Boris A. Berezovsky, a Putin Critic, Dies Near London

Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Boris Berezovsky in London in last year. He is said to have committed suicide on Saturday.

MOSCOW — Boris A. Berezovsky, once the richest and most powerful of the so-called oligarchs who dominated post-Soviet Russia, and a close ally of Boris N. Yeltsin who helped install Vladimir V. Putin as president but later exiled himself to London after a bitter falling out with the Kremlin, died Saturday.

He was 67 and lived near London, where last year he lost one of the largest private lawsuits in history — an epic tug-of-war over more than $5 billion with another Russian oligarch, Roman A. Abramovich, in which legal and other costs were estimated to be about $250 million.

Mr. Berezovsky's death was first reported in a post on Facebook by his son-in-law Egor Schuppe and was confirmed by Alexander Dobrovinsky, a lawyer who had represented him.

Mr. Dobrovinsky wrote in Russian on his Facebook page: "Just got a call from London. Boris Berezovsky has committed suicide. The man was complex. An act of desperation? Impossible to live poor? A series of blows? I am afraid that no one will know the truth."

The Thames Valley police in Berkshire, an hour from London, said Saturday that they were investigating the "unexplained" death of a 67-year-old man, apparently Mr. Berezovsky, in Ascot.

The police statement did not name Mr. Berezovsky, but British news reports said an investigation was under way at his home. "Specially trained officers are currently at the scene, including C.B.R.N.-trained officers, who are conducting a number of searches as a precaution," said a spokeswoman for the Thames Valley police, referring to the force's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team. "This is to enable officers to carry out an investigation into the man's death. The body of the man is still in the property at this time."

In London, Mr. Berezovsky had adopted much the same style as an oligarch in Russia, with chauffeurs and bodyguards. But recent news reports said Mr. Berezovsky had begun to sell personal assets, including a yacht and a painting by Andy Warhol, "Red Lenin," to pay debts related to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, in which Mr. Berezovsky brought a claim against Mr. Abramovich in a dispute over the sale of shares in Sibneft, an oil company, and other assets, ended in a spectacular defeat.

In her ruling, the judge in the case, Elizabeth Gloster, called Mr. Berezovsky an "unimpressive and inherently unreliable witness" and at times a dishonest one. By contrast, the judge said Mr. Abramovich had been "a truthful, and on the whole reliable, witness."

Mr. Berezovsky's legal troubles worsened recently with a claim by his former girlfriend, Elena Gorbunova, that he owed her about $8 million from the sale of a house they owned in Surrey, England. The judge also ordered him to pay more than $53 million of Mr. Abramovich's fees.

A friend of the tycoon, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said Mr. Berezovsky said he had been "extremely depressed" for at least six months since losing his case. "He was a great believer in British justice, and he felt it let him down," the friend said.

A spokesman for Mr. Putin said Mr. Berezovsky had recently sent a letter asking President Putin for forgiveness and permission to return to Russia. "Some time ago, maybe a couple of months, Berezovsky sent Vladimir Putin a letter, written by himself, in which he admitted that he had made a lot of mistakes," the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said on the Russia 24 television channel. "He asked Putin for forgiveness for the errors to be able to return home."

Mr. Peskov said that he did not know Mr. Putin's reaction, but that "news of anyone's death, no matter what kind of person they were, cannot arouse any positive emotions."

Mr. Berezovsky was a Soviet mathematician who after the fall of Communism went into business and figured out how to skim profits off what was then Russian's largest state-owned carmaker. Along with spectacular wealth, he accumulated enormous political influence, becoming a close ally of Mr. Yeltsin's.

With Mr. Yeltsin's political career fading, Mr. Berezovsky helped engineer the rise of Mr. Putin, an obscure former K.G.B. agent and onetime aide to the mayor of St. Petersburg who became president of Russia in 2000 and last May returned to the presidency for a third term.

Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Moscow, Alan Cowell from Venice, and Ravi Somaiya from New York.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: March 23, 2013

A previous version of this article said Boris Berezovsky died at his home in London. His home was outside of London.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Boris A. Berezovsky, a Putin Critic, Dies Near London

Dengan url

https://dunialuasekali.blogspot.com/2013/03/boris-berezovsky-putin-critic-dies-near.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Boris A. Berezovsky, a Putin Critic, Dies Near London

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Boris A. Berezovsky, a Putin Critic, Dies Near London

sebagai sumbernya