(1959– )
Politician and oligarch. According to Forbes magazine, Aleksandr Lebedev is one of the richest men in Russia, with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion. He built his fortune in the banking industry, and is recognized as one of the country’s more influential oligarchs. He has a 30 percent stake in Aeroflot and controls 39 percent of Novaya Gazeta>. On 21 January 2009, Lebedev purchased the London-based Evening Standard for the symbolic fee of £1 in an effort to prop up the failing newspaper. He previously served in the KGB in Great Britain, and was a member of the State Duma from 2004 until 2008. He maintains a personal friendship with Mikhail Gorbachev and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation. Robert A. Saunders and Vlad Strukov. 2010.