In recent weeks, Stanislav Belkovsky, a political analyst from Moscow, has made a series of sensational claims: according to him, through complex financial arrangements, Putin has acquired assets in the Russian energy sector worth up to £20 billion. Belkovsky claimed that Putin owns 37% of Surgutneftegas (£9 billion), 4.5% of Gazprom (£6.5 billion), and half of Gunvor, a Swiss oil trading company (£5 billion). Such stakes, by his estimate, would place Putin among the ten richest people in the world.
Gunvor Group CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist, in a letter published in The Guardian the day before, denied that Putin owns any part of Gunvor or is a beneficiary of its activities. The companies involved, the newspaper notes, issued categorical denials, and establishing the truth seems almost impossible.
Officially, Putin's wealth is more modest. After registering to participate in parliamentary elections, the president declared an annual income as head of state of just over two million rubles (£41,000). In three bank accounts, there was a total of a little more than £1,000. Among his assets were several shares of St. Petersburg Bank, a plot of land in the Moscow region, a modest apartment in St. Petersburg, and two used 1960s Volga cars.
Pre-election background
The publication appeared at a time when Putin was preparing to leave the presidency in May after two maximum terms. Earlier in December, he supported the candidacy of his deputy prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, also chairman of Gazprom's board, as his successor. According to The Guardian, Putin's support, whose personal approval rating was around 80%, and the power of the state machine were expected to ensure Medvedev's victory in the March elections.
The newspaper notes that until recent weeks, competing groups in the Kremlin had largely observed an unwritten rule not to gather compromising material on Putin. Now, according to analysts, this agreement has been broken. Some believe that rumors about Putin's wealth are a warning from the siloviki, who are fighting to preserve influence and assets. Medvedev represents the group of "liberals" around the president, many from St. Petersburg, and his rise irritates the siloviki.
The article also provides other details of Putin's biography: he was born in Leningrad in 1952, his father was a worker who was seriously wounded during the defense of the city in 1942, his mother barely survived the 900-day blockade. Putin practiced judo and became Leningrad champion in 1976. In Richard Sakwa's book "Putin: Russia's Choice," he is called a "liberal Chekist"—a professional state intelligence officer with democratic inclinations. Putin himself said: "I was a pure and utterly successful product of Soviet patriotic education."
The newspaper also recalls that as head of the FSB, Putin played a key role in removing the prosecutor general, who showed excessive zeal in investigating corruption in the Kremlin. The prosecutor was caught in a sex trap with two prostitutes. Later, when Mikhail Kasyanov (his watch—a Breguet Classique for £9,000) opposed the Kremlin, a series of articles appeared in the tabloid press accusing the former prime minister of buying a luxurious state dacha through a shell company at a reduced price.
The article also quotes Putin: "Anyone who does not regret the collapse of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants to restore it has no brains." Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that Putin has "two different sides."
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