conducted by Pavel Milyaev. Excerpts from that publication are reproduced below.[4]
— How did you earn your first money?
— After returning from the army in 1988, I enrolled in the second year of the polytechnic institute. I was too proud to ask my parents for money, so I decided to earn it myself. Then an opportunity came along. We went on a trip to Brest and bought a lot of souvenirs and gifts, which we managed to sell in Nizhny Novgorod and make our first earnings. The next time we took bigger bags. We mostly sold our goods in student dormitories.
Then we bought our first kiosk on Bolshaya Pokrovka — "Kristina" — which grew into a chain of kiosks and eventually into the Kristina trading house.
"Kristina" was the first in the city to open a round-the-clock kiosk, the first to bring in Polish lemonades and German canned beer, the first to set up Marlboro branded stalls, and the first to organize a "supermarket" in the children's goods store on Gorky Street.
In the early 1990s, the Kristina trading house had 56 retail outlets and its own branded stores — Solos, Biblos, and Arena.
Move to Moscow
— Why did you decide to leave for Moscow?
— My friends, Muscovites who had by that point become established entrepreneurs, said to me: "If you're so talented and your business in Nizhny is running so well, come to the capital and sort out our assets."
At the time they were involved in activities that were opaque to me — importing computers wholesale into Russia, taking out ruble-denominated loans, converting them into hard currency, and profiting from inflation. They had already accumulated a large number of gas stations, shops, market stalls, and transport companies. At the age of 22 I moved to the capital. I started as a hired manager and gradually became a co-owner in various business projects.
Work in Moscow
— How did the Caesar chain of fashion boutiques in Moscow and Saint Petersburg come about?
— It all started with a passion for Italy and Italian fashion. In the very early 1990s I would bring back branded items from business trips — not just for myself, but for my friends and partners as well. In 1993 we opened the first Caesar at the Radisson Slavyanskaya hotel. There were times when people would queue up outside our store before opening. By 2000 the Caesar Corporation had 24 boutiques in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod. It was a very successful and very elegant business. We had big plans, but by then the Moscow market had become saturated, and expanding the chain required considerably more capital. We needed to move into the multi-brand retail center format. Since we were developing a sportswear and a fashion line simultaneously, we simply ran out of time to attract additional financial resources and build a new structure. That is why in 2002 we decided to scale the chain back. By 2005 only five stores remained — two in Moscow, one in Saint Petersburg, and two in Nizhny Novgorod.
— Doesn't that sting?
— That's an understatement — it was a real blow for me. After all that recognition I was forced to close the chain. At that point it was my Nizhny Novgorod partners from the PIR group of companies who kept me going. That was precisely when our restaurant projects started to take shape, demanding my time, energy, and new ideas.
— Do you have restaurants in Moscow?
— No. And frankly, I'm afraid to open them there. We don't consider ourselves professionals in that field. In Moscow you survive only if you are either very nimble and skilled, or very tough and wealthy. You have to run expensive, prestigious restaurants there. Opening a restaurant in Moscow is no easy task, but it's an interesting one. So now that I have some experience, two ideas are under discussion, one of which is an Italian restaurant with a food shop and a deli kitchen.
What's Good About Nizhny
— The Moscow market is an order of magnitude more lucrative than Nizhny's — why do you nonetheless continue to develop your Nizhny Novgorod projects instead of focusing on the capital?
— I'm now grateful to fate that I didn't put all my eggs in one basket, as my Moscow partners used to advise me to do. "Why bother with pennies in Nizhny Novgorod when the same effort in Moscow brings in an entirely different kind of money," they would say. But I decided not to give up on the Nizhny Novgorod projects. After all, things can't be going well in Moscow while everything is bad in Nizhny. In the late 1990s Moscow resembled an overfed pig lying on its side and grunting. Meanwhile, the restaurant market in Nizhny was only just beginning to develop. We bet on Nizhny Novgorod — and won.
— Your business is spread across several cities — Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod — and on top of that you are running several quite different ventures at once: retail, food service, manufacturing. Is it hard to let them go? Or is this a deliberate diversification strategy?
— I can't abandon the business projects I started with. Entrepreneurs of the old school treat their businesses like children. You raised them, and parting with them is painful. In my view that's understandable, but it isn't right. An entrepreneur should aim to build a business that can later be sold at a profit — otherwise there is no growth.
On the other hand, I instinctively strive to diversify my business. The food-service sector is on the rise right now, and we are already prepared for it. In the coming years the health and entertainment industries will develop, and we are already getting ready for that too.
Development of the PIR Group of Companies
— We opened the Sports Bar in 1997 for ourselves, for our friends — athletes and fans. Pirushka u Gansa was conceived as an experiment. When we were in Munich, we witnessed the incomparable festive atmosphere of the beer celebration and decided to share that experience with the residents of Nizhny Novgorod. The financial results of that establishment exceeded all our expectations. After the Sports Bar and Pirushka, we began opening venues not out of passion, but as a business — calculating and weighing everything carefully. The restaurant niche in Nizhny was wide open and competition was minimal. I think there is still about five more years of growth potential in this sector. We need to move fast and claim the best locations.
— Who are the principal founders of PIR? What is the company's structure?
— In effect, each restaurant is a separate company. The principal shareholders in all the companies within PIR are myself and two of my partners — Yuri Tarastsov and Viktor Kosov, with whom I have worked since 1989. We hold controlling stakes in all projects, and we occasionally collaborate with other entrepreneurs. For instance, we built the English Embassy pub together with Sergey Ivanushkin, the head of the investment company AVK.
We consider 2002 the founding year of the PIR group — that was when the third restaurant in the network, Papasha Billy, was opened.
— Which establishments belong to PIR? Are you planning to open new ones?
— The PIR group of companies in Nizhny Novgorod owns five restaurants — the Sports Bar, the Pirushka u Gansa beer bar, the Papasha Billy café, the Tyubeteyka teahouse, and the English Embassy pub — as well as two establishments opened under franchise agreements with the Rosinter company: Rostik's and Moka-Loko. This year we are preparing to open the Plakuchaya Iva restaurant, the Casablanca coffee shop chain, and an Italian restaurant. We don't write long-term budget plans; instead we try to develop flexibly, responding to circumstances as they arise.
— Since 2003, PIR has held a franchise for Rosinter's IL Patio and Planet Sushi restaurants. They have yet to open. Why?
— Developing franchise projects turned out to be more difficult than we anticipated. The franchisor's main requirement is maintaining Moscow-level prices. In our own establishments we do the same thing — the same service, the same products, the same equipment — but at lower prices. Consumers don't always yet understand that they are also paying for the brand. And the franchise seller demands strict compliance with the contract.
Our other headache is the shortage in the city of premises that meet the franchisor's requirements. Both IL-Patio and Planet Sushi must be located on the ground floor of buildings, in high-traffic locations, next to a proper parking area, and so on. The opening of IL-Patio and Planet Sushi is a matter of time, and it will be resolved this very year.
— You were in negotiations to purchase the Sbarro and Stardog's franchises. Why did those talks fall through?
— The terms of our contract with Rosinter for IL-Patio do not allow us to develop the Sbarro chain, since those two brands are direct competitors.
The situation with Markon, the company that develops the Stardog's chain, is entirely different. Negotiations are ongoing, but so far we have been unable to reach agreement on a fundamental issue — franchise exclusivity. We do not believe that the Stardog's brand is well-known enough for several entrepreneurs to successfully develop it in Nizhny Novgorod in parallel.
— But Markon has already announced that it found a partner in Nizhny?
— That question is for Markon, not for us.
— Recently Grillmaster was closed in the city, and last year Kroshka-Kartoshka was too — both franchises. What is the reason for this?
— These brands ran into different problems. Grillmaster had management issues. The franchisee should have understood that Nizhny Novgorod is not Moscow. Opening a Grillmaster in the center of Sormovo was, in my view, a risky move. And when you combine tight franchise conditions with no experience running a restaurant business and no investment in marketing or advertising, a risky project turns into a loss-making one. As a result, Grillmaster closed, and most of its potential customers never even got the chance to visit. I personally, for example, never heard anything about the place while it was operating.
In the case of Kroshka-Kartoshka, on the other hand, it was the franchise seller who came out the loser. This is the simplest and cheapest fast food there is. We spent $300,000 opening a Rostik's in the Shokolad shopping center, whereas Kroshka-Kartoshka's project cost an order of magnitude less. With simple technology and cheap equipment, the entrepreneur decided it was more profitable to open his own chain by copying the brand's key features, freeing himself from the need to buy a license and pay royalties on turnover. Unfortunately, this is a typical situation in the regions: given an imperfect legal system, it is more advantageous for small entrepreneurs to copy brands and technologies than to fall into the bondage of franchise payments.
Links
Sources
- Govorit Nizhniy — The bribe, according to the investigation, was received for lobbying in favor of constructing a crematorium at the Nizhegorodskoye cemetery.
- Otkrytyy Nizhniy — After the verdict was handed down in April 2026, both sides appealed: Kondrashov's defense is seeking to have the ruling overturned, arguing that the case is built entirely on
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — Oleg Kondrashov stepped down early as a deputy of the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma of the fifth convocation, 3 December 2010 (archive)
- global52.ru — Kondrashov Oleg Aleksandrovich: biographical profile
- V gorode N — Masters of the city: where the former mayors of Nizhny Novgorod live and what they do, 30 March 2026 (archive)
- Vedomosti — Nizhny Novgorod, No. 105 (1386), 10 June 2005 — Pavel Milyaev. Interview with Oleg Kondrashov (quoted below in the article)
- Kommersant (Volga Region) — Former Nizhny Novgorod City Manager Oleg Kondrashov arrested in absentia, 22 May 2018 (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Verdict handed down against former Nizhny Novgorod City Manager Oleg Kondrashov, 23 April 2026 (archive)
- Nizhegorodskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod residents reminded of the charges against ex-City Manager Oleg Kondrashov, 28 April 2026 (archive)