Irina heads our Moscow banking and finance practice. She has broad experience advising on Russian finance transactions, including project and trade finance, acquisition finance, pre-export finance and asset-based financings. She regularly works on large infrastructure project financings in Russia and the CIS, often acting for lenders, multilateral lending agencies, export credit agencies and commercial banks. Irina is highly experienced in all aspects of structuring, negotiating and documenting such transactions. She is ranked as a leading banking and finance lawyer in Russia by IFLR 1000 (2009) and European Legal Experts (2009).

Irina's recent infrastructure and project finance experience in Russia and the CIS includes: 

• Advising BNP Paribas on its US$500 million refinancing of the construction of the RUSAL Khakas aluminium smelter; 
• Advising Commerzbank on a pre-export finance facility to Koryakgeoldobycha, a Russian gold and platinum mining company; and on a trade finance facility to a group of companies involved in the manufacturing of carbon and graphite electrode products in Russia; 
• Representing EBRD in its equity investments in OGK-5, one of Russia's six thermal wholesale generating companies – with two acquisitions worth over €200 million, this represents one of EBRD's largest equity investment in Russia to date; 
• Advising EBRD as a joint lender on loans to a number of Russian water supplying companies for the modernization of water infrastructure in Russia; 
• Representing En+ Group Limited, in its US$1 billion consensual financial restructuring, including an existing US$750 million syndicated facility and various bilateral facilities in Russia and involved over 30 financiers;
• Advising Goldman Sachs, as sponsor, on the US$315 million senior leveraged financing for Lion Capital's purchase of Russian Alcohol Group, a producer and distributor of midmarket and sub-premium spirits; 
• Representing, as common counsel, export credit agencies, multilateral lenders and commercial bank lenders in connection with the US$20 billion project financing of the Sakhalin II (Phase 2) LNG Project in Russia;
• Representing the sponsors and the project company, Nord Stream AG, in connection with the construction and financing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project which runs from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and the exclusive economic zones of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. This deal was named "2009 European Gas Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International; and
• Advising TNK-BP on financing aspects of a gas-to-power joint venture with OGK-1, the largest wholesale thermal power generation company in Russia, for the construction of a new power unit in Siberia.

Bars and Courts
Qualified to practice law in the Republic of Belarus and in the Russian Federation

Education
LLM, University of Virginia School of Law, 1996
Law Degree, Belarus State University, with honors, 1995

Publications
Co-author, "Non-PSA oilfield project finance in Russia," Project Finance International, issue 259, 19 February 2003 (with Doug Peel)

Languages
Russian
English
Belarusian

Citizenship
Belarusian