German Sterligov: The Journey from Russia’s First Millionaire to Rural Sloboda
Yesterday I happened to read the story of a legendary figure from the 1990s, one of Russia’s first official millionaires – German Sterligov. It genuinely made me wonder how a wealthy businessman could sell off his property, walk away from Moscow corporate life, and trade Rublyovka for a remote corner of the Mozhaysky district to raise sheep, geese, and turkeys.
German Sterligov at his Sloboda homestead
At the beginning of 2009, I made a far less drastic choice myself, yet still deliberately cut my workweek down to three days. I actually have a good job and enjoy what I do, but when every single day disappears into work, very little time is left for family, rest, and simple everyday life. I wanted to slow down, take a breather, and look around – and reading Sterligov’s story pushed me to reflect on where ambition ends and a race for its own sake begins.
The Alisa Exchange and Rise in the 1990s
German Lvovich Sterligov was born on October 18, 1966, in Zagorsk (now Sergiev Posad) outside Moscow. He studied law at Moscow State University before leaving in his second year to serve in the army, and in the late 1980s joined the emerging Soviet cooperative movement.
Early career in the cooperative era
His breakthrough came in December 1990 when he co-founded the Alisa Commodity Exchange, famously named after his Afghan Hound. Amid widespread shortages and the transition to a market economy, Alisa rapidly expanded into a major holding company with dozens of subsidiaries and international offices, turning Sterligov in his mid-twenties into one of post-Soviet Russia’s earliest ruble and dollar millionaires.
Political Campaigns and Leaving Moscow
In the early 2000s, Sterligov turned to politics: he ran for Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai in 2002, campaigned for Mayor of Moscow in 2003, and attempted to run for President in 2004. Those campaigns drained most of his fortune and left him facing steep debts.
Business and political years in Moscow
After 2004, he made a sharp break: he sold his luxury real estate, including his Rublyovka home, settled his debts, and moved his family out to the countryside. On land allocated in the Mozhaysky district of the Moscow region, life did not start with a finished manor – he famously began in a tent at the edge of the forest, building everything by hand into a self-styled homestead he named “Sloboda.”
Family, Farming, and Life in the Sloboda
Photos from the Sloboda offer a close look at how the family structured daily life away from the capital. Together with his wife Alena, Sterligov raised five children – daughter Pelageya and sons Arseniy, Sergiy, Panteleymon, and Mikhey – outside the usual urban routine.
Alena and German Sterligov with their children and shepherd dog, a descendant of the original Alisa
The estate was designed around self-sufficiency: log cabins, a traditional Russian stove, chopping firewood, cutting hay, and keeping sheep, goats, geese, and horses. In the early years, the homestead deliberately rejected grid electricity and modern city conveniences in favor of homeschooling and manual labor.
Reading old chronicles and religious texts in the wooden house
Looking through the photos, two sides of that lifestyle stand out – the same two sides readers tend to debate most:
- Close family time: shared meals, no office grind, and children actively involved in every part of daily life.
- Demanding physical labor: splitting firewood in winter, haymaking, tending livestock, and giving up urban comfort.
- Alternative priorities: rejecting the idea that success is measured strictly by bank balances and Moscow real estate.
A simple family meal in the rural homestead
One thing I can say for sure: while I agree with many of his ideas about stepping back from the rat race, his methods can be extreme. Even from my much milder experiment with a three-day workweek, the takeaway is similar – no paycheck can replace time spent with family.
Splitting winter firewood – an everyday chore in the countryside
Back to Business During the 2008–2009 Crisis
The global financial crisis of late 2008 pulled Sterligov out of rural seclusion back into business headlines. Seeking an alternative to conventional bank settlements, he launched the Anti-Crisis Settlement and Commodity Center (ARTC Alisa) in Moscow – a proposed global barter clearing system backed by commodities and gold.
Horseback riding on the Mozhaysky estate
Later Years: Artisan Bread and Public Controversies
In the years that followed, Sterligov turned the Sloboda name into a niche commercial brand. His “Khleb i Sol” (Bread and Salt) shops in Moscow and other cities sold natural farm goods and wood-fired, yeast-free sourdough bread at remarkably high prices – seen by some buyers as pure artisanal food and by others as pricey marketing built around nostalgia.
In July 2015, Sterligov briefly relocated his family to Shushi (Shusha) in Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering criminal charges and an international arrest notice from Azerbaijan. He returned to Moscow within weeks and continued running his Russian agricultural ventures.
Alongside his farm business, Sterligov became one of Russia’s most polarizing public figures. His ultra-traditionalist religious views, rejection of modern science and secular schooling, and provocative storefront notices repeatedly sparked public boycotts and legal disputes. His story remains a striking paradox: a bold 1990s market pioneer who walked away from luxury for the land, yet paired that independence with uncompromising, controversial views.