HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev ( rus, Александр Евгеньевич Лебедев, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; born 16 December 1959) is a Russian businessman, and has been referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs. Until 1992, he was an officer in the First Chief Directorate (Foreign Intelligence) of the Soviet Union′s
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
and later one of the KGB's successor-agencies, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). In early 2008, he was listed as the 39th richest Russian, and worth an estimated
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
3.1 billion by '' Forbes'' magazine, but by October 2008 he was worth $300 million. In March 2012, ''Forbes'' estimated his fortune at
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1.1 billion. His fortune has since declined, and he is no longer considered to be a billionaire. He is part owner of the Russian newspaper '' Novaya Gazeta'' and owner of two UK newspapers with his son
Evgeny Lebedev Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev, Baron Lebedev ( rus, Евгений Александрович Лебедев, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Lebedev, ; born 8 May 1980), is a Russian-British businessman, who owns Lebedev Holdings Ltd, which in turn own ...
: the ''
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after b ...
'' and '' The Independent''. In May 2022 Lebedev was put on Canada's sanctions list following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. He was separately reported to have met Vyacheslav Dukhin, a senior Russian government official, weeks before the invasion.


Early life and education

Lebedev was born in Moscow. His parents were part of the Moscow intelligentsia. His father, Yevgeny Nikolaevich Lebedev, was an elite athlete: a member of the Soviet national water polo team, and later a professor at the
Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU (russian: link=no, Московский государственный технический университет им. Н. Э. Баумана (МГТУ им. Н. Э. Баумана)), some ...
, Moscow's highest technical school. After graduating from Moscow Pedagogic Institute, Lebedev's mother, Maria Sergeyevna, worked in a rural Sakhalin school and later taught English in a Moscow tertiary school. In 1977, Lebedev entered the Department of Economics at Moscow State Institute of International Relations. After he graduated in 1982, Lebedev began working at the Institute of Economics of the World Socialist System doing research for his
Kandidat Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, " ...
(between master's degree and doctorate) dissertation, ''The problems of debt and the challenges of globalization''.


Career in the intelligence services

Lebedev transferred to the First Chief Directorate (Foreign Intelligence) of the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
. According to '' The Sunday Times'', as a KGB spy, he was based at the Soviet embassy in London from 1988, bringing his son,
Evgeny Lebedev Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev, Baron Lebedev ( rus, Евгений Александрович Лебедев, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Lebedev, ; born 8 May 1980), is a Russian-British businessman, who owns Lebedev Holdings Ltd, which in turn own ...
, with him. At the embassy, he worked on economic issues with
Andrey Kostin Andrey Leonidovich Kostin (russian: Андрей Леонидович Костин; born September 21, 1956) is a Russian banker who is chairman of the VTB Management board since June 10, 2002. Education and career In 1973, Kostin began stud ...
who was also at the embassy until 1990. He worked for the KGB's successor, the Foreign Intelligence Service, until 1992. According to a report presented by the Italian ''External Intelligence and Security Agency'' to the parliamentary oversight committee (Copasir), Lebedev's resignation from the FSB might have been fictitious and he "continued to participate in annual KGB meetings". Moreover, "He would have started his business activity while still in the service of the KGB and using the funds he had acquired as an agent", the report noted.


Business career

Upon leaving the Russian intelligence community, Lebedev set up his first company, the Russian Investment-Finance Company. In 1995 this bought the National Reserve Bank, a small Russian bank which was in trouble at the time. The bank subsequently grew rapidly to become one of Russia's largest banks. Among the bank's assets were: * 11% of the main Russian national airline
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
* 44% of the
Ilyushin The public joint stock company Ilyushin Aviation Complex, operating as Ilyushin (russian: Илью́шин) or as Ilyushin Design Bureau, is a former Soviet and now a Russian aircraft manufacturer and design bureau, founded in 1933 by Sergey ...
Finance Co, that owns a significant share of Russian aircraft-building industry * significant parts of
Sberbank PJSC Sberbank (russian: Сбербанк, initially a contraction of russian: сберегательный банк, translit=sberegatelnyy bank, lit=savings bank, link=no) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services compan ...
,
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...
,
RAO UES OAO RAO UES (OAO Unified Energy System of Russia; russian: ЕЭС России or russian: Единая Энергетическая Система) was an electric power holding company in Russia. It controlled about 70% of Russia's installed e ...
The bank is the core of the group of companies holding National Reserve Corporation, that according to Lebedev's personal site owns around US$2 billion of assets. In March 2006, '' Forbes'' estimates Lebedev's fortune as high as US$3.5 billion, but as of July 2013 he dropped out of the billionaires list and is no longer a billionaire. The National Reserve Corporation included the
National Land Company The National Land Company was founded as the Chartist Cooperative Land Company in 1845 by the chartist Feargus O'Connor to help working-class people satisfy the landholding requirement to gain a vote in county seats in Great Britain. It was ...
(the biggest potato producer in Russia), National Housing Corporation (construction of affordable houses), National Mortgage Company (Национальная Ипотечная Компания), as well as interests in textiles, telecommunications, trams and
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es, electrical power, chemical and
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
industries owning a large hotel network in
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
and plan to create the National Reserve Park that would manage diverse tourist enterprises in Russia, Ukraine and France. Lebedev used to own the '' Moskovski Korrespondent'', but according to
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...
's '' Dispatches'' programme, Lebedev closed it down for publishing an article about Vladimir Putin having an affair with
Alina Kabayeva Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...
. On 21 January 2009, Lebedev and his company Evening Press Corporation, part of Lebedev Holdings, bought approximately a 75.1% of share in the ''
Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after b ...
'' newspaper for £1. The previous owners, the Daily Mail and General Trust, continue to hold 24.9% in the company in the new firm, named Evening Standard Ltd. Lebedev promised not to interfere with the editorial running of the paper. Lebedev commented that during his time as a spy in London, he used the ''Evening Standard'' to find information.
Paul Dacre Paul Michael Dacre (; born 14 November 1948) is an English journalist and the former long-serving editor of the British right-wing tabloid the '' Daily Mail''. He is also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the ''Daily Mail'', '' The ...
, the editor-in-chief of the ''Evening Standard'' at the time of the sale said: "It's a very sad day for the paper, it's a very sad day for the Rothermeres. We are very sorry that it leaked out, we had no control over that. Everyone's been working very hard and there's a lot of hope for the future of the ''Evening Standard''." In 2009, he entered into exclusive negotiations with Independent News & Media to buy the company's British national newspapers, '' The Independent'' and ''The Independent on Sunday''. Before the purchase was completed, his representatives offered the editorship of ''The Independent'' to
Rod Liddle Roderick E. Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme. His published works include ''Too Beautiful for You'' (2003), ''Love Will Destr ...
. The offer was withdrawn after Liddle's putative appointment was opposed by the newspaper's staff and by an online campaign. On 25 March 2010, Lebedev bought '' The Independent'' and ''Independent on Sunday'' for £1. In 2012, National Reserve Bank (NRB) faced difficulties: corporate deposits decreased by 2.2bn rubles, retail deposits by 1.2bn rubles. 20% of the bank's liabilities had run off by the end of January 2012. In March 2012, two top managers left the bank. On 5 November 2012, Lebedev announced he would close all the regional offices of the National Reserve Bank and sell off the real estate as well as 75% of the bank's loan portfolio, worth 16.8bn rubles ($542m). Also in November 2012, Lebedev announced that he was selling off his assets in Russia. In 2019, Lebedev invested in the Emperium shipbuilding project, which produces electric-powered passenger ships. The first vessel, the Ekovolt catamaran, was launched in St. Petersburg in June 2020. In 2021, Lebedev launched a project in the industry of decentralized finance – a cryptocurrency platform branded "Independent Decentralized Finance SmartBank & Ecosystem" (InDeFi SmartBank).


Legal

In September 2011, while appearing on a Russian television programme, he punched a fellow guest, billionaire property developer Sergei Polonsky. Lebedev said afterwards that he had reacted to Polonsky's threat of violence towards him. Lebedev was later charged with
disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
and sentenced to
community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...
for that incident.


Political career

In 2003, Lebedev stood as a candidate for elections to the Mayoralty of Moscow and the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
. He received 13% in the Mayoral elections, losing to
Yuriy Luzhkov Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Ю́рий Миха́йлович Лужко́в, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ lʊˈʂkof; 21 September 1936 – 10 December 2019) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010 ...
, but won a seat in the State Duma on the Rodina party list (he was actually number one on the Moscow regional list of the party). He remained in the Duma until 2007, when new elections were held. In the Duma, he initially moved from nationalist Rodina to the pro-Government United Russia faction, but after Rodina was merged into the larger social-democratic coalition
Fair Russia A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...
, he made his return. Lebedev was formerly the Vice Chairman of Duma's committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States, the coordinator of Duma's group on interactions with Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the coordinator of the State Duma group dealing with the city. Lebedev, together with the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, is a co-owner of '' Novaya Gazeta'', one of the most vocal newspapers critical of the current Russian Government.Peter Finn "Gorbachëv Invests in Newspaper"
'' The Washington Post'', 8 June 2006, p.A17
Lebedev is a founder and the President of the National Investment Council, a non-political and non-government organization working to improve the investment sentiments in Russia, protecting interests of the Russian business abroad, and fighting the negative sentiments towards Russian business. In September 2008, Russian politician Mikhail Gorbachev announced he was going to make a comeback to Russian politics along with Lebedev. Their party was called the Independent Democratic Party of Russia. In March 2009, Lebedev announced that he would be running for mayor of
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, host of the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympi ...
, but a court ruling declared his candidacy invalid on 13 April 2009. The court ruling was a result of a complaint by another candidate, Vladimir Turukhanovsky, that Lebedev's campaign received three donations from minors that is forbidden by Russian electoral law. According to the chief of Lebedev's electoral campaign, Artyom Artyomov, the three teenagers were led to
Sberbank PJSC Sberbank (russian: Сбербанк, initially a contraction of russian: сберегательный банк, translit=sberegatelnyy bank, lit=savings bank, link=no) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services compan ...
by a staff member of the Sochi council, given 500 rubles each (approximately $20), and told to donate the money to Lebedev's campaign. His campaigners sent the money back the same day it was received but still it was found sufficient to disqualify his candidacy. Lebedev said that he intended to appeal the court's decision. Lebedev publicly supported the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...
. In 2017 he held a media symposium in his hotel complex in
Alushta Alushta ( uk, Алушта; crh, Aluşta; ) is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Republic of Crimea, an internationally recognized ''de jure'' part of Ukraine, but since 2014 a ''d ...
,
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
(so he claimed) "to correct an impression of Crimea put out by a biased western media".Johnson visit to Lebedev party after victory odd move for 'people's PM'
The Guardian (24 December 2019)
In 2019, he published a book titled ''Hunt the Banker: The Confessions of a Russian Ex-Oligarch''. Lebedev was described by '' The New York Times'' as an oligarch as recently as 2020, when his son Evgeny was nominated for a life peerage by UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Fo ...
.


Charity

Lebedev has a long history of supporting culture and charity, and created an organization named Charitable Reserve Fund (Благотворительный Резервный Фонд, BRF) to bring order to these activities. Among the organizations and projects he (or BRF) have sponsored are: * Center for Children's
Hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
and
Transplantology Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpo ...
, named after
Raisa Gorbachyova Raisa Maximovna Gorbacheva (russian: link=no, Раи́са Макси́мовна Горбачёва Romanized ''Raisa Maksimovna Gorbachyova'', , Титаренко; 5 January 1932 – 20 September 1999) was a Soviet-Russian activist and phi ...
in Saint Petersburg (general sponsor of the construction) * Burdenko Military Hospital *
State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...
* Fomenko Theater * Moscow Art Theatre * Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama in Kyiv *
Mikhail Bulgakov Museum Mikhail Bulgakov Museum (officially known as Literature-Memorial Museum to Mikhail Bulgakov, commonly called the Bulgakov House or Lystovnychyi House) is a museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, dedicated to Kyiv-born Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. Commen ...
in Kyiv * Restoration of the monument to
Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...
in
Swiss Alps The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swis ...
* Monument ''Sorrow'' (Скорбящая) in London by sculptor Sergey Shcherbakov commemorating Soviet soldiers who died during World War II. Lebedev was awarded the Saint Innokenty of Moscow Order by the Russian Orthodox Church and the ''Dialogue of Cultures'' medal by UNESCO.


Personal life

Lebedev's first wife was Natalia Sokolova, daughter of the scientist Vladimir Sokolov, with whom he has one child, Evgeny Lebedev. They separated in 1998. Evgeny Lebedev has sat in the House of Lords as a
crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
life peer since 19 November, 2020 Since 2005, Lebedev's partner has been Elena Perminova, a former model; some sources report they are married while others say they are engaged. They have four children together, three sons and a daughter. Lebedev holds lavish social events, with guests including
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, Eddie Izzard, Ian McKellen, Keira Knightley,
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime E ...
and Ralph Fiennes, and the Mayor of London,
Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's soft ...
,
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Fo ...
and
Russian foreign ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...
spokesperson Maria Zakharova.


See also

* Russian oligarchs


References


External links


The spy who loves media
Ian Cobain, '' The Guardian'', 12 October 2009 *
Personal websiteTwitter




to Radio Liberty
Sponsorship page

National Rezerve Bank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebedev, Alexander 1959 births Living people Businesspeople from Moscow Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) KGB officers Russian billionaires Russian newspaper publishers (people) Russian philanthropists Aeroflot The Independent people Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Russian businesspeople in the United Kingdom