THE AGE OF BEREZOVSKY
PETR AVEN’S BOOK
About the book
Everything that is now taking place in Russia can be traced back to the “wild 90s”, the term used in the country to describe the turbulent period between 1990 and 2000-2001 that encompassed the collapse of the USSR,
the establishment of democracy in Russia and the formation of a new state.
The Age of Berezovsky turns back the clock almost 30 years by speaking to many of those who were directly involved in the public life of 1990s Russia and the most significant events of the period. These range from young reform-minded politicians – including the book’s author Petr Aven — to high-ranking officials, famous entrepreneurs and TV journalists.
Aven, the former president of Russia’s Alfa Bank and Russian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, sketches a portrait of the era by focusing on one of its most colourful symbols, the flamboyant businessman and politician Boris Berezovsky. Through the reminiscences of Berezovsky’s former friends, colleagues and associates, we learn first-hand how a small and privileged group of insiders benefited from the introduction of a new state management system and the privatisation of state-owned companies to build vast businesses from scratch, shaping the political landscape for decade to come, and laying the foundations of the Russia we know today.
The Age of Berezovsky turns back the clock almost 30 years by speaking to many of those who were directly involved in the public life of 1990s Russia and the most significant events of the period. These range from young reform-minded politicians – including the book’s author Petr Aven — to high-ranking officials, famous entrepreneurs and TV journalists.
Aven, the former president of Russia’s Alfa Bank and Russian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, sketches a portrait of the era by focusing on one of its most colourful symbols, the flamboyant businessman and politician Boris Berezovsky. Through the reminiscences of Berezovsky’s former friends, colleagues and associates, we learn first-hand how a small and privileged group of insiders benefited from the introduction of a new state management system and the privatisation of state-owned companies to build vast businesses from scratch, shaping the political landscape for decade to come, and laying the foundations of the Russia we know today.
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ABOUT
PETR AVEN
Petr Aven witnessed — and played an active role in — the birth of the new Russian economy after the collapse of the USSR.
He has delivered lectures at Yale University in the United States, Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
Petr Aven has written a number of academic papers and publications on Russian trade and economic development, and is a well-known collector of Russian art.
1977
- Graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University.
1980
- Received a PhD in economics and defended his dissertation.
1991
- First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR.
1992
- Minister of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation;
- Russian presidential representative for relations with industrialised countries (G7).
- Petr Aven left the political arena soon afterwards in order to concentrate on business.
1994 – 2022
- President and co-owner of Alfa Bank.
Petr Aven (also latinised as Pyotr Aven) is a Russian entrepreneur who served as Russian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations during the Yeltsin-Gaidar government.
KEY IDEAS
IN THE BOOK
- The 1990s in Russia were a time like this. Things that had recently seemed unattainable suddenly became possible: money, travel, books.
- The first half of the 1990s was a time of impoverishment for some, and of fantastic, rapid accumulation of wealth for others.
- There was something about that era that encouraged the absence of principles, that opened a window of opportunity for unscrupulous individuals.
- In the Russia of the 90s, the ability to build relationships was surprisingly important. Such was Russian business, and Boris’s initial success was, naturally, determined by this factor.
- Liberalism in Russia hasn’t been compromised because there’s “too much” of it and it didn’t take into account national specifics, it’s because it simply didn’t exist. It’s because what was achieved under the flag of liberalism was very far from actual liberalism.
- I’m absolutely convinced that Russia will end up where the entire world is heading, and the whole world is heading towards mass media becoming genuinely independent.
- I think that a lack of trust in the capabilities of the Russian people in creating a normal democratic society is a deep fallacy. We’re not ready for it today, that’s true, but we’ll never be ready for it if we think the way you’re thinking.
- If you look at the share of authoritarian, undemocratic regimes, throughout history it has been falling, and the share of democratic states has grown, irrespective of culture or faith. . . . I simply think that we’ll never be ready if we carry on with the mantras about us not being ready.
- I think that the current situation can only be changed through democratic procedures, through copying the best practices. My model for the world, of course, is liberal democracy. For me – whether I’m Russian or not – freedom is the greatest treasure. Among our people, that’s not the case. . . . When we came into the government in 1991, we had a certain model for the world. To a large extent, of course, it was the model of a Western democracy. The country wasn’t ready for that.
SPEAKERS
17 INTERVIEWEES
This book was published thanks to Petr Aven’s conversations with the first-hand participants of the events of that period, providing an insight into the history of the formation of the new Russia from a variety of perspectives.
MikhailFridman- Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (b. 1964) is an Israeli-Russian financier, co-founder and former chairman of the supervisory board of the Alfa Group Consortium (until 2022). Fridman was named the world’s 136th richest person in a February 2023 ranking, with USD 13.5 billion to his name.
- "Strategically it was clear that opposing the authorities in Russia, taking into account its history and traditions, is in principle impossible, ultimately."
VladimirPozner- Vladimir Vladimirovich Pozner (b. 1934) is a Soviet and Russian television journalist and the first president of the Academy of Russian Television. He was best known as the host of TV link-ups between the USSR and the U.S. In the 1990s he was co-host of the Pozner/ Donahue programme on CNBC (U.S.). Since 1997, he has mainly worked in Russia on Channel One.
- "I think that the 90s were years of great opportunity. It would have been truly possible to achieve a situation in which Russia wouldn’t be the same as it is today, let’s say."
AnatolyChubais- Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (b. 1955) is a Russian politician. He was one of the authors of the economic reforms in new Russia in the beginning of the 90s. In 1997 he was first deputy prime minister and minister of finance of the Russian Federation. In 1997 he was relieved of his duties as finance minister, in 1998 he resigned from his post as first deputy prime minister. He was head of the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (RUSNANO) until 2020.
- "As it turned out, 25 people can create a market economy in a country of Russia’s gigantic size."
- "Our model is Russian, it can’t be American. Because we’re a thousand years older, because Russia is located in a different place and it has a different history."
- "I don’t think that we were up to the challenge that we took on."
YuriFelshtinsky- Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (b. 1956) is a Russian and American historian. In 1978 he emigrated to the U.S., where he still lives today. He has written a number of books, including Blowing Up Russia (co-written with Alexander Litvinenko) and The Corporation: Russia and the KGB in the Age of President Putin (co-written with Vladimir Pribylovsky).
- "Berezovsky and I were flying on a plane, sitting opposite one another, and he said, “You know what? It looks like we’ve finally found a person. We’re going to make a president. Well, you probably haven’t really heard about this. Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich."
LeonidBoguslavsky- Leonid Borisovich Boguslavsky (b. 1951) is one of the major Russian investors in IT and the Internet and the founder of the ru-Net Holdings international investment group.
- "His organisational efficiency rate was pretty low. But because Borya would throw a huge load of energy and frantic activity in some direction, in the long run it took him 50 times longer to go through all the organisational stages than it would have taken a methodical person. And on top of that, he would introduce elements of chaos into this structuring."
YevgenyShvidler- Yevgeny Markovich Shvidler (b. 1964), also known as Eugene Shvidler, is a Russian businessman and chairman of the asset management company Millhouse Capital. From 1995-1998 he was vice president of Sibneft, and from 1998-2005 he served as president of the company. Forbes estimated Yevgeny Shvidler’s net worth at $1.1 billion in 2015.
- "… if you wanted an example that illustrates a lack of principles being turned into a principle in itself, then that’s him."
YuriShefler- Yuri Viktorovich Shefler (b. 1967) is a Russian businessman. In 1997-1998 he served as chairman of the board of VAO Soyuzplodimport, owner of the Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya vodka brands. In 2002 the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation brought criminal charges against Shefler. He has resided in the United Kingdom and Switzerland since then.
- "When they discuss privatisation today, they always bring up the names of Khodorkovsky or Potanin, or some other big shots, oligarchs. I’d like to point out that these were the people who took responsibility."
AlexanderGoldfarb- Alexander Davidovich Goldfarb (b. 1947) is a biologist, Soviet dissident, journalist and public figure. In 1975 he repatriated to Israel, then worked in Germany and the United States. In the 1990s, he temporarily returned to Russia, where he worked for a charity organisation, the George Soros-led Open Society Foundation.
- "That, perhaps, was naïve—like every Russian person who is on bad terms with the authorities, Berezovsky, for some reason, decided that the West is very important. That was a mistake. Subjectively, he was convinced that the West would bring about a change in the regime in Russia and that many in Russia would be against what Putin was doing. So, for that first period he was confident that he would return fairly quickly."
YuliDubov- Yuli Anatolyevich Dubov (b. 1948) is a scientist, businessman, writer and public figure. In the 90s Dubov held various positions at LogoVAZ. In 1999 he wrote a novel called Bolshaya Paika (The Big Slice), which focused predominantly on the events of his LogoVAZ period. Director Pavel Lungin based his 2002 movie Tycoon on the novel.
- "… in 1996, huge administrative and financial resources were invested in the elections. Yeltsin won, and electoral manipulations began to be associated with liberals, with democracy. I’m not sure now that it was right."
ValentinYumashev- Valentin Borisovich Yumashev (b. 1957) is a Russian journalist, politician and businessman. In 1996 he was appointed public relations adviser to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Yumashev co-authored two books with Boris Yeltsin: Against the Grain: An Autobiography and The Struggle for Russia. He is married to Yeltsin’s daughter Tatyana.
- "A huge number of ideas, schemes and designs, especially in economics, were proposed by representatives of business. The government very often accepted and implemented these ideas."
SergeiDorenko- Sergei Leonidovich Dorenko (1959-2019) was a Russian journalist. From 1985 to 2000 he worked in television. He took an active part in the media and propaganda support given to the State Duma elections in 1999, then the presidential elections in 2000. That year, he was suspended from television after making a controversial programme about the sinking of the Kursk submarine. He was the editor-in-chief of the Govorit Moskva radio station until his death in 2019.
- "The 1990s were years when the crazier you were, the more desperate, the more reckless towards human life including, of course, your own, the more likely you were to win out."
VladimirGrigoryev- Vladimir Viktorovich Grigoryev (b. 1958) is the owner of the Vagrius publishing house (1992-1998) and statesman. Until 2021 he was deputy head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications.
- "There was that incredible sense of flying, the belief that somehow everything would turn out well. Maybe it was down to a lack of information about what was really happening in the country…"
AndreiVasilyev- Andrei Vitalyevich Vasilyev (b. 1957) is a Soviet and Russian journalist. Since 1989, he has held various positions at the Kommersant publishing house. From 1995 to 1998, he worked at ORT as deputy general producer and head of information programming. From 1999 to 2010 he served as chief editor of the joint editorial office of Kommersant.
- "In fact, when they say ‘the wild 90s’, for me it’s like an insult. You know, it’s like telling a veteran that the Great Patriotic War was complete shit and Russia was really to blame for it most of all. The veteran will fly into a rage, and he’ll be right. And for me, it’s just an insult when they criticise the 90s."
AlexanderVoloshin- Alexander Stalyevich Voloshin (b. 1956) is a Russian politician. From 1999 until 2003 he was Kremlin chief of staff. In 2012 he was appointed chairman of the board of directors of the Pervaya Gruzovaya Kompaniya (JSC Freight One).
- "We generally curse the 90s, rather than praising them. But the 90s were revolutionary years, and a revolution always comes with a muddle and all manner of complex transitional processes."
DemyanKudryavtsev- Demyan Borisovich Kudryavtsev (b. 1971) is a Russian writer and journalist. He was general director of the Kommersant publishing house from 2006-2012. From 2015 until 2020 owned acquired assets of the Sanoma Independent Media publishing house (its major asset is the Vedomosti newspaper).
- "I knew all about ‘Soviet destitution’, but ‘post-Soviet poverty’ was a new experience. On the other hand, absolutely anything and everything was possible."
StanislavBelkovsky- Stanislav Aleksandrovich Belkovsky (born 1971), Russian political analyst and publicist. He is the founder and former director of the Institute of National Strategy. He was active as a political consultant in the 1990s. In 2004, he established the Institute of National Strategy of Ukraine and participated in the pre-election campaign of Viktor Yushchenko.
- "Power in Russia lies with the police. To exercise the functions of power you either have to be the policeman or be in control of the policeman."
MarkSheiman- Mark Mikhailovich Sheiman (b.1954), formerly Magomed Uzhakhovich Ismailov, was born into a family of exiled Chechens in Kazakhstan, and studied in Odesa. From 1989 to 1994 he was Deputy General Director for Security at LogoVAZ.
- "He sent Salman and me on our way and got into his car 15 minutes later. He left the yard and it exploded. No one in Moscow considered Boris Abramovich their enemy!
- I’m not saying that he did [planted the bomb himself]. But he had arranged it. He needed an explosion of emotion."
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Gaidar’s revolution
Petr Aven & Alfred Kokh
A lot of time has now passed since the early 1990s, when Yegor Gaidar’s team took on the task of reforming Russia’s economy, but there is still much debate about how well-timed and appropriate the measures were.
Did Gaidar save Russia from famine and civil war, or were these risks overestimated? Could the lifting of price controls have been delayed or was this an inevitable step? Were there alternatives to Gaidar’s team and its liberal course? What really brought down the Soviet Union? Why was a real liberal economy never established in the country and how did the reforms get ‘stuck’ halfway?
Did Gaidar save Russia from famine and civil war, or were these risks overestimated? Could the lifting of price controls have been delayed or was this an inevitable step? Were there alternatives to Gaidar’s team and its liberal course? What really brought down the Soviet Union? Why was a real liberal economy never established in the country and how did the reforms get ‘stuck’ halfway?