Our story traces back to the summer of 1995, when a group of students of the Samarkand Foreign Languages Institute decided to organize and coordinate their services as tour guides, interpreters, transport and tickets handlers etc. In few years they were working for the biggest tour agencies, hotels, airways and official entities, having seen all corners of Central Asia and establishing diverse contacts throughout the region and beyond.
Leo Danilchik, Ravshan Bakaev and Jamshed Safarov were in the centre of this process. Later all of them held key positions in then biggest Samarkand hotel – Afrosiyob Palace and some other entities. Basing on their experience and knowledge, but most importantly – desire to provide bespoke services for foreign tourists, in 2009 Leo and Ravshan joined efforts with their old friend Dilbar, as well as new talents, establishing Veres-Vert, which soon became a regional representative office of the UK-based Marco Polo Discoveries (MPD)/Legendary Discoveries.
Being primarily a destination management company (DMC) in partnership with number of the UK, European, American and Australian travel operators from the onset, Veres-Vert increased a number of its guests (yes, we treat our tourists as guests, not just customers) from several hundred to thousands in less than ten years of operation. We firmly believe that our guests are unique in their appreciation of history, culture and nature. So the range of our services equally corresponds to the wide scope of interests of our guests – from the well-organized groups or individual travellers on tailor-made trips to the private jet voyages and transcontinental luxury train journeys.
Veres-Vert has its own personnel of the expert tour-guides and operators, who have undergone special trainings by our European partners, as well as established links with thoroughly selected hotels, restaurants and other service providers with full certifications (see about our health & safety policy). From 2013, we have our own fleet of comfortable coaches.
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-2021, Veres-Vert kept all the partnerships and commitments to clients. We also diversified into the international filming crew fixing and ground services, successfully hosting in Uzbekistan a number of large-scale reality TV and smaller factual program crews from various European and Asian studios. The company expanded to MICE, business consultancy services, established partnership with a leading publishing and PR firms, as well as plans to bring investors for unique property projects in hospitality and other sectors.
Our head-office is located in Samarkand, but we have own representatives in Tashkent, Bukhara and Khiva, as well as trusted partners in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Our core team also includes:
Dilbar
Co-founder and business development executive.
Dilbar has a medical background, but established herself as an entrepreneur. Her passions are travel, classical art and literature.
Languages: English, Russian
Liliya Kirsich
Senior Tour Operator
Lilya is also a native Samarkand and graduate of the local Institute of Foreign Languages. She has been working with the founders of the company since the Afrosiab Palace Hotel times and is responsible for VIP tours, Italian groups, FITs and special events. Young mother, Lilya is fond of techniques for a healthy lifestyle and nutrition.
Languages: Italian, English, Russian.
Natalia Panfyorova
Tour operator
Natasha came to Veres-Vert already having experience in hotels and airline agencies in Samarkand. She is responsible for aviation logistics and group tours at our company. She is interested in cinema and reading classics.
Languages: English, Russian.
Julia Belova
Tour operator
Julia joined the Veres-vert team in the summer of 2023 and currently is responsible for arranging services for our European and Australian guests, as well as all the train ticketing. With previous experience in the education sector, she pays great attention to details and care for each client, but also is not shy of suggesting creative ideas and further improvements. Julia is an avid reader and especially likes 19th century classic literature (from Gogol and Tolstoy to Dickens and Twain). Travelling across Uzbekistan on Veres-Vert inspections, she is deepening her knowledge of our history and traditions.
Languages: English, Russian, Uzbek and Tajik.
Alex Tsoy
Tour Operator
Alex was born and raised in Samarkand, a graduate of the Institute of Foreign Languages; he has been working in the tourism industry for over 20 years and is responsible in our company for organizing group and VIP tours, as well as participates in product design. Alex is fond of fishing, online gaming and martial arts.
Languages: English, Russian.
Mehrangiz Amanova
Tour Operator
Mehrangiz is a native of Samarkand and a graduate of the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages. Before joining the Veres-Vert team as a Tour Operator in March 2025, she worked as a professional tour leader, guiding travelers throughout Uzbekistan and gaining extensive knowledge of the country’s history, culture and traditions.
Today, Mehrangiz is responsible for organizing tailor-made tours, handling all flight ticketing and coordinating travel services for our guests. She also occasionally leads sightseeing tours in Samarkand, where she enjoys introducing visitors to the city’s rich history and cultural heritage.
Languages: English, Russian and Tajik; Japanese, Chinese and Italian (conversational).
Malika Istamova
Tour Operator
Malika was born and raised in Samarkand and is currently studying at the Silk Road International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, and expected to graduate in spring 2027.
She joined our company in February 2026 and enjoys the organizational side of tourism, from planning itineraries to coordinating every detail of a trip. Before becoming a tour operator, Malika gained hospitality experience working at a resort in Türkiye and at a hotel in Uzbekistan, where she developed a strong guest-oriented approach.
Languages: English, Russian, Tajik, Uzbek. Currently studying Italian.
Shakhzod Mirganiev
Tour Operator
Shakhzod joined Veres-Vert in autumn 2025 and responsible for arranging services for groups and individual travellers. He combines work and studying in the Samarkand Institute of Economics and Service, expecting to graduate in 2028. Shahzod likes football and tennis, as well as constantly working on expanding his knowledge about history and culture.
Languagues: English, Russian, Tajik.
Elena Usmanov
Chief Financial Officer
Elena Viktorovna is one of the most experienced and respected finance specialists in the tourism industry of Uzbekistan, with more than 25 years of experience in this field. She loves pets, gardening and floristry.
Viktoria Yalanskaya
Expert Tour-leader and Guide
Viktoria is highly experienced guide, who leads our tailor-made group and individual tours across Uzbekistan. She combines her deep knowledge of history, culture and traditions of Central Asian people with her natural sense of humor and care about every aspect of itinerary. Viktoria is passionate about local arts and crafts, as well as a keen blogger promoting Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage on social media.