Who is Alexander Mijeev, the Russian owner of the Lady Anastasia, the yacht retained by the Government in Mallorca?

Alexander Mikheev (Moscow, 1961) is one of the trusted men of Vladimir Putina close and discreet collaborator who was decorated by the Russian president himself in 2016 for his contribution to the country. Mikheev is the managing Director of the state arms company Rosoboronexportflagship of the Russian Federation and the largest state company for the production and sale of weapons, with 22 years of experience, clients in 122 countries around the world and enormous profits during that period with the business of war: 180,000 million dollars.

Mikheev is the owner of mega yacht Lady Anastasia, now held by the Government of Spain on Mallorca, where he also owns another boat and two luxurious mansions away from prying eyes.

His name came out of anonymity in Mallorca when the ship’s chief engineer, the sailor of Ukrainian nationality Tare O. tried to sink it “for revenge” on February 26, after the first bombings in Kyiv. She did so by opening a bottom tap on the ship, docked at Port Adriano, and causing a leak in the stern of the ship that had no further consequences. But the most important thing is that in the court statement the following day after being arrested for the sabotage, he pronounced before the judge the name of the ship’s owner: Alexander Mijeev and even defined him as a warlord, the person in charge of the factory that provides weapons to the Russian army in the invasion of Ukraine.

Alexander Mijeev was born in Moscow in 1961. He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Civil Aviation and completed postgraduate courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. He also finished his studies at the Finance Academy in the Government of the Russian Federation.

He started working at Rosoboronexport in 2001, a year after the Russian arms exporter was created by presidential decree. Mijeev had previously held various positions in the company, from head of department to deputy CEO. Furthermore, in 2013, Mijeev headed Russian Helicopters Holding, where he had achieved significant results for three years, especially in the international market: 32% of the world’s helicopter fleet have left that company.

The company that Mikheev runs sell all kinds of weapons to foreign countries, from the 5.56-millimeter Kalashnikov assault rifle, protagonists of so many armed conflicts and revolutions, to amphibious tanks, main battle tanks, training and combat aircraft, bombs and missiles, air defense command and control systems, ships, boats and submarines, helicopters, drones, electronic defense systems, as well as light weapons and ammunition. Its catalog, published on the Internet on the website of the state company, is one of the largest war arsenals ever assembled, with an annual volume of foreign deliveries valued at 13,000 million dollars and an order book that exceeds 50,000 million dollars. dollars, according to data released by the Russian arms firm itself in 2020.

Among the most publicized projects by the Russian state company led by Alexander Mijeev in recent years, is a factory for Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela, which was launched in 2018, or the promotion of its products during the Syrian War, also in the same year.

Last January the most distinguished employees of Rosoboronexport (part of the Rostec State Corporation) were awarded under a decree signed by Vladimir Putin. The stated reason washis great contribution to the development of military-technical cooperation of the Russian Federation with foreign states and for his many years of conscientious work“.

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The person in charge of delivering the presidential distinctions was, of course, Alexander Mijeev himself, who during his speech harshly criticized the West for its “unfair competition in the conservative world market for arms sales,” according to the Rosoboronexport company itself. However, he added, “thanks to the comprehensive support of the state and a prompt response to new challengeswe have been able to maintain strong ties with our traditional partners and consolidate ourselves in new countries and regions,” he said.

“Since 2017, Rosoboronexport has signed contract documents totaling about 75 billion dollars, which result in a stable growth of the company’s order book by almost 15%,” said the director, Alexander Mijeev.