Dzmitry Charnenka could be called the "king of road markings". / Euroradio/OpenAI
The Kontur group of companies, based near Biała Podlaska and owned by Brest native Dzmitry Charnenka, has operated for a long time and is well known in the Polish market. Through Poland, the businessman entered the German market, where he bought out a competitor last year, thereby integrating into the EU market, and also registered a subsidiary in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk.
However, as Euroradio has established, this does not prevent Dzmitry Charnenka from using his Russian assets to earn money on government contracts for road repairs in Russia's frontline regions and in occupied Crimea.
Brest native Dzmitry Charnenka is listed among the Top 100 most influential and successful businessmen in Belarus. Together with his brother Ihar, he founded and owns the group of companies "Stroitelnaya Tekhnika i Materialy" ("STiM", meaning "Construction Equipment and Materials").
This is a market-leading niche business that, since the second half of the 1990s, has been engaged in the production in Brest of equipment ("STiMBrest") and materials ("STiM Plast", "Steklosphera") for road markings, as well as the actual application of road markings on Belarusian roads ("Brestskaya Stroitelnaya Kompaniya").
The narrow niche, with virtually no competition, brought the brothers recognition in the business world and significant profits, part of which they invested in real estate — they built and sold villas in the elite suburb of Brest called "Stimova".
They also own two office buildings in Belarus: one in Brest, "Celsius", and another in Minsk, on Prytytskaha Street, "Fahrenheit".
In 2025, Dzmitry Charnenka, as general director of OOO "Stroitelnaya Tekhnika i Materialy", was appointed to the Council for Entrepreneurship Development in Belarus. This advisory body operates under the government and is chaired by Belarus's prime minister, Aliaksandr Turchyn.
In the 2000s, the Charnenka brothers invested in two neighboring countries almost simultaneously — in Poland and Russia. Dzmitry Charnenka took charge of the western direction and still oversees it today. His wife, Alena Charnenka, also benefits from the local assets.
In Poland, Dzmitry Charnenka established a base near Biała Podlaska, where in 2001–2002 he registered the companies Kontur (the name of one of the road-marking machine models) and STIM. The first was set up to produce paints; the second, equipment.
In the 2010s, the businessman also gained control of the local company Przedsiębiorstwo Produkcyjno-Usługowe Drogownictwa (PPUD). It applies road markings and carries out other road works. Among its clients, PPUD lists many branches of the state-run Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad (General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways) and the Regional and Municipal Roads Authority, as well as major Polish private construction holdings such as Budimex, Strabag, and others.
After more than 25 years in the Polish market, Dzmitry Charnenka's business has become one of the largest Belarusian investments in the country. The businessman himself, judging by the registries — where he is listed as Dmitrij Czernienko — has obtained Polish citizenship.
Along similar lines — factories and contractors — the business structure in the eastern direction was being built during the same years. The companies operating in Russia are owned by Dzmitry and Ihar Charnenka, as well as the latter's children.
In 2004, the Charnenka brothers registered their main distribution entity — the company "Stroitelnaya Tekhnika i Materialy" — in Zelenograd, near Moscow. In 2007, they launched production of glass beads in Roslavl (STiM-2). In 2020, following the example of Belarus and Poland, they decided to expand into road construction and became owners of two companies in the sector — "STiM-Kazan" and "Transport Company Vostok Zapad Tranzit".
In both companies, Dzmitry Charnenka holds a 60% stake, and his brother, Ihar, owns the remaining share. Dzmitry Charnenka is a member of the Russian Forbes Club and contributes to the publication periodically.
In addition to Belarus, Poland, and Russia, Dzmitry Charnenka registered a subsidiary in 2008 through the Polish company Kontur in the Ukrainian city of Lutsk — "STiM-Ukraine". It participated in and even won several tenders to select suppliers of materials for repairing municipal roads. In 2022, an enterprise called "STiM-Asia" was opened in Almaty. In 2023, paint production was localized there.
The war in Ukraine and the sanctions introduced against many Belarusian legal entities for complicity in the aggression have not affected the business of Dzmitry and Ihar Charnenka.
The consequences of the war's outbreak are reflected in some cosmetic changes to the brothers' companies: instead of one liquidated legal entity (Kontur), they created a company called Kon-Tur, and the organization STIM was renamed Kontur Technik.
At the same time, their business continued to expand — both in the western and eastern directions.
In the west, Kon-Tur acquired its German competitor in 2025 — glass bead manufacturer Weissker. The deal also included three Russia-based Weissker enterprises: a trading company in Moscow and factories in Gus-Khrustalny and Klin. These were placed under the authority of the Roslavl-based enterprise "STiM-2".
The revenues of Dzmitry Charnenka's Polish companies have also grown compared to 2021. The Polish authorities even awarded the Belarusian businessman's enterprise. In 2025, Kon-Tur received an award from a jury chaired by Biała Podlaska mayor Michał Litwiniuk as the region's most innovative firm.
"Kontur is a leading Polish manufacturer of high-quality road markings, operating on roads in Poland and abroad for nearly 25 years. […] Kontur continually strives to become a leader in the road industry, with a particular focus on comprehensive road maintenance and the concept of the 'smart city', which envisions the sustainable development of urban areas using modern information and communication technologies", — the winner's presentation states.
Alongside his business expansion in Poland, Dzmitry Charnenka was doing the same in Russia.
His and his brother's road construction companies, STiM-Kazan and Transport Company Vostok Zapad Tranzit, regularly participate in and win tenders for road repairs in Russian regions. Their portfolio includes dozens of orders received after 2022.
As Euroradio has established, STiM-Kazan's portfolio includes at least six contracts that the company has completed or is set to complete in Russian-occupied Crimea.
According to information from the Russian database B2B.House, the volume of contracts received by "STiM-Kazan" in Ukraine's occupied territories during 2023–2026 exceeded the equivalent of $650,000.
According to tender results, during 2023–2026, "STiM-Kazan" received contracts to apply, restore, or remove road markings in Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Dzhankoi.
Apart from Crimea, "STiM-Kazan" is actively working in Russia's frontline regions. In June and August of this year, the Charnenka brothers' company won tenders for road marking in Kursk (totalling over 60 million Russian roubles, or $725,000) and in Belgorod (57 million Russian roubles, or approximately $700,000).
However, in recent months, problems have begun to loom for "STiM-Kazan".
Two contracts (including the largest — worth $300,000) that "STiM-Kazan" secured in Crimea this spring are now in doubt. The reason is the unrelenting Ukrainian strikes on transport arteries between Crimea and the mainland.
Firstly, working under such conditions is unsafe, particularly on routes that have become priority targets for strikes. Secondly, what is the point of road markings now if hardly anyone is driving on Crimea's roads, there are no tourists, and there is no fuel? And then there is an ethical problem: how can one, without being particularly discreet, simultaneously work in the EU and Ukraine while also building roads in Crimea?
Euroradio sent an official request to Dzmitry Charnenka's Polish firm asking for comment on the information about his business in the occupied territories. But a month on, no reply has been received.
At "STiM-Kazan", staff refused to connect Euroradio with the local director, citing his busy schedule. They advised directing all questions about the company's activities to the Brest office.
Euroradio also contacted the Belarusian firm, where staff promised that someone from the communications department would call back — but this never happened. Subsequent attempts to speak with STiM's management were also unsuccessful.
We will publish a comment from the companies if they provide one.
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