Articles by Alexei Germanovich



RSPP Vice President Gets Down to Business

In an interview, Igor Yurgens, head of the All-Russia Union of Insurers, discussed his election to the post and his plans to organize the country's biggest lobbying group.

U.S. Expert Pushes for Soviet Debt Write-Off

An influential U.S. security expert U.S. is calling for a total write-off of Russia's Soviet-era debt.

The Man Behind the Oligarch Union's Budget

The biggest businessmen in Russia have rolled up their sleeves and hunkered down to the task of restructuring the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Oligarchs Back Disputed Labor Code

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs – the trade union of the oligarchs — is trying to push the government's proposed new Labor Code through the State Duma.

Immigrant-Friendly 'Holding Pens' in Offing?

Imagine state-run ""holding pens"" for immigrant workers, or towns in Siberia ready to embrace new citizens. The government is considering them to halt Russia's population slide.

Luzhkov Sets His Terms For Supporting Putin

Shareholders Spurn KrAZ Directors

Feminine Hygiene Ads Annoy Russian Viewers

'Buy Russian' Drive Taps Consumer Patriotism

A Litigation Bonus: Free Advertising

The Millionaire President of Kalmykia Inc.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov exudes far more flamboyance than one might expect from a man whose power base is a sleepy Buddhist republic on Russia's southern steppes, where sheep outnumber people 10-to-1. Like a small crop of Moscow bankers who have gained government posts and influence, Ilyumzhinov was one of Russia's early millionaires before he parlayed his personal fortune into political power. When he became president of Kalmykia in 1993, he declared the republic independent and disbanded the parliament. After initially lining up with the losing side in the October 1993 parliamentary standoff against President Boris Yeltsin, he shifted his support to the president and abolished the republic's sovereignty claims. Ilyumzhinov has his detractors. The source of his wealth has never been entirely clear.


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