Vladimir Putin's inner circle: Who's who

Holding a triple citizenship of Russia, Finland and Armenia (it is all legal if you are a good friend of the world’s richest and most powerful man), Gennady Timchenko has stakes in various Russian businesses including gas company Novatek, petrochemichal producer Sibur Holding, railway operator Transoil and construction firm STG Group. Most of his investments are through his Volga Group, and he was a former partner in Gunvor Group which is among the largest oil trading companies globally. Gennady Timchenko once co-founded a judo club and made Vladimir Putin the honorary president. He is crazy about hockey and through his Finnish citizenship, also well-connected with the Rotenberg brothers. Today he stays mainly in Geneva and his net worth is over US 14 Billion Dollars!

Super-yachts have been a status symbol for Russian billionaires and are no exception for Andrey Melnichenko whose boat collection is worth almost US 800 Million Dollars! At the young age of 21, he co-founded MDM Bank (today it is one of Russia’s largest private banks) and soon diversified into coal and chemicals. Later he became a founder of Russia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of steel pipes.
The 2 boats of Andrey Melnichenko have been both designed by Philippe Starck. His “Motor Yacht A” was named such that the boat would appear first on shipping registers. His newer sailing boat also called “A” is taller than the Big Ben but was initially impounded for some time due to incomplete payments. It was finally recently delivered to Andrey Melnichenko and it has 8 decks, several lifts, and requires a crew of 54 people.

Boris Rotenberg trained for martial arts alongside Vladimir Putin when they were much younger. With his relationship to the Russian Presdient, his company SGM Group (which he founded with his brother Arkady Rotenberg) was involved in 20 construction projects for the Sochi Winter Olympics worth 5 Billion Euros! The Rotenberg brothers were blacklisted by the US Government and European Union in 2014 for their ties to Vladimir Putin. Both Rotenberg brothers enjoy hockey and racing. They co-own the Finnish hockey team Jokerit together with Gennady Timchenko. Boris Rotenberg also owns BR Engineering, a racecar constructor.

This tycoon is the major shareholder of Russian industrial conglomerate Metalloinvest along with being a co-owner of MegaFon and Mail.ru.In 1980, he was arrested and convicted on charges of fraud, and imprisoned. However a court ruling overturned the allegations in the year 2000. Alisher Usmanov is a close friend of Vladimir Putin through his friend Roman Abramovich. Also, Alisher Usmanov’s wife is Jewish and a famous gymnastics coach who introduced a good friend (Alina Kabaeva) to Vladimir Putin. Alisher Usmanov has several mansions. They include the Tudor mansion Sutton Place set in 300 acres (120 hectares) of land, the Beechwood House in London which he bought from Qatari sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for 48 Million Pounds, a 30-acre property in Moscow and a villa on the Italian island of Sardinia!

This gentleman is a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin and has a net worth of over US 500 Million Dollars. Like Gennady Timchenko, he had a share in Gunvor Group. Viktor Kolbin’s and Vladimir Putin’s fathers had met in 1954 in the village of Imenitsy in Leningrad Region, where Viktor Kolbin was principal of a school and Putin's family rented a dacha for the summer. As they grew up, Vladimir Putin and Viktor Kolbin would often meet, going to village discotheques together.
Not much more is known about the personal life of Viktor Kolbin as he keeps a low profile. However, the connection with Vladimir Putin suggests that Putin has strong control and holds a big piece of Gunvor Group.

Owner of the massive yacht Eclipse that is fitted with a missile detection system, Roman Abramovich also owns the Chelsea Football Club. Roman Abramovich has been married 3 times and has 5 children from his former wife. His present wife is the former girlfriend of a famous tennis player however, media has recently reported that Roman Abramovich is separating from his wife Dasha Zhukova. The family has been very much into arts, especially contemporary. His son Arkady Abramovich is now entering the football business. Roman Abramovich’s main business in the early days were consumer products, such as rubber ducks, tyre retreading and bodyguard recruitment. By the age of 30, he was well connected with President Boris Yeltsin and had moved into an apartment in the Kremlin. His friendship with Putin was reinforced when he was the first person to originally recommend to Yeltsin that Vladimir Putin be his successor as the Russian president.

Little is known about this oligarch until a Russian newspaper mentioned Boris Ivanov as having trouble getting spare parts for his private Boeing aircraft because of sanctions against Russia. The online article (which has since been deleted probably because Boris Ivanov did not like it) raised speculation that Boris Ivanov may also be a close ally of Vladimir Putin. He supposedly owns a 97 meter yacht and is the founder of mining consortium World of Diamonds Group!
Boris Ivanov is never seen in the media however he has a nephew by the name of Karan Tilani living in Singapore. Karan Tilani is managing World of Diamonds Group and has been photographed with prominent figures including celebrities, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth, and the partner of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

At one point Russia’s richest man, Oleg Deripaska has been among the most faithful of Vladimir Putin’s followers. His wiffe’s mother was a close adviser to former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Today Oleg Deripaska is the president of United Company Rusal, the second largest aluminium company in the world. Nearly 10 years ago, there was an incident with Oleg Deripaska’s businesses, where unpaid wages led to job losses, protests and a traffic jam 250-mile long. However, Vladimir Putin supported him in many ways throughout. Oleg Deripaska is the founder of Russia's largest charitable foundation and has donated more than US 250 Million Dollars! He enjoys yoga, swimming and hiking, and has seven horses and six dogs in his home near Moscow.

Mostly known as Eugene Shvidler especially since he is now a United States citizen, this billionaire is an extremely close friend of Roman Abramovich. He owns a vineyard in France a private jet and a mansion that has leather floors, but one of his most impressive toys was given by Roman Abramovich. This was a yacht that came complete with a 65-man crew, helicopter, aquarium and speedboat! Eugene Shvidler’s passion is to now create a first-class wine that will rival anything that Bordeaux has to offer.

Since 1999, Andrei Skoch became a member of the State Duma committee. Today he has a net worth of almost US 7 Billion Dollars and contributes heavily for the restoration of war monuments in Russia as part of his non-profit initiatives. His main fortune is derived from his business Lebedinsky Mining, however he had humble roots having started his career as a banker. Andrei Skoch is rarely interviewed as he does not enjoy talking about his private life and family.
He is the founder of the Pokolenie Foundation for humanitarian projects, and is the sponsor of The Debut Prize. These are prizes awarded to Russian writers under the age of 25 who have completed a full-length novel. The award ensures that young Russian writers get the chance to have their work presented at some of Europe’s most prestigious Book Fairs and literary gatherings.