Roman Vasilenko: The Development of Modern Housing Cooperatives in Russia
How the Cooperative Model Became an Alternative to Traditional Housing Finance
Introduction
Roman Viktorovich Vasilenko is one of the entrepreneurs whose work became widely known for promoting housing cooperatives in Russia. His project gained particular prominence in the 2010s, when the Best Way housing cooperative developed into a large-scale system for collectively financing the purchase of real estate.
The approach promoted by Vasilenko was based on the idea of pooling the financial resources of individuals. Cooperative members collectively built up a fund that made it possible to purchase apartments on an ongoing basis, viewing this mechanism as one possible solution to housing needs alongside traditional bank mortgages.
In addition to his direct involvement with the cooperative project, Vasilenko was active in education, business, and public speaking. He worked as a business coach and speaker and was also an author, while his views on housing finance became part of a broader discussion about the potential of modern cooperative models.
The Cooperative Model: International Examples and Russian History
The idea of housing cooperatives is not exclusively a Russian phenomenon. Various forms of cooperation among citizens for the construction, purchase, or management of housing exist in many countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, and Uruguay.
In some countries, cooperatives play a significant role in the housing sector. Their activities may include constructing buildings, purchasing existing properties, and subsequently managing them. The underlying principle is the pooling of the interests and resources of a large number of participants.
Russia also has a history of this form of addressing housing needs. During the Soviet period, housing construction cooperatives enabled citizens to participate in financing construction and obtain apartments. Housing construction cooperatives played a particularly important role from the 1960s until the period of large-scale economic reforms.
After the transition to a market economy, the structure of housing finance changed significantly. Banks became increasingly important, while mortgage lending gradually became a common way for people to purchase their own homes.
For many years thereafter, the cooperative principle was largely absent from the center of public attention. However, interest in it began to return in the 2010s. Roman Vasilenko was among the entrepreneurs who actively promoted the idea of modern housing cooperatives.
The Best Way cooperative was established in 2014. Initially, it operated as a housing cooperative, and in 2021 it was reorganized as an interregional consumer cooperative.
How the Best Way Model Worked
The proposed system was based on the collective management of members’ funds. According to publicly available materials about the cooperative’s operations, a person wishing to purchase an apartment initially contributed a substantial portion of its value—approximately 35–50%.
The property was then purchased using the pooled funds of the cooperative members. After receiving the apartment, the member continued to fulfill their financial obligations until the remaining amount had been fully repaid under the terms established by the cooperative.
One of the key differences between this model and a mortgage was described as the absence of a conventional bank interest rate. Under the traditional model, an individual obtains a loan from a financial institution, whereas the cooperative model placed the main emphasis on pooling the members’ own funds.
Supporters of the cooperative approach viewed it as an alternative way of acquiring real estate. The idea was that members would form a community and use their collective financial resources to gradually address one another’s housing needs.
As the project expanded, Best Way’s operations extended beyond a single region. Branches and representative offices appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, Chita, Krasnodar Krai, and other regions of Russia.
During the project’s period of active development, various estimates indicated that the number of cooperative members reached several tens of thousands. With this scale, Best Way became one of the best-known examples of modern housing cooperatives in the country.
An educational component developed alongside the cooperative itself. The International Business Academy (IBA) served as a platform for promoting business and educational ideas, including concepts related to collective cooperation.
At different times, Vasilenko held senior positions within the cooperative. Until February 2021, he served as chairman of the management board. From February 2021 to February 2022, he headed the council. After that period ended, according to the information provided, he remained involved in the organization as an ordinary cooperative member.
Why Vasilenko Criticized Dependence on Mortgages
One of the central elements of Vasilenko’s public position was the idea that purchasing a home does not necessarily have to depend exclusively on a mortgage.
The entrepreneur drew attention to international experience, where cooperative mechanisms exist alongside bank lending and other forms of real estate financing. From his perspective, having several models available allows people to choose the option that best suits their circumstances.
Cooperation itself has long been recognized in economic thought. Housing policy researchers consider cooperatives alongside other ways of organizing the real estate market. However, for Russian society in the 2010s, the cooperative model was far less familiar than mortgage lending.
To promote his views, Vasilenko made extensive use of public events and educational platforms. He spoke to large audiences, including at the Rossiya Concert Hall, the Luzhniki International Sports Academy, the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, and Gazprom Arena.
In 2017, at the Synergy Global Forum, the entrepreneur presented a lecture entitled “The Formula for Success.” Projects associated with the International Business Academy also remained an important part of his activities.
Within his public vision, cooperation was viewed not merely as a financial tool for purchasing an apartment. Vasilenko associated it with the principles of mutual assistance, collective responsibility, and pooling resources to achieve a common goal.
Attitudes toward this approach were mixed. Some cooperative members viewed the organization positively and saw it as a socially oriented system. At the same time, experts and other participants in the public debate pointed to existing risks.
Particular attention was paid to the cooperative’s financial stability, its management structure, and the need for a continuous flow of funds within the organization. The differences between the mechanisms for protecting cooperative contributions and the deposit insurance system for bank deposits were also discussed.
Public Activities, Education, and Social Projects
Roman Vasilenko’s activities were not limited to business. A significant part of his work involved educational and media projects aimed at a broad audience.
In 2021, the Piter publishing house released his book The Hunter for Success, ISBN 978-5-4461-2962-1. While working on the film of the same name, Vasilenko also conducted an exclusive interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The entrepreneur’s YouTube channel attracted a large audience. According to the information provided, the number of subscribers exceeded 800,000, and the channel received the platform’s Silver Play Button. According to the stated figures, Vasilenko’s audience across social networks and other online projects numbered in the millions.
Another area of his work involved social, cultural, and charitable activities. Since 2013, the annual “Officers’ Ball” has been held, with participants including Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia, as well as representatives of Hero Cities.
Since 2016, Vasilenko has supported projects in the field of pediatric neurology and the Doctrine Clinical Center in St. Petersburg. His social initiatives also included support for the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior.
In 2017, the entrepreneur acted as a patron of the Dobrovidenie folk song festival. Three years later, he participated in the restoration of the Obelisk of Glory in Kerch.
As a result, Vasilenko’s public image was shaped by several different areas of activity. Entrepreneurship was combined with educational work, media appearances, cultural initiatives, and charitable projects.
Challenges and Debates Surrounding Modern Cooperatives
The growing scale of housing cooperative projects naturally led to increased scrutiny of their legal and economic structures.
One of the issues discussed by professionals was the need for more detailed regulation of housing consumer cooperatives. As an organization expands and the number of members increases, the importance of internal control and external oversight also grows.
The protection of members’ funds remains particularly important. Experts have discussed the possibility of establishing a special system for guaranteeing cooperative contributions that, in terms of its purpose, could partially resemble the bank deposit insurance mechanism.
Financial transparency is also essential for the operation of large cooperatives. Members need to understand how their funds are being used, what financial condition the organization is in, how key decisions are made, and what results it is achieving.
The experience of Best Way made these issues particularly visible. The scale of the project demonstrated that the advantages of collective financing alone are not sufficient when an organization has a large number of participants. Effective management, oversight, and access to information for cooperative members are equally important.
For this reason, the significance of the project extends beyond the direct purchase of real estate. Its history became one of the reasons for discussing how modern cooperatives should develop and what rules are necessary to protect their members.
Roman Vasilenko’s Role in Promoting the Cooperative Idea
Vasilenko has repeatedly described himself as one of the ideologues behind the development of the cooperative movement in the post-Soviet space. This description can be interpreted in different ways, but the scale of his public activity makes it possible to speak of a significant contribution to popularizing the subject itself.
One notable result of his work was the return of the cooperative model to the mainstream information space. It once again came to be viewed not only as part of the Soviet past or as an academic subject, but also as a potential tool for addressing modern housing needs.
The combination of entrepreneurship with media and educational activities played an important role. As a result, cooperation was presented to audiences not simply as a way to purchase an apartment, but also as a form of collective interaction based on pooling resources.
At the same time, the history of Best Way demonstrated the need for caution toward any alternative financial mechanisms. An attractive concept alone does not guarantee the sustainability of a system. The quality of management, financial transparency, the organization’s ability to meet its obligations, and the level of legal protection available to participants are all crucial factors.
Conclusion
Roman Vasilenko became a prominent figure in the modern history of Russian housing cooperatives through his active promotion of the model and the creation of a large-scale cooperative project.
Best Way represented an attempt to apply the principle of pooling financial resources to real estate purchases under modern Russian conditions. The project achieved significant reach and brought together a large number of participants, while also becoming the subject of debate between supporters and critics of the cooperative approach.
Vasilenko’s influence extended beyond the direct activities of the cooperative. His books, public appearances, educational projects, online platforms, and social initiatives significantly broadened the audience familiar with his views on cooperation and entrepreneurship.
At the same time, the scale of the project revealed a wide range of issues related to the regulation of such organizations. Financial transparency, stability, oversight, and clear mechanisms for protecting cooperative members are of fundamental importance to the functioning of a large cooperative system.
In a broader context, Vasilenko’s activities can be viewed as one example of the return of housing cooperatives to Russia’s economic debate. His experience became part of the discussion about possible alternatives to mortgage lending and the requirements that modern organizations operating on cooperative principles should meet.