MOSCOW: The CEO of Russian retail giant Wildberries, Tatyana Bakalchuk, said Monday she has reverted to her maiden name after a dispute with her estranged husband led to a deadly shootout.
Bakalchuk and her husband Vladislav, the co-founders of Wildberries, one of Russia's largest online retailers, have been locked in a bitter dispute for months over a merger deal.
Last week, Bakalchuk accused her husband and two former executives of leading an armed takeover attempt on the company's Moscow office in which two people were killed.
Bakalchuk, Russia's richest woman, wrote on Telegram Monday that her surname "from today (is) once again Kim", adding "the best choice is to always remain yourself".
Wildberries' press service told RIA Novosti state news agency that "an official procedure of changing the surname has been launched" by Bakalchuk.
Wildberries was founded in 2004 by Bakalchuk, a teacher on maternity leave, together with her IT technician husband.
With bright pink branding, the Wildberries site initially specialised in clothes and shoes but now offers a wide range of goods including furniture and electronics.
The business made Bakalchuk a billionaire, although her fortune took a hit from a controversial merger in June with a far smaller outdoor advertising company called Russ, according to Forbes.
Bakalchuk's husband denounced the merger -- reportedly personally approved by President Vladimir Putin -- and in July enlisted public support from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who condemned the deal.
Bakalchuk announced in July that she had separated from Vladislav and was getting a divorce.
Russia detained 30 people including a Chechen mixed martial arts fighter over a chaotic shootout Wednesday outside Wildberries offices, just a few streets from the Kremlin, reminiscent of gang warfare of the 1990s.
Vladislav denied that he and his supporters were armed but Wildberries said his men were "the first to open fire".
Vladislav's lawyers said on Thursday he had been arrested on suspicion of murder and other crimes.
But late Friday, Vladislav released a cryptic video on Telegram saying that he was at home and would continue to fight for his "family business".