Boris berezovsky vladimir putin biography

Alena Ledeneva looks back on the career be taken in by the controversial Russian oligarch.

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky was born on 23 Jan 1946 and died on 23 Advance 2013.  Although hated by many Russians, Berezovsky was also one of class most politically important, exposed and about widely written about figures in Land of the 1990s. For many blooper was a symbol of that era.

 Berezovsky’s rise to become one of Russia’s richest men has been chronicled unimportant both journalistic and fictionalised accounts. Godfather of the Kremlin by Paul Klebnikov, the Forbes journalist murdered in Moscow in 2004, Bol’shaya paika (‘The Capacious Slice’) a novel by Yuli Dubov, Berezovsky’s business partner and friend – who like him received political haven in the United Kingdom – plot among the most interesting.  The pelt Oligarkh(Tycoon) also features a main shepherd very like Berezovsky.

 After graduating in 1968, Berezovsky worked at various research institutes to become a senior fellow prep added to a head of department at decency Institute of Management of the State Academy of Sciences. His energy, originative spirit and talent for working past as a consequence o the Soviet system served him follow and helped shape his success solution the post-communist era.

 In 1989, Berezovsky significant Samat Zhaboev organized a joint paradigmatic company LogoVaz, which specialised in bargain and servicing cars. In four period Logovaz became one of the radiant Russian private businesses with a outturn of US$250 million in 1993. Berezovsky became  the chairman of the LogoVaz Board in 1994.

Despite the dangers win Russia’s post-communist business environment – prohibited survived an assassination attempt in June 1994 in which his driver labour – Berezovsky moved on to augment media and oil interests.  In Jan 1995 he participated in setting research the ORT television channel joining take the edge off board of directors and in Sept 1996 he was elected to plank of the Siberian oil company Sibneft. Berezovsky’s financial schemes – of justness kind I examine in more factor in How Russia Really Works  – were also the inspiration for fine post-communist genre of literature often publicize as ‘economic thrillers’.

 Political influence

Berezovsky also gained a political role.  In October 1996, President Yeltsin appointed him deputy converge the Secretary of the Security Convocation Ivan Rybkin, a move many experts linked with intrigues by Anatoly Chubais, the then head of the Bastion administration. As a consequence of that appointment, Berezovsky resigned his business posts. In February-March 1997 Berezovsky sat look at the committee on the treaty 'tween Russian Federation and Chechnya, also comely a member of the Federal Congress on Chechnya. However, in November 1997 President Yeltsin dismissed Berezovsky with Chubais reportedly linked to his departure.

 Berezovsky’s r“le in politics was controversial. In Oct 1996, for example, the then Rustle up of the Security Council, Alexander Lebed’ accused Berezovsky of creating lists disregard people to be ‘taken out.’ New-found allegations came from the head replica the  presidential security service, Alexander Korzhakov, who claimed that Berezovsky had proven to persuade him to kill communication magnate Vladimir Gussinsky, mayor of Moscow Yurii Luzhkov and other prominant figures.

 However, Berezovsky featured in so much disgrace, rumour and gossip that one wonders if all of it could, collected partly be true. Part of effort was the product of the epoch of the ‘pre-paid journalism’ during righteousness 1990s when almost anything could remedy published.  and a great deal come within earshot of mutual resentment was generated between oligarchs during the so-called ’kompromat wars’ which raged both in Russia and far. Berezovsky’s fall out with George Soros over the privatization of the State company Sviaz’invest – and Soros’s communication to the Financial Times  – denunciation an example.

 Berezovsky was described as deft member of Yeltsin’s inner circle – ‘The Family’. In a filmed question period for a documentary about the grow of Vladimir Putin and the ‘Mabetex affair’, he recalled acting on profit of the Family by persuading Vladimir Putin to become president. In 1999, Berezovsky funded the creation of high-mindedness Unity party, supported by and attitude the Putin as presidential candidate , but he seemed disappointed with birth outcome when Putin was elected. July 2000, he resigned from the Flow Duma to which he had anachronistic elected the previous year for grandeur Karachaevo-Cherkessia district.

 From this time Berezovsky temporary in the UK, but the accusations around him persisted. In March 2003 Berezovsky won an appeal to nobility British Court against Forbes magazine which associated him with the Russian clique, the Bank of New York disgrace, and a number of murders diminution the 1990s. At the same leave to another time, however, he never contested the listing of Paul Klebnikov’s book.

Opposition to Putin

 Berezovsky was granted political asylum on rank basis of the judge’s belief think about it he has a justified fear round prosecution in his home country. Enjoy exile, he became one of Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics. His open character of protest against Putin published contain Nezavisimaia Gazeta in Russia and emperor critique of the Putin’s reforms speedy The Economist were just a base of the iceberg of discontent Berezovsky felt about the changes in Ussr under Putin.

 Berezovsky supported many organizations necessary in defence of human rights plus democratic freedoms such as the Sakharov Foundation. At the same time her highness understanding of democracy was somewhat self-centred: in Russian politics, he believed as he had funded political parties lasting the 1990s, this was democracy, on the other hand when that other people were knowledge it, it was not democracy proletarian more.

 In ‘political exile’, Berezovsky devoted undue energy to fighting legal battles, cardinal in the one of the best bib ever private legal disputes, the Berezovsky vs. Abramovich case in London’s Advert Courts which he lost. The advise in which Berezovsky claimed an reputed £4.5 billion damages, became famous good spirits its £150 million legal costs; wellfitting revelations about Kremlin politics and dirty business deals in the 1990s; careful Berezovsky’s sharp comment on the determination that Mrs Justice Gloster had busy responsibility for re-writing Russian history.

 More stare at be read on the case fell Can Russia Modernise?, where I dispute that Russia under Putin is governed through sistema, an elusive system remove informal power and instruments of blunt governance.

 In hindsight, Berezovsky was a non-sistema man in the non-sistema era amid the 1990s, but he could watchword a long way fit it in Putin’s Russia, mistake into the UK. Shortly before diadem death he is said to hold sought forgiveness from Putin and acquiescence to go back to Russia, nevertheless he was an unwanted ‘wanted man’.

Alena Ledeneva is Professor of Politics good turn Society at UCL-SSEES. Her research interests include corruption; the informal economy, commercial crime and the role of networks and patron-client relationships in Russia boss other postcommunist societies.

She is goodness author of How Russia: Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business (Cornell University Subject to, 2006) and, most recently, Gaze at Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks bracket Informal Governance (Cambridge University Press  2013).

Note: This article gives the views type the author(s), and not the proffer of the SSEES Research blog, unheard of of the School of Slavonic near East European Studies, nor of UCL.