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Oligarchs Line up for Help
Comment by Georgy Bovt
Special to Russia Profile,
10/29/2008Just like ordinary citizens, Russia’s oligarchs have so far been unable to escape the tide of the global financial crisis. Having found themselves owing billions of dollars in loan payments, they are now turning to the government for help, willing to transfer ownership of parts of their businesses or even the firms in their entirety to avoid total bankruptcy. This trend is the reverse of what happened in the 1990s, when these same oligarchs privatized state property in exchange for loans to the state. But this time, the state may not have enough resources to support everybody.
Russia’s Going Global
Russia Profile,
09/08/2008Not getting as much notice as the recent war games, Russian businesses have launched a large-scale invasion of foreign markets. The value of Russian assets abroad has more than doubled since 2004, bringing Russian-owned shares in some key industries to a significant level. The massive outpouring of funds into foreign economies has to do with the Russian business going global, rather than with diversifying risks and, experts say, in the end only helps the domestic market.
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LISIN, Vladimir Sergeyevich
Chairman of the Board NLMK
05/04/2010
Vladimir Lisin (Владимир Сергеевич Лисин) was born May 7, 1956 in the Russian city of Ivanovo. After working his way up through the ranks of the Karaganda Steel Plant in Kazakhstan in the 1980s, he became a major player on the post-Soviet Russian steel market. He has been chairman of the board of Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) since 1998.
In 1979 Lisin graduated from the Siberian Metallurgical Institute. During his studies he also worked as a welder. After graduating, he joined the Karaganda Steel Plant in Kazakhstan, working his way up the hierarchy there to become deputy director by 1991. During this period he worked under Oleg Soskovets, who appointed him director of a private firm he had established TSK Steel.
In the mid 1990s Lisin served in various positions on the board of directors of the Sayan Aluminium Plant in Eastern Siberia. In 1994 he received a PhD from the Plekhanov Economic University. In the mid 1990s he also sat on the board of Magnitogorsk Steelworks (MMK)
In 1996 Lisin was appointed to the board of NLMK and two years later was appointed chairman of the board. In 2002 Lisin bought out Vladimir Potanin to become the steelworks’ sole owner. Three years later, in December 2005, Lisin listed NLMK on the London Stock Exchange, earning $600 million.
In March 2011 Forbes magazine named Lisin as Russia’s richest man, estimating he is worth $24 billion. He is married and has three children.
Novolipetsk steelworks website
