Auctioning Domodedovo: Russias Strategic Sale of a Key Airport After State Takeover

The Russian government intends to sell Domodedovo airport in Moscow at the beginning of next year, as announced by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday. This decision follows the recent acquisition of the airport, which had been alleged to be under foreign ownership.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov did not provide specific reasons for the decision to proceed with the sale of the airport, which ranks as Russia’s fourth busiest. He mentioned that considerable efforts had been invested in Domodedovo and that officials were aware of interested bidders.

«I believe that at the very start of next year, Domodedovo will be put up for auction,» Siluanov stated during an interview on state television, confirming that the sale would be conducted through an open auction format.

In June, a court determined that ownership of Domodedovo should be transferred to the state after concluding that its two owners, Dmitry Kamenshchik and Valery Kogan, were foreign nationals and thus ineligible to operate the airport.

Andrei Ivanov, a former government minister who assumed control of the airport following its nationalization, informed the RBK news outlet in July that Domodedovo was burdened with significant debt and was in search of a new owner.

Since 2022, the Russian government has confiscated assets worth billions, including those of Western companies such as French dairy giant Danone and German energy firm Uniper.

Officials defend these nationalizations as justified measures to rectify failed privatizations from the 1990s, during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, critics argue that such actions have negatively impacted long-term foreign investment in Russia.