T atyana Bakalchuk is a self-made Russian billionaire and the founder and CEO of Wildberries, the country's largest online retailer. Her story is one of remarkable entrepreneurial success. A former English teacher, she founded the company in 2004 from her Moscow apartment while on maternity leave. She started by reselling clothing from German mail-order catalogs. She has since built Wildberries into a massive e-commerce powerhouse, often called the "Amazon of Russia."

Wildberries sells a vast array of products, from clothing and electronics to home goods and books. The company's success is built on its massive selection, competitive pricing, and an extensive network of pickup points across Russia and other countries in the region. Bakalchuk has grown the company without taking on any outside investors, and she remains the 100% owner of the privately held enterprise. This has made her the richest woman in Russia and a powerful, though famously private, figure in the country's technology sector.