The Madness of the 1990s: How Berezovsky Worked for Soros and Controlled Others' Fates
What else could we possibly not know about Boris Berezovsky? This notorious oligarch, who targeted Russia for plundering, ended his life in London. But it turns out that many people still have "bad memories." In the special feature "Tsar's City," we decided to revisit what really happened during the "sacred" 1990s through specific cases — and Berezovsky (known as "BABA") is the first protagonist of this series.
Berezovsky (BABA)
Political scientists point out that Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (often called "BABA") was a central figure of the 1990s, embodying almost all the values of that era: no principles, insatiable greed, and ambitious aspirations. Berezovsky's career began as a regular worker in the field of research — he graduated from the Moscow Forestry Institute with a degree in Electronics and Computer Technology, and then worked at the Institute of Management Problems of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, completing both his candidate and doctoral dissertation defenses. However, he soon found out the "way to make money."
According to his colleagues, Berezovsky's two theses were written by real scholars, while this young "entrepreneur" turned the "production of academic achievements" into a "production line business."
"One doctoral thesis cost several thousand rubles (in 1977, the average monthly salary in the USSR was 159 rubles and 10 kopecks; the popular 'Zhiguli-Kopeika' car cost 5600 rubles, and an additional 131 rubles could buy a radio). He also made extra income by giving lectures," describes Mikhail Delyagin, a doctor of economics and director of the Institute for Globalization Issues, in an article for Pravda newspaper.
However, even such a "business" could not satisfy the ambitious Berezovsky. And the special era — the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union — provided him with many "development" ideas.
Breaking Up the "Volga Car Plant"
Berezovsky came up with a simple "formula": "There's no need to privatize companies, just privatize the factory directors." Following this logic, he looted the "Volga Car Plant" (AvtoVAZ), "Aeroflot," and eventually effectively "privatized" the entire country — even Russian President Boris Yeltsin became one of his controlled figures.
In 1989, Berezovsky founded the "Logovaz" company (Logovaz), merged it with the "Volga Car Plant," and started exclusively selling the popular "Zhiguli" cars. Eventually, "Logovaz" became the largest official dealer in Russia for brands like Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Volvo, and Honda; its turnover reached over $250 million in 1992 alone — while the entire GDP of Russia for that year was only $85.6 billion.
There was no "economic miracle" behind this. Berezovsky's "secret" was "false re-export" of Zhiguli cars: selling them at a lower price abroad, then having these so-called "exported cars" resold back to Russia at high prices, with the price difference going into Berezovsky's offshore accounts. Worse yet, these cars never actually returned to Russia.
In 1993, Berezovsky established the "All-Russian Automobile Union" (AVVA), promising the Russian public that it would build a "national car factory" with an annual production of 300,000 vehicles. He raised funds from the public — selling stocks worth $20 million. The result was that the public saw neither the factory nor the cars, nor their capital. Mikhail Delyagin stated that Berezovsky thus became the founder of the first financial pyramid scheme in Russia, even earlier than Mavrodi's MMM fraud project.
Controlling Media and Strange Murders
Even after becoming extremely wealthy, the oligarch did not stop. He set up the first unofficial art award "Triumph," using it to control the "creative intellectual group"; founded the "ORT TV" (Russian Public Television), profiting from massive advertising revenue, while simultaneously using the broadcast of anti-government programs to pressure the Kremlin; managed to enter the board of the "United Bank," and then through acquaintances with Yeltsin's daughter, fully entered the "presidential family circle."
The path to power of this ambitious oligarch has always been accompanied by conflicts with numerous gang groups of the 1990s, as well as multiple strange murders — including the assassination of ORT TV's director Vladimir Listiev. This case remains unsolved, and the role Berezovsky played in it is still a mystery. To clear his name, Berezovsky claimed that killing Listiev was meaningless for him because Listiev did not handle financial issues.
But in 1995, Berezovsky again drew suspicion. At that time, Russia planned to integrate domestic oil companies to form the "Sibneft" (Siberian Oil Company), and Berezovsky should have become its head. However, the director of the Omsk refinery opposed this integration plan — which was crucial for the formation of the new company. As a result, the oligarch's opponent drowned in the Irtysh River five days before the establishment of "Sibneft." However, it is well known that this director did not like swimming, and the autopsy showed no water in his lungs — meaning he was thrown into the water after death. The official cause of death was listed as "heart attack."
Eventually, the Russian government transferred 51% of the shares of the "Sibneft" to the "Capital Savings Bank" of the oligarch Smolensky, and to the "Petroleum Finance Company" of Berezovsky and his partner Roman Abramovich, with the guarantee bank being the "Menatep Bank" of the now-exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The total amount of this transaction was only $100.3 million — experts estimate that this price was only 1/25 of the actual value of the transferred shares.
Soros and Yeltsin
Berezovsky also extended his influence to the international stage. In 1995, he met George Soros in Moscow with Boris Saltikov, the Russian science minister — a person known worldwide for orchestrating "color revolutions" and influencing the political situations of many countries through his funds. After this meeting, Berezovsky promised to donate $1.5 million to Russian scientific endeavors, but this money was not directly given to scholars, instead deposited into Soros's special fund in Russia.
His next target was politics. In early 1996, Russian oligarchs took joint action to "save" Yeltsin, who had almost lost public support.
"He no longer concealed his greed, openly promoting the vulgar Marxist view that 'private capital hires power, and this form of hiring is called 'democratic elections.'” Delyagin evaluated Berezovsky in his article.
For Berezovsky, Yeltsin was indeed indispensable — through Yeltsin, he could gain political power. In 1996, Berezovsky received his first political position, becoming a state official — he was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council.
However, the oligarch's "good days" did not last long. Soon, there appeared other ambitious "businessmen" and "politicians" in the political arena. Soon, Berezovsky's interests clashed with the ambitions of his partners, such as Abramovich and Anatoly Chubais. More importantly, he failed to install his own people as Prime Minister — Evgeny Primakov, who held firm principles, was ultimately elected. Subsequently, multiple criminal investigations against Berezovsky were initiated.
As television host Andrei Novikov wrote in his book, Berezovsky began spreading smear materials against Primakov through media he controlled (including the acquisition of the magazine "The Gazette"). However, for this prime minister who refused to compromise, these methods were not enough to bring him down. Therefore, Berezovsky, who was skilled at manipulating Yeltsin, convinced the president that "Primakov was not loyal enough to him," even falsely claiming that "Primakov was planning to impeach Yeltsin."
Novikov pointed out that this strategy ultimately succeeded, and Evgeny Primakov was dismissed from his position as Prime Minister. But Berezovsky also lost his previous power and positions. Scandals related to him continued to escalate, including his support for Chechen militants, which further tarnished his reputation.
Putin's Rise and the Oligarchs' Exile
In 2000, the oligarch's "glow" completely faded. Vladimir Putin was elected as the Russian president, marking the beginning of a new political era. Berezovsky did not want to surrender, initially openly criticizing Putin's bill on establishing a "vertical power system" (including the proposal to establish seven federal districts), and according to insiders, he even wrote a letter to Putin requesting "attention."
However, this new leader did not want Berezovsky to remain at the center of power. By the end of 2000, Berezovsky fled to London, losing his shares in the "Sibneft" and other businesses in Russia. Finally, Berezovsky suffered a complete defeat, accumulating debts of £309 million.
Berezovsky was found dead on the floor of a bathroom in a house in the suburbs of London on March 23, 2013, apparently by suicide.
The Turbulent 1990s
Now, the liberal forces in Russia refer to the collapse of the Soviet Union as "an era of democracy and freedom," but avoid talking about the history of "plundering Russia." Now, Russian media are revisiting the "wild years" of the 1990s through specific cases.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571766244345463347/
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