The Biblical saying "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth" in our time is somehow not very much in demand, or rather, not at all popular. And an infinite number of young and not very young, but enterprising people rush to storm the fortresses under the names "power", "we alth", "gold", "beautiful life". In the frenzied race for all these treasures, there is no time to stop and think: "What is all this for?" And yet, sooner or later, a stop occurs, but it happens, as a rule, either in a hospital, or in prison, or in forced emigration - like Nevzlin's…
Chapter One - Soviet
The biography of Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin began normally, like many boys and girls born in the USSR. Leonid was born on September 21, 1959 in a family of Soviet intellectuals: mother -Irina Markovna taught Russian at school, and her father, Boris Iosifovich, worked as an engineer at petrochemical plants.
The boy studied at the same Moscow school where his mother also worked, and therefore he was not allowed any liberties: study comes first. But at some point, apparently, the control was not at the proper level, and suddenly there was a four among the orderly row of fives.
And the parents, for educational purposes, immediately transferred their son to another school, where there was no longer support from the mother, but the parental requirement for excellent studies remained unchanged. And Leonid Nevzlin lived up to his parents' expectations: he graduated from school with a gold medal.
"Fifth column" of the Soviet passport
There was a fifth column in the "hammer and sickle" Soviet passport, and it was called - nationality. And this point was a "stumbling block" for many young people who wanted to continue their education in a higher educational institution. The admission committees of high-level universities read this column especially carefully: MGIMO, Moscow State University and the like.
So, Leonid Nevzlin had the entry "Jew" in the fifth column, and therefore in 1976 he submitted documents to the Gubkin Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry (MINHiGP), which was also called "kerosene stove". Here one could say that he continuedfather's business, as he entered the faculty of automation and computer technology.
But most likely, in the "kerosene" there was, as they would say now, a tolerant leadership that turned a blind eye to the notorious fifth column. By the way, the popularity of this educational institution among applicants with a problematic fifth column is also evidenced by the fact that both Gusinsky and Abramovich graduated from the MINEP at different times.
So, having received a red diploma and the profession of "system engineer", Leonid opened the door to real life.
Chapter Two: Life
The Soviet realities of a university graduate were as follows: after defending his diploma, he received a job assignment, where he was obliged to repay his debt to the Motherland for the funds spent on his education for 3 years. Leonid had to work at Zarubezhgeologiya as a programmer for 120 rubles: such were the salaries in the USSR Ministry of Geology. This average Soviet reality of Nevzlin will last from 1981 to 1987 - until perestroika.
Student marriage
It must be said that by the time he graduated from high school, Anna Efimovna Nevzlin was the wife of Leonid Nevzlin. It was a profitable party, which parents insisted on at one time. However, as you know, love does not flourish in captivity. Especially if it didn't exist in the first place.
So, despite the birth of Irina's daughter in 1978, almost immediately after graduating from the institute, the family of Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin broke up.
AnnaNevzlina stayed with her daughter in a two-room apartment on Balaklavsky Prospekt, working as an employee of Wholesale Food Systems CJSC. And the subsequent financial success of the ex-husband did not affect the well-being of the first wife.
Family portrait in the interior
Anna Efimovna Nevzlina's memories of married life can only be called pleasant in all respects: her husband spoke intelligently about the role of a woman in a man's life, as well as about the functional uselessness of married life if a man reaches high government posts.
Anna Efimovna still quotes many of the ex-husband's statements: apparently they are very firmly embedded in her memory, thanks to meaningful conversations at an evening family dinner.
Thus, despite the short joint stay in marriage, the bitterness of this union is still felt.
So, her name was Tatyana
If we consider that at the time of graduation Nevzlin was about 23 years old or a little more, then we can assume that a young man of this age, being married, but not being in love, was open to experience in this, one can say Terra incognita. And fate gave him the opportunity to get such an experience.
She was called Tatyana, and her last name was more than known, but in literary circles and thanks to A. S. Pushkin - Arbenina. She was older than Nevzlin, she had a son from her first marriage, she left her husband for Leonid, and her appearance in the life of a young programmer did not please his parents.
But this timeLeonid Borisovich Nevzlin decided to defend his personal life and responded to the dictates of his parents with a demarche: he retired to a dacha near Moscow, where he began to live with Tatyana and her son Alexei. Living in the country was full of romance: amenities in the yard, water in the column. It was in these romantic conditions that their daughter Marina was born. The year was 1983, the country was on the verge of great changes, but nevertheless, stagnation took place. So the young family existed on completely Soviet incomes, like everyone else …
The second wife of Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin was never a public person. Tatyana preferred to take care of children and live her own life, which cannot be said about Nevzlin's priorities. In his system of values, family never came first.
The boy grew up
Looking ahead, we can say that decent official photos with his wife and children contrasted sharply with the photo collections of Leonid Nevzlin, in which he appeared as an exquisite gourmet - a connoisseur of female beauty of the "nymphet" age.
But it will be later, when the "golden rain" literally falls on Nevzlin and other "new Russians", and everything that was previously considered a pipe dream will be at arm's length.
By then, the scale of his personality will manifest itself in all its diversity. But you can’t refuse him sophisticated refinement: it was a pleasure for him to introduce his next mistress to his wife and observe the “refined pleasure” that thismeeting both. But for some reason this marriage lasted long enough.
Shortly before the break with Nevzlin, Tatyana Arbenina will convert to Orthodoxy. And it was not a PR show, which, in principle, was unacceptable for her. It was a conscious step, based on fear for the children: Tatyana was afraid that what Nevzlin was doing would affect the fate of her daughter and son. She persistently asked her husband to also accept Orthodoxy, but he was categorically against it.
In his opinion, this woman does not know what she is asking for: at that time he was the head of the Russian Jewish Congress. He successfully managed to turn these circumstances of family life into a PR campaign that worked for his image of a "sufferer" who was forced to live with his wife who had fallen into religion.
So, insurmountable ideological differences arose in the family and nothing could keep it afloat.
Therefore, when Leonid Nevzlin finally leaves his homeland for the sake of his historical homeland, he will cut off all family ties, leaving both ex-wives and both daughters from two marriages, and, of course, stepson Alexei - in Russia. Apparently, to raise the country's economy.
By the way, as a bonus for the years spent with him, the second wife and children of Nevzlin Leonid Borisovich will receive a three-room apartment on Sivtsev Vrazhek, where they will all live for some time.
Two Tatyanas
Nevzlin did not leave Tatyana Arbenina "to nowhere". He got into the habit of getting married. However, apparently, in order not to destroy the established way of life, he decided to marry again with Tatyana, butCheshinsky.
She was also married, but she was ready to terminate the boring union for the sake of the billionaire Nevzlin. His motivation was more pragmatic: firstly, she had no fanaticism about Orthodoxy; secondly, she also had the same fifth column in her passport; thirdly, this union would greatly strengthen the authority of the head of the Russian Jewish Congress in his historical homeland in Israel; and only fourthly, there were feelings here.
Grey in a beard…
So, she was also called Tatyana, but she was 8 years younger than Leonid Nevzlin. At the time of the meeting, the beautiful Tatyana studied at MGIMO. She became Nevzlin's assistant and quickly picked up a "key" for him, although it might not have been difficult, because the key was not required: the former programmer was already captivated by the charm of the new Tatyana.
So, there was a great bright feeling … There was a small obstacle in the form of an ex-husband who bothered Tatyana with his "showdowns", but Leonid quickly resolved this issue. And indeed, in 2003, Cheshinskaya moved with Nevzlin to Israel, and the intentions were the most serious, but something went wrong.
According to Nevzlin, one of the reasons for the destruction of their relationship was that the eldest daughter Irina lived with him, and the youngest was at a transitional age, and he did not want to injure Marina. Well, by the way, the Orthodox fanaticism of Tatyana's wife fell here, which could be referred to: he couldn’t leave his incapacitated wife …
But the main reason for the break with Cheshinskaya was her inability to "burn bridges" behind her:she continued to worry about her children, recalled her husband. This life in "two dimensions" somehow began to tire Leonid Borisovich, and he abandoned the idea of marriage with the new Tatiana.
Let's face it: for a man who believes that a woman is absolute "nothing", too emotionally complicated relationships are really exhausting: his brain is used to working on other issues.
God loves trinity
They say that the first wife is from God, the second is from people, and the third is from hell. But in the biography of Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin, she nevertheless appeared - the one who is the third wife. Fate overtook him in Israel in the person of Olesya Petrovna Kantor.
In this photo, Leonid Nevzlin and wife Olesya Kantor are together - happy and prosperous.
As it turned out, in Chelyabinsk, not only men are harsh, but also women are not a blunder. Olesya Kantor is 35 years old, she is a business woman, she moved in a circle of serious entrepreneurs. Her husband, Oleg Kantor, died in 1995. He headed the Yugorsky bank.
And then the list of amorous victories of the business widow will begin: the owner of the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works Vladimir Lisin; the son of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Maxim Bakiyev; other men burdened with big money.
The subject of Olesya Kantor's interests is the "diamond business". On this, she earned a modest fortune in a number of millions of dollars. Well, yes: I had to step over the feelings of a certain businessman, who so unsuccessfully brought her closer to him. But the diamonds were worth it.
OnAt the moment when Olesya Kantor, co-owner of YUKOS, appeared in Israel, she was free, but not for long… The fateful meeting took place. They have a lot in common: this is the case when spouses do not look at each other, but in the same direction - in the direction of money, with which they have mutual love.
Heir of tradition
The question of succession to the throne is important not only for persons of royal blood. For persons who consider themselves to be in power because their financial condition is approaching a critical mark with a "plus" sign, this is also an important issue. In this case, let's turn to the study of the relationship between Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin and his children.
Not much is known about his youngest daughter Marina. Most likely, she inherited the character of her mother Tatyana Arbenina, and her lifestyle is not public.
As for Irina's eldest daughter, she often appears at secular parties with her father or husband Julius Edelstein.
Now he is a politician and public figure in Israel, Speaker of the Knesset. Prior to that, he held ministerial posts in Israel: Minister of Information and Diaspora, Minister of Absorption and Deputy Minister of Absorption. He is 60 years old, that is, he is a year older than Leonid Nevzlin, he was born in 1958 in the Ukrainian SSR of the then Soviet Union. Currently adheres to traditional Jewish values. Marriage with Irina Nevzlina was concluded in 2016, almost 2 years after the death of his first wife, Tatyana Edelstein, from whom he has two children.
What to say - kinship for LeonidBorisovich very useful.
Do you remember how it all started…
It all started with perestroika, during which there were many conversations, denunciations of stagnant times and incredible plans, with the obligatory remark "Abroad will help us." A countless number of funds and fonds appeared, which lured the inexperienced layman with attractive slogans, banks guaranteed 1000% profits with iron and concrete … It was a crazy and muddy time in a crazy country of "non-frightened idiots".
And in this troubled water Nevzlin became a "catcher of men". He was born a great strategist with amazing power of persuasion, a quirky mind that instantly calculates all sorts of options for extracting benefits from everything that came across his eyes. It's just that in the USSR his abilities were frozen, and now his time has come!
The Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth needed a programmer. Leonid decided to earn some money. There the fateful meeting with Komsomol leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky took place.
Their interests coincided and a friendship arose based on common priorities. Soon the bank "Menatep" appeared, the first money came from the sale of shares. But, as is always the case with banks in our country, only the owners of a controlling stake cut the coupons, and ordinary depositors were content with deep moral satisfaction. Things were steadily going uphill.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the strategist of this project, and Leonid Nevzlin was the tactician who felt which way the wind was blowing andwith instant response. This was especially brilliantly manifested in the process of negotiations or, so to speak, in building bridges with the right people. So they found each other. And they were found by the then Prime Minister Ivan Silaev and offered them to become advisers to the ministry. It was one side of the business.
The second, reverse side was criminal: there were rumors about friendship with crime boss Otari Kvantrishvili, and close cooperation with Chechen groups… Probably lying.
Startup from Mordovia
The "zero" years have begun. There was a need for close merging with state power: it was still necessary to abide by the rules of the game. And it somehow coincided that from the Republic of Mordovia with the capital in the city of Saransk, an offer was made to Leonid Borisovich to represent the interests of the Mordovian people in the Federation Council. The co-owner of Yukos asked his assistants to show this wonderful republic on the map, and then he got to work, now as a senator.
His activity in the Federation Council was so successful that in February 2002 he accepted the post of Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs. For his work in this organization he was awarded a diploma.
What else is interesting from the biography of Leonid Nevzlin is his work in ITAR-TASS in 1997-1998. In this organization, he worked as Deputy General Director. The range of issues supervised by him: analytics, economics, photo reports, corporatization of the agency.
His track record can be listed enoughfor a long time. But it all ended in 2003, when our hero, along with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. There they were asked to clarify some aspects of the activities of Platon Lebedev, who was also a co-owner of Yukos. Interest in Lebedev's personality was aroused by suspicions that he had stolen 20% of the shares of OAO Apatit.
Nevzlin, as already mentioned, had a wonderful nose for the situation. And now his intuition told him that the historical homeland of Israel was waiting for him. And he left.
Next, of course, there was the Russian court, the most humane court in the world, by which Nevzlin would be sentenced to life imprisonment for organizing the murders. But this court decision was in absentia, since Leonid Borisovich was not going to return to comply with the court decision. And his historical homeland, Israel, even at the request of the Russian side, was also not going to extradite her newly found son, since she did not consider his guilt proven.
And Mr. Nevzlin remained in the State of Israel, where, according to him, he is working on his dissertation.
Bold dot
On July 28, 2014, an arbitration court was held in The Hague. He dismantled the claim of the former shareholders of Yukos - Group Menatep Limited, including Nevzlin against the Russian Federation. The court's decision greatly pleased the plaintiffs: the Russian side is obliged to pay $50 billion in compensation to co-owners affected by the activities of state structures and pay $65 million in legal costs. Probably, now Leonid Borisovich believed in the Higher Justice…
