Mikhael Mirilashvili

Mikhael Mirilashvili
Born	Kulashi, Georgia
Occupation(s)	Businessman, philanthropist
Known for	President of Petromir; director at Lukoil Northwest Petroleum; president of Saint Petersburg Jewish Congress; co-founder of Vkontakte

Mikhael Mirilashvili (, , ; born May 1960) is a businessman and philanthropist with Russian, Israeli, and Georgian ties, operating primarily in Russia and Israel. His business interests encompass real estate development, shopping center construction, casino operations, oil industry ventures, renewable energy projects, and new media platforms such as VK.com. Mirilashvili also serves as president of the Saint Petersburg Jewish Congress.

Early life

Mirilashvili was born into a Jewish family in Kulashi, Georgia, in May 1960. In 1977, he relocated to St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad). He pursued studies in mathematics and earned a pediatrician qualification from Saint Petersburg University before joining his family’s enterprises during the early 1980s. By the mid-1990s, the family had established a substantial real estate portfolio throughout Russia and internationally.

Career

Mikhael Mirilashvili holds the position of president at Petromir, a Russian holding company, and is a director at Lukoil Northwest Petroleum. His ownership includes a television channel along with numerous shopping malls and commercial complexes within St. Petersburg. During the 1990s, his bank Viking () expanded considerably across St. Petersburg and northwest Russia. Additionally, he leads CONTI, the largest gambling enterprise in St. Petersburg featuring six casinos, and manages Jackpot (), which is recognized as Europe’s biggest slot machine network.

In Israel, Mirilashvili established multiple businesses including Kitaim (a venture capital fund), Flarium Global, Be’er Isaac Energy, and Hoshen Argaman. The Mirilashvili family co-founded Vkontakte, launching it in 2006 and later selling their stake for $1.12 billion in 2013. More recently, they have invested in gas exploration projects within Israel.

"Selectel" (), co-owned by Mirilashvili and his son Yitzchak Mirilashvili, operates several data centers.

Philanthropy

Together with his family, Mikhael Mirilashvili has supported Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman’s “Migdalor” organization and donated Torah scrolls to Israeli Defense Forces units through groups such as ‘Friends of the IDF’. He played a key role in supporting ZAKA by serving as chairman of its International Board of Trustees. After the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire, Mirilashvili collaborated with Alexander Mashkevitch to establish a fleet of firefighting vehicles and provided aircraft for medical assistance following the 2012 Burgas bus bombing in Bulgaria.

He holds several leadership positions including president of the World Jewish Congress - St. Petersburg branch, vice president of the Russian Jewish Congress, first vice president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, president of Russia’s Maccabi Union, and president of the "Torah and Chessed" Center serving Georgian Jews. In 2021, he founded the Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Food Security in the Desert at Ben-Gurion University’s Blaustein Institutes to honor his father’s legacy. Furthermore, he supports a collaborative Israeli-Emirati Water Research Institute based in Abu Dhabi with Tel Aviv University.

Kidnapping incident

In August 2000, Mikhael Mirilashvili’s elderly father was abducted on a highway by individuals impersonating traffic officers; he was safely recovered after several days. Approximately two weeks later, those responsible along with their accomplices were discovered deceased near Saint Isaac's Square.

In March 2001, Mikhael Mirilashvili himself was detained and charged with kidnapping offenses. It was alleged that he instructed his security team to apprehend mafia members suspected of orchestrating his father’s abduction. These suspects were held and subjected to torture at Petromir’s office to extract information regarding the kidnappers’ whereabouts; after his father was freed, these mafia members were executed. The original kidnappers were subsequently found dead.

The investigation methods used against Mirilashvili prompted protests from notable figures within Russian cultural circles. In August 2003, the Leningrad District Military Court sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment. He challenged this verdict on grounds that expert testimony was biased due to personal grievances. While incarcerated, he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that the evidence had been obtained in violation of fair trial principles. Mirilashvili was released in 2009 and resumed his business pursuits both in Israel and Saint Petersburg.