Russian oligarchs

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Russian oligarchs (Russian: олигархи, romanized: oligarkhi) are wealthy business tycoons from Russia who possess significant political influence or close ties to the state. The phenomenon originally emerged during the 1990s, when a first generation of entrepreneurs rapidly acquired state assets through privatisation following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Under Vladimir Putin, a second wave of state-aligned oligarchs gained prominence through government contracts, state monopolies, and connections with the security services (siloviki). The Russian oligarchs first emerged as entrepreneurs under Mikhail Gorbachev (General Secretary, 1985–1991), exploiting various loopholes during the economic liberalisation of his perestroika programme. Boris Berezovsky, a mathematician and former researcher, became the first widely recognised Russian business oligarch. The oligarchs became increasingly influential in Russian politics during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin (1991–1999), a period often...

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