ANALYTICAL PROJECT VLADIMIR PUTIN‘S RUSSIA October 23, 2014 No. 5 The case of Yevtushenkov: One more look at Russia through the prism of clan battles Marius Laurinavičius, Senior Analyst, EESC In the last essay of the series “Putin’s Russia”, I like in Yukos’s case, it was Rosneft’s CEO Igor discussed the long efforts of Yevgeny Sechin who stands behind Yevtushenkov’s case. Primakov’s clan to turn Ukraine’s conflict in the He is allegedly led by his interests to take over direction of conditional peace rather than war by the control of the company Bashneft from the imposing certain conditions and concluding conglomerate Sistema. everything with a peace agreement that is so If things were really like that, the scenario would useful to Russia. be very similar to the Yukos case. However, I I have also described the history of the clan and would venture to doubt this popular the development of its influence in the West. The interpretation of events. Mainly because attention was drawn to the fact that this particular Yevtushenkov is not Khodorkovsky and clan basically controls Russian foreign policy, at Bashneft is not Yukos. least the official part. This time it is natural to In Russia and in the West, when explaining the focus on the roots of Primakov’s clan, the facts differences between Yevtushenkov and of this clan’s development history, its power Khodorkovski, it is usually stated that Sistema’s structures and its most influential members in shareholder was never “into politics”, and the Russia. only politician who was supported by this giant However, this logical sequence is not the only business structure was Yuri Luzhkov, the former thing that forces us to focus on Primakov’s clan. mayor of Moscow who was pushed away from The topic of this essay is also based on the latest political games a while ago. events, but from a bit different angle. Yet it is only a partial truth. When talking about Yevtushenkov, his relationship with Primakov is Attack against Primakov’s clan somehow overlooked. By the way, at the time when Yevtushenkov openly supported Luzhkov, On 16 September, it was all over the world news Primakov’s clan was actually called that one of the most famous Russian oligarchs, the Primakov-Luzhkov clan. Logically thinking, 66-year-old Vladimir Yevtushenkov, was put it wouldn’t be surprising to find that under house arrest. Yevtushenkov, who is the Yevtushenkov continues working hand in hand main shareholder of the financial group Sistema, with Primakov. has a capital of USD 9 billion, and is the 15th richest businessman in Russia. However, there is much clear and specific Both in Russia and in the West this piece of news evidence to suggest that this is the case. I will was met rather unambiguously. “Yukos case No. mention only a few most obvious indicators. 2”, stated headlines and commentators. Mikhail Yevtushenkov, in one way or another, Khodorkovsky, the founder of the oil company consistently participates in almost all of Yukos who just last year was released from Primakov’s initiatives, and is a member of prison after serving a 10-year sentence, various governing bodies of the organizations immediately joined the choir. He stated that just that are considered to be Primakov’s power 1 www.eesc.lt ANALYTICAL PROJECT VLADIMIR PUTIN‘S RUSSIA structures. Meanwhile Primakov is the chairman Huseynov (former head of Azerbaijan’s KGB) of the board at the military-civilian company and Vladimir Kryuchkov (former head of group RTI that is owned by Yevtushenkov’s USSR’s KGB) managed the company Region Sistema. Prior to that he was the chairman of the which was considered Sistema’s informational- board at the company Glonass which is also analytic safety structure. Region itself was called owned by Sistema. by some authors the bastion of KGB and GRU The actual power of Primakov’s clan was vividly like many other informational-analytic safety illustrated in the last essay of this series, despite structures of the then-emerging business the fact that Primakov has not had any important empires. or influential posts for quite a long time now. In There have been hints in Russian media that the past Primakov held influential positions like Huseynov was recommended to Yevtushenkov the first deputy chairman of the KGB, head of the by Phillipp Bobkov, a former director of KGB Russian Foreign Intelligence (SVR), minister of political police department (the Fifth foreign affairs and was even the prime minister. Directorate). By the way, Huseynov to this day is Most importantly - Yevtushenkov with his the head of the Institute for Strategic Assessment Sistema is not only an active member of and Analysis that was established on the basis of Primakov’s clan at the moment, but also his Sistema’s informational-analytic safety whole business empire was built on the structures, and is a member on the board of foundation of KGB-based clans. Foreign and Defence Policy that is also attributed Let’s agree that if we look at Yevtushenkov as to Primakov’s power structures. the oligarch who built his empire based on KGB Some Russian authors claim that Bobkov was the clans and to this day is a member of one of the one to involve Huseynov into KGB structures in most powerful government clans in the country, post-Soviet Russia because of their personal everything looks much more different that experience when resolving the crisis after the “Yukos case No. 2”. Therefore it would be bloody events in Baku in 1990. Bobkov then difficult to state that there has supposedly been visited Baku to seek a solution to the problem. some kind of breakthrough in Russia because that Primakov also went to Baku that time together would imply that a tacit agreement has been with Bobkov. Later on, in his memoirs “More broken not to touch the large businesses in Russia than one life”, Huseynov draws an unambiguous as long as they are loyal to the government. This image of resolution meetings where Primakov alleged agreement in Putin’s Russia has been was an obvious leader and looked the most addressed ever since the Yukos case. influential among the guests from Moscow. So maybe it was Primakov who kept an eye on Sistema’s roots are obvious Huseynov and decided to include him in his KGB-based structures that were being developed We should start with who Yevtushenkov is and at the time. how his Sistema was founded. There have been many public addresses and announcements that Moreover, after the coup in 1991, Bobkov got the Yevtushenkov is a former KGB agent who went position at the business empire “Most“ that was by the nickname “Yenakiev”. It was also stated being established by another oligarch Vladimir that the most important task he had been assigned Gusinsky. Truth be told, Gusinsky (coincidently was to become Luzhkov’s go-between. The two or not) has also often been associated with have been familiar since the 1980s. But the Moscow’s mayor Luzhkov. information about Yevtushenkov being the KGB And here is what Vladimir Pribylovsky (the agent can be neither confirmed nor denied, at president of the information research center least in the public sources. So let’s not bustle here Panorama) and historian Yuri Felshtinsky write any longer. in their book “The Corporation: Russia and the Nevertheless, there are other public sources of KGB in the Age of President Putin”: “Each information that describe Sistema’s development oligarch in 1999-2000 had a solid, time-tested process rather eloquently. For instance, Vagif representative from special services. And vice 2 www.eesc.lt/en/ ANALYTICAL PROJECT VLADIMIR PUTIN‘S RUSSIA versa. Roman Abramovich, Boris the Yukos’s case do not make any sense. Because Berezovsky and Anatoly Chubais had Yukos’s case, after all, was not political although Colonel Vladimir Putin, the director of the FSB. Sechin’s desire to deprive the best Russian oil Vladimir Gusinsky had General Phillipp company from Khodorkovsky was intense. Bobkov; Yuri Luzhkov had Yevgeny Primakov, The fact that Khodorkovsky (although his empire and Mikhail Khodorkovsky had KGB was created with the help of KGB) tried to general Alexei Kondaurov." destroy the evolving regime of Putin’s KGB clan Let me remind you that the Russian-born battles and balance suggests that Yukos’s case historian Felshtinsky became famous when he was not (or was to a very little extent) a result of wrote the book “Blowing up Russia” together the classic battles of Russian government clans. with the now murdered former FSB As a result, when the open attack started against agent Alexander Litvinenko. Pribylovsky is a Khodorkovsky, even the KGB clans and well-known researcher of KGB clans and Putin’s representatives from special services that used to current regime in Russia. support him, stayed loyal to Putin’s regime, not The aforementioned quote basically reveals the Khodorkovsky. Yevtushenkov, on the contrary, entrenchment history of the KGB-based clans. to this day stays loyal to the system and one And though Yevtushenkov and his Sistema are particular clan. not mentioned here yet (in 1999 he was not at the If there has to be a comparison, it would be fair same level as Abramovich, Bezerovsky, to compare Khodorkovsky’s case with the attack Gusinsky or Khodorkovsky), the parallel against Gusinsky or Berezovsky, and proposes itself. Especially when the above- Yevtushekov’s case can be compared, for mentioned facts lead to the same conclusion - one instance, with the story of another particular KGB clan was always standing behind oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev who not only had to Yevtushenka and his Sistema.