The Difficulty of Being Oligarchic

Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek-born metals and steel magnate ranked 142nd on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s billionaires, has been making headlines of late. The owner of Kommersant publishing house, a Gazprom subsidiary, and several television channels, Usmanov recently purchased a long-contested collection of Russian animated films, as well as the art collection of Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya. He also frightened British football fans by buying a sizeable share of the team Arsenal. 

In 1992, the U.S. company Films by Jove, owned by actor Oleg Vidov and his wife, Joan Borsten, purchased all international distribution rights (excluding the former USSR) to some 1500 films produced by Soyuzmultfilm studio. For years, Soyuzmultfilm questioned the legitimacy of the deal, made at a time when the organization’s legal status was in flux.  Meanwhile, Films by Jove restored and translated the films, sold different compilations on DVD, and aired the films on PBS and Bravo. The disagreement was resolved when Usmanov stepped in this summer and purchased Jove’s contract for an undisclosed amount (experts estimate $10-12 million). Usmanov then sold the rights for one ruble to a recently created state-owned children’s channel, Bibigon. 

Usmanov told Echo Moskvy radio station that his goal was to make sure no possible legal issues arise in the future, “so that our children can calmly watch cartoons without fear.” Interestingly, however, the Jove deal never restricted rights to show the films in Russia. Others speculated on the real motives behind the purchase. “When Mikhail Khodorkovsky found himself in trouble with the regime, Victor Vekselberg bought Faberge’s Easter Eggs ‘for Russia,’” said political scientist Alexei Mukhin. “Usmanov’s cartoons have the same explanation.” 

A few days later, Usmanov spent $72 million to purchase the entire art collection of the late composer Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife Galina Vishnevskaya. The purchase took place one day before Sotheby’s had scheduled to auction off the collection. Usmanov promised to keep the 450-item collection intact; it includes paintings by Russian masters like Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin, and Aleksandr Ivanov, as well as articles of furniture and porcelain. “The collection, which is now Alisher Usmanov’s collection, will be given to Russia,” Usmanov said in an interview, adding that ownership will fall to one of four possible government agencies. 

Usmanov’s recent investment in British soccer was met with less enthusiasm. “Business is murky in Uzbekistan, and that in itself is an argument against him being involved in Arsenal,” Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood told the Guardian newspaper after Usmanov increased his share of the team from 14.5 percent to 21 and then to 23 percent, making him the team’s second largest shareholder. Usmanov later indicated he is interested in acquiring a blocking stake of 25 percent plus one share. 

The flames of controversy were stoked when Britain’s former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, accused Usmanov – who is said to have close personal ties with the Kremlin, specifically insider Sergei Yastrzhembsky – of corruption and state-sponsored brutality. Murray’s recent book, Murder in Samarkand, recounts events in the 1980s, when Usmanov was imprisoned for six years, calling him a gangster and a racketeer. Usmanov’s public record was subsequently expunged, with allies saying the case against him was fabricated. Murray published further criticisms of Usmanov on his weblog after the Arsenal stake purchase, but Usmanov’s lawyers insisted that the posts be taken down for their defamatory nature. The blog was removed, angering the Internet community and leading to its viral spread to other blogs. “If the man believes he was libeled then he should take me to court,” Murray told The Register.

– maria antonova