DLA Piper has appointed a new finance and projects head in St Petersburg with the hire of Alexey Chichkanov, the deputy chairman at St Petersburg's City Property Management Committee.

The new partner joined the office earlier this month (1 July) to lead the office's three-lawyer finance and projects group, becoming the fourth partner in the office. He is set to expand the group as well as advising clients on real estate and infrastructure investments.

Chichkanov's practice will focus on project finance, public-private partnerships and regulatory law, while the St Petersburg office advises on corporate law, real estate, tax consulting and project finance. It is headed by real estate partner Olga Litvinova.

Litvinova said: "Alexey's skills and experience complement those of the team. We are now well placed to assist on the upcoming projects in Russia's northwest region."

Stefan Eder, who heads the firm's Europe, Middle East and Africa group for finance and projects, added: "There is a lot of activity in the Russian market, with more to come. We want to further strengthen our project finance capabilities to meet these demands."

Aside from St Petersburg, DLA Piper's Russia practice also includes a nine-partner office in Moscow. The latest partner addition there was Russian banking head Vyacheslav Khorovskiy, who joined in May from Allen & Overy, where he was counsel.

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