Ivan Savvidis
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Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi (, ; born 27 March 1959), also known as Ivan Savvidis (, ; ka, ივან ეგნატეს ძე სავიდი, tr, ), is a Russian-Greek businessman who has been called an oligarch. He is one of Russia's wealthiest men and was a member of the
Russian Parliament The Federal Assembly is the bicameral national legislature of Russia. The upper house is the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council, and the lower house is the State Duma. The assembly was established by the Constitution of the Russian F ...
, closely linked to the President
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 ...
. According to Forbes, his fortune is estimated to $1.4 billion.


Biography

Ivan Savvidis was born on March 27, 1959, in the village of
Santa Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...
, Tsalka District, in what was then the
Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...
. His parents, Ignatios and Kleoniki, were
Pontic Greek Pontic Greek (, ; or ''Romeika'') is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, and the Eastern Turkish and Caucasus region. An endangered Greek language variety ...
workers, originating from
Dumanlı Dumanlı, also known as Sanda (), is a village in Gümüşhane District, Gümüşhane Province in Turkey, close to its border with Trabzon Province. Its population is 80 (2022). History The village was established in the 17th century by Pontic ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, who had 8 children, including Ivan. He was brought up as a Christian Orthodox, taught Greek history and until the age of 7 spoke only
Pontic Greek Pontic Greek (, ; or ''Romeika'') is a variety of Modern Greek indigenous to the Pontus region on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, and the Eastern Turkish and Caucasus region. An endangered Greek language variety ...
.
At the age of 14 he settled in
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
where he finished high school. He served his
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...
and was discharged with the rank of sergeant. At the end of his military service he found work at the Don State Tobacco Factory. At the same time, in 1984 he began studying at the
Logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
Department of the Rostov Institute of National Economy, from which he graduated in 1988.
With the
collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991, Savvidis joined the stream of Pontic Greek fleeing to Greece. After spending some time in the village of Megali Vrysi in
Kilkis Kilkis () is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2021 there were 24,130 people living in the city proper, 27,493 people living in the municipal unit, and 45,308 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional un ...
where his sister lived, trying to encourage Greeks in the area to invest together in the private economy that was shaping the former Soviet Union, he returned to Rostov and his old job. After some time of successful work, the management decided to promote Savvidis, appointing him deputy director. In 1993, was elected by workers as general director of the Donskoy Tabak company. The same year, during the privatisation process, "OJSC Donskoy Tabak" was established. Savvidis became the main shareholder of the company with a 75.71% stake and its chairman. In 2013, ''Forbes'' listed Savvidis as the 30th wealthiest Russian businessman in the world. In 2013 he purchased 82% of the Greek tobacco company SEKAP. In 2017 he acquired 19% of
Mega Channel MEGA Channel, also known as MEGA TV or just MEGA, is a television network in Greece, that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It is the first and the oldest private television network in Greece. History Mega Channel (1989–2018 ...
but some months later he sold it. In 2017 his Dimera Media company acquired the Pegasus Publications, which includes the newspapers of '' Ethnos'' and ''Imerisia''. On 11 August of the same year, he bought the E Channel from businessman Philipos Vryonis and the market agreement was ratified on 21 August 2017. In March 2018, he sold the CJSC Donskoy Tabak, together with the Greek SEKAP, to
Japan Tobacco The (JT) is a Japanese diversified tobacco company and parent company to Japan Tobacco International, one of the three largest international Big Tobacco product manufacturers in the world. It was established in 1985 as a that inherited the ri ...
for 1.6 billion. In February 2024 the
High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (; , HACC of Ukraine) is a Ukrainian court established on 11 April 2019. The court handed down its first sentence on 30 October 2019. Cases concerning corruption in Ukraine are to be brought directly to ...
decided, following a request by the Ukrainian Justice Ministry, to seize the assets of Ivan and Kyriaki Savvidis assets in the country due to his continued support for Russia's war effort in Ukraine. According to media sources, Savvidis' support dates back to 2014 and has been steady and long-standing. The confiscated assets include all of the shares of "PentoPak", a private joint stock company involved in
polyamide A polyamide is a polymer with repeating units linked by amide bonds. Polyamides occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made throug ...
food packaging Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alterations ...
, and all of the authorized capital of the Ukrainian subsidiary of food-packaging company "Atlantis-Pak".
The State Property Fund of Ukraine proceeded in May 2024 to an electronic auction of the "PentoPak" company. According to the SPFU, this is the first case of the sale of a sanctioned plant. Its starting price was more than 203 million
hryvnia The ( ; , ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 kopiykas (). It is named after a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus'. Etymology The currency of Kie ...
. (about 4.5 million euro)


Real estate

In February 2013, Savvidis took over the management of the Macedonia Palace in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. He has also acquired a number of historic villas of
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
(such as the Longos mansion, Villa Zardinidi etc.), while his recent investment in
Porto Carras Porto Carras (Greek: Πόρτο Καρράς), known as Porto Carras Grand Resort, is one of northern Greece's largest and most famous hotels and holiday resorts. It is located on Sithonia, Chalkidiki peninsula in Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, G ...
reaches €500million.


Political career

Savvidis was elected to the Legislative Assembly of
Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblastʹ, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast ...
in 1998 and 2003. In 2003, Savvidis was elected as a Deputy in 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 ...
; he subsequently served as the Deputy Chairman of the Budget Committee and Taxes. In 2007, Savvidis was re-elected as a Deputy in 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 ...
as a member of the party
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 ...
led by chairman
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 ...
, serving until 2011. He served as a member of the Committee
International Affairs International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
, as coordinator of Interparliamentary Relations with the
Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...
and as Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarusian Union. He has previously made positive comments about the Greek political party
Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance (), best known by the syllabic abbreviation SYRIZA ( ; ; a pun on the Greek adverb , meaning "from the roots" or "radically"), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politi ...
and has likened
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras (, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. A left-wing figure, Tsipras was leader of the List of political parties in Greece, Greek political party Syriza from 200 ...
to
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 ...
.


Sports

Between July 2002 and July 2005, Savvidis was President of
FC Rostov FC Rostov () is a Russian professionalism in association football, professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club competes in the Russian Premier League, playing their home matches at the Rostov Arena. History Soviet era (1930-199 ...
. On 10 August 2012, he acquired ownership of the Greek football team
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
and entered the ''
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 ...
'' list of the richest people in the world. In 2015 Savvidis paid all of the club's debts to the Greek State, an amount that totalled at €10,886,811. After his exit from the tax office he stated: "I had a cup of tea that cost me €10.8 million." Under his presidency, PAOK FC has won two
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
championships.


Controversies


Gun demonstration

Ivan Savvidis was the focus of global attention on the evening of March 11, 2018, when he entered the stadium during the
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
- AEK championship match, which was a pivotal moment in the 2017–2018 season. At the time, the match was tied at 0-0, and at the 90-minute mark, PAOK's Fernando Varela scored the decisive goal with a header. The referee initially allowed the goal to PAOK, but a few minutes later, at the suggestion of the linesman and following protests from the AEK players, he disallowed the goal for offside. The overturning of the goal sparked a huge uproar both in the stands and inside the stadium, with players from both teams storming the pitch. Among them was Ivan Savvidis, who, accompanied by his bodyguards, ordered the PAOK players to leave the stadium. Ivan Savvidis appeared with a
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
strapped to his hip. The referee and the AEK players headed to the locker room when they saw Savvidis with the handgun in his belt and the game was stopped.
The pistol was photographed by the mobile phones of AEK's officials and was soon released on the internet. Although the pistol did not come out of its holster, the spectacle of the gun-toting businessman storming the stadium was the subject of negative commentary worldwide. Savvidis was initially sentenced to 25 months' imprisonment, suspended for three years, after being found guilty of illegal entry into the stadium and possession of weapons. Apart from the criminal aspect, the sports justice system had punished the PAOK FC president with a three-year stadium ban and a fine of 100,000 euros. The sentence handed down by the appeal court was reduced to eight months, with a three-year suspension. The businessman was found guilty only for the accusation of "possession, with intent, of an object that may cause bodily harm during a sporting event".


Allegations of joint ownership

His rivalry with
Evangelos Marinakis Evangelos "Vangelis" Marinakis (Ευάγγελος (Βαγγέλης) Μαρινάκης), born 30 July 1967) is a Greek businessman and investor, the principal shareholder of a number of companies operating in the shipping, Media (communicatio ...
, owner of
Olympiacos F.C. Olympiacos Football Club ( ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Piraeus. Part of the major Sports club, multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP (''Olympiakós Sýnde ...
, is particularly bitter; their rivalry, combined with their respective spending power, far superior to that of other Greek football clubs, is seen by analysts as one of the causes of the sport's problems in the country. In 2019, a television channel controlled by Marinakis broadcast an investigation accusing Savvidis of using figureheads to acquire ownership of another
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
team,
Xanthi F.C. Xanthi Football Club () is a Greek Association football, football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. They play their home matches at Skoda Xanthi Arena Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth set ...
, in violation of FIFA regulations governing professional leagues. An independent, government-appointed commission of inquiry was tasked with investigating the allegations: in 2020, after completing its investigations, the commission decided that the two clubs should be punished with relegation.
In
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, there was an immediate outcry against this hypothesis, accusing the institutions of favoring Olympiakos; in the face of this and protests from certain political circles, the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
tabled an
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
to the law stipulating as a penalty for such cases of multiple ownership the deduction of 5 to 10 points. The case reached the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(CAS), which referred it to the Appeals Committee for a new hearing on the merits. In 2021, the Appeals Committee of the EPO cleared
PAOK F.C. PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional football club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. PAOK ...
of all charges.


Personal life and community service

Savvidis is President of the Federation of Greek Communities of Russia, and was a key figure in pushing for the newly created region by the World Council of Hellenes Abroad in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
countries. In 2022, during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Savvidis ordered his associates to prepare around 487 rooms available at the Porto Carras resort in Chalkidiki within northern Greece in order to host refugees of the country during this time. He is married to Kyriaki Savvidi and has two sons, George (Giorgi) and Nick (Nikolai).


Awards


State

*
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...
IV degree (21 February 2008) – '' for achievements in legislative activity, strengthening of Russian statehood and the development of Rostov-on-Don * Order of Honour (13 December 2003) – '' for labor achievements and many years of diligent work '' * Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree (6 September 1999) – '' for his contribution to the socio-economic development of the city of
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
, and in connection with its 250th anniversary ''


Church

*
Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow The Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow () is an award of the Russian Orthodox Church, established in 1988. There are three classes. History The Order was created by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Pimen I, and the Holy Synod of 28 ...
II degree (2009) * Order of Saint
Seraphim of Sarov Seraphim of Sarov (; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and t ...
III degree (2011) * Orthodox Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem


Public organizations

* Medal "Patron of the Year" – '' for the revival of Russian culture and the Rostov-on-Don region '' (1999–2009)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savvidis, Ivan Living people 1959 births Russian people of Greek descent 21st-century Russian businesspeople Greek football chairmen and investors Greek volleyball chairmen and investors Greek billionaires FC Rostov PAOK F.C. presidents Georgian people of Greek descent Pontic Greeks Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) People from Kvemo Kartli Businesspeople in the tobacco industry Rostov State University of Economics alumni