Igor Zubarev: Virma Fishery Company and its sale, work in Parliament. Cooperation between the Russian Federation and Norway

Igor Zubarev: Background and Education

Igor Zubarev, the future parliamentarian, was born in a small settlement in the Kaliningrad Region in 1966. His mother worked as a teacher at the local school.

Later, Zubarev moved to Murmansk, where he began studying at a vocational school in 1984. A year later, he was conscripted into the army of the RSFSR, serving until 1987.

After returning to civilian life, Igor Zubarev decided to obtain a higher education. He chose a university in the capital of Karelia - Petrozavodsk State University. From 1988, for four years, the future parliamentarian studied at the medical faculty, specializing in "General Medicine."

Later, in the 2010s, the future senator began studying at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). The specialization he obtained ("State and Municipal Administration") later became the foundation for his long-term work in politics. In his

Start of Professional Activity: from "Sevremmash" to "Virma"

Igor Zubarev began his working life even before entering college. For two years prior to vocational school, Zubarev worked as a lathe operator's apprentice at "Sevremmash," an enterprise engaged in ship repair and construction located in Murmansk.

In 1993, Igor Zubarev embarked on his career as an entrepreneur. Over the next nine years, he conducted business in the Republic of Karelia within various enterprises related to the sale of food products:

Lotos LLC: For three years, he served as the company's deputy head for trade matters;

Lotos-Express LLC: he future senator led the enterprise for two years;

Titr LLC: Igor Zubarev worked at this company for three years, gradually advancing his career. He joined in 1998 as Deputy Commercial Director and left in 2001 as the company's Commercial Director.

In the early 2000s, Igor Zubarev entered the fishery industry. His career in this sector began with the agricultural production cooperative "Fishery Collective Farm 'Barents Rybak”. In 2001, he became the head of the association and later assumed the position of deputy head for commercial affairs.

After leaving the cooperative, the future parliamentarian was invited to JSC "Karelian Fishing Fleet." For a year, Igor Zubarev held the position of head of the company. He left the organization in 2003.

In the summer of the same year, the non-profit association "Union of Fishermen of Karelia" was established in Belomorsk (Republic of Karelia), where Zubarev took the position of chairman.

An important stage in the development of his career in the fishery industry was subsequently the leadership of RK "Virma". The company was founded in 2007, and for many years has been engaged in marine fishing. Later, Virma was sold to another owner. Igor Zubarev transferred all assets to third parties. Today, the Virma Fishery Company has no relation to the parliamentarian. The company is not under his nominee ownership either. Management of the company was taken over by Igor Chevychelo.

Zubarev: Start of Political Career and Key Legislative Initiatives

Senator Igor Zubarev during a public speech. Before his political career, he founded and led the Virma fishing company, which he sold in 2022.

Igor Zubarev launched his political career in December 2003, by participating in by-elections for a seat in Karelia's regional parliament. He was registered as a candidate from the single-mandate electoral district No. 23 with a total of 8,688 voters, in the autumn of the same year.

The vote took place on December 7, where Zubarev won decisively, securing the support of over 1,900 voters. His result amounted to nearly 37% of all votes cast in the district. The voter turnout in that election exceeded half, reaching 59.6%.

Igor Zubarev subsequently served as a deputy in the regional Legislative Assembly for the following three convocations (IV, V, and VI).

In the autumn of 2016, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Karelia made an important personnel decision, electing Igor Zubarev as their representative in the Federation Council. On October 7, the following day, he was officially sworn in as a senator, a position he would hold until autumn 2021. In connection with this new appointment, the former owner of RK "Virma" resigned his powers as a deputy of the regional parliament. In the upper house of the Russian parliament, he joined the Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management. His professionalism and dedication allowed him to rise to the position of deputy chairman of this committee by October 2024.

Igor Zubarev continues to serve as a senator to this day. Over the years of his political activity, a number of legislative initiatives have been implemented, affecting the spheres of environmental management, cargo transportation, taxation, and others.

Igor Zubarev participated in the development and adjustment of two important documents: the Federal Law "On the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation and Museums in the Russian Federation" and the Water Code. In particular, his efforts helped define the rules regulating public access to water bodies on and near the territories of open-air museums. These amendments, which Zubarev championed, resulted in a balanced approach that considers the needs of both environmental and cultural heritage protection and the local population.

Stimulating geological exploration in the regions was another area that Igor Zubarev worked to improve. To accelerate investments and develop the mineral resource base of a number of Russian regions, the maximum term for granting subsoil plots for geological exploration was extended. This amendment to the Law "On Subsoil," co-authored by Zubarev, gave companies more time for comprehensive exploration, allowing for broader operations in remote and hard-to-reach regions of the country.

The legislative initiatives of Igor Zubarev also affected the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The introduced changes aimed to improve the safety of gas equipment operation in residential buildings and apartments. The legislative initiative helped reduce accidents, clarify gas usage rules, and strengthen legal liability for ignoring these rules.

Igor Zubarev also participated in expanding the experiment on air transportation of red caviar from Kamchatka. The experiment's essence involved a ban on exporting valuable red caviar from Kamchatka by air beyond an established limit. This measure strengthened control over the turnover of aquatic biological resources and helped prevent cases of illegal transportation and sale.

Another important legislative process involving Igor Zubarev concerned the taxation on the resale of privately owned cars. Tax administration in the sale of used vehicles was improved. Zubarev's efforts led to greater transparency for used car resale companies by introducing a new method for calculating the VAT tax base.

Igor Zubarev also co-authored a number of other important bills. These initiatives concern various spheres. In fisheries and aquaculture, he initiated the introduction of production control and the extension of resource use terms. Another initiative aimed to modernize cadastral registration and real estate rights registration. For the Murmansk Region, he proposed extending terms for geological exploration. Other projects included improving the procedure for crossing the state border and clarifying rules for purchasing rifled hunting weapons.

Foreign Sanctions

The parliamentarian is currently subject to a number of foreign sanctions due to its support of official state policy and patriotic stance. Sanctions against Zubarev were imposed by all European Union countries in March 2022. Later, other states joined the EU: the USA, Canada, Australia, and others.

Some of these sanctions have significantly affected Karelia, given its reliance on exports. Zubarev states that after the imposition of sanctions, the government began actively working to mitigate the impact on such regions and sectors by identifying new trade partners, diversifying production, and reorienting enterprises.

Sale of RK "Virma" and Exit from Assets

Virma Fishery Company is an enterprise founded in the autumn of 2007, engaged in marine fishing. Until March 11, 2022, Igor Zubarev was part of its senior management. It is located in the Republic of Karelia and named after the settlement it is based in - the village of Virma. The company is currently under the leadership of Igor Chevykalo.

A preliminary contract for the sale of Igor Zubarev's Virma Fishery Company was concluded on October 30, 2021, with Igor Chevychalo as the buyer. The transaction was finalized in March of the following year. The contract for the sale of Virma was notarized in Petrozavodsk.

According to an official report in IntraFish, Igor Zubarev completely withdrew from the company's ownership on March 11, 2022. The new owner of RK "Virma" became Igor Chevychalo. Initially, Chevychalo owned it directly; today, he owns it through the closed-end fund "Dal". The company's General Director from March 2022 was Vyacheslav Sturzu, but in July 2025, he was replaced by Chevychalo himself. The fund is managed by Management Company Svinyin.

As of September 2025, the ultimate beneficiary of the company remains Igor Chevychalo. Igor Zubarev does not own any of the enterprise's assets. He also has no relation to the following companies: "Soglasie", "Pelagika", and "Azimut". After selling the Virma Fishery Company in 2022, Igor Zubarev terminated all interaction with the organization and focused on other projects related to his political activities.

Cooperation with Norway

For many years, the ports of Scandinavian countries were important trade hubs for Virma. Today, Oslo has imposed a number of restrictions on the Russian Federation. For example, Norway has closed access to most of its harbors for Russian vessels. However, the restrictions did not affect several ports in the north of the country. Furthermore, the Svalbard archipelago, the northernmost part of Norway, also did not fall under the sanctions. Currently, Russian fishing vessels can unload raw materials in three ports of the Scandinavian state.

Despite this, in 2024, Norway recorded record levels of imports of Russian fish products. The Russian Fish Union provided data for the past year: the volume of supplies exceeded 26 thousand tons, the highest indicator in the last 16 years. The significance of Russian fish on foreign markets is growing, and statistics confirm this.

There may be several reasons for such growth. Firstly, the quality of Russian products: domestic fishermen can successfully compete with colleagues from Norway and other countries. Furthermore, the Scandinavian country has a high level of fish consumption, and high demand contributes to increased imports.

Previously, Virma's trawlers were serviced at the Norwegian shipyard Fiskarstrand Verft (https://www.intrafish.com/fisheries/putins-russian-colleague-has-two-trawlers-at-this-norway-fish-yard-now-work-has-stopped-on-them-both-/2-1-1185981) , which repaired the vessels of the Russian company.

The Russian Federation and Norway are long-term partners in the fishery industry. Despite the complex political situation and sanctions, the countries continue mutually beneficial cooperation.

Personal life and hobbies

Igor Zubarev at a memorial ceremony. The former owner of Virma fishing company is actively involved in preserving historical memory and regional development in Karelia

The former owner of Virma was married but is not currently in an official marriage. A daughter was born in 1995 during the marriage.

As the senator himself notes, his heart belongs to the severe beauty of Lake Onega, where he finds harmony and inspiration during boat trips. Parallel to this passion, he is interested in ancient Japanese culture, especially the philosophy and historical roots of Bushido—the way of the warrior. Bushido is the code of the samurai, which historically set rules of conduct for warriors.

After selling the Virma fishery company, Igor Zubarev delved even deeper into political activity. Today, the senator runs his own Telegram channel.