Meet Tatyana Bakalchuk, Russia's new RICHEST woman RBTH 13 May 2021, 00:55 GMT+10 A mother of four and former English language teacher, Tatyana Bakalchuk set up a Russian version of Amazon from scratch and, in 2021, became Russia's richest woman. Sounds like yet another success story from a glossy magazine about a "self-made woman", doesn't it? The trouble is, things aren't quite what they seem. Here is our account of how Bakalchuk created her unreal wealth. "It is autumn 2004 and it's raining. Tatyana Bakalchuk, an English language teacher, travels the length of Moscow by public transport - first by metro, then on the bus, then 10 minutes on foot - to collect yet another 20 kg parcel of clothes from Germany," began a 2012 article about the future billionaire and owner of the Wildberries online retailer, who launched her business while on maternity leave and who, in 2021, would end up becoming Russia's richest woman.