What is an attorney (advokat), and how do they differ from a lawyer?

An attorney is a lawyer who has passed the bar examination and holds a special status with special rights and duties: attorney–client privilege, the warrant of attorney, formal attorney enquiries — and the exclusive right to act as defence counsel in criminal cases. Everyone at this bar association is an attorney; their status can be verified in the Moscow register of attorneys, and for the Mariupol office in the register of attorneys of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

How is the agreement concluded and the fee paid?

The legal-assistance agreement is concluded directly between you and the attorney. The fee is paid into the bar association’s cash office or bank account (art. 25(1), (6) of Federal Law No. 63-FZ). Terms are discussed at the consultation — we do not quote figures sight unseen.

What is attorney–client privilege?

Any information you give your attorney in connection with legal assistance is protected by law (art. 8 of Federal Law No. 63-FZ): an attorney cannot be questioned about it, and demands to disclose it are unlawful. It is a legal regime, not a promise.

Do you work only in Moscow?

The bar association works in Moscow and, since 2026, has an official representative office in the DPR — in Mariupol. Attorneys also handle cases in other regions: our practice includes proceedings in commercial (arbitrazh) courts — Russia’s state courts for business disputes — outside Moscow.

Can you help with tax, valuation or ongoing business support that does not need attorney status?

Such work — tax disputes, insolvency support, corporate law, valuation and audit — is handled by the lawyers of Kovalev & Partners LLC, a law firm with which the bar association has a cooperation agreement: kovalev.moscow. The bar association remains an independent organisation responsible for the attorney side of the work.

Do you advise in English?

Yes — written advice and court documents are prepared in Russian (the language of proceedings), and we correspond and explain the case to you in English. This page is a courtesy translation: where the two versions differ, the Russian version prevails.

The Gosstroy case: a fraud charge over a housing project in Ufa

The Gosstroy case: defending Kirill Badikov against a fraud charge over the Moskovsky residential complex in Ufa

One of the largest shared-construction cases in Bashkortostan: Kirill Badikov, former Ufa city council deputy and beneficiary of the Gosstroy group, is accused of embezzling RUB 2.3 billion from 1,134 buyers in the Moskovsky residential complex. Attorney Dmitry Malyutov of the bar association is part of the defence team. The case continues: the verdict is being challenged, and subsidiary-liability disputes run in parallel.

Attorney Dmitry Malyutov is one of Kirill Badikov’s defence counsel. This description is based on open sources; information protected by attorney–client privilege is not disclosed

The task

Kirill Badikov is a former two-term deputy of the Ufa city council, beneficiary of the Gosstroy group of companies, one of the best-known developers in Bashkortostan, a public figure and philanthropist in the republic. In March 2022 he was detained and remanded in custody on a charge of fraud on an especially large scale, article 159(4) of the Criminal Code. According to the investigation, in 2013–2021 he, together with Igor Tyurin, general director of the general contractor Bashnaftatrans, and Pavel Stepanov, financial director of Gosstroy-Management, concluded shared-construction, share-accumulation and assignment agreements with more than a thousand citizens for over RUB 2 billion under the guise of building the Moskovsky residential complex in Ufa’s Kirovsky district, failed to deliver the apartments and transferred the money to controlled entities. The case has 1,134 victims and alleged damage of RUB 2.3 billion.

The scale shaped the case: hundreds of volumes, more than a thousand victims, asset freezes of almost RUB 2 billion including over 120 land plots, parallel bankruptcies of the developers and subsidiary-liability claims against the Badikov family. The case was public from the outset, with every hearing covered by Kommersant-Ufa, UFA1.RU, Vedomosti and regional television.

The defence position

Kirill Badikov has not admitted guilt at any stage, nor have the other defendants. The defence position, as voiced in court and in open sources, is that the charge describes the business activity of a developer, not embezzlement: the Moskovsky buildings were being built, the agreements with buyers were real, and failure to perform on time is not the same as an intent to deceive. It also matters that the buyers’ rights were restored through the Territory Development Fund: according to the Investigative Committee, compensation exceeded RUB 4 billion given the rise in housing prices.

From the first detention hearing the defence asked for house arrest, pointing out that before his arrest Badikov had complied with a travel ban, has three minor children and has served the city; applications to change the measure of restraint were filed at every extension. Before the verdict Badikov spent more than three years in custody, from March 2022 to April 2025, which the regional press called a record for Bashkortostan.
In the Oktyabrsky District Court of Ufa, where the case arrived in June 2023, the trial on the merits took almost two years; the defendants did not admit guilt.
After the verdict the defence filed appeals; at the same time the prosecution filed a representation arguing the sentence was too lenient.
After the appeal the defence challenged the verdict in cassation.

How the case went

On 10 April 2025 the Oktyabrsky District Court of Ufa found the defendants guilty: Badikov received 5.5 years in a general-regime colony and a RUB 1 million fine, Tyurin and Stepanov suspended sentences. On 23 December 2025 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan, on the prosecution’s appeal, increased the sentences: 8 years for Badikov, 7 for Tyurin, 6 for Stepanov, all three taken into custody in the courtroom. On 11 August 2026 the Sixth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Samara left the verdict unchanged. In parallel, commercial courts at three levels held Kirill and Tatyana Badikov, Tyurin, Stepanov and related companies subsidiarily liable for the debts of the Moskovsky developer.

Current status

The case is not over. The defence still has procedural avenues: an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, issues of execution of the sentence and credit for time spent in custody, and the subsidiary-liability disputes, where the size of the claims is directly linked to the outcome of the criminal case. Attorney Dmitry Malyutov works as part of the defence team together with colleagues representing Kirill Badikov in Ufa.

Timeline

March 2022 — detention; on 25 March the Sovetsky District Court of Ufa remands Badikov in custody.
June 2023 — indictment approved, case sent to the Oktyabrsky District Court of Ufa.
October 2023 — the commercial court freezes RUB 813 million in accounts and deposits as security.
10 April 2025 — first-instance verdict: 5.5 years.
23 December 2025 — Supreme Court of Bashkortostan increases the sentence to 8 years.
18 June 2026 — Commercial Court of the Ural District confirms subsidiary liability.
11 August 2026 — cassation leaves the verdict unchanged.

Art. 159(4) of the Criminal CodeOktyabrsky District Court of Ufa, Supreme Court of Bashkortostan, 6th Cassation CourtOngoing

Sources

This description is based on open sources and the parties’ public statements; information protected by attorney–client privilege is not disclosed. The result in one case does not guarantee or imply a similar result in another.