Russian oligarchs
Encyclopedia
Business oligarch
is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate
", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from Russian parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics (mostly Russia
and Ukraine
) during privatization in Russia
and other post-Soviet states in 1990s. Businessmen with great wealth from these countries, were commonly labelled (simply) "oligarchs" in Russian regardless of whether they had real political power, as the term "oligarch
" would imply.
during his period of market liberalization.
's perestroika
, many Russian businessmen imported or smuggled goods such as personal computer
s and jeans
into the country and sold them, often on the black market, for a hefty profit.
During the 1990s, once Boris Yeltsin took office, the oligarchs emerged as well-connected entrepreneurs who started from nearly nothing and got rich through participation in the market via connections to the corrupt, but democratically elected, government of Russia during the state's transition to a market-based economy.
The oligarchs became extremely unpopular with the Russian public, and are commonly thought to be the cause of much of the turmoil that plagued the country following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Guardian
described the oligarchs as "about as popular with your average Russian as a man idly burning bundles of £50s outside an orphanage".
Post-Soviet business oligarchs include relatives or close associates of government officials, even government officials themselves, as well as criminal bosses who achieved vast wealth by acquiring state assets very cheaply (or for free) during the privatization process
controlled by the Yeltsin
government. Specific accusations of corruption
are often leveled at Anatoly Chubais
and Yegor Gaidar
, two of the 'Young Reformers' chiefly responsible for Russian privatization in the early 1990s. According to David Satter, author of Darkness at Dawn, "what drove the process was not the determination to create a system based on universal values but 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." In some cases, outright criminal groups in order to avoid attention assign front men to serve as executives and/or 'legal' owners of the companies they control.
Although the majority of oligarchs were not formally related with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, there are allegations that they were promoted (at least initially) by the communist apparatchiks, with strong connections to Soviet power structures and access to the monetary funds of the communist party
. In official media, oligarchs are usually pictured as the enemies of "communist forces". The latter is a stereotype
that describes political power that wants to restore Soviet-style communism in Russia.
During Yeltsin's presidency, oligarchs became increasingly influential in politics and played a significant role in financing the re-election of Yeltsin in 1996. With the insider information about financial decisions of the government, oligarchs could easily increase their wealth even further. The 1998 Russian financial crisis hit some of the oligarchs hard, however, and those whose holdings were based on banking lost much of their fortunes.
The most influential and exposed oligarchs from the Yeltsin era are Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky
, Alex Konanykhin
, Mikhail Fridman
, Vladimir Gusinsky
, Vitaly Malkin
or Vladimir Potanin
.
Potanin and Fridman are the only ones of the list to have made it to the Putin era. The others "have been purged by the Kremlin", according to The Guardian
.
became president.
During Putin presidency, many oligarchs came under fire for various illegal activities, particularly tax evasion
in the businesses they acquired. However, it is widely speculated and believed that the charges were also politically motivated, as these tycoons have fallen out of favour with the Kremlin. Vladimir Gusinsky
(MediaMost) and Boris Berezovsky both escaped justice by running out of Russia, and the most prominent, Mikhail Khodorkovsky
(Yukos
oil
), was arrested in October 2003, and sentenced to 9 years, which was subsequently extended to 14 years.
The most famous oligarchs from the Putin era include Roman Abramovich
, Oleg Deripaska
, Mikhail Prokhorov
, and still Vladimir Potanin
and Vitaly Malkin
.
Roustam Tariko
, one of Russia's most successful businessmen and the creator of Russian Standard Vodka and the owner of Russian Standard Bank
, is a rare case of an oligarch in that he did not get rich by capturing state assets during privatization, but created his empire completely from scratch.
The defenders of the out-of-favor oligarchs (often associated with Chubais's party—the Union of Right Forces
) argue the companies they acquired were not highly valued at the time because they were still run on Soviet
principles, with non-existent stock controls, huge payrolls, no financial reporting and scant regard for profit. They turned the businesses—often vast—around and made them deliver value for shareholders. They obtain little sympathy from the Russian public, though, due to resentment over the economic disparity they represent.
In 2004, Russian Forbes listed 36 billionaires of Russian citizenship, with an interesting 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 the Yukos
case, with Khodorkovsky dropping from #1 ($15.2 billion) to #21 ($2.0 billion).
Billionaire, philanthropist,art patron and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev
has criticized the oligarchs, saying "I think material wealth for them is a highly emotional and spiritual thing. They spend a lot of money on their own personal consumption." Lebedev has also described them as a bunch of uncultured ignoramuses, saying "They don't read books. They don't have time. They don't go to exhibitions. They think the only way to impress anyone is to buy a yacht." He also notes that the oligarchs have no interest in social injustice. According to Lebedev, some members of this exclusive list - known as the golden 100 - are now down to their last $100 million USD, the über-rich equivalent of skid row, due to the 2008 global economy downturn and credit crisis.
, United Kingdom
, which has been dubbed "Moscow on Thames". Some, like Boris Berezovsky and Abram Reznikov, are expatriate
s, having left Russia permanently. Most own homes in both countries as well as property and have acquired controlling interests in major European companies. They commute on a regular basis between EU and Russia; in many cases their families reside in London, with their children attending school there. In 2007, Abram Reznikov bought one of Spain's mega recycling companies, Alamak Espana Trade SL, while Roman Abramovich
, considered the wealthiest of the oligarchs, bought the English football club, Chelsea F.C.
, in 2003, and has spent record amounts on players' salaries.
, Russia's wealthiest 25 individuals have collectively lost $230 billion (£146 billion). The fall in the oligarchs' wealth is closely linked to the meltdown in Russia's stock market, as the RTS index has lost 71% of its value, due to the capital flight
after the Russia/Georgia conflict.
Billionaires in Russia and Ukraine have been particularly hard hit by lenders seeking repayment on balloon loans in order to 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. One of the first to get hit by the global downturn was Oleg Deripaska
, Russia's richest man at the time whose net worth was $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 the margin calls.
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from Russian parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics (mostly Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) during privatization in Russia
Privatization in Russia
Russian privatization was the reform consisting in privatization of state-owned industrial assets that took place in Russia in the 1990s, during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, where private ownership of enterprises had been illegal for a long...
and other post-Soviet states in 1990s. Businessmen with great wealth from these countries, were commonly labelled (simply) "oligarchs" in Russian regardless of whether they had real political power, as the term "oligarch
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
" would imply.
Post-Soviet Russian oligarchs
The Russian oligarchs are business entrepreneurs who started under Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
during his period of market liberalization.
Yeltsinian oligarchs
By the end of the Soviet era and during Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
's perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, many Russian businessmen imported or smuggled goods such as personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s and jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
into the country and sold them, often on the black market, for a hefty profit.
During the 1990s, once Boris Yeltsin took office, the oligarchs emerged as well-connected entrepreneurs who started from nearly nothing and got rich through participation in the market via connections to the corrupt, but democratically elected, government of Russia during the state's transition to a market-based economy.
The oligarchs became extremely unpopular with the Russian public, and are commonly thought to be the cause of much of the turmoil that plagued the country following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described the oligarchs as "about as popular with your average Russian as a man idly burning bundles of £50s outside an orphanage".
Post-Soviet business oligarchs include relatives or close associates of government officials, even government officials themselves, as well as criminal bosses who achieved vast wealth by acquiring state assets very cheaply (or for free) during the privatization process
Privatization in Russia
Russian privatization was the reform consisting in privatization of state-owned industrial assets that took place in Russia in the 1990s, during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, where private ownership of enterprises had been illegal for a long...
controlled by the Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
government. Specific accusations of corruption
Corporate crime
In criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation , or by individuals acting on behalf of a corporation or other business entity...
are often leveled at Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Chubais
Anatoly Borisovich Chubais is a Russian politician and business manager who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration. From 1998 to 2008 he was the head of the state owned electrical power monopoly RAO UES. The 2004 survey by...
and Yegor Gaidar
Yegor Gaidar
Yegor Timurovich Gaidar was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician and author, and was the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from 15 June 1992 to 14 December 1992....
, two of the 'Young Reformers' chiefly responsible for Russian privatization in the early 1990s. According to David Satter, author of Darkness at Dawn, "what drove the process was not the determination to create a system based on universal values but 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." In some cases, outright criminal groups in order to avoid attention assign front men to serve as executives and/or 'legal' owners of the companies they control.
Although the majority of oligarchs were not formally related with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
, there are allegations that they were promoted (at least initially) by the communist apparatchiks, with strong connections to Soviet power structures and access to the monetary funds of the communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
. In official media, oligarchs are usually pictured as the enemies of "communist forces". The latter is a stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
that describes political power that wants to restore Soviet-style communism in Russia.
During Yeltsin's presidency, oligarchs became increasingly influential in politics and played a significant role in financing the re-election of Yeltsin in 1996. With the insider information about financial decisions of the government, oligarchs could easily increase their wealth even further. The 1998 Russian financial crisis hit some of the oligarchs hard, however, and those whose holdings were based on banking lost much of their fortunes.
The most influential and exposed oligarchs from the Yeltsin era are Boris Berezovsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is a Russian prisoner, considered by some - such as Amnesty International - to have been imprisoned for political reasons, jailed until 2016 and a former Russian oligarch and businessman...
, Alex Konanykhin
Alex Konanykhin
Alex Konanykhin is a Russian entrepreneur, former banker, former oligarch and past member of Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s inner circle....
, Mikhail Fridman
Mikhail Fridman
Mikhail Maratovich Fridman is a Jewish Russian businessman. Mr. Fridman graduated from Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys in 1986. In 1988 Fridman started his career in trading and financial services before founding Alfa Group Consortium in 1989...
, Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky is a Russian media baron, is known as the founder of Media-Most holding that included Most Bank, the NTV channel, the newspaper Segodnya and magazines.-Life and career:Gusinsky was born in Moscow....
, Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin is a 56 years old Russian business oligarch and politician who was born near the city of Ekaterinburg in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast....
or Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and oligarch. His partner has been for many years Mikhail Prokhorov...
.
Potanin and Fridman are the only ones of the list to have made it to the Putin era. The others "have been purged by the Kremlin", according to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Diminishing power
The power of oligarchs diminished significantly after Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
became president.
During Putin presidency, many oligarchs came under fire for various illegal activities, particularly tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
in the businesses they acquired. However, it is widely speculated and believed that the charges were also politically motivated, as these tycoons have fallen out of favour with the Kremlin. Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Gusinsky
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky is a Russian media baron, is known as the founder of Media-Most holding that included Most Bank, the NTV channel, the newspaper Segodnya and magazines.-Life and career:Gusinsky was born in Moscow....
(MediaMost) and Boris Berezovsky both escaped justice by running out of Russia, and the most prominent, Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is a Russian prisoner, considered by some - such as Amnesty International - to have been imprisoned for political reasons, jailed until 2016 and a former Russian oligarch and businessman...
(Yukos
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...
oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
), was arrested in October 2003, and sentenced to 9 years, which was subsequently extended to 14 years.
The most famous oligarchs from the Putin era include Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
, Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL, a Russian aluminium industry company...
, Mikhail Prokhorov
Mikhail Prokhorov
Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov is a Russian billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the American basketball team, the New Jersey Nets. After graduating from the Moscow Finance Institute he made his name in the financial sector and went on to become one of Russia's leading industrialists in the...
, and still Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and oligarch. His partner has been for many years Mikhail Prokhorov...
and Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin is a 56 years old Russian business oligarch and politician who was born near the city of Ekaterinburg in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast....
.
Roustam Tariko
Roustam Tariko
Roustam Tariko is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Russian history. He is of Tatar descent.Tariko is the founder of Russian Standard Vodka, the leading premium vodka in Russia. He also founded Russian Standard Bank, a pioneer in Russian consumer credit market and one of the top credit...
, one of Russia's most successful businessmen and the creator of Russian Standard Vodka and the owner of Russian Standard Bank
Russian Standard Bank
Russian Standard Bank is one of the largest Russian banks and the country's leading consumer lender.The bank was founded in 1999 by Roustam Tariko. It dominates the consumer finance sector in Russia, and has over 54 percent control of the credit card market and over 30 percent control of the point...
, is a rare case of an oligarch in that he did not get rich by capturing state assets during privatization, but created his empire completely from scratch.
The defenders of the out-of-favor oligarchs (often associated with Chubais's party—the Union of Right Forces
Union of Right Forces
The Union of Right Forces, or SPS , was a Russian democratic opposition party associated with free market reforms, privatization, and the legacy of the 'Young Reformers' of the 1990s: Anatoly Chubais, Boris Nemtsov, and Yegor Gaidar. Nikita Belykh was the last party's leader...
) argue the companies they acquired were not highly valued at the time because they were still run on Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
principles, with non-existent stock controls, huge payrolls, no financial reporting and scant regard for profit. They turned the businesses—often vast—around and made them deliver value for shareholders. They obtain little sympathy from the Russian public, though, due to resentment over the economic disparity they represent.
In 2004, Russian Forbes listed 36 billionaires of Russian citizenship, with an interesting 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 the Yukos
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...
case, with Khodorkovsky dropping from #1 ($15.2 billion) to #21 ($2.0 billion).
Billionaire, philanthropist,art patron and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev
Alexander Lebedev
Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev is a Russian businessman, referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs.In May 2008, he was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the richest Russians and as the 358th richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion...
has criticized the oligarchs, saying "I think material wealth for them is a highly emotional and spiritual thing. They spend a lot of money on their own personal consumption." Lebedev has also described them as a bunch of uncultured ignoramuses, saying "They don't read books. They don't have time. They don't go to exhibitions. They think the only way to impress anyone is to buy a yacht." He also notes that the oligarchs have no interest in social injustice. According to Lebedev, some members of this exclusive list - known as the golden 100 - are now down to their last $100 million USD, the über-rich equivalent of skid row, due to the 2008 global economy downturn and credit crisis.
Oligarchs in London
A significant number of Russian oligarchs have bought homes in upscale sections of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which has been dubbed "Moscow on Thames". Some, like Boris Berezovsky and Abram Reznikov, are expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s, having left Russia permanently. Most own homes in both countries as well as property and have acquired controlling interests in major European companies. They commute on a regular basis between EU and Russia; in many cases their families reside in London, with their children attending school there. In 2007, Abram Reznikov bought one of Spain's mega recycling companies, Alamak Espana Trade SL, while Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
, considered the wealthiest of the oligarchs, bought the English football club, Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, in 2003, and has spent record amounts on players' salaries.
2008 global recession and credit crisis
Since July 2008, according to the financial news agency Bloomberg L.P.Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
, Russia's wealthiest 25 individuals have collectively lost $230 billion (£146 billion). The fall in the oligarchs' wealth is closely linked to the meltdown in Russia's stock market, as the RTS index has lost 71% of its value, due to the capital flight
Capital flight
Capital flight, in economics, occurs when assets and/or money rapidly flow out of a country, due to an economic event and that disturbs investors and causes them to lower their valuation of the assets in that country, or otherwise to lose confidence in its economic...
after the Russia/Georgia conflict.
Billionaires in Russia and Ukraine have been particularly hard hit by lenders seeking repayment on balloon loans in order to 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. One of the first to get hit by the global downturn was Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the Russian Chief executive officer of Basic Element company and a member of the Board of Directors and CEO of United Company RUSAL, a Russian aluminium industry company...
, Russia's richest man at the time whose net worth was $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 the margin calls.
See also
- Ukrainian oligarchsUkrainian oligarchsThe Ukrainian oligarchs are a group of Business oligarch that quickly appeared on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after its independence in 1991, just like it happened in neighboring post-Soviet state Russia....
- Business magnateBusiness magnateA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
- History of post-Soviet Russia: The "loans for shares" scheme and the rise of the "oligarchs"
- OligarchyOligarchyOligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
- Robber baron (industrialist)Robber baron (industrialist)Robber baron is a pejorative term used for a powerful 19th century American businessman. By the 1890s the term was used to attack any businessman who used questionable practices to become wealthy...
- Russian mafiaRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
- Political groups during Vladimir Putin's presidencyPolitical groups during Vladimir Putin's presidencyA diverse variety of informal political groups emerged during the presidency of Vladimir Putin. They include remnants of the so-called the Yeltsin Family, Sankt Petersburg lawyers and -economists, and security-intelligence elements called the siloviki.-Background:...
Further reading
- The Russian Oligarchs of the 1990's
- David E. Hoffman, The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the new Russia, Perseus Book Group, New York, 2002
- Mark Hollingsworth and Stewart Lansley, Londongrad; From London with cash: The inside story of the oligarchs, London, 2009