Timur Artemyev, who co-founded Euroset with Yevgeny Chichvarkin in 1997, left Russia after the company was sold to structures owned by Alexander Mamut in autumn 2008. In the Meduza interview, he explained that unlike Chichvarkin, who faced criminal charges, he was not formally forced to flee, but considered the risk of prosecution real: he was an equal partner with a 50 percent stake and, by his account, understood that the case against Chichvarkin was politically motivated and that a similar case could be opened against him. On his partner's advice, he did not go to Moscow and has not returned to Russia since.
A House in Haslemere and a Staff of Fifteen
Artemyev settled in Haslemere, south of London, which he calls one of Britain's most expensive places. He bought his house, built for the English poet Alfred Tennyson, in 2009 for 12 million pounds; he says he was once offered 30 million for it. Maintaining the 1,200-square-metre estate and 5 hectares of land required hiring a staff of fifteen, including two gardeners, a driver, an accountant, three nannies, a cook, an archivist and three house managers.
According to Artemyev, his first time in England was a shock; he studied the language and could not connect with his employees. He is critical of local workers: "There are far more of those who want to get paid and do nothing." He also claimed that Chichvarkin finds England difficult, since he was "made for Russia, not for England."
Investments: Aging and Unicycles
Artemyev has directed a significant portion of his funds into scientific research. He supported laboratories working on anti-aging drugs, including the work of Russian scientist Alexander Zhavoronkov in the UK and the lab of biochemistry professor Yevgeny Nudler in New York. By his estimate, about six million dollars has been invested in this research; no drug applications have yet been filed with the FDA, but he says there are promising developments.
The second venture is the production of unicycles, which employs 20 people. The retail price of the device is $1,500; five million dollars has been invested in development, and only a few dozen have been sold so far. Mass production, initially planned for January 2016, has been postponed; some of the software is being developed by Russian and Ukrainian programmers. Artemyev sees the unicycle as a competitor not only to bicycles and Segways but also to buses.
On Russia and Plans
Artemyev says he feels most comfortable in California, but in 10–20 years he sees himself mainly in Russia and would like to bring the experience he has gained there. He called the idea of a shadow cabinet of ministers, which he says Mikhail Khodorkovsky proposed, a normal one. Among the British values he would like to see in Russia, he singled out confidence in a fair and just court.
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