Boris Abramovich Berezovsky
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Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (, ; 23 January 1946 – 23 March 2013), also known as Platon Elenin, was a Russian
business oligarch A business oligarch is generally a business magnate who controls sufficient resources to influence national politics. A business leader can be considered an oligarch if some of the following conditions are satisfied: # uses monopolistic tactics to ...
, government official, engineer and mathematician and a member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...
. He had the federal state civilian service rank of
1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...
. Berezovsky had an estimated net worth of $3 billion in 1997, having made it via the
privatization in Russia Privatization in Russia describes the series of post-Soviet reforms that resulted in large-scale privatization of Russia's state-owned assets, particularly in the industrial, energy, and financial sectors. Most privatization took place in the e ...
of state property in the early 1990s, primarily the main television channel, Channel One. However, by the time of his death in 2013, he was impoverished and severely depressed after losing legal battles against his former friend,
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
, forced sales of his assets, and a large divorce settlement with his former wife. Berezovsky helped fund
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
, the political party that formed
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's first parliamentary base, and was elected to the
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
in the
1999 Russian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Russia on 19 December 1999 to elect the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p. 1642 Like in th ...
. However, following the
2000 Russian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 26 March 2000.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1642 Incumbent prime minister and acting president Vladimir Putin, who had succeeded Boris Yeltsin aft ...
, Berezovsky went into
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...
and resigned from the Duma. Berezovsky remained a vocal critic of Putin for the rest of his life. In late 2000, after the Russian Deputy Prosecutor General demanded that Berezovsky appear for questioning, he did not return from abroad and moved to the United Kingdom, which granted him
political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...
in September 2003. After he moved to Britain, the Russian government took over his television assets, and he divested from other Russian holdings. In Russia, Berezovsky was convicted in 2007 via
trial in absentia Trial in absentia is a criminal proceeding in a court of law in which the person being tried is not present. is Latin for "in (the) absence". Its interpretation varies by jurisdiction and legal system. In common law legal systems, the phrase i ...
of fraud and embezzlement. The first charges had been brought during
Yevgeny Primakov Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015, ) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to ...
's government in 1999. Despite an
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
Red Notice An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated by Interpol to communicate information about crimes, criminals, and threats by police in a member state (or an authorised international entity) to their counterparts around the world. The in ...
for Berezovsky's arrest, Russia repeatedly failed to obtain the
extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
of Berezovsky from Britain; the situation became a major point of diplomatic tension between the two countries. In late 2011, an Israeli private investigator ordered the mercenary Indian hack-for-hire firm
Appin Appin () is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northeast to southw ...
to hack Berezovsky and his lawyers. In 2012, Berezovsky lost a London High Court case he brought over the ownership of the major oil producer
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (; formerly Sibneft, ) is the third largest Petroleum industry, oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to Oil refinery, refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is ...
, against
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
, in which he sought over £3 billion in damages. The court concluded that Berezovsky had never been a co-owner of Sibneft. Berezovsky was found dead in his home, Titness Park, at Sunninghill, near
Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...
in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, on 23 March 2013. A
post-mortem An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death ...
examination found that his death was consistent with hanging and that there were no signs of a violent struggle. However, the coroner at the inquest into Berezovsky's death later recorded an
open verdict The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. Mortality studies ...
.


Early life, scientific research and engineering experience

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky was born in 1946, in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, to Abram Markovich Berezovsky (1911–1979), an
Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
in construction works, and his wife, Anna Aleksandrovna Gelman (22 November 1923 – 3 September 2013). He studied
applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...
, and received a doctorate in 1983. After graduating from the Moscow Forestry Engineering Institute in 1968, Berezovsky worked as an engineer from 1969 until 1987, serving as assistant research officer, research officer and finally the head of a department in the Institute of Control Sciences of the
USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...
. Berezovsky researched
optimization Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...
and
control theory Control theory is a field of control engineering and applied mathematics that deals with the control system, control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the applic ...
, publishing 16 books and articles between 1975 and 1989. After graduation, he got a job by distribution. Berezovsky later stated that he disliked his initial job, although appreciated his academic entourage that "shaped his personality". As a member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
, he did not act as a
political dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, a ...
. Yet, he disagreed with the official ideology, and sought to exploit his membership for career growth, that helped him to "intuitively compensate" lack of scientific talent.


Political and business career in Russia


Accumulation of wealth

Alexander Khinshtein Alexander Yevseyevich Khinshtein (; born 26 October 1974, Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR) is a Russian journalist and politician. Biography Alexander Khinshtein was born on October 26, 1974 in Moscow. He graduated from high school in 1991. In 1 ...
(
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
deputy, member of the
United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...
faction) claimed that in 1979 Boris Berezovsky was detained by the
OBKhSS The Department Against Misappropriation of Socialist Property (abbreviation: OBKhSS, ) was the Soviet financial police. It was responsible for the regulation of economic laws combating theft of property in the organizations and institutions of s ...
authorities in
Makhachkala Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye (1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk language, Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Dagestan, Russia. ...
(
Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991), abbreviated as Dagestan ASSR or DASSR and also unofficially known as Soviet Dagestan or just simply Dagestan, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Unio ...
) for profiteering. In Khinshtein's opinion, Berezovsky has been a
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
officer since 1979. In 1989, Berezovsky took advantage of the opportunities presented by
perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
to found LogoVAZ with
Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი; ; 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested the 2 ...
and senior managers from Russian automobile manufacturer
AvtoVAZ AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftɐˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ (), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (). AvtoVAZ is best known for its flagship series of ...
. LogoVAZ developed software for AvtoVAZ, sold Soviet-made cars and serviced foreign cars. The dealership profited from
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
by taking cars on consignment and paying the producer at a later date when the money lost much of its value. One of Berezovsky's early endeavors was All-Russia Automobile Alliance (AVVA), a venture fund he formed in 1993 with
Alexander Voloshin Alexander Stalyevich Voloshin (; born 3 March 1956) is a Russian politician who briefly was chairman of the board of directors of RAO UES, the former Russian state power utility, which was liquidated as part of the country's comprehensive powe ...
(Boris Yeltsin's future Chief of Staff) and
AvtoVAZ AvtoVAZ ( rus, АвтоВАЗ, p=ɐftɐˈvas) is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ (), an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian (). AvtoVAZ is best known for its flagship series of ...
Chairman Vladimir Kadannikov. Berezovsky controlled about 30% of the company, which raised nearly US$50 million from small investors through a bonded loan to build a plant producing a "people's car". The project did not collect sufficient funds for the plant and the funds were instead invested into AvtoVAZ production, while the debt to investors was swapped for equity. By 2000, AVVA held about one-third of AvtoVAZ. In 1994, Berezovsky was the target of a car bombing incident, but survived the assassination attempt, in which his driver was killed and he himself was injured.
Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
led the FSB investigation into the incident and linked the crime to the resistance of the Soviet-era AvtoVaz management to Berezovsky's growing influence in the Russian automobile market. Berezovsky's involvement in the Russian media began in December 1994, when he gained control over ORT Television (see
Channel One (Russia) Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervý kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian federal television channel. Its headquarters are located at Ostankino Technical Center near the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. The m ...
) to replace the failing Soviet TV Channel 1. He appointed the popular anchorman and producer
Vladislav Listyev Vladislav (Vlad) Nikolayevich Listyev (; May 10, 1956 – March 1, 1995) was a Soviet, later Russian journalist and head of the ORT TV Channel (now government-owned Channel One). Career Listyev was arguably the most popular journalist and TV ...
as CEO of ORT. Three months later Listyev was assassinated amid a fierce struggle for control of advertising sales. Berezovsky was questioned in the police investigation, among many others, but the killers were never found. Under Berezovsky's stewardship, ORT became a major asset of the reformist camp as they prepared to face Communists and nationalists in the upcoming
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...
. From 1995 to 1997, through the controversial
loans-for-shares Beginning in 1995, Boris Yeltsin's government began privatizing state-owned shares in companies through a loans for shares scheme. The scheme helped with "fundraising" for Yeltsin's 1996 reelection campaign and restructuring freshly-sold compa ...
privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
auctions, Berezovsky and Patarkatsishvili assisted
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
in acquiring control of
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (; formerly Sibneft, ) is the third largest Petroleum industry, oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to Oil refinery, refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is ...
, the sixth-largest Russian oil company, which constituted the bulk of his wealth. In an article in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' in 2000, Berezovsky revealed that financier
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
declined an invitation to participate in the acquisition. In 1995, he played a key role in a management reshuffle at
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
and participated in its corporatization, with his close associate
Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in suspicious circumstances. After claiming that Aeroflot work ...
becoming Aeroflot's CFO. In January 1998, it was announced that
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (; formerly Sibneft, ) is the third largest Petroleum industry, oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to Oil refinery, refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is ...
would merge with
Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman, Russian oligarchs, oligarch, and Russian opposition, opposition activist, now residing in London. In 2003, Khodork ...
's
Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
to create the third-largest oil company in the world. The merger was abandoned five months later amid falling oil prices.


Role in Yeltsin's reelection in 1996

Berezovsky entered the Kremlin's inner circle in 1993 through arranging for the publication of Yeltsin's memoirs and befriended
Valentin Yumashev Valentin Borisovich Yumashev (; born 15 December 1957) is a Russian journalist, politician and businessman- developer, who is the son-in-law of former President Boris Yeltsin and a member of his inner circle. He has the federal state civilian s ...
, the President's ghost-writer. In January 1996, at the
World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
at
Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...
, Berezovsky liaised with fellow oligarchs to form an alliance – which later became known as the "Davos Pact" – to bankroll Boris Yeltsin's campaign in the upcoming
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...
. On his return to Moscow, Berezovsky met and befriended
Tatyana Dyachenko Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva (; formerly Dyachenko (Дьяченко); (Ельцина); born 17 January 1960) is the younger daughter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina. Since 2009, Yumasheva has been a citizen of Aus ...
, Yeltsin's daughter, According to a later profile by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', "Berezovsky masterminded the 1996 re-election of Boris Yeltsin... He and his billionaire friends coughed up £140 million for Yeltsin's campaign". In the summer of 1996, Berezovsky had emerged as a key advisor to Yeltsin, allied with
Anatoly Chubais Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (; born 16 June 1955) is a Russian- Israeli politician and economist who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s. During this period, ...
, opposing a group of hardliners led by General
Alexander Korzhakov Alexander Vasilyevich Korzhakov (; born 31 January 1950) is a Russian former KGB general who served as Boris Yeltsin's bodyguard, confidant, and adviser for eleven years. He was the head of the Presidential Security Service (PSB) from 1991 to ...
. One night in June, in the drawing room of Club Logovaz, Berezovsky, Chubais and others plotted the ouster of Korzhakov and other hardliners. On 20 June 1996, Yeltsin fired Korzhakov and two other hawks, leaving the reformers' team in full control of the Kremlin. Firing them was controversial though, as Korzhakov a few days before caught two of Yeltsin's campaign organizers carrying US$500,000 cash without invoices out of the presidential administration building. On 16 June 1996, Yeltsin came first in the first round of elections after forging a tactical alliance with Gen.
Alexander Lebed Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Lebed (; 20 April 1950 – 28 April 2002) was a Soviet and Russian military officer and politician who held senior positions in the Airborne Forces before running for president in the 1996 Russian preside ...
, who finished third. On 3 July, in the runoff vote, he beat the Communist
Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as Member of the State Duma since 1993. He is also the Chair of the Union ...
. His victory was due largely to the support of the TV networks controlled by Gusinsky and Berezovsky (NTV and ORT) and the money from the business elite. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called Berezovsky the "public spokesman and chief lobbyist for this new elite, which moved from the shadows to respectability in a few short years".


Role in Chechen conflict

On 17 October 1996, Yeltsin dismissed General
Alexander Lebed Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Lebed (; 20 April 1950 – 28 April 2002) was a Soviet and Russian military officer and politician who held senior positions in the Airborne Forces before running for president in the 1996 Russian preside ...
from the position of National Security Advisor amid allegations that he was plotting a coup and secretly mustering a private army. Lebed promptly accused Berezovsky and Gusinsky of engineering his ouster, and formed a coalition with the disgraced General
Alexander Korzhakov Alexander Vasilyevich Korzhakov (; born 31 January 1950) is a Russian former KGB general who served as Boris Yeltsin's bodyguard, confidant, and adviser for eleven years. He was the head of the Presidential Security Service (PSB) from 1991 to ...
. The dismissal of Lebed, the architect of the Khasavyurt peace accord, left Yeltsin's Chechen policy in limbo. On 30 October 1996, in a political bombshell, Yeltsin named
Ivan Rybkin Ivan Petrovich Rybkin (; born 20 October 1946) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of Russia's State Duma in 1994–96 and Secretary of the Security Council in 1996–1998. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active ...
as his new National Security Advisor and appointed Berezovsky Deputy Secretary in charge of Chechnya with a mandate to oversee the implementation of the
Khasavyurt Accord The Khasavyurt Accord (, ), formally the Khasavyourt Joint Declaration and Principles for Mutual Relations, was an agreement that marked the end of the First Chechen War, signed in Khasavyurt in Dagestan on 30 August 1996 between Alexander Lebe ...
: that is, the withdrawal of Russian forces, the negotiation of a peace treaty, and the preparation of a general election. On 19 December 1996, Berezovsky made headlines by negotiating the release of 21 Russian policeman held hostage by the warlord Salman Raduev amid efforts by radicals from both sides to torpedo peace negotiations. On 12 May 1997, Yeltsin and Maskhadov signed the Russian–Chechen Peace Treaty in the Kremlin. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow, Berezovsky outlined his priorities for the
economic reconstruction Economic reconstruction is a process for creating a proactive vision of economic change. The most basic idea is that problems in the economy, such as deindustrialization, environmental decay, outsourcing, industrial incompetence, poverty and a ...
of Chechnya, particularly the construction of a pipeline for transporting Azerbaijani oil. He called upon the Russian business community to contribute to the rebuilding of the republic, revealing his own donation of US$1 million (some sources mention US$2 million) for a cement factory in Grozny. This payment would come to haunt him years later, when he was accused of funding Chechen terrorists. After his dismissal from the Security Council, Berezovsky vowed to continue his activities in Chechnya as a private individual and maintained contact with Chechen warlords. He was instrumental in the release of 69 hostages, including two Britons, Jon James and Camilla Carr, whom he flew in his private jet to
RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton is the largest List of Royal Air Force stations, station of the Royal Air Force. Situated in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, it is close to the village of Brize Norton and the tow ...
in September 1998. In an interview with
Thomas de Waal Thomas Patrick Lowndes de Waal (born 1966) is a British journalist and writer on the Caucasus. He is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. He is best known for his 2003 book '' Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. Li ...
in 2005, he revealed the involvement of the British Ambassador to Russia, Sir Andrew Wood, and explained that his former negotiations counterpart, the Islamic militant leader
Movladi Udugov Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov (, born 9 February 1962 in Germenchuk, Shalinsky District, Chechnya into the Shirdi teip) is the former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). As a Chechen propaganda chief, he was ...
, helped arrange the Britons' release."Berezovsky Blames Putin For Chechen War"
IWPR Report, 25 February 2005
Berezovsky had a phone conversation with
Movladi Udugov Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov (, born 9 February 1962 in Germenchuk, Shalinsky District, Chechnya into the Shirdi teip) is the former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). As a Chechen propaganda chief, he was ...
in the spring of 1999, six months before the beginning of fighting in Dagestan. A transcript of that conversation was leaked to a Moscow tabloid on 10 September 1999 and appeared to mention the would-be militants' invasion. It has been the subject of much speculation ever since. As Berezovsky explained later in interviews to de Waal and Goldfarb, Udugov proposed to coordinate the Islamists' incursion into Dagestan, so that a limited Russian response would topple the Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and establish a new Islamic republic, which would be anti-American but friendly to Russia. Berezovsky said that he disliked the idea but reported Udugov's overture to prime-minister Stepashin. "Udugov and Basayev," he asserted, "conspired with Stepashin and Putin to provoke a war to topple Maskhadov ... but the agreement was for the Russian army to stop at the
Terek River The Terek () is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus ...
. However, Putin double-crossed the Chechens and started an all-out war."


Battle with "Young Reformers"

In March 1997, Berezovsky and
Tatyana Dyachenko Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva (; formerly Dyachenko (Дьяченко); (Ельцина); born 17 January 1960) is the younger daughter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina. Since 2009, Yumasheva has been a citizen of Aus ...
flew to
Nizhniy Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...
to persuade the city's governor,
Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...
, to join Chubais' economic team, which became known as the government of Young Reformers. This was the last concerted political action of the "Davos Pact" (see above). Four months later the group split into two cliques fiercely competing for Yeltsin's favour. The clash was precipitated by the privatization auction of the communication utility
Svyazinvest OJSC Svyazinvest ( Russian: ОАО Связьинвест) was Russia's largest telecommunications holding company. Based in Moscow, it was founded according to Order №1297 of the Russian government on November 25, 1994, and was registered on Se ...
, in which Onexim bank of Chubais' loyalist
Vladimir Potanin Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian oligarch. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in the early to mid-1990s. As of May 7, 2025, Forbes ranked 81st richest in ...
, backed by George Soros, competed with Gusinsky, allied with Spanish
Telefónica , S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company with registered office and headquarters located in two different places, both in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the ...
. An initially commercial dispute swiftly developed into a contest of political wills between Chubais and Berezovsky. Potanin's victory unleashed a bitter media war, in which
ORT Ort or ORT may refer to: Broadcasting *Channel One Russia (formerly ) *ORT (TV channel), a Greek radio and television station () Organisations *Order of Railroad Telegraphers, an American labor union (founded 1886) *Organización Revolucionaria ...
and
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
accused the Chubais group of fixing the auction in favor of Potanin, whereas Chubais charged Berezovsky with abusing his government position to advance his business interests. Both sides appealed to Yeltsin, who had proclaimed a new era of "fair" privatization "based on strict legislative rules and allowing no deviations". In the end, both sides lost. Berezovsky's media revealed a corrupt scheme whereby a publishing house owned by Onexim Bank paid Chubais and his group hefty advances for a book that was never written. The scandal led to a purge of Chubais' loyalists from the government. Chubais retaliated by persuading Yeltsin to dismiss Boris Berezovsky from the national security council. Berezovsky's service on the Security Council ended on 5 November 1997. Soros called the Berezovsky-Chubais clash a "historical event, in the reality of which I would have never believed, if I had not watched it myself. I saw a fight of the people in the boat floating towards the edge of a waterfall". He argued that the reformist camp never recovered from the wounds sustained in this struggle, setting the political stage for conservative nationalists, and eventually
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
.


Philanthropy

In 1991, Berezovsky founded the "Triumph" award, bestowed upon outstanding Russian poets, musicians, artists, directors and ballet dancers. It is reported in the documentary series Captive that Boris Berezovsky, in 1998, was effective in the release of two English aid workers who had been held hostage for ransom in Chechnya for 14 months


The Kremlin Family and Putin's rise to power

In the spring of 1998, Berezovsky made an unexpected political comeback, starting with his appointment, in April 1998, to the position of executive secretary of the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
. He emerged in the centre of a new informal power group – the "Family", a close-knit circle of advisers around Yeltsin, which included Yeltsin's daughter
Tatyana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin ...
and his chief of staff, Yumashev. It was rumoured that no important government appointment could happen without the Family's support. By 1999, the Family also included two of Berezovsky's associates, his former AVVA partner Alexander Voloshin, who replaced Yumashev as Yeltsin's chief of staff, and Roman Abramovich. The principal concern of the Family was finding an "electable" successor to Yeltsin to counter the presidential aspirations of the then–prime minister,
Yevgeny Primakov Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015, ) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to ...
, who was leaning to more statist positions. Political battles between the Family and Primakov's camp dominated the two last years of Yeltsin's presidency."Putin's Path to Power"
Post-Soviet Affairs (Bellwether Publishing, Ltd.) vol. 16, no. 4, December 2000
In November 1998, in a televised press conference, five officers of the FSB, led by Lieutenant Colonel
Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
, revealed an alleged plot by their superiors to assassinate Berezovsky. In April 1999, Russia's Prosecutor General,
Yury Skuratov Yury Ilyich Skuratov (; born 3 July 1952) is a Russian jurist and politician. Skuratov was born in Ulan-Ude. From 1995 until 1999, he was Prosecutor-General of Russia. In February 1999, he disclosed the existence of FIMACO. Notable investig ...
, opened an investigation into embezzlement at Aeroflot and issued an arrest warrant for Berezovsky, who called the investigation politically motivated and orchestrated by Primakov.
Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in suspicious circumstances. After claiming that Aeroflot work ...
, Aeroflot's former General Director, later revealed that conflict with Primakov arose from the irritation that Berezovsky's management team caused in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, which Primakov headed before becoming prime minister, over firing of thousands of spies, who used Aeroflot as a
front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...
in Soviet times. The arrest warrant was dropped a week later, after Berezovsky submitted to questioning by the prosecutors. No charges were brought. Yeltsin sacked Primakov's government shortly thereafter and replaced him with Sergey Stepashin as new prime-minister. Vyacheslav Aminov () supported Berezovsky and headed Berezovsky's security service.
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's meteoric rise from relative obscurity to the Russian presidency in the course of a few short months of 1999 has been attributed to his intimacy with the "Family" as a protege of Berezovsky and Yumashev. By the end of 1999, the Family had persuaded Yeltsin to name Putin his political successor and candidate for the presidency. Berezovsky's acquaintance with Putin dated back to the early 1990s, when the latter, as Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg, helped Logovaz establish a car dealership. They enjoyed friendly relations; on occasion, Berezovsky took Putin skiing with him in Switzerland. In February 1999, when Berezovsky's political standing looked uncertain because of his clash with Primakov over Aeroflot, Putin, then Director of the FSB, made a bold gesture of friendship by showing up at a birthday party for Berezovsky's wife. "I absolutely do not care what Primakov thinks of me", Putin told Berezovsky on that night. That was the beginning of their political alliance. According to the Times, Spanish police discovered that on up to five occasions in 1999, Putin had secretly visited a villa in Spain belonging to Berezovsky. In mid-July 1999, the Family dispatched Berezovsky to
Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...
, where Putin was vacationing, to persuade him to accept the position of prime minister and the role of
heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
. On 9 August, Yeltsin sacked the government of
Sergei Stepashin Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin (; born 2 March 1952) is a Russian politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of Russia in 1999. Prior to this he had been appointed as federal security minister for counterintelligence by President Boris Yeltsin ...
and appointed Putin prime minister, amid reports that Berezovsky had masterminded the reshuffle. Putin's principal opponents were the former Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov and the Mayor of Moscow
Yuri Luzhkov Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...
, backed by the Fatherland-All Russia alliance. To counter this group in the Duma elections of 1999, Berezovsky was instrumental in the creation, within the space of a few months, of the
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
party, with no ideology other than its support for Putin."Russia Vote Returns Tycoon to Spotlight"
''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', 23 December 1999
Later, he disclosed that the source of Unity's funding, with Putin's knowledge and consent, was
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...
. In the 1999 election, Berezovsky campaigned as a Putin loyalist and won a seat in the Duma, representing the North Caucasian republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. During the Duma election campaign Berezovsky's ORT TV served as an extremely effective propaganda machine for the Putin camp, using aggressive attack reporting and programming to denigrate and ridicule Putin's rivals, Primakov and
Luzhkov Luzhkov (masculine, ) or Luzhkova (feminine, ) is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sergei Luzhkov (born 1990), Russian soccer player *Yury Luzhkov Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Юрий Михайлович Л ...
, tactics strongly criticized as undue interference with the media. But
Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...
got a surprisingly high score in the elections, paving the way for Putin's election victory in spring 2000.


Conflict with Putin and emigration

Berezovsky's disagreements with Putin became public three weeks into Putin's presidency. On 8 May 2000, Berezovsky and Abramovich were spotted together at Putin's invitation-only inauguration ball in Moscow. However, on 31 May, Berezovsky sharply attacked the constitutional reform proposed by the president, which would give the Kremlin the right to dismiss elected governors. On 17 July 2000, Berezovsky resigned from the Duma, saying he "did not want to be involved in the country's ruin and the restoration of an authoritarian regime". In August, Berezovsky's media attacked Putin for the way he handled the sinking of the ''Kursk'' submarine, blaming the death of 118 sailors on the Kremlin's reluctance to accept foreign help. In September, Berezovsky alleged that the Kremlin had attempted to expropriate his shares in ORT and announced that he would put his stake into a trust to be controlled by prominent intellectuals. In an article in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' in 2000, Berezovsky argued that in the absence of a strong
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
it may sometimes be necessary for capitalists "to interfere directly in the political process" of Russia as a counterweight to ex-Communists "who hate democracy and dream of regaining lost positions." Berezovsky took legal action against the journalist
Paul Klebnikov Paul Klebnikov (; June 3, 1963  – July 9, 2004) was an American journalist and historian of Russia. He worked for ''Forbes'' magazine for more than 10 years and at the time of his death was chief editor of the Russian edition of ''Forbes' ...
, who accused him of various crimes. In October, in an interview in ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'', Putin announced that he would no longer tolerate criticism of the government by media controlled by the oligarchs. "If necessary we will destroy those instruments that allow this blackmail", he declared. (originally published in ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'', 26 October 2000)
Responding to a question about Berezovsky, he warned that he had a "
cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon or tool since prehistory. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caus ...
" in store for him. "The state has a cudgel in its hands that you use to hit just once, but on the head. We haven't used this cudgel yet. We've just brandished it... utthe day we get really angry, we won't hesitate to use it." In the same month, Russian prosecutors revived the Aeroflot fraud investigation and Berezovsky was questioned as a witness. On 7 November 2000, Berezovsky, who was travelling abroad, failed to appear for further questioning and announced that he would not return to Russia because of what he described as "constantly intensifying pressure on me by the authorities and President Putin personally. Essentially," he said, "I'm being forced to choose whether to become a political prisoner or a political emigrant." Berezovsky claimed that Putin had made him a suspect in the Aeroflot case simply because ORT had "spoken the truth" about the sinking of the submarine Kursk. In early December, his associate
Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in suspicious circumstances. After claiming that Aeroflot work ...
was arrested in Moscow and Berezovsky dropped the proposal to put ORT stake in trust.


Divestment from Russian holdings

In 2001, the Russian government made a systematic takeover of privately owned television networks, in the course of which Berezovsky, Gusinsky and Patarkatsishvili lost most of their media holdings, prompting one of them to warn of Russia "turning into a banana republic" in a letter to ''The New York Times''. In February, Berezovsky and Patarkatsishvili sold their stake in ORT to Roman Abramovich, who promptly ceded editorial control to the Kremlin. Berezovsky later claimed that there was a secret understanding that
Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in suspicious circumstances. After claiming that Aeroflot work ...
would be released from prison as part of that deal, a promise that was never fulfilled. In April, the government took control of
Vladimir Gusinsky Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky (, ; born 6 October 1952) is a Russian media tycoon. He founded the Media-Most holding company that included the NTV free-to-air channel, the newspaper ''Segodnya'', and a number of magazines. Early life a ...
's
NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televisio ...
. Berezovsky then moved to acquire a controlling stake in a smaller network, TV-6, made Patarkatsishvili its chairman, and offered employment to hundreds of locked out NTV journalists. Almost immediately, Patarkatshishvili became a target of police investigation and fled the country. In January 2002 a Russian arbitration court forced
TV-6 (Russia) TV-6 () was one of Russia's first commercial television stations that began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and was closed on 22 January 2002. History 1991-1993 Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation (MIBC), a Russian joint-stock company ...
into liquidation. The liquidation of TV-6 was precipitated by LUKoil, a partly state-owned minority shareholder, using a piece of legislation that was almost immediately repealed. In 2001, Berezovsky and Patarkatsishvili ended their involvement in
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (; formerly Sibneft, ) is the third largest Petroleum industry, oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to Oil refinery, refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is ...
for a US$1.3 billion fee from
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
. This transaction was the subject of a later dispute in the UK commercial courts, with Berezovsky alleging that he had been put under pressure to sell his stake to Abramovich at a fraction of the true value, an allegation that the court rejected. In 2006, Berezovsky sold the ''
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'' ("The Businessman") newspaper and his remaining Russian assets to
Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი; ; 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested the 2 ...
.


Exile in Britain

From his new home in the UK, Stanley House, where he and associates including
Akhmed Zakayev Akhmed Halidovich Zakayev (; ; born 26 April 1959) is a Chechen statesman, political and military figure of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). Having previously been a Deputy Prime Minister, he now serves as Prime Minister o ...
,
Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
and Alex Goldfarb became known as "the London Circle" of Russian exiles, Berezovsky publicly stated that he was on a mission to bring down Putin "by force" or by
nonviolent revolution A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entren ...
. He established the International Foundation for Civil Liberties (IFCL), to "support the abused and the vulnerable in society – prisoners, national minorities and business people" in Russia and criticized Putin's record in the West. Berezovsky launched a concerted campaign to expose alleged misdeeds of Vladimir Putin, including suppressing freedom of speech, war crimes in Chechnya, and accusing the FSB of the
1999 Russian apartment bombings In September 1999, a series of explosions hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, killing more than 300, injuring more than 1,000, and spreading a wave of fear across the country. The bombings, toget ...
to help Putin win the presidency. Many of these activities were funded through the New York-based IFCL, directed by Berezovsky's friend Alex Goldfarb. Berezovsky bought a
Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...
flat, the 125-acre Wentworth Park estate near
Virginia Water Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its na ...
in Surrey, and for a while owned the 172-acre
Hascombe Court Hascombe Court is a estate in Hascombe, Surrey, best known for its vast garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll. Hascombe Court is listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England, and its gardens are also Grade II listed on the Register ...
estate in
Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...
. In 2012, he sold his Wentworth Park house.


Political asylum and extradition proceedings

On 9 September 2003, Berezovsky was granted refugee status and political asylum by the British
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
which he, according to Alex Goldfarb, welcomed. On 12 September 2003, judge
Timothy Workman Senior District Judge Timothy Henry Workman is a retired British judge, a long-term stipendiary magistrate who served as Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) for England and Wales. From 1967 to 1969, Workman was a probation officer in the ...
of
Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...
in central London dropped extradition proceedings against Berezovsky, ruling that it would be pointless to pursue the case as the granting of asylum status to Berezovsky made the proceedings redundant. However, when Berezovsky told
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
in early February 2006 that he was working on plans to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Foreign Minister
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...
warned the London-based Russian tycoon not to plot against the Russian President while living in Britain. His refugee status could be reviewed if he continued to make such remarks.


Convictions ''in absentia'' and investigations abroad

After Berezovsky gained political asylum in Britain, the Russian authorities vigorously pursued various criminal charges against him. This culminated in two trials ''in absentia''. From London, Berezovsky called the trial, which sentenced him to six years in prison, "a farce". In June 2009, the Krasnogorsk City Court near Moscow sentenced Berezovsky to thirteen years imprisonment for defrauding AvtoVAZ of 58 million rubles (US$1.9 million) in the 1990s. Berezovsky was represented by a court-appointed lawyer. In spite of Berezovsky's successes in Britain in fighting off extradition requests and exposing Russian court convictions as politically motivated (see below), some other jurisdictions cooperated with Russian authorities in seizing his property and targeting his financial transactions as
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
. Berezovsky succeeded in overturning some of these actions. In July 2007, Brazilian prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Berezovsky in connection with his investment in the Brazilian football club
Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...
. However, a year later the Brazilian Supreme Court cancelled the order and stopped the investigation. On Russian requests, French authorities raided his villa in Nice in search of documents, and seized his two yachts berthed on the
French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
. However, some months later, the boats were released by a French court. Swiss prosecutors have been assisting their Russian colleagues for over a decade in investigating Berezovsky's finances.


Accusations and libel suits in the UK

Berezovsky's meteoric enrichment and involvement in power struggles have been accompanied by allegations of various crimes from his opponents. After his falling out with Putin and exile to London, these allegations became the recurrent theme of official state-controlled media, earning him comparisons with
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
and the ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...
'' character
Emmanuel Goldstein Emmanuel Goldstein is a fictional character and the principal enemy of the state of Oceania in George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. The political propaganda of The Party portrays Goldstein as the leader of The Br ...
. In 1996, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'', an American business magazine, published an article by
Paul Klebnikov Paul Klebnikov (; June 3, 1963  – July 9, 2004) was an American journalist and historian of Russia. He worked for ''Forbes'' magazine for more than 10 years and at the time of his death was chief editor of the Russian edition of ''Forbes' ...
entitled "Godfather of the Kremlin?" with the sub-heading "Power. Politics. Murder. Boris Berezovsky could teach the guys in Sicily a thing or two." The article linked Berezovsky to corruption in the car industry, to the Chechen mafia and to the murder of
Vladislav Listyev Vladislav (Vlad) Nikolayevich Listyev (; May 10, 1956 – March 1, 1995) was a Soviet, later Russian journalist and head of the ORT TV Channel (now government-owned Channel One). Career Listyev was arguably the most popular journalist and TV ...
. In 2000, the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
gave Berezovsky and
Nikolai Glushkov Nikolay Alekseevich Glushkov (; 24 December 1949 – 12 March 2018) was a Russian businessman who was the deputy director of Aeroflot and a finance manager for AvtoVAZ who died in suspicious circumstances. After claiming that Aeroflot work ...
permission to sue for libel in the UK courts. Given that only 2,000 of the 785,000 copies sold worldwide were sold in the United Kingdom, this led numerous scholars to cite ''
the case ''The Case'' is a 2007 Chinese film directed by the female first-time director, Wang Fen. It is the first film of the Yunnan New Film Project, a planned anthology of ten films directed by female Chinese directors, all taking place in the southe ...
'' as an example of
libel tourism Libel tourism is a term, first coined by Geoffrey Robertson, to describe forum shopping for libel suits. It particularly refers to the practice of pursuing a case in England and Wales, in preference to other jurisdictions, such as the United Stat ...
. The case slowly proceeded until the claimants opted to settle when ''Forbes'' offered a partial retraction."Shuddup"
Economist 13 March 2003
The following statement appended to the article on the ''Forbes'' website summarises: "On 6 March 2003, the resolution of the case was announced in the High Court in London. ''Forbes'' stated in open court that (1) it was not the magazine's intention to state that Berezovsky was responsible for the murder of Listiev, only that he had been included in an inconclusive police investigation of the crime; (2) there is no evidence that Berezovsky was responsible for this or any other murder; (3) in light of the English court's ruling, it was wrong to characterize Berezovsky as a mafia boss; and (4) the magazine erred in stating that Glouchkov had been convicted for theft of state property in 1982." Klebnikov elaborated his allegations in his 2000 book ''Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the looting of Russia'' (the 2001 edition was titled ''Godfather of the Kremlin: The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism''). In 2006, a UK court awarded Berezovsky £50,000 in libel damages against the Russian private bank
Alfa-Bank Alfa-Bank JSC () is the largest of the private banks in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who remains the controlling owner. Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in seven countries, providing financial servi ...
and its chairman,
Mikhail Fridman Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman; ; ; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born, Russian–Israeli tycoon and Russian oligarchs, oligarch. He is one of the co-founders of Alfa Group, Alfa-Group, a multinational Rus ...
. Fridman had claimed on a Russian television programme that could be watched in the UK that Berezovsky had threatened him when the two men were competitors for control of the Kommersant publishing house, and that making threats was Berezovsky's usual way of conducting business. The jury rejected the defendants' claim that Fridman's allegations were true. Berezovsky accepted the apology and withdrew his libel suit. In March 2010, Berezovsky, represented by Desmond Browne QC, won a libel case and was awarded £150,000 damages by the High Court in London over allegations that he had been behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko."Boris Berezovsky wins Litvinenko poison spy libel case"
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
10 March 2010
The allegations had been broadcast by the Russian state channel
RTR Planeta RTR-Planeta (''Rossiyskoe televidenie i radio - Planeta'', ) is the international TV Channel of VGTRK, a state-owned broadcaster in Russia. It is available worldwide via cable and satellite as Россия РТР (Russia RTR) for the CIS countr ...
in April 2007 on its programme ''Vesti Nedeli'', which could be viewed from the UK. In his judgement, Mr Justice Eady stated: "I can say unequivocally that there is no evidence before me that Mr Berezovsky had any part in the murder of Mr Litvinenko. Nor, for that matter, do I see any basis for reasonable grounds to suspect him of it." Berezovsky had sued both the channel and a man called Vladimir Terluk, whom Mr Justice Eady agreed was the man who had been interviewed in silhouette by the programme under the pseudonym 'Pyotr'. Terluk had claimed that to further his UK asylum application Berezovsky had approached him to fabricate a murder plot against himself, and that Litvinenko knew of this. Mr Justice Eady accepted that Terluk had not himself alleged Berezovsky's involvement in the murder of Litvinenko, but considered that his own allegations were themselves serious and that there was no truth in any of them. As RTR did not participate in the proceedings, Terluk was left to defend the case himself, receiving significant assistance (as the judge noted) from the Russian prosecutor's office. ''The Guardian'' described the 2010 libel case as "almost anarchic at times as officials from the Russian prosecutors' office repeatedly intervened despite not being party to proceedings. So obvious was their intention that when one of their mobile phones went off in court one day, Desmond Browne quipped: 'That must be Mr Putin on the line.'" The defendants appealed to the Court of Appeal but the appeal was dismissed,
Lord Justice Laws Sir John Grant McKenzie Laws (10 May 1945 – 5 April 2020) was a Lord Justice of Appeal. He served from 1999 to 2016. He was the Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science at the University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Fellow of Robinson C ...
giving a judgment with which the
Chancellor of the High Court The chancellor of the High Court is the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. This judge and the other two heads of divisions (Family and King's Bench) sit by virtue of their offices often, as and wh ...
and Lady Justice Rafferty agreed. The Lord Justice described a witness statement of
Andrei Lugovoi Andrey Konstantinovich Lugovoy (; born 19 September 1966), also spelled Lugovoi, is a Russian politician and businessman and deputy of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, for the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. He ...
, newly adduced by the defendants, as 'not sensibly capable of belief'.


High Court case against Abramovich

In 2011, Berezovsky brought a civil case against Roman Abramovich in the
High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...
in London, accusing Abramovich of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract, and seeking over £3 billion in damages. This became the largest civil court case in British legal history. Berezovsky's claimed past ownership of
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (; formerly Sibneft, ) is the third largest Petroleum industry, oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to Oil refinery, refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is ...
– which constituted the bulk of his fortune – was put into question by Abramovich, who in a statement to the High Court in London asserted that Berezovsky had never owned shares in Sibneft, and that US$1.3 billion paid in 2001 ostensibly for his stake in the company was actually in recognition of Berezovsky's "political assistance and protection" during the creation of Sibneft in 1995. The hearings, which started on 3 October 2011, examined Berezovsky's US$5.5 billion claim against Abramovich for damages arising from the sale of his assets under alleged "threats and intimidation". In late 2011, Israeli private detective Tamir Mori ordered the mercenary Indian hack-for-hire firm
Appin Appin () is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northeast to southw ...
to hack more than 40 targets, including Berezovsky and his lawyers. On 31 August 2012, the High Court found for Abramovich. The High Court judge stated that because of the nature of the evidence, the case hinged on whether to believe Berezovsky or Abramovich's evidence. In her ruling, the judge observed: "On my analysis of the entirety of the evidence, I found Mr. Berezovsky an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes. ... I regret to say that the bottom line of my analysis of Mr. Berezovsky's credibility is that he would have said almost anything to support his case." She ruled that the monies paid represented a final payment in discharge of all obligations.


Business and personal activities in exile

Berezovsky conducted business with
Neil Bush Neil Mallon Bush (born January 22, 1955) is an American businessman and investor. He is the fourth of six children of former president George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (née Pierce). His five siblings are George W. Bush; Jeb Bush, a former go ...
, the younger brother of the
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. Berezovsky was an investor in Bush's Ignite! Learning, an educational software corporation, since at least 2003. In 2005, Neil Bush met with Berezovsky in
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, causing tension with Russia due to Berezovsky's fugitive status. Neil Bush was also seen with Berezovsky in his box at an
Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...
match at the
Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...
in London. There had been speculation that the relationship had become a cause of tension in Russo-American bilateral relations. It had been speculated that Berezovsky's wealth was depleted with the onset of the
late 2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
. According to the
Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and has been published as a magazine supplement by British national ...
, in 2011 his net worth was about US$900 million.


Appeals for regime change

In September 2005, Berezovsky said in an interview with the BBC: "I'm sure that Putin doesn't have the chance to survive, even to the next election in 2008. I am doing everything in my power to limit his time frame, and I am really thinking of returning to Russia after Putin collapses, which he will." In January 2006, Berezovsky stated in an interview to a Moscow-based radio station that he was working on overthrowing the administration of Vladimir Putin by force. Berezovsky also accused Putin of being "a gangster" and the "terrorist number one". Berezovsky declared that he was plotting the overthrow of President Putin on 13 April 2007 during an interview ''The Guardian'' conducted: "We need to use force to change this regime. It isn't possible to change this regime through democratic means. There can be no change without force, pressure." He also admitted that during the last six years he had struggled hard to "destroy the positive image of Putin" and said that "Putin has created an
authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
against the
Russian constitution The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...
. ... I don't know how it will happen, but authoritarian regimes only collapse by force." Soon after Berezovsky's 2007 statement,
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
, a figure in the opposition movement The Other Russia and leader of the
United Civil Front United Civil Front (UCF; ; ''Obyedinonnyy grazhdanskiy front'', ''OGF'') is a social movement in Russia founded and led by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. In 2006–2007 it was part of The Other Russia, an opposition coalition active in Mosco ...
, wrote the following on his website: "Berezovsky has lived in emigration for many years and no longer has significant influence upon the political processes which take place in Russian society. His extravagant proclamations are simply a method of attracting attention. Furthermore, for the overwhelming majority of Russian people he was a political symbol of the 90s, one of the 'bad blokes' enriching themselves behind the back of president Yeltsin. The informational noise around Berezovsky was specifically beneficial for the Kremlin, which was trying to compromise Russia's real opposition. Berezovsky has not had and does not have any relation to Other Russia or the United Civil Front." Berezovsky responded in June 2007 by saying that "there is not one significant politician in Russia whom he has not financed" and that this included members of Other Russia. The managing director of the United Civil Front, in turn, said that the organization would consider suing Berezovsky over these allegations, but the lawsuit has never been brought before the court. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office had launched a criminal investigation against Berezovsky to determine whether his comments could be considered a "seizure of power by force", as outlined in the
Russian Criminal Code The Russian Criminal Code () is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (UGKRF) came into force on 1 January 1997. The new Criminal Code replaced the So ...
. If convicted, an offender faces up to twenty years imprisonment. The
British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...
denounced Berezovsky's statements, warning him that his status of a political refugee might be reconsidered, should he continue to make similar remarks. Furthermore,
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
had announced that it would investigate whether Berezovsky's statements violated the law. However, in the following July, the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
announced that Berezovsky would not face charges in the UK for his comments. Kremlin officials called it a "disturbing moment" in Anglo-Russian relations.


Involvement in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election

In September 2005, the former president of Ukraine,
Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...
, accused Berezovsky of having financed
Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...
's
2004 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November, 26 December 2004 and 1 January 2005. This was the fourth Ukrainian presidential elections, presidential election in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The ...
campaign, and provided copies of documents showing money transfers from companies he claimed were controlled by Berezovsky to companies controlled by Yuschenko's official backers. Berezovsky claimed that he met Yushchenko's representatives in London before the election, and that the money was transferred from his companies, but he declined to confirm or deny that the companies that received the money were used in Yushchenko's campaign. Financing of election campaigns by foreign citizens is illegal in Ukraine. In November 2005, Berezovsky also claimed he had heavily financed Ukraine's
Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...
(that had followed the presidential election). In September 2007, Berezovsky launched lawsuits against two Ukrainian politicians,
Oleksandr Tretyakov Oleksandr Yuriyovych Tretiakov (; born 20 March 1970) is a Ukrainian politician and statesman, People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, 4th, 5th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, 5th, 6th Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, 6th, and 8th Uk ...
, a former presidential aid, and David Zhvaniya, a former emergencies minister.Two Our Ukraine lawmakers summoned to court upon Berezovskiy`s lawsuit
UNIAN The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...
, 3 September 2007
Berezovsky was suing the men for nearly US$23 million, accusing them of misusing the money he had allocated in 2004 to fund the Orange Revolution. Yushchenko has denied Berezovsky financed his election campaign.DID BEREZOVSKY FINANCE UKRAINE'S ORANGE REVOLUTION?
The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.–based non-partisan defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which i ...
(19 September 2005)
Berezovsky called on Ukrainian business to support Yushchenko in the 2010 presidential election of January 2010 as a guarantor of
debarment Debarment is the state of being excluded from enjoying certain possessions, rights, privileges, or practices and the act of prevention by legal means. For example, companies can be debarred from contracts due to allegations of fraud, mismanagement ...
of property redistribution after the election.Police to detain Russian businessman Berezovsky if arrives in Ukraine
,
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...
(10 December 2009)
On 10 December 2009, the Ukrainian minister of interior affairs
Yuriy Lutsenko Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko (; born 14 December 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Interior Minister and entered the Armed Forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. His most recent position was Prosecutor General of Ukraine (f ...
stated that if the
Russian interior ministry The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Migrati ...
requested it, Berezovsky would be detained upon arriving in Ukraine. In February 2012, in an interview for the independent Russian
TV Rain TV Rain ( rus, Дождь, Dozhd, p=ˈdoʂtʲ, a=Ru-дождь (doʂtʲ).ogg; stylized as ДО///ДЬ) is an independent Russian-language television channel. Launched in Russia in 2010, it has been based in the Netherlands since 2022. It focuse ...
channel Berezovsky reiterated that he had personally provided approximately $50 million to the Ukrainian Orange revolution. () and
Oleksandr Tretiakov Oleksandr Yuriyovych Tretiakov (; born 20 March 1970) is a Ukrainian politician and statesman, People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th convocations. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on veterans, combatants, participan ...
were among the ones who allegedly received money.


''Persona non-grata'' in Latvia since October 2005

In October 2005, Latvian Prime Minister
Aigars Kalvītis Aigars Kalvītis (born 27 June 1966) is a Latvian businessman and a former politician who was the Prime Minister of Latvia from 2004 to 2007. Currently he is the president of Latvian Ice Hockey Federation and the Chairman of the Board of Latvia ...
signed a decree placing Berezovsky on the list of ''
personae non gratae In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...
''. The exact reasons for blacklisting Berezovsky were not disclosed. Kalvitis called Berezovsky a "threat" to national security. Previously, the National Security Council of Latvia took the decision to recommend that Berezovsky be barred from travelling to Latvia. The decision to bar the one-time Russian oligarch came swiftly after Berezovsky's trip to
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
in September 2005.Jekabsons resigns after key national security meeting
by Aaron Eglitis, baltictimes.com, 26 October 2005
Berezovsky was in Riga along with Neil Bush to discuss a project with Latvian businessmen.Berezovsky, Neil Bush, Latvian businessmen meet
baltictimes.com, 9 September 2005
The
Baltic News Service The Baltic News Service (BNS) is the largest news agency operating in the Baltic States. Founded in April 1990, by a group of students (the founding CEO was Allan Martinson), it sought to inform foreign correspondents in Moscow of developmen ...
quoted Berezovsky saying that he believes Latvia's decision to declare him ''persona non-grata'' was the result of intense pressure by Russia and structures linked with
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
, the US business magnate who had had acrimonious relations with Berezovsky. Kalvitis however denied the theory that the banning came on pressure from the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
or the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
.Berezovsky official banned from entering Latvia
baltictimes.com, 26 October 2005


Alleged assassination attempts in London


Alleged 2003 assassination plot

According to
Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
, a Russian
Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...
(FSB) officer in London was preparing to assassinate Berezovsky with a binary weapon in September 2003. This alleged plot was reported to British police. Alex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko. '' Death of a dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB'', The Free Press (2007)
Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...
, then a
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
Minister, said that inquiries made nto these claimswere "unable to either substantiate this information or find evidence of any criminal offences having been committed".


Alleged 2007 assassination plot

In June 2007, Berezovsky said he fled Britain on the advice of
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
, amid reports that he was the target of an assassination attempt by a suspected Russian
hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
. On 18 July 2007, the British tabloid ''
The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...
'' reported that the alleged would-be assassin was captured by the police at the
Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...
in
Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park to ...
.Security services 'foil plot to kill Berezovsky at the London Hilton'
''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 18 July 2007
Man questioned over tycoon 'plot
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, 18 July 2007
They reported that the suspect, arrested by the anti-terrorist police after being tracked for a week by
MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
, was
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
back to Russia when no weapons were found and there was not enough evidence to charge him with any offence. In addition, they said British police placed a squad of uniformed officers around
Akhmed Zakayev Akhmed Halidovich Zakayev (; ; born 26 April 1959) is a Chechen statesman, political and military figure of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). Having previously been a Deputy Prime Minister, he now serves as Prime Minister o ...
's house in north London, and also phoned Litvinenko's widow, Marina, to urge her to take greater security precautions. Berezovsky again accused Vladimir Putin of being behind a plot to assassinate him. The Kremlin had denied similar claims in the past.Police Back Berezovsky Murder Story
, ''
The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...
'', 19 July 2007
According to the interview given by a high-ranking British security official on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
in July 2008, the alleged Russian agent, known as "A", was of Chechen nationality. He was identified by ''Kommersant'' as the Chechen
mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...
Movladi Atlangeriyev; after returning to Russia, Atlangeriyev was
forcibly disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...
in January 2008 by unknown men in Moscow.


Allegations in the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko (2006) and libel suit (2010)

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...
, one of Berezovsky's closest associates, was murdered in London in November 2006 with a rare radioactive poison,
Polonium 210 Polonium-210 (210Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes (210–2 ...
. A dubious narrative – that the murder was orchestrated by Berezovsky and his associate Alex Goldfarb with the aim of "framing" the Russian government and discrediting it on the global stage – aired in Russian state-funded media by Nikita Chekulin, and by Russian officials. Berezovsky won a
libel suit Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
in the UK against Russian State Television over these allegations in 2010.


Death

On 23 March 2013, Berezovsky was found dead at his home, Titness Park, at Sunninghill, near
Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...
in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. His body was found by a bodyguard in a locked bathroom, with a ligature around his neck. His death was announced in a post on Facebook, by his son-in-law. Alexander Dobrovinsky, a lawyer who had represented Berezovsky, wrote that he may have committed suicide, adding that Berezovsky had fallen into debt after losing the lawsuit against Abramovich, and had spent the final few months of his life selling his possessions to cover his court costs. Berezovsky was also said to have recently been depressed and to have isolated himself from friends. He reportedly suffered from depression and was taking antidepressant drugs; a day prior to his death he told a reporter in London that he had nothing left to live for. The
Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley region, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in South East England. It is the largest non-metropolitan police force ...
classified his death as "unexplained" and launched a formal investigation into the circumstances behind it. Specialists in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials were deployed to Berezovsky's home as a "precaution". These specialists later "found nothing of concern". Berezovsky was buried on 8 May 2013 in a private ceremony at
Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. The burial timing had been changed on several occasions to try to avoid interest from the Russian media. A post-mortem examination carried out by the Home Office pathologist found the cause of death was consistent with hanging and there was nothing pointing to a violent struggle. At the March 2014 inquest into the death, however, Berezovsky's daughter Elizaveta introduced a report by German pathologist Bernd Brinkmann, with whom she had shared the autopsy photos, noting that the
ligature Ligature may refer to: Language * Ligature (writing), a combination of two or more letters into a single symbol (typography and calligraphy) * Ligature (grammar), a morpheme that links two words Medicine * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture us ...
mark on her father's neck was circular rather than V-shaped as is commonly the case with hanging victims, and called the coroner's attention to a statement by one of the responding paramedics who found it strange that Berezovsky's face was purple, rather than pale as hanging victims usually are. The body also had a fresh wound on the back of the head and a fractured rib (injuries police believed Berezovsky could have suffered in the process of falling as he hanged himself). An unidentified fingerprint was found near the body, and one paramedic's radiation alarm sounded as they entered the house. Pathologist Bernd Brinkmann said that he did not believe that the marks on Berezovsky's neck were a result of hanging. Following the inquest the coroner, Peter Bedford, recorded an open verdict commenting, "I am not saying Mr Berezovsky took his own life, I am not saying Mr Berezovsky was unlawfully killed. What I am saying is that the burden of proof sets such a high standard it is impossible for me to say."


Apology to Putin

After Berezovsky's death, a spokesman for President Putin reported that Berezovsky had sent a letter to the Russian president, asking for permission to return to Russia and asking "forgiveness for his mistakes". Some of Berezovsky's associates doubted the letter's existence, claiming that it was out of character. However, his girlfriend at the time, Katerina Sabirova, later confirmed in an interview that he did in fact send the letter: It was claimed by anonymous sources that rival Roman Abramovich delivered the letter to Putin personally, having received an apology from Berezovsky himself. Both Putin's chief of staff,
Sergei Ivanov Sergei Borisovich Ivanov (, ; born 31 January 1953) is a Russian senior official and politician who has been serving as the Special Presidential Envoy on the Issues of Environmental Activities, Ecology and Transport since 12 August 2016. He h ...
, and Abramovich's spokesman alluded to the letter being passed by a "certain person", but did not go into details due to the personal nature of the issue.


Publications by Berezovsky

Berezovsky was a
doctor of technical sciences A Doctor of Sciences, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; ; ; ; is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many Commonwealth of Independent States countries. One of the prerequisites of receiving a Doctor of Sciences ...
and author of many academic papers and studies such as "Binary relations in multi-criteria optimizations" and "Multi-criteria optimization: mathematical aspects". In the mathematical review index MathSciNet, B. A. Berezovsky is credited with 16 publications from 1975 to 1989 on operations research and mathematical programming, earning 9 citations in other publications. Most cited is the book ''The Problem of Optimal Choice'' with A. V. Gnedin (Nauka, Moscow 1984), devoted to
secretary problem The secretary problem demonstrates a scenario involving optimal stopping theory For French translation, secover storyin the July issue of ''Pour la Science'' (2009). that is studied extensively in the fields of applied probability, statistics, a ...
s. Aside from his academic publications, he frequently authored articles and gave interviews; these are collected in ''The Art of the Impossible'' (3 volumes). He continued to contribute articles while in exile, taking a highly critical view of Russia's political leaders.


Works about Berezovsky

In 1996, the Russian-American journalist
Paul Klebnikov Paul Klebnikov (; June 3, 1963  – July 9, 2004) was an American journalist and historian of Russia. He worked for ''Forbes'' magazine for more than 10 years and at the time of his death was chief editor of the Russian edition of ''Forbes' ...
wrote a highly critical article entitled "Godfather of the Kremlin?" on Berezovsky and the state of Russia more generally, in response to which Berezovsky sued ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' in the UK; in 2001, he expanded his article into a book entitled ''Godfather of the Kremlin'', alternatively subtitled ''The Decline of Russia in the Age of Gangster Capitalism'' and ''Boris Berezovsky and the looting of Russia''. On 9 July 2004, while leaving the ''Forbes'' office in Moscow, unknown assailants fired at Klebnikov from a slowly moving car. He was shot four times and died later in hospital. The same day Berezovsky, in the words of investigative journalist
Richard Behar Richard Behar is an American investigative journalist. Since 2012, he has been the Contributing Editor of Investigations for ''Forbes''. From 1982 to 2004, he wrote on the staffs of ''Forbes'', ''Time'', and ''Fortune''. Behar's work has also ...
, "whipped out his tongue from its holster and publicly called the 41-year-old editor of Forbes Russia 'a dishonest reporter. The books ''Secret Diary of a Russian Oligarch'' and ''How to get rid of an Oligarch or Who Beat Berezovsky'' by Sasha Nerozina (friend of the Berezovsky family and a spokeswoman of Berezovsky's wife Galina) were published in Russia and other former Soviet states in 2013 and 2014 by Olma Media Publishing House. Yuli Dubov, a close business associate of Berezovsky, wrote a novel based on Berezovsky's life which provided the basis for the 2002 film ''Tycoon''. Like Berezovsky, he fled to London and successfully fought extradition to Russia. Judge
Timothy Workman Senior District Judge Timothy Henry Workman is a retired British judge, a long-term stipendiary magistrate who served as Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) for England and Wales. From 1967 to 1969, Workman was a probation officer in the ...
of
Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court (formerly Bow Street Magistrates' court (England and Wales), Police Court) and Police Station each became one of the most famous magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' courts and police stations in Eng ...
in central London dropped extradition proceedings against Yuly Dubov in October 2003. Alex Goldfarb, a microbiologist and activist who became acquainted with Berezovsky in the 1990s and later worked for him, provides snapshots of Berezovsky at crucial moments as background to his 2007 account of the Litvinenko murder case, co-written with Marina Litvinenko, '' Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB''. David E. Hoffman of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' wrote ''The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia'', which provides a comparative treatment of Berezovsky and several of his fellow so-called
business oligarchs A business oligarch is generally a business magnate who controls sufficient resources to influence national politics. A business leader can be considered an oligarch if some of the following conditions are satisfied: # uses monopolistic tactics to ...
. Ben Mezrich wrote ''Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs—A True Story of Ambition, Wealth, Betrayal, and Murder'', which provides a comparative narrative of Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich through their careers, friendship, and ultimate rivalry. In 2017, the Russian book ''The age of Berezovsky'' (also known as ''The time of Berezovsky'') was published by Corpus (an
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
of
AST AST, Ast, or ast may refer to: Science and technology * Attention schema theory, of consciousness or subjective awareness Computing * Abstract syntax tree, a finite, labeled, directed tree used in computer science * Anamorphic stretch transform, ...
), in which
Petr Aven Petr Olegovich Aven (also transliterated Pyotr Aven; ; Latvian: Pjotrs Avens; born 16 March 1955) is a Russian oligarch, economist and politician who also holds Latvian citizenship. Until March 2022 he headed Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest commer ...
– a friend of Berezovsky – interviewed various people who were close to Berezovsky at different times, including Leonid Boguslavsky, Yuli Dubov, Galina Besharova, Yelena Gorbunova,
Yuri Shefler Yuri Shefler (; born 10 September 1967) is a Russian-born businessman. He is the owner of SPI Group, an international consortium that sells alcohol in 160 countries, most notably the Stolichnaya vodka brand. As of March 2022, his net worth was e ...
,
Anatoly Chubais Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (; born 16 June 1955) is a Russian- Israeli politician and economist who was responsible for privatization in Russia as an influential member of Boris Yeltsin's administration in the early 1990s. During this period, ...
,
Mikhail Fridman Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman; ; ; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born, Russian–Israeli tycoon and Russian oligarchs, oligarch. He is one of the co-founders of Alfa Group, Alfa-Group, a multinational Rus ...
,
Valentin Yumashev Valentin Borisovich Yumashev (; born 15 December 1957) is a Russian journalist, politician and businessman- developer, who is the son-in-law of former President Boris Yeltsin and a member of his inner circle. He has the federal state civilian s ...
,
Sergey Dorenko Sergey Leonidovich Dorenko (; 18 October 1959 – 9 May 2019) was a Russian TV and radio journalist, known for hosting a weekly news commentary program in 1999–2000. Biography 1980s In 1982, Dorenko graduated from People's Friendship Univer ...
,
Eugene Shvidler Evgeny Markovich Shvidler , also transliterated as Eugene Shvidler, born 23 March 1964), is a Soviet-born billionaire businessman, and winemaker. Shvidler was sanctioned by the UK Government in March 2022 in the wake of the Russian invasion of ...
, Vladimir Posner, Alexander Goldfarb,
Alexander Voloshin Alexander Stalyevich Voloshin (; born 3 March 1956) is a Russian politician who briefly was chairman of the board of directors of RAO UES, the former Russian state power utility, which was liquidated as part of the country's comprehensive powe ...
,
Stanislav Belkovsky Stanislav Aleksandrovich Belkovsky (; born 7 February 1971) is a Russian political analyst and communication specialist. Belkovsky is a commentator on a variety of political issues, including Russian oligarchs, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky. I ...
and
Yuri Felshtinsky Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (, born 7 September 1956 in Moscow) is a Russian American historian. Felshtinsky has authored a number of books on Russian history, including ''The Bolsheviks and the Left SRs'' (Paris, 1985), ''Towards a History o ...
. In the book Aven opined that Berezovsky "played a particularly important role in two episodes of new Russian history: the 1996 election and the struggle against Primakov and Luzhkov in 1999". A documentary about Berezovsky's efforts to undermine Putin from his exile in UK was shown on BBC Two in December 2005. Berezovsky features in a painting by the Russian artist
Ilya Glazunov Ilya Sergeyevich Glazunov (; 10 June 1930 – 9 July 2017) was a Soviet and Russian artist from Saint Petersburg. He was the founder of the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he also served as a rector up until his de ...
, displayed in Moscow's Ilya Glazunov Gallery. According to the Rough Guide, "''The Market of Our Democracy'' shows Yeltsin waving a conductor's baton as two lesbians kiss and the oligarch Berezovsky flaunts a sign reading 'I will buy Russia', while charlatans rob a crowd of refugees and starving children." Berezovsky also features as a character in the opera '' The Life and Death of Alexander Litvinenko'' by Alexander Woolf to a libretto by
David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and libretto, librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has di ...
, which was premiered in July 2021 at
Grange Park Opera Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera ho ...
. ''Patriots'' premiered at the
Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...
in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
, London, in May 2022, following the life of Berezovsky from the president's inner circle to public enemy number one.
Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is a British actor. He trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in ''The Way of the World''. He made his Broadway debut in the ...
played Berezovsky. The play was written by
Peter Morgan Peter Julian Robin Morgan (born 10 April 1963) is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has written for theatre, films and television, often writing about historical events or figures such as Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II, whom he has ...
and directed by
Rupert Goold Rupert Goold (born 18 February 1972) is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013). Since 2010, Goold has be ...
. It played a limited run from 2 July 2022 until 20 August. It transferred to the West End in 2023. In the 2022
ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...
miniseries '' Litvinenko'', Berezovsky was portrayed by Nikolai Tsankov.


See also

*
List of unsolved deaths This list of unsolved deaths includes notable cases where: * The cause of death could not be officially determined following an investigation * The person's identity could not be established after they were found dead * The cause is known, but th ...
*
Russian oligarchs Russian oligarchs () are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownershi ...
*
Semibankirschina The Seven Bankers () were a group of powerful Russian oligarchs who played an important role in the political and economic spheres of the Russian Federation between 1996 and 2000. In spite of their internal conflicts, members of the group worked ...
* ''Tycoon'' (2002 film)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berezovsky, Boris 1946 births 2013 deaths 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation 20th-century Russian businesspeople 21st-century Russian businesspeople Aeroflot Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Deaths by hanging Fugitive financiers Fugitives wanted by Russia Moscow State Forest University alumni Russian oligarchs People from Sunninghill Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Russian billionaires Russian businesspeople in the oil industry Russian dissidents Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom Russian mass media owners Russian mathematicians Russian newspaper publishers (people) Russian non-fiction writers Russian people of Jewish descent Russian activists Unsolved deaths in England Writers from Moscow Russian businesspeople in the United Kingdom Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Assassinated businesspeople