Gusinsky's surname, along with Abramovich, Prokhorov and dozens of other oligarchs who "rose" in the 90s, has long become a synonym for unreal we alth and power in Russia. Gusinsky (Gusman) Vladimir Alexandrovich in just 10 years was able to create one of the largest joint-stock companies in Russia, Most, which includes more than 40 enterprises, and also become the country's most famous media tycoon. The businessman has been living abroad since 2000, but continues to influence the political and public mood of Russians. So, many call him a secret sponsor of the opposition.
Biography of Vladimir Gusinsky
Not much is known about the family of the fugitive oligarch. There is evidence that his grandfather was shot in 1937 as an enemy of the people, and his grandmother was sent to prison for 9 years. Vladimir Alexandrovich was born in 1952, after school he entered the prestigious institute of the petrochemical and gas industry, but after 2 years he was expelled for poor grades.
Young manwent to the army, where he served for 2 years in the chemical troops stationed in Ukraine. After demobilization, unexpectedly for everyone, he entered the Lunacharsky Institute of Theater Arts. Here he graduated from the directing department, and the mentor of Vladimir Gusinsky was the honored worker of culture Boris Ravenskikh. The graduation performance was the play "Tartuffe" by Molière.
Education and early activities
After graduating from high school, he decided to continue his creative activity and was a theater director in Tula for several years. But after 2 years, the young man decided to move to the capital. Here he actively joined the bohemian life of Moscow, directed the staging of the youth festival, organized various public events: weddings, anniversaries, holidays, and at the international Goodwill Games he even was the chief director of the stay program for foreign guests. In general, the young man tried in every possible way to earn money, and big ones, and in his spare time he even worked as a private driver.
However, already in 1986, Vladimir Gusinsky came to the attention of law enforcement agencies. A case was opened against him under the article "Fraud". Today it is not known for certain what was the real cause of the conflict, but there are suggestions that Vladimir Alexandrovich simply did not repay the debt on time. But the proceedings soon ended with the wording "Due to a change in circumstances." Whether the reconciliation of the parties took place or influential friends interceded for the active man remained a mystery.
Firstbusiness
In the same 1986, Gusinsky Vladimir Alexandrovich organized his first cooperative "Metal", Boris Khait became its co-founder. The company was engaged in the production and marketing of metal products in various directions. Items included bracelets to "cure" chronic illnesses, jewelry, and even garage shells.
But the enterprise did not bring much money, then the novice businessman decided to go the other way and, together with other sponsors, opened a new private company, Infax. The cooperative provided consultative and informative services, although many assume that the company formed public opinion, published those stories in print and from an angle that was beneficial to the customer. Most likely, it was at this time that the businessman found influential friends.
Career advancement
In 1989, there was a rapid rise in the welfare of Vladimir Gusinsky. On May 24, the Bridge enterprise was established, where 50% of the property belonged to a young businessman, the other half to a well-known American law firm. By the way, Gusinsky soon bought out this share, becoming the full owner of a successful company.
At that time, Most-Bank, created a little earlier, became one of the largest in Moscow, with a capital of more than 18 billion rubles. The financial success was simply amazing, in just a few months, Vladimir Alexandrovich's bank began to cooperate even with the government of the capital. Many explained this success by Gusinsky's close acquaintance with the head of the leadership, namely Luzhkov. Together they were brought together by a common activity with his wife,Elena Baturina, who then began to actively earn on everything.
Dark schemes
In his book about Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gusinsky, Alexander Chernyak writes that cooperation with the mayor of the capital brought the businessman hundreds of buildings and territories in the center of Moscow for next to nothing. The scheme was simple and effective. The company "Most" seems to have won the right to buy certain real estate or build in its place at fair auctions. She paid the market value, part of which was then transferred by the administration to one of the subsidiaries of Most for repair or construction. Then these buildings were sold and rented out already at fabulous prices.
NTV
Most group of companies was only the beginning of Vladimir Gusinsky's grandiose plan for a media center, about the desire to master the entire information sphere of the country. In those years, the manipulation of the media meant almost complete power over both the powers that be and over simple "worker bees." The first brainchild was the newspaper "Segodnya", published to this day. He lured talented journalists from Izvestia and Moskovskiye Novosti to the new editorial office, including Mikhail Leontiev, Sergei Parkhomenko and Alexander Bekker.
But this was not enough for Gusinsky, and in 1993 he decided to create his own television company. It is hard to imagine that only 10 thousand rubles were spent on the primary organization of NTV, and in a few years the channel's audience will be over 100 million people. The controlling stake, of course, belonged to Vladimir Aleksandrovich.
Questionable channel performance
The new team divided the responsibilities, and the work began to boil. Gusinsky did not spare money for his close associates, the NTV people had simply grandiose salaries for those times, even for ordinary workers. Leading managers and persons on the screen received not only money, but also houses, cars. It was here that the famous Russian journalist Evgeny Kiselev began his career. True, Alexander Chernyak in his famous book "Media" speaks about him in extremely negative tones. Here Yevgeny Kiselev appeared as the mouthpiece of Gusinsky's ideas and his faithful subordinate.
Some, including law enforcement agencies, raised doubts about the "charitable" activities of large companies in relation to NTV. Such financial monsters as Gazprom have repeatedly allocated money to help develop the channel. Although experienced people said that this is nothing more than a veiled racket. Without money, some unpleasant program about the leaders or top managers of the company could come out on NTV …
The channel also took a strange position during the Chechen campaign, exposing the Dudayevites not as terrorists, but as freedom fighters. Modern investigations confirm this theory, the oligarch negotiated with the separatists and, perhaps, Vladimir Gusinsky's fortune was also built on money for propaganda of the new regime in the Caucasian Republic. The same "bribed" look was traced during the bombing of Yugoslavia by NATO bombers. Journalists' reports were structured in such a way as to show peaceful American soldiersand brutalized Serbs. Whereas at this time, thousands of residents of peaceful Serbia were dying on the streets of cities.
Jewish question
Vladimir Alexandrovich had amazing foresight. Back in 1996, he began to prepare for himself a kind of escape route. Since European businessmen were very distrustful of an overly active Russian and could prevent him from working and living abroad, Vladimir Gusinsky, unexpectedly for his entourage, remembered his Jewish roots and in 1996 created and headed the RJC - the Russian Jewish Congress, thereby starting a multitude of friends in the promised land.
Officially, the RJC de alt with the problems of Jewish society in Russia, in fact, "Jewish" capital was actively invested in the strategic activities of the country. Thus, the greatest interest of Israeli businessmen and special services was caused by the idea of insurance for military personnel. It was on this basis that the notorious Insurance Gates company, headed by Gusinsky's longtime friend and comrade-in-arms Khait, rose up.
Berezovsky was very interested in the activities of the RJC, he in every possible way prevented the strengthening of the organization and its leader. Therefore, in 1999, in opposition to the RJC, another FJC congress of Jews was created, and a new rabbi was even chosen. The brainchild of Boris Berezovsky was "blessed" by the Kremlin.
Subsequently, such help to the Jewish brothers turned out to be an additional bonus for Vladimir Aleksandrovich. When problems with the law arose in Russia, he easily obtained an Israeli passport, and later political asylum inSpain. Without “his roots”, the businessman would hardly have succeeded.
Political dreams
All the activities of the unrealistically rich Gusinsky were directed to the political channel. He dragged his people into the Government, the Federation Council and the State Duma. His global goal was to become the shadow leader of the country, a kind of hidden puppeteer for President Yeltsin. However, these dreams were not destined to come true. All this time, Gusinsky was very persistently opposed by another well-known manipulator - Boris Berezovsky.
Legal Trouble
Boris Abramovich deliberately set the authorities and Yeltsin against the insolent media mogul, moreover, more than once he was looking for a performer to physically eliminate a competitor, he even turned to Korzhakov, the head of the president's bodyguard, for help. His action had an effect, Boris Nikolaevich ordered to carry out the operation "Muzzle in the snow." On December 2, 1994, a special unit of the Kremlin's internal troops surrounded the building of the Most group. Gusinsky was insanely frightened, and even more so at the moment when all his influential friends refused to help him in confronting Korzhakov.
The action was frightening, but very effective. Vladimir Alexandrovich quickly left for England and learned this political lesson forever.
Dug under a businessman for a long time, purposefully and, as it turned out, very effectively. In June 2000, Gusinsky was arrested on charges of large-scale fraud and was even imprisoned for several days in the famous Butyrka. But soon the court released the oligarch on bail, but in vain. Vladimir Alexandrovich safelyleft the country and the prosecution began searching through Interpol. The oligarch was caught and taken into custody in Spain, but the judge, having considered the case, came to the conclusion that all the charges were caused by political motives, Gusinsky was released on bail of 5.5 million euros.
It is worth noting that Berezovsky unexpectedly stood up for the businessman, who came to him in a Madrid prison and offered help. US officials were especially active in shielding the fugitive oligarch, calling the Kremlin's actions an anti-democratic action.
Emigration
Even in the first years of his rise, the future oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky irritated many in the country's government with his activity and excessive greed. No wonder he several times tried to create a union of entrepreneurs, whose goal was to take control of the political situation in Russia. Even under Yeltsin, they tried to "cut his wings", but the enterprising Gusinsky avoided all the traps. And only with the appointment of Putin against the oligarch, a full-scale action unfolded.
After the emigration, photos of Vladimir Gusinsky practically did not leave the Russian media. All media sources are practically divided into two camps. The businessman's supporters accused Putin and all his entourage of deliberately distorting the facts and cited the tycoon's unwillingness to adjust the broadcasting of his channels to please the Kremlin as the reason for the criminal prosecution.
Asset valuation
The value of Vladimir Gusinsky's fortune can be judged by the list of real estate that is known to journalists, the real volumethe capital of the fugitive oligarch is difficult to determine. He decided not only to invest his first millions in a new business, but also to invest in houses and apartments abroad. So, he bought a house in London, in the most expensive and popular area of the English capital. His wife and son settled here, and the businessman himself visited them on the weekends. Later, he bought apartments in New York, a villa in Spain and on the coast of Israel. In Russia, an entrepreneur lived in an obscenely rich castle on Rublyovka.
Personal life of Vladimir Gusinsky
I met my second wife at the Most company, she was a financial expert and advised management on economic issues. The businessman has three sons, the eldest (from his first marriage) Ilya graduated from Stanford University, where he studied finance.
Scandalous Literature
Already after the emigration of the oligarch, Alexander Chernyak's book about Vladimir Gusinsky, Media, was published. The journalist and writer describes in detail the era of Yeltsin's revelry, when the national economy, factories and entire industries went for nothing to cunning entrepreneurs and foreign companies. But Gusinsky became the main figure of the book.
Here the author reveals the main essence of the "Most" enterprise - to form public opinion in a favorable way, when it is profitable, to pour compromising evidence on objectionable persons and other delights of corrupt journalism.
Besides, Chernyak reveals in detail the personal qualities of Gusinsky, however, sometimes too biased. So, he called the businessman a very talented player who knows how tomake the right connections, be charming and fit, with the ability to adapt to people. At the same time, Vladimir Alexandrovich was inherent in the pathos of all upstart millionaires. He traveled around Moscow in a cool car with a motorcade of several jeeps with flashing lights, and he could fly to a general conference abroad on a private plane.
Where Vladimir Gusinsky lives is not known for certain. He received asylum in Spain, later moved to America, where he lived in grand style. But now there is little information about the former first media magnate of Russia, they say in the media that he dreams of returning to Moscow. Perhaps he will succeed, unlike his longtime rival Boris Berezovsky.
What happened to Vladimir Gusinsky and his family is much less frequently written today. He has not been a Russian oligarch for a long time, and gradually his name becomes a household name and personifies that cruel era of the 90s. He is known to have been married twice.
