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December 12, 2011
Billionaire and Ex-Minister to Oppose Putin in Russian Presidential Election
The New York Times
by Ellen Barry and David M. Herszenhorn
We just can't shake this feeling that Russian politics is a lot like professional wrestling.
Amid a crescendo of complaints from Russians fed up with the country’s tightly controlled political system, two prominent figures — a billionaire industrialist and the recently ousted finance minister — sought to fill a void in the opposition leadership on Monday.
The billionaire, Mikhail D. Prokhorov, who owns shares in a major gold mining company and an array of other ventures in Russia as well as the New Jersey Nets basketball franchise in the United States, said he would run for president, challenging Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin.
“I made a decision, probably the most serious decision in my life: I am going to the presidential election,” Mr. Prohkorov said at a news conference.
...For Mr. Prokhorov, whose business interests include a stake in the Atlantic Yards development in downtown Brooklyn, his leap into presidential politics could be risky. He is the first wealthy businessman to pursue a political goal in Russia against the governing authorities since the 2003 arrest of Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the former chairman of the Yukos Oil Company, who was jailed after he began financing an opposition party. He remains in prison.
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Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Nets Owner Prokhorov, Beneficiary of Eminent Domain Abuse, to Challenge Putin for Russian Presidency
When Mikhail Prokhorov bailed out Bruce Ratner by buying the New Jersey Nets and 45% of the Barclays Center Arena of Brooklyn© he was just another Russian oligarch (albeit the wealthiest one) and one of the richest men in the world (his rise to wealth built upon sweetheart deals).
But now, the man who benefitted greatly from New York State's controversial eminent domain condemnation, an MTA sweetheart deal for the Vanderbilt rail yards, and hundreds of millions in New York taxpayer subsidies and government breaks wants to become...the President of Russia*. (*Yes, we readily admit that we are not experts on Russian politics, and are certainly not stumping for Putin. So what this all means in Russia is a whole other story though we do think it is important to note how and where Mr. Prokhorov made his big splash into the American cultural and corporate consciousness.)
Posted by eric at December 12, 2011 9:50 AM