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Oligarchs 1991-2000
The usual answer to the question "Who owns Russia?" is "Oligarchs."
Who are the oligarchs? In many respects, the business press has shaped the perceptions of them. Kommersant Publishing House is aware of the direct role its publications have played in creating a "portrait gallery" of oligarchs; therefore, in our series Who Owns Russia?, we have tried to analyze our contribution the formation of this gallery.
The following pages are an account of our research. The chart beside each photo shows how often Kommersant has mentioned that person's name in the past ten years. The first mention of each oligarch is highlighted, because it allows us to judge how his image has evolved during this time.
Viktor Chernomyrdin
  | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 0 | 113 | 996 | 944 | 938 | 763 | 722 | 524 | 283 | 114 | 70 |
June 1, 1992: On May 30, after President Yeltsin's consultations with top-managers of oil and gas complex, one learnt of Vladimir Lopukhin's dismissal from the post of Minister of Energy. He has been replaced by Viktor Chernomyrdin, head of Gazprom concern.
Anatoly Chubais | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 6 | 130 | 300 | 403 | 439 | 356 | 639 | 352 | 202 | 324 | 228 |
July 15, 1991: The Mayor of St. Petersburg broke up the economic reform committee headed by Anatoly Chubais, who advocated a free economic zone, and appointed Chubais as chief economic advisor, which official circles regarded as an honorable discharge.
Boris Berezovsky | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 1 | 2 | 11 | 30 | 38 | 64 | 231 | 275 | 336 | 172 | 112 |
September 23, 1991: LogoVAZ decided to bring its prices for Zhigulis into line with world prices. As Boris Berezovsky, the general director of Joint Venture LogoVAZ (SP LogoVAZ), told a Kommersant correspondent, LogoVAZ had to pay off AvtoVAZ with imported equipment worth a total of $20 million for the opportunity to sell 10 000 cars at world prices on the domestic market.
Nikolai Aksenenko | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 192 | 93 | 87 |
September 28, 1994: By order of Viktor Chernomyrdin, Nikolai Aksenenko was appointed Deputy Minister of Communication Means to replace Kim Salatov, who had moved to another job.
Rem Vyakhirev
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 2 | 17 | 32 | 52 | 55 | 99 | 115 | 61 | 152 | 103 |
October 8, 1992: Rem Vyakhirev, the Minister of the Russian Gas Industry, left yesterday for Vienna. When asked by a Kommersant correspondent to talk about the objectives of his visit, the Minister, without stopping, replied, "No. We're working."
Vladimir Gusinsky
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 26 | 10 | 72 | 62 | 62 | 187 | 178 |
July 15, 1991: Vladimir Gusinsky, the general director of Joint Venture Most (SP Most), felt that the police did not have the money to fight international organized crime; so he decided to establish an assistance fund for the Moscow Main Administration of the Interior (GUVD), to which SP Most would contribute generously.
Vladimir Kadannikov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 2 | 6 | 25 | 40 | 48 | 195 | 24 | 16 | 15 | 28 | 25 |
September 10, 1990: According to available information, a letter sent by Vladimir Kadannikov, the general director of AvtoVAZ, to Stepan Sitaryan, the Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers (Sovmin SSSR), requested that measures be taken to regulate the import of shipments of new VAZ cars into the USSR. Analysts regarded this as a request for a ban on reexport.
Vladimir Potanin
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 143 | 159 | 79 | 37 | 62 | 47 |
August 16, 1994: One of the main issues discussed during negotiations between ONEKSIM Bank and the government of Turkmenistan, in which Vladimir Potanin, the president of ONEKSIM Bank, took part, was how the bank would participate in the system of settlements between Russian and Turkmen companies.
Vagit Alekperov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 1 | 2 | 10 | 44 | 40 | 67 | 41 | 50 | 26 | 57 | 41 |
April 22, 1991: The single-minded efforts of the Moscow Commodity Exchange (MTB) to establish a petroleum products market achieved its first visible results with the visit of Vagit Alekperov, the Deputy Minister of the USSR Oil and Gas Industry, and executives of the USSR Ministry of the USSR Chemical and Oil Refining Industries to the exchange.
Roman Abramovich
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 66 | 59 |
September 28, 1996: Besides the head of LogoVAZ, the nine members elected to AvtoVAZ's board of directors included the heads of the company's structural subdivisions, representatives of three territories (Yamalo-Nenets district and Tyumen and Omsk regions), and Roman Abramovich, the director of Sibneft's Moscow office.
Kakha Bendukidze
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 19 | 53 | 28 |
March 30, 1993: In his report, Kakha Bendukidze, a member of NIPEK's board of directors, admitted that NIPEK's civilized approach to establishing joint-venture companies with other structures had not always been warranted, since some of these companies had gone their separate ways without considering the interests of the founders, particularly NIPEK.
Vladimir Vinogradov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 1 | 32 | 64 | 48 | 56 | 51 | 31 | 35 | 23 | 26 | 16 |
April 2, 1990: Vladimir Vinogradov, the president of the Moscow Banking Union (MBS) explained that a law on banks was urgently needed because bureaucrats underestimated the place and role of commercial banks, which, as usual, were not taken seriously in ministerial circles.
Oleg Deripaska
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 85 | 65 |
November 19, 1994: The Sayansk Aluminum Smelter (SaAZ) had reason to be pleased with recent events. For the first time since privatization of the aluminum smelters, it had set a precedent by electing as general director Oleg Deripaska, a representative of the company's largest shareholders, rather than one of its own people.
Aleksandr Smolensky
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 4 | 11 | 25 | 40 | 38 | 17 | 41 | 63 | 37 | 24 | 17 |
July 15, 1991: By his own admission, Aleksandr Smolensky, the chairman of the governing board of Capital City Bank (Stolichny bank) did not initially suspect that Kartansky was a swindler: "He knew how act and talk." Against this "guarantee," the bank lent Kartansky about 2 million rubles.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 7 | 18 | 29 | 18 | 33 | 25 | 50 | 61 | 33 | 49 | 41 |
April 8, 1991: Observers noted that, although Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the general director of the MENATEP interbank association, had been given his own office on the third floor of the Russian Council of Ministers building, he was not listed as a member of any of the Council's official bodies.
Vladimir Bogdanov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 |
March 16, 1993: The previous week, a government resolution had given Vladimir Bogdanov, the general director of the production association AO Surgutneftegaz, the responsibility of forming the joint-stock company AO Surgutneftegaz.
Vladimir Yevtushenkov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 10 | 12 |
October 25, 1995: Eight people of the 20 listed in June were not mentioned in the "New Elite" (Vozrozhdennaya elita) directory. For example, Oleg Boiko, who had ranked second out of 20, was not included in any of the elite; and neither Vladimir Potanin, the president of ONEKSIM Bank, nor Vladimir Yevtushenkov of AO Moscow Committee for Science and Technology (AO Moskovsky komitet po nauke i tekhnologiyam) was included in the directory.
Iskander Makhmudov
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 14 |
October 10, 1995: Representatives of two groups of shareholders, Moscow and Orenburg, became members of the renewed board of directors. The Moscow representatives included Mikhail Brudno, a member of the board of directors of MENATEP Bank; Oleg Deripaska, the director of the Sayansk Aluminum Smelter (SaAZ); and Iskander Makhmudov, a member of the governing board of Sayany Bank (bank Sayany).
Lev Chernoi
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 24 | 10 |
October 21, 1995: Since the beginning of the year, several notable crimes connected with the struggle for control over the aluminum market had been committed. Many believed that the brothers Lev and Mikhail Chernoi, who were alleged to control the Russian aluminum market, were implicated in these deaths.
Mikhail Fridman
 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 26 | 3 | 15 | 21 |
November 30, 1995: Mikhail Fridman, the chairman of the board of Alfa Bank (Alfa-bank), denied the claim of Konstantin Kagalovsky, the chairman of the governing board of MENATEP, that Alfa Bank had made a proposal to MENATEP to resell YUKOS to a foreign investor and share the commission.
OLIGARCH. IT SOUNDS...
In this section, we give some definitions of the word "oligarch," as revealed by our research.
A Rich Man
Our research has shown that former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is the most popular figure on journalists' lists. The peak of his popularity was in 1994, when Kommersant mentioned him in nearly 1000 publications, or about three articles per issue. Trailing him were Anatoly Chubais with 639 mentions in 1997 and Boris Berezovsky with 336 mentions in 1999. Oligarchs who were not involved in politics appeared in Kommersant from 20 to 50 times per year. Thus, a person whose activities were reported by Kommersant no less than once every three weeks can be considered an oligarch. Otherwise, that person was either not an oligarch or had temporarily stopped being one.
In order to rate this number of mentions in a business newspaper, the newsmaker has to (a) be the owner of major banking or industrial capital; (b) have the desire to increase this capital and take any actions necessary toward achieving this goal, i.e., mergers, acquisitions, obtaining privileges, winning at loans for shares auctions, etc.; and (c) have extensive connections in order to influence the government's economic policy or successfully overcome the negative influence of this policy on his business. Condition "b" cannot be fulfilled without condition "c" in a state with a transitional economy.
This is the first definition of an oligarch.
A Public Man
It is worth noting how the oligarchs first appeared on the pages of Kommersant. Someone might be represented as an ordinary energetic businessman solving specific problems of his business, for example, Boris Berezovsky, who sold Russian-made cars. Someone else might appear as a magnate with real influence in political circles, for example Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was first mentioned as follows: "Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the general director of the MENATEP interbank association, has been given an official office on the third floor of the Russian Council of Ministers building."
Thus, a wealthy and influential person must be involved in certain public activities that bring him out of the shadows in order for newspapers to notice him. That is, an oligarch is an entrepreneur and politician who agrees to be considered an oligarch.
This is the second definition of an oligarch.
An Interesting Man
Our research has revealed an interesting pattern: the largest number of publications about oligarchs appeared in 1995, 1997, and 2000, during years that are considered to be relatively favorable and stable periods in Russia. The explanation is that first, during periods of crisis, everyone is preoccupied with the question "What do we do?". Therefore, the business press devotes most of its publications to practical matters, such as how to rescue savings from bankrupt banks, how long it will take to achieve stability, and so on. During relatively stable years, readers have time to think about questions such as "Whose fault is it?" and "What's happening in the country." Then, the business press is ready to devote space to articles on the activities of prominent entrepreneurs. In other words, an oligarch is an influential businessman whose activities arouse the public interest.
This is the third definition of an oligarch.
A Determined and Resourceful Man
A second explanation of the link between stability and the increased publicity given to oligarchs is that in troubled times, for example, during financial crises, coups d'etat, presidential elections, etc., the weakest politicians and entrepreneurs disappear from the scene. The stronger ones survive, and the strongest and most resourceful ones even manage to profit from crises. Thus, an oligarch must be determined and resourceful in order to emerge as a winner from a crisis.
This is the fourth definition of an oligarch.
A Man of a Market Economy
The last point to note is that if the position of one oligarch weakens, there are others to take his place. For example, in 1999, Kommersant wrote 283 articles about Viktor Chernomyrdin but only 61 articles about Rem Vyakhirev. The following year, Chernomyrdin was mentioned only 114 times, but Vyakhirev was mentioned 152 times. The conclusion is that the names on the list of oligarchs may change, but the list itself remains, because the presence of prominent entrepreneurs who are not afraid of publicity and who lobby for their interests in the corridors of power is a common consequence of a market economy.
P.S. We realize that public opinion is unstable, and it is quite possible that we have overlooked someone who considers himself an oligarch and is able to prove it. If so, editors are prepared to correspond with him personally.
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 16, 2001
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