Boris Berezovsky (businessman)

For pianist, see Boris Berezovsky (pianist).
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Abramovich and the family name is Berezovsky.

Boris Berezovsky
Борис Березовский
Born(1946-01-23)23 January 1946
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died23 March 2013(2013-03-23) (aged 67)
Sunninghill, Berkshire, England
Resting placeBrookwood Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, England
51°17′58″N 0°37′33″W / 51.299574°N 0.625846°W / 51.299574; -0.625846 (grave of B. Berezovsky)
Other namesPlaton Elenin
Citizenship
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • engineer
  • mathematician
  • government official
Spouses
Nina Korotkova
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1991)​
[1]
Galina Besharova
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 2010)​
[2]
PartnerYelena Gorbunova (esp. 1996; sep. 2012)[3]

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (Russian: Борис Абрамович Березовский; 23 January 1946 – 23 March 2013),[4][5] also known as Platon Elenin,[6] was a Russian business oligarch, government official, engineer and mathematician and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.[7]

Berezovsky made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, when the country implemented privatization of state property.[8] He profited from gaining control over assets, including the country's main television channel, Channel One. In 1997, Forbes estimated Berezovsky's wealth at US$3 billion.[9] Berezovsky helped fund Unity, the political party that would form Vladimir Putin's first parliamentary base,[10] and was elected to the Duma in the 1999 Russian legislative election.[11] However, following the Russian presidential election in March 2000, Berezovsky went into opposition and resigned from the Duma.[12] Berezovsky would remain a vocal critic of Putin for the rest of his life.[13]

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 in 2003.[14] After he moved to Britain, the Russian government took over his television assets,[15] and he divested from other Russian holdings. In Russia, Berezovsky was later convicted in absentia of fraud and embezzlement. The first charges had been brought during Primakov's government in 1999.[16] Despite an Interpol Red Notice for Berezovsky's arrest, Russia repeatedly failed to obtain the extradition of Berezovsky from Britain; the situation became a major point of diplomatic tension between the two countries.[17][18][19]

In 2012, Berezovsky lost a London High Court case he brought over the ownership of the major oil producer Sibneft, against Roman Abramovich, in which he sought over £3 billion in damages.[20] The court concluded that Berezovsky had never been a co-owner of Sibneft.[21]

Berezovsky was found dead in his home, Titness Park, at Sunninghill, near Ascot in Berkshire, on 23 March 2013.[22] A post-mortem examination found that his death was consistent with hanging and that there were no signs of a violent struggle.[23] However, the coroner at the inquest into Berezovsky's death later recorded an open verdict.[24]

  1. ^ Березовский и Абрамович. Олигархи с большой дороги Archived 28 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Aleksandr Khinshtein
  2. ^ Bowcott, Owen (22 July 2011). "Boris Berezovsky pays out £100m in UK's biggest divorce settlement". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  3. ^ Shirbon, Estelle (24 January 2013). "Berezovsky battles in court with ex-partner over assets". Reuters/Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  4. ^ Hoffman, David E. (13 September 2011). The Oligarchs: Wealth and power in the new Russia. New York: PublicAffairs. p. 130. ISBN 9781610390705. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  5. ^ Barrett, David (23 March 2013). "Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky found dead in his bath". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  6. ^ Pomerantsev, Peter (25 April 2013). "Berezovsky's Last Days". London Review of Books. 35 (8): 38–39. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  7. ^ О присвоении квалификационных разрядов федеральным государственным служащим аппарата Совета Безопасности Российской Федерации (Decree 430) (in Russian). President of Russia. 29 April 1997.
  8. ^ Cobain, Ian; Taylor, Matthew; Harding, Luke (13 April 2007). "I am plotting a new Russian revolution". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Boris Abramovich Berezovsky" Profile on Globalsecurity.org
  10. ^ Mueller, Andrew (3 December 2005). "What a carve-up!". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  11. ^ McDermott, Roger. "Duma Seat Winner Berezovsky Sees Possibility Of "Consolidation of Power."". Jamestown. Jamestown.org. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  12. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (18 July 2000). "Tycoon resigns from duma as relations with Kremlin cool". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  13. ^ Elder, Miriam (11 September 2011). "Cameron meeting Putin is a 'historical mistake', says exiled Russian tycoon". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  14. ^ "The Prosecutor Digs in the Dirt – Kommersant Moscow". Kommersant.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference media was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Parfitt, Tom (30 November 2007). "Berezovsky jailed in absentia". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Berezovskiy, Boris". Interpol. 1999. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Russia and Britain: A love-hate relationship". The Economist. 19 January 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Boris Berezovsky". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference PA-20120831 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Peck, Tom (31 August 2012). "Berezovsky humbled by verdict that leaves reputation in tatters". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guard23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference bdc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Boris Berezovsky inquest: Coroner records open verdict". BBC News. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.