Russian oligarchs(Russian:олигархи,romanized:oligarkhi) arebusiness oligarchsof theformer Soviet republicswho rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via theRussian privatisationthat followed thedissolution of the Soviet Union.ThefailingSoviet state left the ownership ofstate assetscontested, which allowed forinformal dealswith formerUSSRofficials as a means to acquire state property.
The Russian oligarchs emerged as business entrepreneurs underMikhail Gorbachev(General Secretary,1985–1991) using various loopholes during economic liberalization under Gorbachev'sperestroika.[1]Boris Berezovsky,a mathematician and former researcher, became the first well-known Russian business oligarch.[2]
Oligarchs became increasingly influential in Russian politics duringBoris Yeltsin's presidency (1991–1999); they helped finance hisre-election in 1996.Well-connected oligarchs likeRoman Abramovich,Michail Khodorkovsky,Boris Berezovsky andVladimir Potaninacquired key assets at a fraction of the value at theloans for shares schemeauctions conducted in the run-up to the election.[3]Defenders of the out-of-favor oligarchs argue that the companies they acquired were not highly valued at the time because they still ran on Soviet principles, with non-existentstock control,huge payrolls, no financial reporting and scant regard for profit.[4]
Since 2014, hundreds of Russian oligarchs and their companies have been hit withUS sanctionsfor their support of "the Russian government's malign activity around the globe".[5][6]In 2022, many Russian oligarchs and their close family members were targeted and sanctioned by countries around the world as a rebuke ofRussia's war in Ukraine.
Yeltsin era, 1991–1999
editDuringMikhail Gorbachev'sperestroika(c. 1985–1991), many businessmen inRussiaimported goods such as personal computers and jeans into the country and sold them for a hefty profit.
OnceBoris YeltsinbecamePresident of Russiain July 1991, the oligarchs emerged as well-connected entrepreneurs who started from nearly nothing and became rich through participation in the market via connections to the corrupt, but elected,government of Russiaduring the state's transition to amarket-based economy.The so-calledvoucher privatizationprogram of 1992–1994 enabled a handful of young men to become billionaires, specifically byarbitragingthe vast difference between old domestic prices for Russian commodities (such as natural gas and oil) and the prices prevailing on the world market. These oligarchs became unpopular with the Russian public and are often blamed for the turmoil that plagued theRussian Federationfollowing the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.[7][8][9][10]
Emergence
editEconomistsSergei Gurievand Andrei Rachinsky contrast older oligarchs withnomenklaturaties and younger-generation entrepreneurs such asKakha Bendukidzewho built their wealth from scratch because Gorbachev's reforms affected a period "when co-existence of regulated andquasi-marketprices created huge opportunities forarbitrage."[11]
The majority of oligarchs were promoted (at least initially) by the Sovietapparatchiks,with strong connections to Soviet power-structures and access to the funds of the Communist Party.[4][12][13]Boris Berezovskyhimself was Head of the Department of System Design at another Academy of Sciences research centre. His private company was established by the Institute as ajoint venture.[14]Mikhail Khodorkovskystarted his business importing computers under auspices of theKomsomol-authorisedCenter for Scientific and Technical Creativity of the Youthin 1986, briefly serving as a deputy secretary of the Komsomol for a district in Moscow in 1987. His move into banking two years later was funded with the support of Komsomol alumni working in Moscow city government. Later, he served in the Russian government as an adviser to the prime minister and a deputy minister of fuel and power while still running his business.[15]Vladimir Vinogradovwas the chief economist ofPromstroybank,one of the six banks existing in the Soviet Union,[16]previously serving as the secretary ofAtommashplant Komsomol organisation.[15]
Political support
editEconomistYegor Gaidarworked in aSoviet Academy of Sciencesthink tank modelled afterRAND.[17]Gaidar later became the economics editor of theKommunistjournal, the official theoretical organ of theCC of the CPSU.He also held various positions, including Prime Minister in the Russian government during 1991–1992.[18]Together withAnatoly Chubais,the two "Young Reformers" were chiefly responsible for privatization in the early 1990s.[19][20][21]According toDavid Satter,"what drove the process was not the determination to create a system based onuniversal valuesbut rather the will to introduce a system of private ownership, which, in the absence of law, opened the way for the criminal pursuit of money and power ".[22][4]
The1998 Russian financial crisishit most oligarchs hard and those whose holdings were based mainly inbankinglost much of their fortunes. The most influential oligarchs from the Yeltsin era include[7]Roman Abramovich,Boris Berezovsky,Vladimir Gusinsky,Mikhail Khodorkovsky,Vladimir Potanin,Alexander SmolenskyandVladimir Vinogradov.[4]They formed what became known as theSemibankirschina(or "seven-banker outfit", ), a group of businessmen with a great influence on Boris Yeltsin and his political environment. Together they controlled from 50% to 70% of all Russian finances between 1996 and 2000. HistorianEdward L. Keenanhas compared these oligarchs to the system of powerfulboyarsthat emerged in late-medievalMuscovy.[23]The Guardianreported in 2008 that"'oligarchs' from the era of former president Boris Yeltsin have been purged by the Kremlin ".[24]
Putin era, 1999–2022 (prior to the invasion of Ukraine)
editWith the ascent of Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin the influence of the Yeltsin oligarchs dissipated, as some were imprisoned, such asMikhail Khodorkovsky(pictured here) andMikhael Mirilashvili,while others emigrated, sold off their assets or died under suspicious circumstances, such asVladimir VinogradovandBoris Berezovsky.A number of Yeltsin oligarchs first came under fire for allegedtax evasion.[25][26]Vladimir Gusinskyof MediaMost andBoris Berezovskyboth avoided legal proceedings by leaving Russia, and the most prominent,Mikhail KhodorkovskyofYukosoil,was arrested in October 2003 and sentenced to 9 years. This was subsequently extended to 14 years, and after Putin pardoned him, he was released on 20 December 2013.[27]
A second wave of oligarchs emerged in the 2000s, friends and former colleagues of President Putin either from his years in the St Petersburg municipal administration or his Dresden tenure in the KGB.[28]Examples are the director of the institute where Putin obtained a degree in 1996,Vladimir Litvinenko,[29]and Putin's childhood friend andjudo-teacherArkady Rotenberg.[30]Gennady Timchenkowas close friends with Russian leaderVladimir Putinsince the early 1980s.[31][32]In 1991, Putin gave Timchenko an oil export license.[11]These oligarchs worked in close cooperaton with the government, displacing a system of crony capitalism with a system of state capitalism whereby the new oligarchs benefited from financing by state-owned banks and access to public procurement projects.[33]
An economic study distinguished 21 oligarchic groups as of 2003.[11]Between 2000 and 2004, Putin apparently engaged in a power struggle with some oligarchs, reaching a "grand bargain" with them. This bargain allowed the oligarchs to maintain their powers, in exchange for their explicit support of – and alignment with – Putin's government.[34][35]However, other analysts argue that the oligarchic structure has remained intact under Putin, with Putin devoting much of his time to mediating power-disputes between rival oligarchs.[36]
Prominent Putin-era oligarchs
editThe ten most-prominent oligarchs of the early Putin era includedRoman Abramovich,Oleg Deripaska,Mikhail Prokhorov,Alisher Usmanov,Viktor Vekselberg,Leonid Mikhelson,Arkady Rotenberg,Gennady Timchenko,Andrey GuryevandVitaly Malkin.[37]In 2004, five years after Putin's ascent to power,Forbeslisted 36 billionaires of Russian citizenship, with a note: "this list includes businessmen of Russian citizenship who acquired the major share of their wealth privately, while not holding a governmental position". In 2005, the number of billionaires dropped to 30, mostly because of theYukoscase, with Khodorkovsky dropping from No. 1 (US$15.2 billion) to No. 21 (US$2.0 billion). A 2013 report by Credit Suisse found that 35% of the wealth of Russia was owned by the wealthiest 110 individuals.[38][33]
Daniel Treisman proposed using a term "silovarch" (silovikand oligarch) for a new class of Russian oligarchs with backgrounds in Russian military and intelligence.[39]
On 30 January 2018, theU.S. Treasurypublished a "list of oligarchs" as part of a document known as the "Putin list"which was compiled under the requirement of theCAATSAAct.[40][41]According to the document itself, its criterion for inclusion was simply being a Russian national with a net worth of over $1 billion.[42]The list was criticised for being indiscriminate, and including critics of Putin.[43]
2008 global recession and credit crisis
editAccording to the financial news-agencyBloomberg L.P.,Russia's wealthiest 25 individuals have collectively lost US$230 billion (£146 billion) since July 2008.[44][45][46]The fall in the oligarchs' wealth relates closely to the meltdown in Russia's stock market, as by 2008 theRTS Indexhad lost 71% of its value due to thecapital flightafter theRusso-Georgian Warof August 2008.[47]
Billionaires in Russia were particularly hard-hit by lenders seeking repayment onballoon loansto shore up their own balance sheets. Many oligarchs took out generous loans from Russian banks, bought shares, and then took out more loans from western banks against the value of these shares.[48][49]One of the first to get hit by the global downturn wasOleg Deripaska,Russia's richest man at the time, who had a net worth of US$28 billion in March 2008. As Deripaska borrowed money from western banks using shares in his companies as collateral, the collapse in share price forced him to sell holdings to satisfy themargin calls.[48][49]
Putin era, 2022 invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions
editAfter the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Canada, US, and European leaders with the addition of Japan, took unprecedented steps to sanction Putin and the oligarchs directly.[50]In response to thesanctions,the targeted oligarchs started to hide wealth in an attempt to prevent the Western nations from freezing their assets.[51]These sanctions intend to directly impact the Russian ruling class as a response for their perceived contribution and acquiescence to the war with Ukraine. Although the sanctions miss some of the richest oligarchs, the impact on the war is unknown due to Putin's power over those that were sanctioned.[52]Since the invasion began, nine of the Russian oligarchs' yachts have turned theirnavigation transpondersoff as they sail to ports where they are less likely to be searched and seized.[50]
On March 2, 2022, the United States announced a special task force dubbed "Task Force KleptoCapture".This team was put together to specifically target oligarchs. It is made up of officials from theFBI,Marshals Service,IRS,Postal Inspection Service,Homeland Security InvestigationsandSecret Service.The main goal of the task force is to impose the sanctions set against these individuals to freeze and seize the assets that the US government claimed were proceeds of their illegal involvement with the Russian government and the invasion of Ukraine.[53]On March 21, 2022, theOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting ProjectlaunchedRussian Asset Trackerto showcase the profiles and assets of several Russian oligarchs.[54]
Several dozen business people with family connections to top politicians include President Putin’s younger daughterKaterina Tikhonova,who through her investment fund has been the recipient of numerous large contracts from state-owned energy companies.[55]Her former husbandKirill Shamalovruns the largest Russian petrochemicals company Sibur as well as his own investment fund.[56]
The son-in-law of Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrovruns an investment fund with assets exceeding $6 billion. Andrey Ryumin,[57]the son-in-law ofViktor Medvedchuk,President Putin’s former closest ally in Ukraine, runs another investment fund with large agricultural holdings which have become recipients of state subsidies for import substitution (Rouhandeh 2022).Petr Fradkov,the son of a former Prime Minister and head of the Russian foreign intelligence service, Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov, the son of the former head of the presidential administrationSergei Ivanov,and Andrey Patrushev, the son of the current head of the Russian Security CouncilNikolai Patrushevhave all joined the ranks of the oligarchs.[58][circular reference]
The list of oligarchs and business executives who have risen to prominence and who have been sanctioned after Russia's invasion of Ukraine includes:
- Petr Fradkov(CEO ofPromstroybank,son ofMikhail Fradkov,former Russian Prime Minister during 2004–2007.Mikhail Fradkovis the longest serving director of Russia'sForeign Intelligence Servicefrom 2007 to 2016.[59][60]Since 4 January 2017, Fradkov has been Director of theRussian Institute for Strategic Studies.[61])
- Andrey Guryev(the former head ofPhosAgro,the world's fourth largest producer of phosphate-based fertilizers)[62]
- Mikhail Gutseriev(former owner ofRussneft,one of Russia's largest oil companies)[63]
- Said Gutseriev(Russian-British businessperson, the son ofRussian oligarchMikhail Gutseriev.Since 2018 he has been included by Forbes into the list of wealthiest businessmen in the world. In 2021 his fortune has been estimated at $1.7 billion.[64][65]
- Katerina Tikhonova(President Putin's second daughter and deputy chair of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs)[66]
- Kirill Shamalov(director and part-owner ofSibur,a Russian petrochemicals company)[67]
- Andrey Valerievich Ryumin (Executive Director ofRossetiPJSC (formerly, until August 2014, known as Russian Grids, Chairman of Board, son-in-law ofViktor Medvedchuk.Medvedchuk is a pro-KremlinUkrainian politician and a personal friend of Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.)[11][68][69][70]
- Andrey Patrushev (son of the Secretary of theSecurity Council of RussiaNikolai Patrushev.Nikolai Patrushevserved as the director of theFederal Security Service(FSB) from 1999 to 2008. Belonging to thesilovikifaction of presidentVladimir Putin's inner circle,[71]Patrushev is believed to be one of the closest advisors to Putin and a leading figure behind Russia's national security affairs.[72]Patrushev is seen by some observers as one of the likeliest candidates for succeeding Putin.)[73][74]
- Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov (Board member ofGazprombankand president ofAlrosadiamond mining; son ofSergei Ivanov,Minister of Defense of Russia from March 2001 to February 2007,Deputy Prime Ministerfrom November 2005 to February 2007 and First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008. After theelectionofDmitry MedvedevasPresident of Russia,Ivanov was reappointed aDeputy Prime Minister(in office: 2008–2011) inVladimir Putin's second cabinet.From December 2011 to August 2016, Ivanov worked as theChief of Staffof thePresidential Executive Office.[75]Having served in the SovietKGBand in its successor, theFederal Security Service,Sergei Ivanovholds the rank ofcolonel general.)
- Ruben Vardanyan,former head ofRussian Security Council,[76][77]former adviser toVladimir Putin,[78][79][80]formerchief executive officerand shareholder of theTroika Dialoginvestment bank,which was the hearth of theTroika Laundromat.[81][82]Had close ties toVladimir Putinand nicknamed "Putin's wallet."[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90]Following theRussian invasion of Ukraine,Vardanyan was placed on the Ukrainian government's list of sanctioned people for his role as aboard memberof the Russian air cargo companyVolga Dnepr,which plays a major role in Russian military air transport.[91][92][93]
- Yevgeny Prigozhin,founder of the paramilitary theWagner Group.In June 2023, the Wagner Grouplaunched a rebellion against the Russian military,seizing control of the port city ofRostov-on-Don.[94]Exactly two months later, on August 23, Prigozhin was killed in aplane crashthat is suspected to have been orchestrated byNikolai Patrushev,[95]the head of theSecurity Council of Russiaand Putin's right-hand man.
- Yury Slyusar(director ofUnited Aircraft Corporationand board member ofAeroflot,Russian Airlines Pjsc and United Aircraft)
- Alexander Vinokurov(Owner of the privately held investment company Marathon Group (Russian company) and largest shareholder of retailer Magnit. Vinokurov is married to Ekaterina Vinokurova (née Lavrova) (born 1982New York City), daughter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian FederationSergey Lavrov.[96]Vinokurov was added to theEU Sanctions Liston 9 March 2022 for providing a substantial source of revenue to the government of the Russian Federation during theRusso-Ukrainian War.[97][98]
Russian oligarchs in London
editThe British Government policy encouraged the flow of foreign capital into the United Kingdom, for example through theforeign investor visa routes,introduced duringJohn Major'spremiershipin 1994, one-fifth of whose recipients since 2008 are Russian citizens.[99]
A significant number of Russian oligarchs have bought homes in upmarket sections of London[100]in the United Kingdom, which has been dubbed "Moscow on Thames" or "Londongrad".[101]Some, such asEugene Shvidler,Alexander Knaster,Konstantin Kagalovsky,David Wilkowske and Abram Reznikov, areexpatriates,having taken permanent residency in London.Roman Abramovichbought 16Kensington Palace Gardensin London, a 15-bedroom mansion, for £120 million.[102]Mikhail FridmanrestoredAthlone Housein London as a primary residence in 2016.[103][104]
Roman Abramovichbought the English football clubChelsea F.C.in 2003, spending record amounts on players' salaries.[105]Alexander Mamutinvested £100m toWaterstonesbookstore chain after acquiring it in 2011 for £53m. According to its managing directorJames Daunt,the intervention saved Waterstones, which managed to make its first annual profit since 2008 in 2016.[106]He remarked that continued Russian ownership would've been "catastrophic" for the chain in 2022.[107]
See also
edit- Suspicious deaths of Russian businesspeople (2022–2024)
- Banking in Switzerland
- Corruption in Russia
- List of Russian billionaires
- Media mogul
- Oligarchy
- Political groups under Vladimir Putin's presidency
- Privatization in Russia
- Reputation laundering
- Robber baron (industrialist)
- Russian asset tracker
- Russian mafia
- Tycoon
- Ukrainian oligarchs
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{{cite web}}
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Further reading
edit- Åslund, Anders (2019).Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy.New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.ISBN9780300243093.OCLC1137082828.
- Bullough, Oliver (2022).Butler to the World: How Britain Helps the World's Worst People Launder Money, Commit Crimes, and Get Away with Anything.New York: St. Martin's Press.ISBN9781250281920.OCLC1303568974.
- Bowen, Andrew,"Why London Is So Crucial to Putin's Russia".The Interpreter,20 March 2014.
- Djankov, SimeonRussia's Economy Under Putin,11 September 2015.
- Hoffman, David E.The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia,New York,Perseus Book Group,2002.
- Hollingsworth, Mark, and Stewart Lansley,Londongrad: From London with Cash: The Inside Story of the Oligarchs,London,Fourth Estate,2009.
- Schimpfössl, Elisabeth (2018).Rich Russians: From Oligarchs to Bourgeoisie.New York: Oxford Academic.ISBN9780190677763.
- Treisman, Daniel, and Andrei Shleifer. 2004. “A Normal Country.”Foreign Affairs 83 (2): 20-38.
- Watkins, Thayer."The Russian Oligarchs of the 1990s".applet-magic.com.
- Yablon, Alex (31 March 2013)."Oligarchology".New York.
- Aven, Petr.The Age of Berezovsky,Russia, Corpus, 2017.