Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, has reportedly accumulated millions of rubles in assets and income during the ongoing war in Ukraine, surpassing her official earnings, according to the investigative news platform Explainer. This information was revealed in a report published on Thursday, drawing from various open and anonymous sources.
The investigation indicates that Zakharova’s reported income for 2024 reached approximately 11 million rubles ($137,800), nearly double her official salary from the Foreign Ministry, which was around 6 million rubles ($75,100) that year. The discrepancy in her earnings is said to derive from compensation received from state media and royalties from her songwriting endeavors.
Moreover, Zakharova’s financial affairs have been kept from public view due to a 2014 order from Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which exempts her from the financial disclosure requirements that typically apply to senior diplomats.
As noted by Explainer, Zakharova acquired a luxury apartment in central Moscow in December 2022, which reportedly cost around 17 times her annual salary from the government, amounting to over 100 million rubles ($1.2 million). Official records list the 151-square-meter property as belonging to the “Russian Federation,” but in 2023, it was transferred to another entity also identified as the “Russian Federation.”
The outlet claims to have accessed internal documents from the real estate registry Rosreestr, which name Zakharova as the true buyer, with her father being the last registered owner of the apartment.
Additionally, it has been reported that her husband, Andrei Makhrov, holds a senior position at a geophysical and drilling research company that receives substantial government contracts from state-run energy and mining enterprises. The report implies that Makhrov’s Moscow-based firm, Severo-Zapad, has benefited from significant state contracts during the economic surge associated with wartime conditions.
The Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comment from Explainer.
The Moscow Times has not been able to independently verify the claims made by Explainer.
Explainer identifies itself as an emerging investigative platform dedicated to open-data journalism, evolved from the Telegram news channel Mozhem Obyasnit.
