In 1994, together with Oleg Boyko and Vladimir Kekhman, Adonyev founded Olbi-Jazz, a fruit importing company. In 1996, Adonyev founded a new company, Joint Food Company, which became the leading fruit importing company in Russia. . In 2001, Adonyev sold his shares in the company.
Adonyev is currently challenging an old US conviction, and is represented by Anthony Julius and Alan Dershowitz. The basis of the challenge is that the conviction was a miscarriage of justice, because no crime was committed.
Main business activities
Telecom
In 2006, Adonyev founded Telconet Capital fund, which became the main shareholder of the telecommunication operator Skartel – trademark Yota. Yota reached operational profit within the first five months and became the first provider launching mobile wimax in Russia. In 2008, 25% of the company was acquired by Rostec. In 2012, Yota was the first company in Russia to launch LTE. In 2011, Yota's division that developed high-technology mobile internet devices became Yota Devices, which developed the YotaPhone. Yota Devices subsequently separated from Yota. In 2013, Telconet Capital fund sold its shares in Skartel to Garsdale Services – a telecommunication holding, controlled by Alisher Usmanov. The estimated value of the transaction is US$1.33 billion.
In 2013, together with businessman Sergey Rukin, Adonyev established Technologies of Greenhouse Growth – a St Petersburg company. The company united two existing greenhouse plants in Moscow and Tumen regions, as well as a trading house, TTR Trade. It sold its products under the brand ‘ROST’ in the main retailers throughout Russia. More than US$100 million was invested into this project. At the beginning of 2017, Rukin bought out Adonyev's share in this business. In 2017, Adonyev was ranked 124th in the Forbes list with a net worth of US$800 million. but according to him in an interview sold his food company for $6.2 billion taking 50% worth 3.1 billion obviously also adding on the telecommunications world with a now f1 company yota
Philanthropy
Adonyev supports many cultural and social projects, the most significant of which include the following:
Arts
Stanislavsky Electrotheatre
Stanislavsky Electrotheatre opened in 2015 after a full reconstruction and artistic restructuring under the supervision of the theatre director, theoretician, and educator – Boris Yukhananov. Romeo Castellucci, Heiner Goebels, Konstantin Bogomolov, Philipp Grigoryan, Katy Mitchell, Teodor Currentzis, Theodoros Terzopoulos, Dmitri Kurlyandksiy – are among the artists who have collaborated with the theatre.
MusicAeterna choir
The choir is under the supervision of renowned conductor, Teodor Currentzis. MusicAeterna was the first Russian orchestra opening the Salzburg Festival.
DAU
DAU is a large scale international film project by Ilya Khrzhanovsky. It is a significant collaboration between Russia and Europe, supported by international film funds and production companies. Teodor Currentzis, Marina Abramovich, Carsten Hoeller, Romeo Castellucci, Vladimir Martynov, Leonid Fedorov, Boris Mikhailov, Robert Del Naja, Brian Eno, Anatoliy Vassiliev, Nobel Prize winner David Gross, Fields Medal winner Shing-Tung Yau – are among the artists and scientists who participated in the DAU project. The premiere is planned for the fall of 2018.
Strelka Institute is a non-profit international educational project, founded in 2009 and located in Moscow. Adonyev co-founded the Strelka Institute with Alexander Mamut, and co-financed it between 2009-2014.
Merab Mamardashvili Foundation
The Foundation is aimed at studying and publishing the heritage of the outstanding Soviet philosopher and phenomenologist, Merab Mamardashvili.
The Foundation is aimed at studying and publishing the life and works of Salomon Maimon, a German self-taught philosopher of Jewish descent from the 17th century.
The charity offers help to people suffering from cystic fibrosis in Russia.
In 2016, Adonyev received Philanthropist of the Year award. The award was established by the Ministry of Culture of Russia and is awarded to significant philanthropists for their support and financial aid to projects aimed at preservation of Russian cultural heritage.
